35. Griffin
Chapter 35
Griffin
Monsters
I shook out my hand. We’d been playing all damn night. A few of the overhead lights were on and the crickets were working overtime to outplay us. And my dog’s snores.
“Flynn, you want to go over ‘Bleed’ one more time?” Marc asked.
“Nah, I think I got it. If we practice the jam songs anymore, then it won’t sound authentic. It’s supposed to be chaos.”
“I hear that. My voice will be shot if I keep going, anyway. I’m still rusty.” Marc grabbed his cane and hauled himself up off the office chair we’d brought in for him. The hip replacement was still sore as hell, no matter what he said. I could tell by the way he was holding himself. “I’m going home with my nurse.”
“That’s a new one on me.” Flynn held his hand out for a bump. “Pleasure playing with you, sir.”
“Same, man. Fucking A, I missed this shit.”
A tall woman who looked more like she was at ease on a volleyball court than in a hospital ran forward and hooked her arm around Marc. “You overdid it, Mr. Justice.”
“You keep calling me Mr. Justice and we’re going to have words, Misty.”
“Yes, Marc.”
“Much better.”
But he did lean on her, and the two of them took it slow down the stairs to the golf cart Marc had brought in. If nothing else, Marc had always been a forward thinker. As long as it didn’t include Irene, anyway.
“Think we’re going to pull this off?” Baron tucked his acoustic back into its case.
“Sure seems like it,” Flynn interjected. “The kid can sing anything. He’s like a damn jukebox, but he doesn’t do the late nights anymore. Dad time.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I was just glad you and Ian could come last minute.” I set my guitar in the big trunk at the back of the stage.
“Laverne calls and we come. She makes me dumplings like my mama used to make. I’ll fly from damn near anywhere just for that.”
I laughed. “Laverne, feeding misfits since 1989.”
Flynn chuckled. “You’re not wrong. She lives to mom us and I don’t mind letting her. In fact, I’m heading to the Lodge to see if I can sneak some pie out of the kitchen. You up for it, Baron?”
“I could go for some pie.” He glanced at me. “You in?”
“I’m gonna go find my girl. I’ve been lax in my duties with all these rehearsals.”
Once we all stood up, Elmer stretched and came over to lean against me. I rubbed his head.
“Don’t do that, son. She’s gonna be scooped up in a second.” Flynn tucked his guitar into the four-guitar case and locked it, wheeling it back near mine. “And I’d be the one doing the scooping.” He laughed as he went down the stairs.
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or impressed that he said that.”
Baron laughed and slapped my back. “Go with impressed. I’m pretty sure that guy can get any girl from twenty to eighty.”
“You’re not wrong.” I brought him in for a hard hug. “I’m really glad we’re doing this. I’ve missed you guys.”
He pulled back. “Without the haze of Irene, things seem a lot damn clearer. The music was what was supposed to matter. Not the twisted games.”
“Took a break to figure it out, maybe.”
“Just maybe.” He nodded after Flynn. “I better go, or he’ll leave me in the damn parking lot.”
I locked up my case, ran around to the light board, and powered down, then Elmer and I followed them both.
I waved from my truck as Flynn and Baron squeezed into his Shelby, taking off like a shot.
I fired off a quick text to Lennon before I got to the edge of the parking lot. The trip up to my place was slow going as dust kicked up from the ruts. There’s been no rain all week and the forecast said none until well into next week. The other rental units were on the more lit side of the orchard.
The Manning men were handy with a solar lighting grid, that was for sure. Didn’t help my neck of the woods, but they’d catch up to the Starling soon enough.
Elmer’s head was out the window, and his steel gray ears were flying behind him. Happiness was a new thing for me, and there was a part of me worried that it wouldn’t last.
Irene was like a ghost I couldn’t see.
But it didn’t stop me from taking every moment with the little family I’d come to create. I’d hoped to get her to come out with her wife earlier, but her work was insanely time-consuming.
So, we’d go to her.
With the taproom in disarray, and the lineup for the summer shows cemented, we could get away for a little bit.
I wanted Leilani to get to know Lennon.
It mattered more to me that my half-sister know the woman I was going to marry, than my mother. She’d been out of my life for so long that she was more of a stranger than those I’d only known a few years.
