Chapter 19 – Ink
INK
“What did Bill Woods do to your sister?” I asked once we were on my mother’s front porch.
Silas swallowed thickly and glanced at his car. “I know your mom said you could help, but I don’t know you, and these guys could mess things up for me and my sister. I don’t have money or parents who will help me. We’re barely making it, and don’t need additional problems.”
“Will Woods was my sister’s dealer. He pulled a gun on me in a crowded diner in the middle of the day last year.
I disarmed him, pressed charges, and sent him to jail.
Ran into his brother Willy at a party a few weeks ago.
Willy and his buddies drugged our president’s daughter and granddaughter, presumably to rape them.
We beat the shit out of them and put them in the hospital.
It sounds like we need to get rid of that whole fucking family and their friends,” Dice said.
“So you know about the parties?”
“We know about that party, but we haven’t been able to confirm any other parties,” I said.
“Bill and Billy invited my sister to the party they’re having during spring break.”
“That’s what the fight was about?” Dice asked.
“Yes,” Silas confirmed. “I didn’t mean for it to turn into a fight. Honestly, I didn’t think he would have the balls to take a swing at me. I’m almost twice his size. He caught me off guard, and that’s how I fell on Ms. Manning.”
“You don’t need to keep explaining yourself to us,” I told him. “We know you didn’t hurt my mom on purpose.”
“So, when is this party?” Dice asked.
“Thursday,” Silas answered.
“Do you know where?” Dice continued.
“No,” Silas shook his head. “They have three houses they use for parties, but I don’t know which one they’ll be at for this party.”
“Do you know where the three houses are?” I asked.
“Not exactly, but I know what area they’re in,” he said nervously.
“We can work with that,” I said.
After Silas told us where he thought the houses were, I called Phoenix to tell him what we’d learned.
“I see,” Phoenix said calmly. Too calmly. “We’ll decide how at church tomorrow, but we’ll handle it. You said the boy takes care of his sister. Do they need protection?”
“Probably. He mentioned being concerned because the other kid got arrested and he didn’t. Then he specifically said he didn’t have money or parents to help deal with extra problems. I watched him try to decide who was less of a threat—us or the wank stains.”
“Fuck that. Offer them rooms at the clubhouse. They can stay together or in adjacent rooms. I’ll send Diesel and Flint to your mom’s to escort Silas to get his sister. If there’s an issue with the parents, I’ll take care of it.”
“Got it.”
“Are you keeping your girls with you?” he asked.
“Yes, and Mom too, though none of them know that yet.”
“It might be a good idea for you guys to be out of town when shit goes down next week. Is that a possibility with Presley’s job?”
“Yes. She’s off next week, but I don’t think she has anything planned.”
“Talk to her about it and see if she’d be willing to enjoy a few days away on the club’s dime.”
“I’ll mention it, but I can already tell you she won’t let you pay for it if she agrees to go.”
“I’m sure we can find a creative way around that,” he said. “We can work out the details tomorrow during church. Give me a call back if anything else comes up.”
“Will do. Thanks, Prez.”
I pulled Dice to the side and told him the plan. For the sake of time, he talked to Silas while I went inside to update the girls.
“What did he tell you?” Mom asked as soon as I stepped inside.
“I thought you couldn’t hear certain things.”
“I can’t hear them from the source. If you tell me, it’s hearsay.”
“I think it’s best if I tell you both a simplified, generalized version,” I said.
“Through no fault of their own, Silas and his sister have caught the attention of some problematic folks in town. As such, they are going to spend spring break at the clubhouse. And since the fight can be linked to the two of you and Ariel, Phoenix suggested you stay at the farm tonight.”
“Hold on. Did you say Ariel and I are linked to the fight?” Presley asked.
“I did.”
“How?”
“Silas got into a fight with Willy Smith’s brother Bill because Bill and their younger sister Billy invited Silas’s sister to a party next week,” I said. “Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“Yes, I do,” Presley said as she crossed her arms aggressively. “Y’all gonna do something about that, right?” She demanded with a twang I’d never heard her use before. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand. “My southern slips out when I’m pissed. We don’t talk about it.”
“Are we in the room with us?” I laughed. “Because I will talk about it.”
“Shut up, son,” Mom stage-whispered.
“As much as I would love to watch you keep digging that hole, we need to get moving,” Dice said from the front door.
“You’re right,” I agreed, turning to my mom. “I’ll pack an overnight bag for you. Do you need anything other than the usual?”
“Just my new medications and my handy-dandy butt pillow,” she said, causing Silas to chuckle from behind Dice. “If you tell anyone about that—”
“I won’t,” he promised.
