Chapter 26
Grant
The Damage
Motherfuckin’ Dodds.
I should’ve shot both of them when they were tryin’ to take Sophia. I was practically shootin’ myself in the foot by not, and now, my shop looked more trashed than the day I signed the lease for it.
“There. Right there.” Carver pointed at the computer screen in the security closet.
“Rewind.” I rewound the tape, then inched it forward a few seconds at a time until a beam of light flashed on the dumpster.
Carver and I squinted at the screen, watching the light fade before black began to coat the lens they’d spraypainted over.
“Motherfucker!” I slammed my fist on the desk. “That’s the third one.”
“Seems like they got a lil smarter.”
I scoffed. “Or had some help. Does it line up with your cameras?”
Carver rubbed his knuckles along his jaw. “The time is only an hour different. Could be them goin’ around, drunk off their ass all night.” I ground my molars together, wanting to break their faces in. “Rewind it back to the light, see if we can freeze it right before it fades away.”
“Yeah, yeah. Was goin’ to.” I froze in shorter intervals, watching the light come into view. “Shit.” I froze it right as a shadow ran by the light. “Are those…”
“Curves?”
“Was gonna say tits, but yeah.”
Carver pressed his palms to the desk and leaned forward, his fingers tapping along wood as he stared at the screen. “Could be the sister.”
“Della?” I smacked my teeth and leaned back, then buried my face in my hands. “She might be the smartest one out of all of ’em. And she probably took note of where every camera was when I hooked up with her.”
Carver’s brow ticked up. “Told you to stay away from her.”
“Yeah, well, you see the choices we have in this town. Plus, I knew it’d piss off the three Stooges.”
He turned and leaned against the desk. “Does Sophia know?”
“Yep. Gave her a list with names of every one-night stand I’d had, their birthdates, phone numbers—” I dropped the sarcastic tone I was using. “Fuck no, I did not tell Sophia I slept with the worst person in this town. Did you tell Lyra about every girl you brought home before she came back?”
“Good point.” Carver popped a toothpick in his mouth, making me wish I had my dip. My stress levels were skyrocketing, and the only thing I wanted to do was take Sophia back home so I could take her to bed. Several times. “Lyra told me she’s supposed to be gettin’ married soon.”
I let out a long exhale. “Was supposed to.”
“She tell you she isn’t anymore?”
I pressed my tongue to my cheek and glared at him. “No.”
“Sounds like you’ve got yourself in a lot of shit lately.”
My glare deepened. “You call Hayes yet?”
Carver scrolled through his phone and tapped on the screen, putting it on speaker. The line rang a few times before Hayes finally picked up. “Mornin’.”
“Need you down at Devil’s Den. Shop was broken into and vandalized last night,” I said, cutting right to the chase.
“Shit,” Hayes muttered, the sounds of shuffling picking up. “Where’s Tallie?”
“She better be at home in bed safely since I told you to stay there and keep an eye on her.” A slamming sound broke through the phone, then more shuffling, like Hayes had started running.
“You told him to watch her while you were gone?” Carver murmured.
I shrugged. “Yeah. Seemed the most plausible since you’re married now and he lives right next door.”
Carver did a weird, side-to-side nod. “Alright. Sure.”
My sister’s voice, ruthless and loud, cut through the phone. “Go to hell, Hayes. I’m not in the mood for whatever the fuck you have to say this time.”
“Your brother’s on the phone.”
“Great, tell him I have a cellphone and don’t need his hound to stick himself to me like fuckin’ glue.”
Hayes’ deep breath into the phone crackled the speaker. “Tallie, listen. The shop was—”
I leaned forward and pressed the end call button.
“Don’t need to hear them fight for ten more minutes before heading here.
Matter-of-fact, I’ll text him and tell him to meet up at your house.
Don’t need to stay here much longer, anyhow.
” I looked past the closet door at the mess.
“Can’t think of where to start on clean-up when I want to start by smashing my bat into every Dodd I see. ”
“You think her brothers helped?”
“I’m sure they fuckin’ did. All four of ’em need to be dealt with.”
Carver gave a single nod before the crunching of glass drew our attention out of the closet. “Just us!” Farrah hollered. “Ah, fuck right the fuck off! My new gun is in pieces.”
“You guys talk to Henry yet?” Sophia and Lyra stepped cautiously over the glass, looking over the mess as Carver and I left the security closet.
Carver glanced at me before shaking his head at Lyra. “No. Haven’t seen him yet.”
