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The boys were waiting and ready to go when I arrived home. They love my ma and would do anything to help her. Jett is down the driveway, opening up the back of the Range Rover and making room for whatever she needs to take.
"Thank you all for coming to help me." She pulls back from me wearing a fresh look of determination. For everything she has been through, she is still so strong. "It shouldn't take long. I have it all just set to the side here, just the basics for now." She points to a couple of bags and boxes stacked by the door. And my heart breaks for her. She shouldn't have to be leaving her place because of that piece of shit.
"This is your place, Ma. If you need us to kick him out on his ass, we’re happy to do that for you. You shouldn't be the one moving."
She gives me a frightened look. "I don't want to stay here right now. I have no idea what he’s up to, but last night he came home really late, and I heard him go down to the basement before he came up to bed. It was strange, and more and more lately he has been doing things like that, so this morning after he left for school, I went down there to have a look."
I think I know where this is going after Kobe's revelations about him, but I want her to tell me everything she knows. "What was it?"
"Thousands of dollars of cash, all stacked in little piles like you would see in some gangster movies. It can't be his. He has always told me his ex-wife got all his money in their divorce, so where did it come from?"
"I think I might have some idea." Kobe gives me a look, like what she just said confirms what he was telling us.
"There were other things as well. A couple of guns, a black face mask—it's so scary, Brandon. I thought I knew him, but I know nothing about him. What does all this mean?" She's visibly shaken by what she found. She knows this isn't a perfect world, she has seen her fair share of shit when she was younger and with my dad, we all did. Any family that was somehow involved with Anthony Acevedo has permanent scars from the shit that man put us through. "There is something else as well. Last month, he came home with a massive bandage covering his shoulder. At the time he told me he got into a scuffle at the bar, but last week, when he was coming out of the shower, I could see the scar. I'm no fool, Brandon, I know what it was. It was from a bullet wound." Her eyes go wide as she says it.
My stomach drops. Kobe's gaze finds mine, a darkness flashing through his normally calm eyes. He was right, it was fucking Jerry who tried to kill me and turned up at our place. He wants my fucking money. I should have gotten Ma out of here last week. She's right to be scared. Jerry might come across all smiles, but he is hiding a big secret from her wrapped up in a whole lot of gambling debt, and if the Riveras are after him, I wouldn't be surprised if he’s on the hit list of other gangs as well.
"Don't you worry about it, Ma, we’re here to take care of all this for you now," I try to assure her. But my anger toward this situation is reaching its boiling point. What else is there to say? She married a dud, an asshole of a man who was only using her for money.
Kobe takes her arm. "Here, Mrs. Lewis, I'll make you a tea and we can pack the car up while you rest. Okay?" Kobe leads her over to the kitchen. He has the softer caring side the rest of us don't seem to possess anymore.
Jett and I get started on the bags of her things, collecting them and taking them to the car. It's all I can do so I don't go completely ballistic and lose my shit right here.
"I only came in at the end there, but you think the money is him stashing what he owes us?"
"Can't be sure, but I would say so."
"I wonder how much of that money he won gambling, and how much he stole… We should just call the cops on him now, let them deal with him. Give your ma her house back, right now."
I raise a brow, surprised. Jett's usual way of dealing with situations is with his fists. "Is that really how you want to play this?"
His smirk is cruel, his eyes darkening to almost black. "Nah, going to be more fun our way. Unless he comes up with the cash in time."
"He won't. I'll make sure of that." It might take every bit of resolve I have in me not to fly off the handle as soon as I see that slimy piece of shit again, but I know I need to keep my calm and do this the right way. Let him dig his own grave.
Kobe comes out of the house to join us, and before long, we have all the items she wants taken with her packed. Taking the bundles of money Jerry has stashed in the basement did cross my mind, but I don't want Ma more wrapped up in this shit than she already is, and he would surely blame her for that if it all went missing on the same day as her.
"Ma, we're done," I call to her.
She appears in the doorway with her handbag, looking heartbroken all over again. I have seen this look on her so many times, but every single damn time it devastates me. She deserves so much better than the life she has been given. "I'm going to stay with a friend I used to work with. She has a pool house that's free," she utters quietly, like life has finally defeated her good spirit.
I wrap an arm around her. "I'll get you a place to stay, one with good security," I tell her. "My ma isn't staying in someone's pool house."
"No, I can't be any more of a burden on you. You have done enough for me." She sighs heavily.
"You're not a burden, you're my ma, and I will always step in and help you. Come on, I already have it arranged for you."
Jerrystrollsintoourstaff room with way too much swagger for someone who has his neck dangling by a rope. Maybe that's because he doesn't realize quite how bad this all is for him. "Where’s Cassandra today?" I overhear him ask Scarlet.
"She's sick. It’s just a head cold, should be back tomorrow, I got a substitute teacher in," Scarlet tells him in her usual sing-song voice.
"Oh, okay." I can see him walking down the back toward my office, and I cringe. I was hoping to avoid him for two more days until the game on Thursday night. And after this morning, I know I'm going to have to be on my best behavior not to fly off the rails and really let him have it the way I would like.
He knocks at the open door then walks on in, surveying my office like he owns the place, before he takes a seat, his hands resting in his pockets. He has no idea what I know. No idea that Ma has left his sorry ass.
"Good game on the weekend, Son." The stench of his cologne wafts my way, infecting my nostrils with its putrid aroma. I pop open the window, letting in some fresh air to stop the bile rising from my stomach. "So impressive, you have all the other schools in our district talking. They’re saying we’re the ones to beat this year," he goes on, not noticing my obvious discomfort, but why would he when the world revolves around him?
"Did you need something?" I mutter, bored by his empty compliments. I've got no time for chit-chat with this piece of shit, but I do want some answers.
