“Jesus, we’re gonna need to nip this shit in the bud.”
“Agreed.” I dragged my hands down my face. “Sorry about the shit I said about Mom.”
“About that,” he said, leaning forward and settling his elbows on his knees.
I watched him closely. My dad was a straight shooter and he tended to tell me more than my siblings, but I could never get a read on what he was thinking by the expressions on his face. He would have made a great poker player, totally unlike Raquel.
“I don’t want to fight, Pops,” I said.
“Me neither, but there’s something you need to know.” He met my eyes. “You think you can stay calm?”
“Jesus, what the fuck?”
My dad sat back again. “That’s a no.”
I sat up and leaned forward, taking a deep breath in an effort to appear calmer than I was. “Tell me.”
Dad dropped his head. “Your mom wasn’t killed by a drunk driver.”
“The cops arrested a guy.”
“I know,” he said.
“Dad, spit it out. Jesus, you’ve come this far.”
“Your mom’s death was a hit. On me.”
I stayed as quiet as I could, my heart in my throat, my blood suddenly running cold.
“Her car had a flat that morning, so she took my truck,” he rasped.
My throat burned with impending tears, the memories from the day of my mother’s death flooding back.
“Who?”
“Kong.”
Kong used to be the Apex Predators’ president, before he disappeared. Six days after he’d gone missing, his burned remains were found deep in the woods.
I swallowed. “How?”
“They followed her from the cabin, ran her off the road, and shot her.”
“They fuckin’ shot her?” I hissed.
“Yeah. There was no way in hell I was telling any of you that at the time. It was hard enough you lost your mom, I didn’t want that visual in your head.”
“But the news would have reported it.”
“We paid off a few people to keep it quiet.” He sighed. “Not sure how much longer we can keep it buried, though. I have it on good authority the Predators are being investigated, and this may come out.”
“Fuck,” I whispered. “Who was the drunk guy at the scene?”
“Some homeless guy they picked up the morning of, drugged, then left in the driver seat of the beater car they had at one of their shops.”
“Kong?”
My dad looked at me and I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t stop him from making his confession. “I made him hurt before I killed him.”
