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“Whatever you’re thinking, Brother, forget it.”
I saw Snake shoot me a glance out of the corner of my eye. A heavy sigh pushed through my lips. It was easy for him to say. He didn’t have an old lady. “I just want Harlow back. And I want to end Bronx.” My voice sounded thick with emotion.
“It’s what we all want.” Savage leaned forward and gave my shoulder a hard squeeze.
He’d been through his own particular hell with Lulu. He’d been in love with her for years, forced to stand back and watch her fuck my brothers because she was a club whore. The attraction hadn’t been one-sided, but they’d covered up their feelings with lies and hate. But once she’d gotten out of the club, there’d been no holding Savage back. It had been slow going at first, but in the end it had worked out.
Without warning, the memory of Susana flashed through my mind. Why now would I think of her? Maybe because she’d been the only other serious relationship in my life, and I’d pushed her into the arms of another man. It hadn’t been deliberate, but something that had happened slowly over time. Straight out of high school we’d moved in together, two young and stupid kids believing that life was a bed of roses, and everything would just fall into place.
Looking back now I could admit that I’d really loved her, but I hadn’t put her first. I hadn’t made time for her, or listened to her concerns, or wiped away more of her tears. I’d taken her for granted and brushed it all off. I’d been so involved with medical school that nothing else had mattered.
She’d been going to college at the time, too, having set her sights on becoming a paralegal. A law firm had taken her under their wing, and so had one of the partners in the office. He'd wooed Susana with gifts and promises, and almost overnight he’d had her in his bed. I could still recall her broken sobs as she’d stood in front of me and confessed her infidelity. Her promise that it would never happen again hadn’t been enough. I hadn’t been able to get over another man touching her, and I’d walked away.
Our breakup had hurt like hell, but in the end I had blamed myself.
At least she’d gotten her happy ending, because two years later I’d heard that she’d married the man and they now had a son.
That had been a lifetime ago. Now I could barely recall what she looked like.
All I could see when I closed my eyes was Harlow’s beautiful, smiling face.
“We’re here.” By “here,” Snake meant the highway exit. He glanced down. “According to GPS we’ll be pulling up to the address in seven minutes. What do you want to do?” His question was meant for all of us.
“Well, you’re right about the truck. At least the blacked-out windows will help disguise who we are.” I twisted around to meet Cole’s eyes. “Park on the street somewhere away from the house.”
We’d entered an area where a few houses sat in large lots fairly spaced apart, surrounded by a lot of dirt, rocks, and dry vegetation. The homes looked like the kind you’d see in the poorest section of town. There were a few kids running around, laughing and playing from one house to the next. A woman was hanging up clothes on a crudely erected clothesline in her backyard. She glanced over at us as we came upon her house.
“Shit, people live here?” Savage muttered disbelievingly.
“Why don’t we stop and ask that woman if she’s noticed anything unusual going on?” I suggested. “I bet she can use a few bucks.”
“I bet she values her life more,” Cole countered.
I shrugged. “What have we got to lose?”
Deciding for us, Snake pulled over, put the truck in neutral, and slipped off his cut. He opened the door. “Be right back.”
I watched him sprint over to the woman. She stopped hanging clothes and watched him approach with worry in her eyes. It looked like she was about to bolt to the house. Snake must have said something to ease her mind, because she relaxed and glanced down as he withdrew some money from his pocket. When he offered it to her, she hesitated and wrung her hands with obvious indecision. Finally, after a minute she took it from him. The whole time they’d been exchanging words, and then she lifted her arm and pointed at something in the distance.
I followed the direction she was pointing, but there was an old barn obstructing my view.
“Looks like she knows something,” Savage quipped.
Snake nodded at the woman and then returned to the truck, his expression hard to read.
“Said a woman showed up here a few weeks ago, moved into one of the rentals. She’s seen two men coming and going from the place.” Once inside, he slipped his cut back on. “Said she heard screaming one day, but since then it’s been quiet over there.”
“Where is over there?” I questioned impatiently.
Snake didn’t get the chance to answer. I heard the crack of a gunshot and watched as the woman turned and ran inside her home. Kids nearby halted what they’d been doing and looked around with confusion and fear on their little faces before they scrambled for safety. The next thing I saw was a young girl running away from something as if her life depended on it. The fear was clear on her tear-streaked face.
“The fuck?!” Cole swore.
We simultaneously opened our doors to exit the truck, just as Monk came into view. He was running after the girl, brandishing a gun in his hand and yelling at her to stop or he’d kill her.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Snake murmured the million-dollar question.
I already had a suspicion. Anger of betrayal began to fester in my gut.