Elmer gave one shrieking bark when we pulled up to my place. Another thing I’d have to think about. It worked for us now, but if Lennon and I wanted to build a life, we probably needed a real house with room to grow.
If she wanted that.
I hoped she wanted that.
Her Jeep was in the drive. She hadn’t replied to me, but maybe she’d fallen asleep. We’d all been working our asses off to make the benefit happen.
I hopped out, then I scooped up Elmer and set him on the ground while I grabbed my cooler and duffel bag. I yawned enough to make my jaw crack. Maybe I’d be asleep right next to her. My boot slid into a groove in the gravel, and I stumbled.
“What the hell?” Were those drag marks? One of the flowerpots Laverne had dropped off last time was tipped over, the soil spilling down the stairs. “Lenny?” I called out, running up the steps.
Elmer was right behind me, panting.
Swearing, I fumbled my key into the door. It was dark, save for the bit of moonlight coming in the arched window. That little bit of light showed a form slumped on the couch.
“Lennon?” I rushed in and suddenly, the light flicked on.
Bright as hell after the darkness, I squinted in the sudden brightness, and I lifted my arm to my eyes. Elmer started shriek-barking as only a pit bull could.
“Shut the dog up or I’m going to shoot it.”
I froze.
Irene.
I stared down at Lennon, slumped at an awkward position on the couch. “Come here, Elmer.” My voice was too calm. The voice I often used when Irene was in one of her screaming matches with Baron or Marc.
It had been so long, the foreign tone felt alien on my tongue.
Elmer kept barking at Irene.
“I mean it.” Her voice rose an octave.
I turned away from Lennon, even though I was loathe to do it, and went over to pick him up. Elmer licked my face, shaking in my arms. “It’s okay, buddy.”
“Get rid of him. Put him outside or something.”
“He’s not an outside dog, and if you don’t want everyone in a five-mile radius coming because he’s barking, I’d reconsider it.”
“Whatever.” She turned around, waving the pewter-colored Glock. “This place is practically a studio bedroom. This is what you’ve come to, Griffin? Slumming it with your slut bartender?”
I stiffened, but I gritted my teeth against replying. Irene lived for a reaction.
She sighed. “You’re so pathetic. This is what you ruined our lives for?” She aimed the gun at Lennon’s prone body.
Quickly, I moved in front of her.
“How adorable. Big, brave Griffin. Always the peacemaker. Always the savior.” She lowered the gun to her side. “I don’t want to hurt you. Well, not much.” She snickered. “I mean, I’m going to kill the bartender. You have to be punished for what you did.”
I sucked in a breath, shifting Elmer in my arms to get my right hand free. “Why do I need to be punished?”
“Because, silly, you broke up the band.” She lifted the gun and pointed it at me. “It’s all your fault. You ruined everything!” Rage lit her perfect porcelain features, making them sharp and ugly. She pointed the gun at Lennon.
I couldn’t move fast enough, and the shot went off.
“No!”
“Relax.” She rolled her eyes. “I just needed to let out a little of my anger. You know I like shooting.” She touched the tip with her finger and her eyes lit with the pain from the heat of the muzzle. “Sorry about your couch though.”
I twisted to see Lennon, who was still out cold. A small bullet hole seared through the saddle-colored leather.
She walked toward me, her hips swaying in the skintight black catsuit. She used the muzzle of the gun to coast over her narrow hips. She was thinner than the last time I’d seen her—almost skeletal.
Evidently, stalking wasn’t good for the diet.
Her nearly white-blond hair was long and loose over her shoulders. The front was choppy as if she’d taken shears to it herself. But her eyes were absolutely flat.
My stomach dropped.
This wasn’t good at all.
I bent down and she snarled, “What are you doing?”
I toed Elmer’s bed. “Just want to set him down. He’s heavy.”
“Fine. He better stay quiet.”
The gun dug into my shoulder. I could still feel the heat from the last shot and the muzzle was going to leave a mark.
But she was too close for me to hide a quick hand in my pocket. The SOS function on my phone just needed a few quick taps.
I set Elmer down and stroked his head. “Be quiet for me, okay?”
