Chapter 15
Setting the Trap
Thunder
I followed Grizz as we walked through the door that led to the cells in the basement. Sabre didn’t need to say it out loud. No one wanted to risk their relationship over Gerry’s blood. It was easier to let him find his own fate.
Sabre stopped in front of Gerry’s cell, hanging his arms through the bars. Grizz shifted to the other side of him, and I got my first look. Gerry was lying on the bed, staring into space. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the three of us. Sabre waited, his posture relaxed, but this was a front.
I didn’t feel like playing these dumbass games.
I wanted to get back upstairs and make sure Liz was all right.
When I’d left for church, the girls had surrounded her, lying on our bed, with the kids between them.
It should have been me consoling my wife, and I was stuck down here.
Turning around, I checked on the kid instead.
Kyle wasn’t a prisoner, and we hadn’t bothered locking his cell.
He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and I didn’t want to wake him.
Scrub must have hooked up an IV before he left because the tubing was sticking out of the kid’s arm.
As I stared at him, his eyes slit open. “Hi,” he whispered to me before taking in the backs of the other men.
“Hi.” I winced at how loud my voice was. “How are you holding up?”
He tried to shrug, but he was so thin, he winced at the movement. “I’m grateful for the help.”
I didn’t want to spin sunshine and rainbows up his ass.
We didn’t know this kid, and while he wanted to be clean today, tomorrow could be another story.
I shouldn’t have been so pessimistic, but I’d seen some shit, especially through my drug-running years, and until this kid proved himself, I was going to treat him like any other prospect. “Where are you from?”
“Sunset Farms.”
“No shit? I know where that’s at.”
“Why? No one voluntarily visits unless they’re up to no good.” His nose crinkled as he watched me, the suspicion obvious.
“I saw a woman over there for a while, but I fucked it up.” Shifting my feet, I leaned against the wall and shook my head.
“She told people she was my Old Lady, so I set her straight and cut it off.” I had a past, and if Liz asked, I’d tell her.
I had nothing to hide from my wife, but there were some things I doubted she would want to know.
“Seriously? What year was this?” Grizz laughed, and the kid was cracking a smile.
“Don’t worry about it. My dick still works just fine.” I smiled, not caring about the teasing, as long as it relaxed the kid.
“You let him marry Liz? My Liz?” Gerry yelled at Sabre. I couldn’t read the expression on Sabre’s face from here.
“She seems to think he’s a good husband.” Sabre laughed, looking over his shoulder. Some of that was probably the truth, but he was goading Gerry. “Grizz sucks.”
“Asshole,” Grizz laughed.
“Well, I’m not much better, knocking your daughter up without a ring. Oops.”
Gerry sat up, sitting sideways on the bed. His profile faced us as he watched the wall in front of him. “You’ve ruined my girls,” he spat.
“I’m tired of hearing that. ‘My girls.’ You fuckers forget they’re grown women.”
Amen, brother. I was tired of hearing it, too. It just dismissed their talents when they were smart and capable.
Gerry’s head snapped in Sabre’s direction. “You talked to Alex.”
“How come you don’t call him El Sombra Roja?” Sabre asked, not bothering to confirm the phone call from earlier.
“Why would I? The only reason that fucker didn’t go to jail is because of me, and this is the thanks I get. A cartel boss’s son popping cars? Dumb.”
“That’s how this all started?” Grizz jumped into the conversation.
“Yes. Tried to be anyone else but the heir apparent.”
“No shit,” Grizz said, sharing a look with Sabre. “I would have never thought…What did Wreck say? ‘The most dangerous man south of the border?’ Needed you to get out of a grand larceny charge.”
I wanted to rile Gerry up. I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted to watch him lose his shit so that when Sabre threw him out on his ass, he’d have his anger to keep him warm at night.
“Oh, shit,” I said, the smirk on my face showing I was up to no good.
“Hey, Gerry, my kid is going to be your girls’ cousin.
That’ll be some hell of an age gap in the family tree.
” I waited, watching for the reaction I desperately wanted, and he didn’t disappoint.
He ran up to the bars and stuck his arms as far as he could reach, as if he was trying to fight me. “You sick motherfucker. Don’t touch her. Don’t even think about sticking your dick in her. Liz has always been mine. You get that? M-I-N-E.”
I couldn’t hold in my laughter, but it wasn’t funny. The sound bounced off the tiles of the jail, and I caught the kid sticking his fingers in his ears to escape the noise. “She’s actually mine. My wife. I’ll do whatever the fuck I please.”
“Ugh, this is scarring me, almost as bad as the time we walked in on your parents,” Grizz said to Sabre, shuddering.
Sabre’s shoulders shook as he tried not to burst out laughing.
He probably thought this would have gone in a different direction.
“I’m done,” he said to Gerry. “I’m tired of opening my door to you, and you repay us by putting my woman in danger.
Once, maybe, but this is a continual pattern with you.
” He turned his head and yelled towards the hallway for the enforcers.
“I want to know one thing.” The words left my mouth before I could catch them. It was too late, and I went for it. “Did Madalyn pass away as payment for your crimes?”
“Yes.” Grizz snapped his fingers. “I still think this motherfucker killed his wife.”
“How many times do I have to tell you fucks? It was an accident.” Gerry’s face turned red.
“Was it made to look like an accident?” I wasn’t sure I believed his story, but if he was ever going to crack, now was the time.
Gerry fell to his knees. His face was still red, but tears poured down his cheeks. “She was so mad at me,” he sobbed. “I’d fucked up again. Madalyn was so mad.”
“So that’s where Meredith gets it.” Grizz leaned against the bars, crossing his arms over his chest. “What did you do?”
“I lost a stupid bet at the firm, and I couldn’t afford to take the other lawyers out for a fancy dinner.
They didn’t have families, so I told them my wife would take care of the meal.
” Gerry sobbed harder, his head hanging low.
“The cartel was supposed to grab Liz from her house, but she wasn’t there.
She was at my house while Madalyn went to the store. ”
“Why does that matter?” I pushed, not really believing the story. I knew some of it, like how Madalyn had called Liz to babysit, but I wasn’t putting the pieces together quickly enough.
“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t invited them over, Madalyn would have been home. Liz wouldn’t have been at my house. They would have grabbed the right woman.” Another sob escaped. “They looked so much alike.”
“They killed Madalyn because she looked like Liz?” I didn’t think the cartel was that stupid, but I’d known plenty of people in the military who had shot first and asked questions second.
“They saw her as she left the grocery store. Didn’t think twice and ran her off the road. Died on impact.” He fell forward, lying on the concrete. “My Madalyn.”
“They looked too much alike for you to take the chance—emotionally,” Sabre commented dryly. “I always wondered why you were so flustered when Aunt E stood up to you the night Grace left. It was too much, huh?”
“I miss my wife,” Gerry mumbled.
Twig opened the cell, and with Berry’s help, hauled Gerry to his feet. They had his belongings from the rehab facility, and the plan had been to drop Gerry off at a hotel with a little money. It was somber as they dragged him past us, his sobs very real as the tears soaked the collar of his shirt.
What the fuck are we going to tell the girls?