Chapter Twenty #2
The soft knock on the door had her friend glaring at it. “Go away.”
“I need you to come out and talk with Kenzie in the living room,” Trent said.
“And I need you to fuck off.”
“Taylor,” Kenzie hissed. She may not understand everything that was going on but Taylor being nasty to Trent was not going to help in any way.
The knob wiggled but Taylor must have locked it behind her. “Open. The. Door.”
“No. We will come out when we are done talking. Now go away, Trent.”
Kenzie grabbed her fiend’s hand gaining her attention. “What’s going on?”
Taylor looked over her shoulder and raised her voice. It wasn’t a shout but she intended on Trent hearing her. “He wants us to come out because he doesn’t want me to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Taylor, open the fucking door and shut your mouth,” Trent snarled behind the closed door. His voice made her jump on the bed. He was laying out a warning.
“No, asshole,” Taylor snapped in a catty victorious tone.
“Tell me what, Tay?” Kenzie whispered
She grasped both of Kenzie’s hands and her face softened. “I overheard Trent talking…”
She stopped in mid-sentence and they both flipped around to face the door when the crash boomed and the door flung open, slamming against the wall.
Trent stood in the doorway. Long gone was the easiness of the gorgeous man.
He looked damn near ferocious, his glare locked on Taylor as he stalked through the room.
She scrambled off the bed to the other side leaving Kenzie seated in the middle watching the standoff between them.
“Get out, you maniac. You broke down the door in your own house. What the hell is the matter with you?”
“Me? What’s wrong with me? Darlin’, you have made me lose all sense of patience. As for me being a maniac, that’s rich coming from a woman who is bat shit fucking crazy.”
The rest of the men filed into the room.
She widened her eyes when she saw Bogs. It was a plea for help.
Someone needed to explain what was happening.
It seemed everyone was in the dark about the situation between Trent and Taylor.
Except maybe Declan. He stood off to the side, clearly on edge with his back to Evie in a protective stance.
Bogs stepped forward. “Everyone, relax.” He turned to Trent. “What’s going on, man?”
Trent took a breath and aimed his stare at the men, leaving her with the view of his profile. His jaw was tense as though he was clenching it.
“She overheard Declan and I discussing a job.” His words were cryptic. She glanced over at Taylor, who was squinting as if she wanted to haul ass over the bed and punch him.
“And?” Taylor said.
Trent glared at her.
Taylor turned to Bogs. “Did you tell Kenzie what you do for a living?”
“She knows I work in securities,” Bogs looked just as confused as she was. He glanced over at her and she shrugged. Of course, she knew what he did.
“What else do you do, Bogs?”
The simple question seemed to throw him off, then before her eyes, his body changed. His chest rose as his back tensed and his eyes darkened. He kept his stare on Taylor when he spoke. “Trent.” He paused. “What’s she getting at?”
“Exactly what you think, brother.”
The room got thick with tension and she stared at Bogs looking for some kind of explanation but he was locked on Taylor.
His eyes glared at her in what seemed like a warning.
With nothing from Bogs, she glanced around, seeing all the men focused on Taylor giving her a similar look as Bogs. What was she missing?
“Kenzie?” Taylor whispered and she jerked her head. Taylor’s face changed relaxed, which seemed odd since everyone else was tense and furious.
“They can get him.” She lifted her hand pointing around the room and smiled while keeping her eyes on Kenzie. What was she talking about? Get who?
Kenzie shook her head not understanding what her friend was trying to tell her.
Taylor stepped forward and kneeled on the bed, face to face with Kenzie.
“Taylor, don’t.” She couldn’t be sure but the voice almost sounded like Bogs. She was too focused on Taylor and what she was trying to tell her, to look over and see.
“I overheard Trent and Declan talking about a job. They helped some guy kill the man that murdered his brother. That’s what they do.
Bogs and his brothers find the guy, the family member kills him, and Trent and Declan get rid of the body.
