Chapter 6
Meet the Playroom
Thunder
“Hey,” I mumbled. “We’re here.”
Liz had said nothing from the time she’d awakened from the blackout until now. I didn’t blame her. Gerry’s betrayal was weighing heavily on everyone’s minds, and I could only guess at the level of devastation rolling through hers.
“Tired.” Her eyes flickered as she sighed.
“I know, but we have to get you inside.”
She gave me a weak smile but didn’t shift her feet to exit the car.
“Come here.” I slid my hand underneath her until my fingers grazed her hip on the other side. It would be enough to get a good grip on her before I could adjust my hold. My other hand slid under her knees. “Are you ready?”
She nodded, reaching up to wrap her hands around my neck.
“You know, you’re going to owe me for this.” I tried to make light of the situation, but I only got a slight smile for my effort. “I want at least one round of dominoes and ham sandwiches.” It was our usual afternoon pastime.
“Deal.” She shifted her hands, laying her head against my shoulder.
No one had bothered to call ahead, so when I walked in carrying Liz, the brothers in the main room sprang to attention. They were firing questions at me, at her, at anyone who might have an answer. A high-pitched whistle broke through the chatter, but I kept walking towards Liz’s room.
“My dad’s getting hauled off to the Playroom.
” I hadn’t realized Meredith was behind me until she spoke.
The room emptied quickly. The brothers took off for the front door, running into each other.
“That should keep them occupied for a while.” She followed me into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
“If you sit her in the bathroom, I’ll get her cleaned up. ”
“I can do it,” I pushed. “Shouldn’t you check on your kid?” I didn’t realize how bad that had sounded until I saw the look on Meredith’s face. “It’s not like that,” I tried to explain. “I don’t want to leave her.”
She raised her eyebrow at me, pointing to the ensuite connected. “I’ll help her and then go check on my kid. Dead was on the couch, but he didn’t take off with the rest of them.”
“Already knows what a clusterfuck this is.” It was the best I was going to get.
I sat Liz down, checking on her one last time before moving to the bed.
I was far enough away to give them privacy but close enough that I didn’t feel like I’d left her.
To Meredith’s credit, she chatted Liz’s ear off with funny Pumpkin stories.
“At least you opened Grace’s SUV door quickly. Pumpkin didn’t like the new formula the pediatrician put her on. He thought it would help with the shits, but she threw up all over Grizz.”
I smiled, listening in as Meredith turned the sink on.
It wasn’t much longer before she grabbed Liz’s pajamas that were sitting on the bed.
I watched her bounce back towards the ensuite before she stopped inside the doorway.
She stuck her head out, waiting until she had my attention before saying anything.
“I won’t hold any of this against you.” She shrugged as if none of it mattered, but her eyes told another story.
***
It’d been a long time since I’d seen the walls of the Playroom. I’d put Liz first, but as she was falling asleep, my phone had dinged. It had been Grizz, telling me to get my ass down there when I was ready.
I walked through the door that led from the kitchen, down the stairs, landing in front of the jail cells.
I’d been down here before, but standing at the end of the stairs, every nerve fired in anticipation.
Gerry wasn’t going anywhere. He’d pay for his sins, bitching and moaning the entire way through.
He was a lawyer, not a hardened criminal, and I wondered if we should take bets on how long it would take to break him.
The far door opened, and Pint walked through, whistling. “Grizz wouldn’t let us start until you showed up.” He gave a high-pitched squeal. “Let the games begin.”
I honestly wish I didn’t have to be here, but I wouldn’t back down from this fight. If Gerry had honestly sold Liz, I’d be in the thick of it, but I really wanted to be upstairs with her.
Grizz appeared in front of me as I walked through the door to the Playroom.
“Sabre said not to wait for him. His mind isn’t here.
” We both nodded at each other, knowing we’d make the same call in his shoes.
“Pint set up the tools, but you can’t unleash the beast. Scrub’s not here to make sure that fucking asshole survives extreme pain. ”
They were going to let me take the lead? I’d been a brother longer than a few of them had been alive, but when I hit Wise Man status, I knew my place. I embraced a behind-the-scenes role, acknowledging that my best days were over.
“You’re old, not dead.” Grizz patted me on the arm and went back to sitting on the table next to Pretty. Their feet dangled in sync.
I wanted to tear into Gerry. To hear his screams vibrate through the Playroom, but I didn’t trust myself not to kill him. “You know, VP, Gerry needs a bath. He still has that rehab stink on him.”
“Yes.” Pretty pumped his hands in the air. “I was afraid the torture part of this evening was going to be boring. Everyone loves a good waterboarding. Do we need snacks?”
There was a chorus of groans, and I watched as Wreck swiped his palm across his face.
“I knew I should have grabbed the chips. You’re all lame.” Pretty pouted, kicking the side of Grizz’s boot.
“The only reason you’re not gaining weight is because you’re in the gym almost as much as Count is. Hey, Wreck?” Grizz got his attention before pointing at Pretty. “Your bitch is mouthy, David. Isn’t that what you said to me?”