“Huh.” Lyra dragged her hand through her hair. “Well, maybe he’s still writing in that notepad.”
More glass crunched beneath heavy boots as Henry’s voice rang out in greeting through my desecrated business.
I couldn’t focus on that, because Sophia was knelt by some binders of previous work I’d done, dusting the glass off with her delicate fingers.
I rushed over to join her, not wanting her to get hurt by the shards.
“They ruined all of this,” she whispered, flipping through a few pages and running her hand down a piece I’d done a few months back. “I hope you caught them. I hope they get what’s comin’.”
I looked over my shoulder at Carver as he talked to Henry before leading him to the security closet. When I turned back to Sophia, she was cleaning off the chair I’d sit in while I worked, looking at all the damage. “I think what we have is enough to go askin’ questions.”
She scoffed. “You know, all my dad would have to do is point a finger, and that would be the person to blame. Really, him or any man in our social circles.”
“Never needed money to get my point across.” I started cleaning off the stand beside her. “They’ll get what’s comin’, whether I see to it, or Alliston Springs does.”
“I know.” Her lips folded in as she took in more of the destruction—shattered mirrors, busted down bathroom door, lights hanging by wires along the back.
I’d been through some hard times, and if this was the Dodds tryin’ to tell me to get out of Alliston, then they didn’t know who they were fucking with.
Sophia pressed the back of a hand beneath her nose. I crouched in front of her, taking both of her hands as I looked into blue, watery eyes. “I hope you’re not about to cry for me, darlin’.”
“I just…I don’t know how someone could come after you with so much hate.”
I smirked. “Comin’ from the woman who angled a gun toward me after I took her out for tacos, I think we’ve made progress.”
She smiled, then smacked my chest. “I still wanna shoot you.”
“Not as badly as you wanna fuck me, I bet.” Her eyes glinted as I brushed the few fallen strands from her shoulder. “Did you like being my good fuckin’ girl last night with your hands tied behind your back?”
“Grant!” she whisper-shouted, glancing around the shop, checking to see if anyone could hear.
“I heard that,” Farrah muttered across the room, pointing at the ceilings. “Still has an echo over here.”
Sophia’s face turned red. I kissed her cheek before pulling her up. “Think we’re gonna head out.”
“Gee, wonder why,” Farrah replied. “Lyra and Carver are still talking to Henry, so I’m just gonna go get some drinks and call some friends to help clean this up. Turn it into a party. In exchange, I’m accepting a waived chair rental for the rest of the year.”
“Sounds like a deal,” I answered, taking Sophia’s hand. “Tell Carver and Lyra we’re heading to their house and will wait for ’em. My sister and Hayes should be there soon.”
“Give those Dodds hell,” Farrah said, winking at both of us.
Walking back to the truck, Sophia asked, “Shouldn’t we be stayin’ with them?”
“Nah. Henry and Carver have better history.”
“Been arrested by the Sheriff of Alliston Springs?” she quipped, smirking at me as I opened the door for her.
“’Course. But Henry has a soft spot for Carver that he doesn’t have with me or Hayes.
Somethin’ about him playin’ poker with his folks when Carver was younger.
” I rounded the truck and hopped in. Sophia was twisting her fingers in her lap, looking pensively through the window. “Got somethin’ else on your mind?”
“Lots.” She smiled softly and unfurled her fingers as I reached for her hand. “But I think I don’t wanna think too hard on it all right now.”
Something heavy, like stones, sank to my gut, but I nodded and started up the truck.
It was quiet for a few minutes. The windows were down, letting the warm, sticky air settle around us as I drove toward the Roland’s.
I guessed the silence was getting to Sophia too, because she was back to messin’ with her unoccupied hand in her lap.
“Grant?” she said so low, I thought I was imagining it.
I swallowed, hoping she wasn’t about to drop a bomb between us. Hoping she wasn’t about to say she’d had enough. “Peach?”
“If you could’ve done one thing different in your life, what would it be?”
I pursed my lips as my mind raced. I didn’t think she’d be askin’ that. It was almost a relief to think of all the stupid shit I’d done, but really only one thing came to my mind. “I’d have made you stay that first night rather than wait two whole months for you to come back.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.” My eyes slid to hers. “Think of all the fun we’d’ve had by now.” She smiled as I squeezed her hand. “What about you?”
Sophia swept her tongue over her bottom lip, her thumb rubbing circles on my hand. It felt nice. It felt like I never wanted to let her go.
“I’d have stayed.”