“As if he knows what you’re saying.” She nudged me with the gun. “Go sit by your whore.”
“Stop calling her that.”
“Why? I did watch you fuck her in that club. Right out in the open in the outdoor patio. I had no idea you were so...” She trailed the gun down to my zipper. “Voyeuristic.”
I forced my breathing to even. I’d been trained to rescue people by the best people in the Navy. Maybe that’s why I’d been the diplomat in our fucked-up band. While I hadn’t used those nerves in a damn long time, I called on them now. I just needed to keep her talking.
Keep her calm.
“I love her.”
Irene sneered. “Please. What on earth is she going to do to keep you happy? We are built for the open road. New cities every other day.”
“This place makes me happy. She makes me happy.”
“For now.” She laughed and lifted my cock with the barrel of the gun. “We’re different. You’ll never be happy staying in some shithole orchard. Apples, for fuck’s sake? Are you serious?”
“You’ve been skulking around for weeks now. You know this place isn’t a shithole. It’s a thriving business.”
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re talking nonsense. All I have to do is take care of her.” She flicked my balls with the gun before she swung it back to Lennon.
I swore and it took everything in me to keep upright. “No, don’t touch her. If you do, I’ll never go back with you. Ever.”
She tilted her head. “So, if I don’t kill her, you’ll leave her?”
No. Absolutely fucking not.
The words screamed in my head, but I nodded. “Marc and Baron are here. We can all be back together.”
“Yes! Yes, we can.” She rushed over to me. “I knew it was a sign when I saw the band tagged on my social media. It’s very rude that you didn’t invite me.”
“We wanted it to be a surprise.” The pain abated, and I drew in a slow breath. “Marc came here to see you, especially.”
“He did?” Her voice was a whisper.
“Even if you tried to kill him.”
“I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that.” She stalked away from me. “He knows I didn’t mean it.” Her ability to construct her own fantasy version of events was crumbling. Then she whirled around before I could get to my phone. Her face was back in the smooth lines of control.
There she was. The Irene I’d lived with for years. The woman who never allowed blame to fall on her shoulders.
I swallowed down the knot of fear in my throat. “You can call him.”
She tapped the gun along her temple. “I probably shouldn’t do that.”
“Or Baron.” Slowly, I made my way toward the couch. “Maybe Baron could come here too. We could have our own reunion, right here.”
Lennon moaned from the couch.
“God, I have to dose her again.” Annoyed, Irene stalked over to the black bag on the dining room table.
While her back was to me, I turned my body and slipped my hand into my pocket. I found the button on the correct side of my iPhone and pressed it four times.
I couldn’t tell if it went through, but God, I hoped so.
She came back down the stairs with a small, plastic cylinder.
“What is that?”
“Just some of the good stuff. Keeps her quiet.”
I took a step toward her, fear turning to panic. “What’s the good stuff?”
“I don’t know. I bought it from Andy.”
Her fucking dealer. God knew what that was.
“She doesn’t need any more, Irene. You said you wouldn’t kill her.”
“It’s not going to kill her. Just makes it so she can’t move and stays asleep. It’s fine.”
That didn’t sound like her usual drugs or the kind she should have too much of. “How many times did you dose her?”
“I don’t know. Four, maybe?”
Fear left a wash of ice down my spine. I could only hope it was a low dose. Andy wasn’t the most reliable guy for anything other than street drugs. “Let’s just call Baron. We don’t have to worry about Lennon right now.”
“Don’t say her name.” She set the injector on the side table. “She doesn’t matter. Only I matter.” She seethed. “ We matter.”
The first part was the reality of my situation. She couldn’t even mask that she thought about anyone other than herself right now. How did we not see how dangerous she was before?
I pulled out my phone. “Let’s just call him now.”
I glanced at my screen, but I couldn’t tell if the SOS went through or not. At the very least, if it went through, it would send a text to Kain and Beckett, who I had in my emergency contacts.
I only hoped they’d be awake to get it. I tapped my phone to see the time and my heart sank.
Would they even hear it? It was almost two in the morning.