“How’s sleeping on the couch, Jonathan?” Wreck didn’t back down, but the rest of us went silent, watching the exchange. More and more brothers kept telling Wreck they didn’t care about his relationship with Pretty, but nothing had changed as far as I knew.
“I took a nap, fucker.” Grizz flicked Wreck off, but all I wanted to do was drown Gerry in his own lies.
I hung my club cut on the hook, and by the time I was ready, Pint had the nozzle screwed onto the hose.
“He hasn’t learned fucking shit,” Pint said to me. “Twig said Gerry tried to bribe him the entire way here. Anything he wanted, as long as he let the man go, but you know Twig. He’s loyal. Give’ em hell.” Pint patted my arm and stepped back to lean against the wall next to the other enforcers.
“Are you paying attention?” I didn’t even bother to use Gerry’s name as I tightened my grip on the handle.
“I offered to help Twig bury you in the backyard at Christmas. The only reason you’re still here is because of Sabre, and that generosity has officially run out.
” I squeezed the trigger on the nozzle, spraying Gerry in the face.
His reaction didn’t disappoint. He shook his head back and forth, trying to escape the spray as if he were drowning. It was one quick burst, and if this was a sign of how things were going to go, he was going to fold like a wet blanket.
“I still want to know if he killed his wife,” Grizz said, swinging his legs.
“See, I’ve been thinking about that night.” Pretty slapped his hand against Grizz’s knee. “I think Gerry here wanted to fuck El Sombra Roja, and he got pissed when the big man chose Aunt E instead.”
“How did you come up with that?” Grizz was seriously interested in Pretty’s theory. I thought it was full of shit, but I said nothing as I aimed a few more blows of water at Gerry.
“I told you. I’m good with weird shit.” Pretty shot Wreck a look before he continued. “There’s something intoxicating about breaking a man who denies his own urges.” There was a collective groan. “You’re the bottom, Gerry?”
I shot the water directly at Gerry again before I ripped the tape from lips.
“Motherfucker! Ow!”
“Shut the fuck up. If this makes you holler, you’re going to have a rough night.” I put the piece of tape back over his mouth, rubbed it so that it would stick, and pulled it again.
“What? Afraid a younger man could beat your ass?” he sneered in my direction.
I shot a stream of water into his face, watching him cough. “I was a Marine, and then when I retired from the Corps, I found my way here and prospected. There’s no fucking way in hell I’m afraid of you when I’d square up to any brother in this place.”
“Except Count,” someone helped.
Gerry looked past me at Grizz. “I already told you I didn’t kill my wife.”
“Doesn’t mean I believe you.” Grizz shifted on the table, causing the whole thing to squeak. He leaned over, checking to make sure it wouldn’t collapse, before he crossed his arms over his chest and sat up straight.
“I didn’t. She died in the accident, leaving me with two kids.”
“Do I detect some hostility? Don’t tell me you were a deadbeat husband.” Pretty shook his head, a dejected look on his face.
“He let Liz do everything, and this is the thanks she got.” I squeezed the trigger on the nozzle, letting the water hit him full force. He wiggled in the chair, but the enforcers had strapped him down. There was nowhere to go.
“Did you sell her, fucknuts?” I asked, stopping long enough for him to answer, but when he didn’t, I let the water hit him again. “Just nod when you’re ready to answer. I’ll stand here all night. I don’t give a fuck.”
“Time this shit,” Wreck said to Pint.
“Oh, can we bet on it?” Pretty’s face lit up. “I’m a sucker for a lost cause. $10 says he doesn’t make it two minutes.”
“You already lost,” Pint chuckled, checking his watch. “It’s already been two and a half.”
“Fuck.”
I heard them, but I let their bullshit go in one ear and out the other. My blood simmered into a raging boil the longer Gerry took. “Are you ready to talk?” I asked him.
“It’s been five minutes. Damn, I didn’t think he’d go that long.”
He nodded, and when I turned the pressure down, he sputtered, spitting water out of his mouth and down his shirt, letting it run into the drain at his feet.
“I didn’t sell her.”
“So, what did you do?” I doubted that was the truth. Gerry always had a reason.
“He approached me.”
I made a show of turning the pressure back up to full force, and he quickly stuttered, trying to get his thoughts together.
“He visited me. In the facility. Walked in one night, like he fucking owned the place. Probably did.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Not really. Talked about the past. Asked about Grace—seemed to know about Matt, and then one night, he pressured me about Liz.”
“Talk a little faster. I’ve got an itchy trigger finger.” I hit the button, aiming toward his shoes.
“It was more of a trade. He said he’d restore me to my glory. I’d be lead counsel on his team, making double what I made at the firm. My house would be current.”
“You’re already current. Aunt E has been covering your bills,” Grizz ended on a growl.
“I didn’t…” His lips trembled. “I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t bother to ask nor listen when anyone tried to tell you.”
“He brought papers. Looked like finance documents, and I thought nothing of it when I signed. The last page was an arranged marriage agreement. He’s coming in two weeks to marry her, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. She’s been grieving him for years, so I figured it wouldn’t matter.”