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Angus laughs. “Dad always said she was a nutty bitch. He was right. I mean, fuck, look what she did to you, dragging you to this shithole to live among the poors. What’s she trying to do, serve some kind of jacked up penance?”
Grey shoots his brother a look and then explains. “Our dad and Uncle Layton kept an eye on you, Bennet. Sorry, I meant Ben. Despite the fact that Marlia has always been unstable they didn’t want to take a kid away from his mother. And you seemed to be doing all right here. So they figured they’d wait until you graduated from high school and then make you an offer to rejoin the real world.” He sighs and leans forward. “Uncle Layton died of a stroke last year so Dad’s running the show now. And then the other day, right out of the blue, the office gets a call from some guy in Devil Valley. He says he knows you and your mom and that he can tell us where you’re hiding in exchange for ten grand.”
Angus cracks up. “They don’t grow them real smart in this shitty town, do they? He was under the impression that he was the keeper of some great secret. Grey tossed a grand his way just for being industrious. What the hell was his name again?”
“Darren March.” Grey frowns at me. “He a friend of yours?”
“Fuck no.” I find my voice and in spite of the dire situation in front of me I welcome a fresh wave of revulsion for my mother’s ex boyfriend.
Grey nods. “He made some wild claim about your mother being scared to death of our family and being in some kind of witness protection program.”
Angus scowls. “What kind of shit has she been telling you?”
Grey ignores his brother and tries to lighten the mood. “So how have things been going? I’m married now, got a kid on the way. A boy, due next month.”
I can’t think. I need to think and I can’t think.
“Ben?” Camden is fully dressed and stands just inside the living room. She throws a curious glance at the men on the couch and then looks to me for an explanation.
A piercing bolt of alarm slices through my alcohol-addled brain and I’m instantly alert as I realize two things.
The first is that my cousins have no clue that I witnessed my father’s murder. They believe they are in the clear.
The second is that I need to get Camden the hell out of here.
I don’t trust my ability to look my father’s murderer in the eye and play it cool. And so whatever is about to go down, she can’t be part of it. These aren’t a pair of brain deficient punks like the McGill brothers. Angus is a psychopath. Angus calmly held a gun to his uncle’s head and pulled the trigger.
I’m eyeing his coat, trying to guess if he has a gun concealed in its folds. I’m a scrappy fighter and hand to hand I could probably take them on. But I can’t dodge bullets.
And I can’t risk Camden’s safety.
Even more to the point, I have to make them believe that she means nothing to me. Angus wouldn’t hesitate to use her as leverage. I’ll die before I allow that.
I glare at her and utter the cruelest words I can think of. “Thought I told you to get your skinny ass out of here until you can learn how to suck cock properly.”
She just stares at me and says nothing. She’s not even angry or hurt. She’s too damn smart and she’s already figured out that something is wrong.
I narrow my eyes. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Do I need to shove you out the door myself?”
Angus chuckles in the background.
Camden swallows. Her eyes shift to my cousins and then back to me while I silently pray that she understands.
Trust me, baby. Please.
She raises her chin and her expression becomes icy. “Never mind. I got what I came for. You’re not good for much else.”
She puts on a huffy show of grabbing her jacket, calling me an asshole and stalking to the door. She pauses for a split second when she passes me by and our eyes connect. I see that she’s afraid and all I want to do is collect her in my arms and take her far away from these madmen.
I can’t do that.
Because I can’t escape this showdown.
I was a fool to believe that I’d outrun them in the first place. I shouldn’t have tried. I should have ignored my mother’s pleas and followed my conscience as it screamed at me to get justice for my father. For four years this has been eating me alive inside.
“Go find some other dick to play with,” I tell Camden. “Maybe you’ll learn how to do it right.”
She doesn’t say another word before she steps out into the night and slams the door behind her.
