I glare at the girl. “My kid respects women, doesn’t hit ‘em. But that don’t mean he has to take your shit.”
Fleming’s eyes darken. “Her shit! Henri’s come home in tears more than once thanks to your kid.”
Henri gasps. “I have not! He can’t make me cry!” Her face is red and her eyes blink rapidly as she protests.
Mrs. Summers slams her hand down on the desk. “Shut up! All of you!” She leans toward me and Fleming. “Mr. Brody, Mrs. Fleming?—”
“It’s Ms.,” Fleming interrupts through gritted teeth.
“What?” I say.
“It’s Ms. I’d never chain myself to a controlling asshole who watches TV all day burping and farting.”
Oscar coughs out a laugh.
“Jesus!” Mrs. Summers swears. “Might I have your attention for five bloody minutes!” Her dark eyes sear us.
I’m catapulted back in time. Same school. Same office. Different principal, but same glare. Fuck.
Her lecture lasts several minutes more than five, then she demands we all leave the school grounds. Her parting words are, “I don’t want to see the four of you back here until you all learn to get along!”
We stumble out of the building into the bright sunlight, separating like we’re East and West Germany after the war.
“Well shit!” Fleming exclaims as she paces up to the Toyota. She yanks open the door and snaps, “Brambles, out.”
A German Shepherd jumps out and pads across the pavement to a tree, lifts his leg and pees like he’s been holding it since Christmas.
“Let me the fuck out of here, you dumb bitch!” the guy in the backseat yells.
His nasal voice sounds familiar so I peer into the car. Jesus fuck! It’s Sadie, an enforcer with the Blackbeards and one of the most sadistic sonsofbitches I’ve ever encountered. “What are you doing with that asshole in your car?”
Fleming turns to me. “What do you think? He’s my payday.”
“Your what?”
She narrows her eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m a bail bondsperson. He jumped bail, I tracked him down.”
That explains her appearance. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”
She snorts a laugh. “He’s lucky he’s not choking on his balls.” She jerks her head towards the front seat. “Henri, get in.”
I can’t fuckin’ believe my ears. “Are you kidding me! You’re not seriously gonna put your kid in the same car as that asshole.”
She looks at the asshole in question. “Not really a thing I like to do, but how else am I going to get her home?”
Holy shit. This woman is 20 kinds of crazy. “I’ll take her.”
“Thanks, dad,” Oscar says drily. “And how am I supposed to get home?”
The kid has a point. “You can handle yourself. You go with Fleming.”
“What?” all three say.
“You misogynist pig,” Fleming sputters. “What makes you think your kid is gonna be any better at handling the situation than mine?”
“It’s got nothing to do with her being a girl.” My throat hurts from talkin’ so much. “Oscar knows the ways of the MC. Knows how to handle a fuck like Sadie.”
Fleming’s eyes go wide as she waves her hands in the air. “Oh my god! Go away! Go away! Go away!”