” She lifted her brows glancing over Kenzie’s shoulder. “Our very own vigilante group.”
“Fucking bitch.” Someone swore under their breath but she could hear it clearly.
It was almost impossible to believe but no one was denying it.
Vigilante? Bogs? The lump in her throat grew as she glanced back at Taylor.
Of course, there would be things she didn’t know about Bogs but she was thinking more on the lines of past girlfriends or how he takes his coffee.
Not this. Bogs and his brothers find the guy, the family member kills him, and Trent and Declan get rid of the body.
Taylor tightened her grip on her hands. “You know what this means? They can get him, Kenzie.”
Her heart sped up and her body shivered as she watched the pure joy cast over Taylor’s face.
James Harris, the man who killed her mom had become a dark figure stored in the back of her head for the past twelve years.
She never forgot him but she also did her best to not think of him.
No matter how many times the prosecutor explained, she could never understand why he got such a short sentence.
He killed her mom and four years later walked out of prison.
Her dad never spoke of it but she knew it ripped him a part the same as her.
Harris basically got away with murder. It had been so long since she’d thought about that.
Suddenly, every hidden emotion, every painful heartbreak came flooding through.
All the tears, all the times she needed her mom, all the deals she made with God, praying she’d wake up and it would all be just a bad dream.
Everything came back with a force that made her gasp.
She stared back at Taylor with glassy welled eyes.
Her mouth dried from her heavy hot breath.
She turned her head slowly, taking in the tense glares aimed at Taylor from all the men in the room.
All but one, who was solely staring back at her.
“You can find him for me?” Her question wasn’t so much a request but shocked curiosity. Why had he kept this from her?
****
Is was like gallons of ice water being poured over his body.
Bogs wanted to kill Taylor. The way Kenzie stared back at him with hope and a plea in her eyes.
And pain, so much fucking pain. He had every intention of telling Kenzie about what they did on the side, but not now, and certainly not this way.
Somewhere down the road, he would tell her, explain it all, and not give her a fucked up condensed version like Taylor just did.
“Find who?” T asked from directly behind Bogs. Kenzie never looked away. She was waiting for him and only him to answer her. But that didn’t stop Taylor and her big fucking mouth.
“Didn’t you tell him?” Taylor asked.
She didn’t even flinch, her eyes set on Bogs. His stare remained on Kenzie as he answered the question. “I know.”
“Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on,” T barked. He hadn’t meant to keep her mother’s murder a secret from T. While he had talked with Stone, he never mentioned it to T. This was the last scenario he could have envisioned.
Bogs drew in a breath, watching Kenzie. “Her mom was murdered twelve years ago. The guy, James Harris, was in the process of robbing the convenience store when her mom walked in.”
Kenzie slowly scooted herself to the end of the bed and got down, stepping to Bogs.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Yes.” His tone was low and feral. “In time, I would have told you.”
“And you’d find him for me?” Her voice stammered on her words. He couldn’t figure out if she was asking hypothetically or requesting it. He had planned on telling her, eventually, but not like this. This was the worst scenario.
She was so fragile. He had to keep his words and his tone delicate. “It’s not that simple, baby. You don’t know what you’re saying, Kenzie. You would be the one to kill him, not any of us. You.” She sucked in a breath then clamped her lips.
Trent stepped forward. “Kenzie, what Taylor failed to tell you is we have strict guidelines we follow in these situations.” They all knew the magnitude of what she was asking. Trent was trying to shut her down. From the look on her face, she understood.
Taylor snorted and Trent jerked his head to her. “Shut up.” He pinned her with a glare so vicious, Kenzie flinched, and it wasn’t even directed at her.
“What are they?” A tear slipped past her lashes and her bottom lip trembled. It was killing him to see her like this.
“Kenzie,” Bogs whispered.
Trent rested his hand on her arm. “Taylor explained that the man who killed your mom did serve time.” Bogs knew the angle Trent was about to work and he watched her closely.