By the time we were ready to leave, Flint and Diesel had arrived, as well as Carbon, putting me instantly on alert.
“Hey, man,” I said. “We weren’t expecting you. Did something happen?”
“Yeah, something happened,” Carbon said harshly. “Those little shit stains didn’t heed their gracious warning. I’ve volunteered to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“Appreciate it, brother.”
“It’s not just for you,” he said darkly. “My daughter goes to that school.”
“That’s right. Isn’t she the one who set the lab on fire?” I asked, as if I wasn’t there.
He grinned, as I’d hoped. “Yes, she did.”
Dice honked the horn. “We’re waiting on you!”
“Catch y’all tomorrow,” I said and hurried to my ride.
Dice took me and Presley to her house before taking Mom to my house. “Did we know Shaker was standing in the bushes on the side of Presley’s house like a creep?” Dice asked as he pulled into her driveway.
“No,” Presley and I said at the same time.
Shaker motioned me over as soon as I got out. “Phoenix filled me in. I didn’t want to scare the kids, but I didn’t want to leave them unaware and unprotected.”
“So they don’t know you’re here?”
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way,” he said and nodded his head toward the house. “Jake.”
“Ah, gotcha.” He didn’t want it to seem like he thought Jake couldn’t protect Ariel, especially in front of her.
“Give me a few minutes to get gone before you let Jake clear out,” he said. “Unless you need me to hang around.”
“Nah, you’re good, but I’ll probably have Jake hang around until we leave,” I said. “It feels weird to say that to you.”
“He’s a prospect.”
“But you’re his father.”
“And I know he’s a prospect.”
“It’s still weird,” I said.
Shaker laughed. “Call or text if you need anything.”
“Thanks, man,” I said and walked back to the SUV where Dice, Presley, and Mom were waiting.
“Don’t say anything about Shaker being here.
I’ll explain later,” I told Presley as I helped her out.
“Mom, Dice will help you inside when you get to my house. Make yourself comfortable and make him get you whatever you need until I get there.”
She laughed. “I’ll be fine. I love you, son. Be careful.”
I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I love you, too. See you soon.”
With that, Presley and I walked to the front door and went inside. “Mom!” Ariel jumped up and ran to hug her. “How’s Ms. Manning?”
“She’s going to be okay, but a lot of other stuff came to light tonight that I don’t have time to explain right now. We’re going to spend the night at Ink’s, so I need you to pack a bag for overnight. I’ll fill you in on everything else once we’re finished here.”
“Okay, but I don’t want to leave Sir Pickles here alone if you think something’s wrong. And I know something’s wrong,” Ariel said.
“He’ll be okay for the night,” Presley said. “We’ll lock the doors and set the alarm.”
“I still don’t want to leave him,” Ariel said softly.
“I can stay!” Jake blurted. “I mean, I can sleep on the couch to keep an eye on Sir Pickles and the house. If that’s okay.”
“Mom?” Ariel asked.
“It’s fine with me if it is with you,” Presley said and looked at me.
I looked at Jake. “Text Phoenix and run it by him, but it’s cool with me.”
Presley and Ariel packed quickly and were ready to go within ten minutes. Ariel thanked Jake repeatedly, hugging him each time.
“Are we ignoring that?” I asked Presley.
“We are tonight,” she said and held up her keys. “Do you want to drive?”
I pressed my hand against my chest. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“I shouldn’t have to ask,” Presley said and stuck out her tongue.
“Give me the keys, woman,” I said, holding out my hand.
“If the old people could stop flirting and unlock the doors, the child would be happy,” Ariel said loudly.
“Right. Let’s go,” I said and unlocked the doors.
“Okay, what stuff came to light?” Ariel asked as soon as I pulled out of the driveway.
“The boy that Silas got into a fight with, Bill Woods. Do you know him?” Presley asked.
“I know who he is, but I don’t know him. Why?”
“Silas got into a fight with Bill because he and his sister invited Silas’s sister to one of their brother’s parties.”
“Who’s their brother?” Ariel asked.
“Willy Smith,” Presley said.
“Well, that explains why Silas wanted to kick Bill’s ass,” Ariel said. “But what does that have to do with us spending the night at Ink’s?”
“It’s just a precaution,” Presley assured her. “But you and I are loosely linked to the fight because of the party. And we’re also linked to it because of my relationship with Ink.”
Relationship. She said it so casually. I reached for Presley’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
She flashed me a soft smile before she returned her attention to Ariel.
“Well, we’ll still be linked to the fight tomorrow, so what’s the plan after tonight?” Ariel asked.