“I don’t know.” She started pacing. “Baron was really mad at me.” Her free hand fisted. “It’s your fault.” She turned on me again. “If you’d just cooperated, then none of this would have happened.”
Cooperated ? I’d been drugged. I gritted my teeth against shouting it. “I made a mistake.”
She tilted her head again. “I’m glad you see the error of your ways. Now we just have to fix it. Come away with me. Tonight.”
“Okay.”
A huge smile broke over her face. “You will?”
“Just leave Lennon here.”
“I told you not to say her name!”
“Sorry.” I held my hands up, the phone facing me. The screen flashed with a text from Kain. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. But let me text Baron and we can pick him up on the way.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “Maybe it should just be us.”
“But Baron would be so hurt. He’s still missing you, Irene.”
“He is?” Hope dented some of the wildness.
“I promise.”
“Okay, maybe just a text. But he has to come here.” She brought her free hand up to bite on the corner of her thumbnail. A sure tell of her anxiety. The fact that it looked like it had chewed on by an animal was not a great sign.
I swiped open the phone and quickly texted Kain SOS and jumped to Baron’s text conversation before she got to my side. She peered over my arm, the gun loose at her side.
Did I go for the gun?
No, be patient.
I wasn’t a fucking hero. I couldn’t live with myself if a shot went wild and hurt Lennon or Elmer.
Elmer whined with the chaotic energy flying around.
“Shut up!” She screamed, right near me.My head rang with the power of it.
Elmer put his head down.
“It’s okay, buddy. We’re all okay.”
“Oh, bubbles. He’s replying.” Her icy blue eyes shifted toward me. No longer flat, they were filled with happiness. I didn’t know what was more horrifying, her mad and happy in the literal same minute or her swinging the gun around the room as if it couldn’t kill everyone.
Baron:
Tell her I miss her. I’ll be right there.
“He’s coming and he misses me?” She covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. “He’s actually coming.” She shook her hair back. “Do I look okay?”
Batshit-crazy. “Beautiful as always.”
“Thanks.” She dashed away her tears and rushed back to her huge purse and pulled out her suitcase-sized makeup bag. She practically skipped down the stairs to the club-chair kitty corner from the couch. She dumped it out on the seat and fished through a store’s worth of potions like a child with her toys.
Jesus. Where the hell were the cops?
East Bumfuck, New York, that’s where. The sheriff had been less than useless when Lennon, Kain, and I went to report this debacle to them. They probably were equally great at emergency calls.
Lennon rolled onto her back, arching her back from the position she’d been slumped in.
I glanced over at Irene. She had her compact mirror out as she patted more powder on her already pale face. The angle might let her see Lennon moving.
“You don’t need that, you know.”
Irene flashed a smile at me. “You always tell me that. I like to do it for me, just as much as my boys.”
I shuddered at the words. She always called us that, even when I’d been excluded from their twisted group games.
My phone flashed in my hand, and I saw Kain’s message come up, along with the sound of a vehicle outside.
“Is that Baron? How did he get here so fast?”
“He’s only over at the Lodge. Right at the orchard.” Quickly, I skimmed the message.
Kain:
I called the cops, but they’re still ten minutes out. B is here too.
Was that Beckett or Baron?
“Oh, that dumpy hotel thing? How can he stand it?” Irene glossed on her usual pale lipstick. Her darkly lined eyes weren’t as crisply done as they usually were. The lines were as jittery as her temperament.
“You know Baron. He likes it rustic.”
“Yes, he does. That ranch of his? I went to visit him, you know.” She added a different color to the center of her lips, then she smirked at me. “I wanted to surprise him, but I couldn’t find him. I didn’t get far, and the scent of horseshit made me gag. It was hideous. I let the horses out of the pen, hoping it would stop the smell. Not even close.”
“You let the horses out?”
“I mean, I had to. I’m not a monster. When I burned the hay, it would have hurt them.” She snapped the compact closed. “Burning shit smells even worse, FYI.”
The way she said it so matter of fact made my throat close up. She was well-beyond insane at this point. She’d been more dramatic with her outbursts at the end of the Vegas residency, but what she’d been doing for the last year was unhinged.
A fist pounded on the door.
Elmer sat up, but he only softly whimpered and crawled his way over to Lennon. Irene was being too erratic for him to safely come near me.
