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“I kind of told him that you hate him and haven’t spoken to him properly in years,” she breathes.
“For fuck’s sake, Shan.”
“I know, Jackson,” she sniffs. “I’m so sorry. You know I’d never get you into trouble on purpose, I just didn’t think.”
“You have no right talking about me and my business to anyone.”
“I know,” she nods. “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do to fix this, I will. I should have kept my big mouth shut, but then Ed was talking to the sheriff and they were talking about you and then they asked me…” she starts to babble.
“Ed was talking to the sheriff about me?”
“Well, they were talking about your daddy being in hospital is all. The whole town is talking about it.”
“Yeah,” I say with a frown.
This whole thing is fucked up and it’s driving me crazy. I feel like the answer is right in front of my face but I can’t connect the fucking dots right. I wonder if I should tell her about the photograph of the two of us. I hadn’t even considered that if she’s not involved in any of this, she’s as much a victim as the rest of us.
But, I don’t know that she’s not involved yet. And I definitely have a feeling in my gut about Ed. I’ve met him half a dozen times or so. He seems like a nice enough guy. She says he’s not the jealous type, but who really knows, right? If Lucia was friendly with a guy she used to fuck, I’d be pissed as hell and I’d be ready to slit his throat if he so much as smiled at her again.
The irony of that doesn’t escape me. Maybe it’s time to put an end to this friendship Shannon and I have too.
“Hey, we have somewhere to be,” Alejandro reminds me.
“Yeah, I gotta go, Shannon. Anyone else asks about me and my father, you tell them it’s none of their business. You got that?”
She looks down at the ground. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”
I don’t say anything else. Instead, I climb into the truck, start the engine and drive away.
JAX
“So, who are these guys? Any idea?” I ask as I drive toward the address Alejandro gave me.
“Nope. That asshole who owns the bar said he’s seen them a couple of times but he didn’t know their names. They were there the night your father was beaten up. They had one beer each and then left just before he did. They’re known to be trouble and people generally stay out of their way.”
“So, how does he know where they live?”
“His girlfriend used to buy a little pot from one of them.”
“So we’re looking for some pot dealers? If this is where they keep their stash, they’re probably armed.”
“Isn’t everyone in Texas armed?” he says with a shrug. “Besides, I don’t think they’re big time, else they wouldn’t need to beat people up as a side hustle, would they?”
I nod my agreement and keep driving.
When we finally pull up at the house, I shut off the engine and take a look around. It’s an old wooden house set on a small plot of land. There’s nothing else nearby, which makes it kind of perfect for us. There are motorcycle parts on the front lawn and an old tin bathtub full of rainwater.
“You ready to do this?” Alejandro asks, tucking two guns into the waistband at the back of his trousers.
“Yup,” I jump out of the truck.
The smell of smoke hangs in the air and the thick black plume of the stuff coming from the back of the house makes us bypass the front door and head around to the rear of the property. As we draw closer, we hear talking, laughing and then someone hollers something that makes them all whoop and whistle.
“Sounds like they’re having a party?” Alejandro says with a frown.
“Sounds like they’re assholes,” I suggest, and he laughs softly.
“How you want to play this, amigo?”
