Chapter Twenty #2
“Smart to hide behind the front wheel,” the cop said. “In the movies they always crouch down in the body of the car. Like some flimsy modern car door is gonna stop a bullet.”
These guys weren’t from Navesink Bank. And I also didn’t have my cut on. So no one was putting together the pieces about who I was and what this crime could possibly be about.
Eventually, the cops cleared out, one by one, until it was just us and one cruiser on the street.
“What do we do now?” Carmen asked, voice still quivering, but she was getting some of her spirit back.
“Now, we get anything you need out of the car because the cops are gonna tow it. And then we call for a ride.”
“Okay,” she said, sniffling.
“Croft,” I cut off my brother as he immediately started to try to give me shit.
“What is it?” he asked, voice tight.
“I’m in the lot of that old restaurant with the lobster on the sign near the bridge at the beach. There was a drive-by.”
“What?” he barked. Then, trying to be calmer, “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah. We got lucky. But I want us off the street ASAP.”
“On my way.”
“Not alone,” I clarified.
“No, I’ll have Vas call in the cavalry. Hang tight. Fifteen minutes, give or take.”
“Don’t speed. The place is crawling with cops.”
“Got it.”
I ended that call and immediately made another.
“Miss me already?” Junior answered.
“Tan sedan, two people in the front, black bandanas, no plates.”
“Got it. What’s going on?” I could hear him trying.
“Drive-by.” I gave him the same details I gave my brother, and the cops, and left him to try to do his thing.
“Croft?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Do I have to worry about this?”
“About what?”
“About them finding out that this is the second drive-by involving me?”
“No.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Cops don’t always share information across different departments. Besides, technically, the one at your house would be under Chip’s name, since he made it seem like that was about him. You guys were just witnesses.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have to worry about it?”
“Believe it or not, I have no criminal record. And cops out this way have no idea who I am or what I’m associated with. Besides, we did nothing wrong. This was done to us.”
“Okay.”
“It’s gonna be okay,” I told her, pressing a hand to her cheek. “But I think maybe you and me, we’re gonna be spending more time in the clubhouse for the time being.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, barely able to look at me because her gaze kept scanning the streets, expecting to see the car again, even though we still had a cop parked a few yards away.
I pulled her close, tucking her head under my chin. She was stiff as a board for a moment, but slowly started to melt into me. Until she heard the crunch of rocks under tires as the club SUV pulled into the lot.
“It’s Croft,” I told her, giving her a squeeze before moving her to tuck her at my side as the doors opened.
Cain was behind the wheel and Croft jumped out of the passenger seat to rush toward us.
“You okay?” he asked, looking at us both.
“Yeah. Just… a lot.”
“Yeah, I bet. Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you in the SUV. It’s bullet-resistant.”
“My purse.”
“We got this,” Croft said, giving her a soft smile, but I could see the tension around his eyes. He wanted us off the street and in a controlled environment. I did too.
I opened the back door to find Spike in the third row.
“I’m just going to grab your purse,” I told her as she carefully climbed in, being mindful of her hand, ribs, and ankle all at once.
“Eventful day, huh?” Spike asked her as I moved away.
“Jesus, man,” Croft said, inspecting the driver’s side of the car.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t remind—” I broke off as another car came flying into the lot. Croft’s hand went automatically toward his waist before I grabbed his hand.
“It’s Dad,” I told him as our father flew out of the driver’s seat and rushed up. But his pace slowed as he eyed the car, then looked at me, something horrified in his gaze.
His arm went around me as soon as he was close.
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“By pure luck,” he said, voice rough. “That fucking car.”
And he didn’t even know about the other drive-by yet.
It looked like I had a lot to bring the club in on.
But not out here in the open.
“Let’s get back to the club,” I said. “Carmen is freaked out.”
“Who is Carmen?” my father asked, brows pinching.
“His girlfriend,” Croft piped in.
I shot him a ‘you’re not helping’ look.
“Questions you can ask me at the club,” I said, reaching into the car to grab Carmen’s purse. “We gotta get out of here,” I added, nodding my head toward the cop, who was now watching us a lot more closely.
“Yeah. I’ll follow.”
With that, we got back into our cars and I reached to put an arm around Carmen’s shoulders.
“How resistant are bullet-resistant SUVs?” she asked.
“Pretty damn resistant,” I assured her. “And we will be on the move.”
“What about the clubhouse? How resistant is that?”
“It’s a cinderblock building,” I told her. “And the gate will be closed, so no one can get close. But if you want super safe, we can crash in the basement or the glass room.”
The car pulled out of the lot and headed toward the bridge.
“How would a glass room help?” she asked, frowning at me.
“That’s not normal glass,” I told her. “That is government weapons contractor glass. It could withstand basically every bullet.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, relaxing against me as she realized she could sleep safely, no matter who was coming for me or her.
“You guys don’t need to be looked over?” Spike asked from the backseat.
“No. We’re not hit. We got lucky.”
The drive back to the clubhouse felt like it took forever. When we got there, the lot was full and people were parked on the grass—likely giving Perish a heart attack.
“What’s going on?” Carmen asked.
“One of us almost getting shot triggers church.”
“Church?”
“A meeting among the club members. Usually only the active club members, but—”
“But you’re their son and nephew.”
“Exactly. Don’t worry. No one is going to be questioning you. I’ll be the one in the hot seat.”
“That’s not fair. We don’t know if this is about you or me.”
“No, we don’t. But I know all the answers you have, so I can handle this. I know the whole club can be intimidating. There’s no need to stress you out.”
She looked conflicted but rested her head on my shoulder. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I said, squeezing her thigh as Cain backed into the garage. We waited for the door to slide shut before we climbed out.
I pulled Carmen close as we followed Croft and Cain through the door. The rumble of male voices died out as soon as everyone spotted us, making Carmen tense up again.
“Just give me a minute,” I told them, nodding my head toward Carmen.
“I should be out there with you. Some of them looked kind of angry.”
“If they are, it’s just because I have obviously been keeping things from everyone. It’s not personal. Trust me, I can handle it. This is my family. Even if it gets loud, trust me, I’m good.”
“Okay,” she agreed, dropping down on the bed.
“I know this is probably pointless advice to give, all things considered, but try to relax, okay? Maybe text your sister or something. Or put some stupid show on.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll be back in a few.”