“What the fuck?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. Tell me, Kruger, does your woman know you’ve been fucking Lilac on the side?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shove the photos back at him, but my mind is running a mile a minute.
“Oh, please. She’s been whoring herself to your club for years. Don’t try to bullshit me and tell me you haven’t sunk your prick inside her. Because I know differently.”
“I think we’re done here.” I stand up just as he opens his coat. I freeze when he smiles victoriously. My eyes move over the contraption strapped to his chest and hiss.
Speaking loud enough that Toot will hear, I snap at him. “You’re wearing a fucking bomb. Are you insane?”
“I figure your woman escaped one once before. Perhaps she’ll get lucky and escape once again. But only if you tell me what I want to know.”
“Fuck you. You blow that thing up and we all die.”
“And Lilac will know it was her fault. She might be a whore, but she’s far from dumb. She’ll have to live with more blood on her hands, and still my client will keep coming for her.”
“Who is your client?” I grit out.
“I already told you. I can’t release that information. He doesn’t give a fuck about any of you. He just wants his wife back. If the only way to get her back is to start picking you all off one by one, then so be it.”
“And you’re willing to risk yourself for this prick?”
“If necessary. He’s paying me enough money to keep my children’s-children’s-children wealthy for a very long time.”
“Lil’s been missing for months. We’ve been looking for her and we can’t find a fucking trace. I guess at least now we know why she ran.”
“Hmm...perhaps my client tipped his hand too soon. He does tend to get a little exuberant when it comes to her.” He gets to his feet and brushes the sleeve of his jacket as if the red blinking numbers on his chest aren’t counting down to zero.
“I suggest you find her and find her fast because my client is getting annoyed. And when he gets annoyed, he tends to…dabble in people’s lives. Tell me, Kruger, how’s that boy your woman took a shining to? Back at home with his pathetic excuse for a mother, right? I don’t know why the courts in this country always favor the whore over the provider. No worries,I remedied that. Two hundred forty thousand might be a lot to trailer trash, but it’s a drop in the ocean to my client.” He walks toward the door, pausing with his hand on it before he turns to look at my confused expression. “Sorry, I should have dumbed it down for you, shouldn’t I?” He yanks the door open before grinning. “Bail was set and paid in full a few hours ago. Oh, to be a fly on the trailer wall. I’ll be in touch.”
He strolls outside, closing the door behind him as he whistles a tune like he doesn’t have a care in the world. I yank the door open, gun in my hand, and aim at the truck as Toot thunders down the stairs.
The truck pulls out of the driveway and speeds off. As much as I want to shoot, I can’t. I have no idea what the blast range on that thing is, but I know the neighbors have at least two stay-at-home moms with kids living here. I can’t take that risk.
“What the fuck was that, Kruger?”
I turn to look at him before it hits me like a brick. “That motherfucker posted bail for Josh Milton. He’s going home. He’s going after Theo.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
DELPHI
It’s beentwo weeks since Theo left, and I still feel like I’m missing a limb.
I’ve texted him every day, trying to keep things light. This is hard enough on him as it is. Greer mentioned the judge preferring previous foster parents not to get involved because it can muddy the waters, but I wasn’t explicitly told to leave him alone. I refuse to abandon him. The judge can suck my proverbial dick. Does he have any idea what damage that could do to a kid who already has abandonment issues? I never outright asked, but I assume this judge is a fucking man with the emotional depth of a bowl of soup.
I let Theo know he was welcome to stop by The Book Nook anytime he wanted, reminding him it was a great study place for him and his friends now that the library was closed. I need him to know he’s welcome, without forcing his hand. He’d come when he was ready. I had to accept that. However hard on me all this is, it was a million times harder on Theo. Every time he came back for a visit, it would be tainted with the knowledge hewould have to go back. So I sucked it up, pasted on a smile, and pretended everything was normal.
I kissed Kruger on the cheek each morning and went to work. I served my customers with a smile and a wink. But inside I was numb, stuck in limbo, while I waited for the other shoe to drop.
Every day, I fought the urge to slip out of work for an hour and sit in front of the trailer, watching the comings and goings to make sure Theo was safe. Not that I thought Diane would be dumb enough to let her dealer come to her, with CPS doing frequent unannounced spot checks, but the unease that sat heavily on my chest had little faith in the woman who so easily threw her son to the wolves. Every day that I waited for news, either that Diane had finally stepped up or that she had fucked things up again, I felt my sanity slip.
I needed to be ready in case everything went tits up, but I also couldn’t stop living while I waited. It wasn’t fair to Kruger or the life we were building. Therefore, instead of going home when I finished today, I was going to the clubhouse for a little while and surprise him there. I’d been spending less time at the clubhouse, mostly because I was busy with the store, but it’s also hard to pretend I’m okay when a crowd of people are watching my every mood. I realized, though, that I was reverting to old habits.
A text on my phone has me picking it up and frowning. “I thought you had a meeting?” I mutter as I open the text and see it’s a video.
Before I can look at it, Con appears in the doorway. He grins at me, then laughs when I get up and hurry around the desk for a hug.