Kenzie shook her head. “Four years, that’s it.” He could read her face. Four years for the loss of her mom wasn’t fair. He completely agreed, but this wasn’t what he wanted for her.
“But he served his time. That’s not what we deal with,” Trent said. In general, what Trent was saying was true. They dealt with families whose killers got away with it. Men who didn’t do any time. Most got off on a technicality. The justice system was flawed.
Taylor stomped forward, standing next to Kenzie with a fire in her eyes. “He served four years for killing her mother. He should be in jail for the rest of his life for what he did. That’s not justice! He gets to live his life like nothing happened.”
While Bogs understood her fury, feeling his own for the injustice, it wouldn’t change anything. Taylor wasn’t thinking about how this would affect Kenzie in the long haul. From the way Kenzie was reacting, he didn’t think she wanted it either.
“How’d he only get four for murder?” T asked, not showing any emotion.
“He took a plea deal, copped to the robbery, he had information on another investigation they were working on, a bigger case. They needed him.”
“So, you’ll help her, right?” Taylor asked.
“No,” Trent said before Bogs got the chance.
“Fuck you, fuck all of you,” Taylor shouted from behind gripping Kenzie’s shocked body and pulling her away from the men. “We’re outta here. You can take me to jail, Trent, I don’t care, asshole, but me and her are leaving. This is bullshit.”
“No, what’s bullshit is you even saying anything to her when I specifically told you there was nothing we could do. You are not going anywhere, Taylor, and you need to think before you speak. Selfish brat, that’s what you are.”
Bogs stepped forward, ignoring all the others. He needed to talk to her alone. “Kenzie, come here.”
The pain shadowing her face was ripping at his heart. This was dredging up the worst aspect of her life and bringing it to the surface. Bogs reached for her but she stepped back.
“Just come with me, Kenzie, talk to me outside.”
Taylor pushed past her and stood in front of Kenzie. “No, you’ll talk to her here. Why won’t you help her?”
“You don’t know shit. I don’t know what you think you heard but there’s more to it. Shit you don’t understand.”
“Then explain it. ‘Cause from where I’m standing, all five of you have the ability to help her get justice for her mom and you’re just shutting her down.”
“Damn it, Taylor.” Trent reached for her wrist pulling her into his chest. She wiggled away from him.
“Screw you, Trent. This is my best friend and while she may not mean anything to you or these assholes, she means everything to me. If I can help her then that’s what I’ll do.”
Bogs stepped forward. “Help her what? Do you have any idea what you’re suggesting she do?” He turned to Kenzie, who remained silent watching the show in front of her. She seemed almost dazed. “Kenzie, you don’t want this. Don’t let her think you do.”
“Of course, she wants this. That piece of shit killed her mom! Tell him, Kenzie.”
Kenzie’s face paled and her eyes widened.
Bogs sighed resting his hands on his hips and lowered his head. “Please just come talk to me. Alone.”
Taylor snorted. “Oh, so she’s good enough to bang but not good enough to help. God, and I thought Trent was a bastard but you are truly a piece of shit.”
His entire body went stiff, the rage for this bitch completely burning through his blood.
His anger was on the verge of exploding.
She didn’t know anything about him and Kenzie.
Bogs moved forward but Stone circled his arm over his chest. Bogs clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
He needed to calm himself. Declan stepped beside Trent, looking like he wanted to knock Taylor out but made no move to actually do it.
Someone needed to shut this bitch up. T, on the other hand, was suddenly in her face.
“Don’t you preach that shit to us. You care so fucking much about her, where the fuck were you when she was running for her fucking life outta the club that you brought her to? You tangled her up in your shit and then fucking bailed on her.”
Taylor’s face reddened and the rage in her eyes made Bogs think she might start swinging. Her arm raised quickly but Trent gripped it and pulled her back, setting Taylor behind his back. He wasn’t sure if it was to protect Taylor from T or the other way around.
This scene was completely out of control.