“Is that him? That’s him?” She flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder with the gun barrel. “Let me go check.”
I braced when she rushed to the door and cracked it open. She swung open the door and threw herself in Baron’s arms. “I’ve missed you, baby.”
Baron’s hands shook as he patted her back. “I’ve missed you too. Why do you have a gun, honey?”
“I mean, I needed it to make sure you listened to me. Well, first, G needed to listen. It took a minute to make him understand. And his bartender slut.” She took his hand and led him inside.
Baron shot a look at me, then he looked at the couch and his mouth dropped open. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“No. Well, mostly no.” She gave a tinkling laugh that pulled my balls up. “She’s just sleepy. And what’s the word?” She glanced at me. “I forgot the word. You’re always so good at words, G.”
My world.
“Paralyzed,” I said, woodenly.
“Right. It has a paralytic in it. Handy, except when I had to drag her in here. She’s a tiny thing, but she weighs a lot.” She hugged Baron’s arm. “I don’t want to talk about her. I’m so happy you’re here. Now all we need is Marc and we can leave. I’m a little sleepy. It’s been a really busy day. Maybe we can wait until tomorrow.”
“Sure.” Baron gave her a tight smile. “Whatever makes you happy.”
I saw all the peace and contentment that had infused him earlier today leak out of him. Even knowing we weren’t really going back with Irene, the weight of their history was pulling him back down.
It was as if he was back in his old skin.
Lennon was restless and she opened her eyes, but they fluttered shut almost immediately. She curled her shoulder forward as if to wrap herself into a ball. I wasn’t sure she saw me, but I couldn’t chance Irene seeing her move.
Elmer crawled as much of his bulk under the couch at her head as he could. Her hand dropped down to rest against him.
God, was that all she could do?
Rage simmered inside me. That was more than enough of this bullshit. I spotted the needle on the end table, then I refocused on Baron.
He was already withdrawing. God, this woman had fucked us all up in so many ways. I made the devil horns against my side. Hoping he’d catch it and know what I meant.
The bonds we’d once had were so damn frayed, but I had to try.
Baron suddenly twirled Irene around and into him.
“Oh!” Irene gave a delighted laugh and fell into him, her gun down by her side.
While she was distracted, I grabbed the needle and slowly walked up behind her. Bile rose in my throat as I cupped her hip and ran my nose along her neck. “Is this what you were hoping for?”
She leaned against my chest and tilted her head to give me access. “Oh, yes. My boys.”
Baron locked eyes with me and the pain there gave me the last bit of nerve to stab her arm with the needle. I made sure it was the one that held the gun.
Her arm jerked. “No. What did you do?” She tried to whirl around but her knees buckled and she fell into Baron.
I grabbed the gun before it fell out of her hand and hit the floor.
“No. This isn’t fair.” She whispered, her voice slurred.
Baron caught her.
“Kain!” I called out.Please God, be out there.
The door flew open with two cops, with Kain and Beckett and Justin behind them.
Baron gently set her on the floor then he stumbled away, and his back hit the wall. He slid down and bowed his head.
“I got him.” Kain pointed at me. He nodded curtly, then he and Justin went to Baron while the cops cuffed the unconscious Irene.
“Sir, please put the gun down,” the Sheriff said calmly.
Surprised it was still in my hands. I crouched and set it down. “Please. Can I go to her?”
The younger deputy rushed forward and used a Ziplock bag to pick up the gun. A fucking gallon bag. What the hell? “We have a lot of questions for you.”
It didn’t matter. Irene would pay for this. For all of this.
I stumbled over to Lennon and drew her into my arms.
She sobbed into my chest. “Griffin.”
“I’m here, I’m here.” I sat down and drew her onto my lap. “It’s over.”
Her fingers gripped my shirt, and her breath was warm on my neck.
She was fine.
She was okay.
Paramedics came in next as I held onto her. They uncuffed Irene and I tensed.
Intellectually, I knew she wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon. She was smaller than Lennon in weight so the drugs should keep her down, but the tiny voice in the back of my head that had watched too many horror movies was screaming, She’s going to get up!
The Sheriff handcuffed one of her hands to the stretcher.
“Is that necessary?” the female paramedic asked.
“Yes,” I said from the couch. “Definitely.”
The older officer glanced at me, then to the younger one. “You ride in the ambulance with them. I want her under watch at the hospital.”
“Are you sure, Hank?”
“I’ll get the details and meet you there, but we want this by the book.”
Then I realized it was the same man that I’d made the report with. At least he was taking our concerns more seriously now.
When the paramedic took Irene away, Hank took a seat and pulled out a small notebook. “Who’s going to tell me what went on here?”
I rocked Lennon. “Hope you’ve got more paper.”
Hank cleared his throat. “Maybe we should go with this instead.” He pulled out a recorder and set it on the coffee table in front of me. “Let’s start from the beginning.”
I recounted the night. Eventually, Baron got up and sat in the other chair near my record player. He added a few things until a picture formed.
Lennon slowly gave her own recount of what happened to her. I held her tighter when she told the cop how Irene had kidnapped her from the taproom parking lot.
God, I’d been right there.
“I should have walked you to your Jeep,” I whispered against her hair.
She gripped my shirt. “Not your fault.”
Baron steepled his fingers, touching his lips, simply staring straight ahead.
Kain stood guard behind the couch and squeezed my shoulder. Justin and Beckett were outside talking on phones. I imagined the news would be all over the orchard by sunrise.
Hank bent forward to stop the recorder. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Me neither,” I said with a hollow laugh. “I need to get her to the hospital.”
“No way.” She sat up. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t know what she gave you.”
Hank checked his “evidence” bag. “It’s got quite the kick, but as long as she doesn’t have any allergies, this should be about out of her system. I’d still advise going to get checked out.”
“Advice not taken.”
“We’ll be in touch, Mr. Ramos, Mr. St. James,” his voice softened, “Miss Hathaway.” Hank gave us a little salute.
I sighed and stood with her. She was a little wobbly, but she was upright.
“I’ll walk him out, ikaika .” Kain’s voice was gruff.
“Did Kain finally give you a Hawaiian nickname?” Lennon grinned up at me.
“I don’t know what it means, but it seems like it.”
“Probably means jackass .” Baron’s voice was little more than a croak.
But we all laughed.
It broke some of the tension in the room.
Beckett stepped through the doorway, his Yankees hat crooked. “Can we please have a little less excitement around here?”
“God, don’t say that out loud,” Justin said from behind him. “Are you out of your mind?”
Lennon laughed and pressed her cheek into my chest. “I could go for a concert, though.”
I stroked my hand down her frayed braid. “You sure about that?”
“Not letting that woman take anything else from us. Period.”
I glanced around the room. “The boss has spoken.”
“After I sleep about eleven hours,” she mumbled into my shirt.
“I think we all could use some of that.” I looked to Baron. “You good?”
“Not really.” He got to his feet. “But I will be.”
“You’ll be here tomorrow?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Baron gave me a ghost of a smile. “Can’t get rid of me that easy again.” He gripped my arm on the way by.
The Starling emptied out. Everyone left, except Kain. He stood at the bottom of our stairs.
Elmer toddled down the stairs to the grass, peed, and came back to lean against Kain’s leg. His tongue rolled out as he smiled up at him.
“Is he really smiling at me?”
“Think it’s a pit bull thing.”
Kain crouched down to give him a good rub. “I’m glad you’re not dead. Especially you, Len.”
“Me too.” I caught a swaying Lennon against me. She gave a sleepy smile to Kain. “Enough excitement for all of us.”
“See you tomorrow, brah .”
My Hawaiian had never been good, but I was pretty sure the word he’d called me earlier had a few meanings. One of them was strength.
“Come on. Let’s go to bed, Elmer.”
He looked after Kain then he hopped up the stairs to us.
I closed the door and kissed the top of Lennon’s head. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
“Let’s not go that far.” She swayed against me.
Instead of letting her argue with me, I scooped her up. “I’m marrying you, you know.”
“You still haven’t asked.”
“I know. Just letting you know I’m going to.”
She rested her head on my shoulder. “I’ll probably say yes.”
I laughed. “Good to know.”