“Thanks. Now go in.”
“There’s water in the office fridge…”
“I’ll get it,” Brody said, jogging off.
“Thanks,” Jimmy murmured.
Quinn was pretty sure it had nothing to do with water. “I need to go check on Aaron.”
“Don’t…don’t let him kill Henderson.”
The words surprised Quinn enough that he didn’t know what to say.
“Here,” Brody came back and tossed a couple of bottles of water on the closest mattress.
Jimmy lowered himself on the mattress and leaned his head to the wall. Then he went quiet.
Brody shrugged and Quinn closed the door, leaving Jimmy in the light of one dangling bulb on the ceiling.
“What a shitty place,” Brody spat out. “Trafficking?”
“Yup. I need to take care of Aaron. Can you go get my badge from that compartment in my car and bring the cell that’s there?” He needed his ID for whenever the cavalry arrived. And he needed to call Day, or someone up the food chain anyway, right the fuck now.
“Yeah, sure. By the way, Aaron has your backup gun.” Brody jogged off toward his side of the road.
Quinn winced. Possibilities ran through his mind. What could happen here, how he could spin this. Jimmy wouldn’t say anything, he’d be mute right up until they were figuring out how to put him away and then he’d sing arias if they pressed a little.
He got to the cruiser just in time to see Aaron holding a gun to his uncle’s head. Thinking quickly, he tried to diffuse the worst of the situation, but it didn’t work really, but at least Aaron lowered the gun.
It struck him then, that Aaron had taken his cue, shot when he’d told him to. Well, he’d thought whoever Aaron had as backup might if not Aaron himself, but in the end it had been Aaron who did it. Despite the years in between, they were still connected in ways he couldn’t explain. He wasn’t sure if he should let Aaron do this or not. So he gave him the choice.
“Do you want to do this, Aaron?” he asked, then watched as Aaron raised the gun again.
Aaron swallowed hard. “I…”
Quinn glanced at Henderson and saw something change in his expression.
“Did you know it was me who first wanted to date your mom?” he asked, not looking at Aaron.
Quinn realized that the sheriff had found his way out of this…whatever this was. He needed to get the gun away from Aaron. “Can you give me my gun back, Aaron?”
When he lifted his hand, Aaron jerked his away, still pointing at Henderson.
“Your dad wasn’t into her at first, but I was. Fuck, she was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. I didn’t tell Paul. I knew I could have her if I wanted, I mean, your dad looked plain. He was the pimply geeky kid and I was the fucking track star, right?” Henderson chuckled darkly. “But she didn’t want me.”
Aaron twitched, completely immersed in what his uncle was telling him.
“He’s trying to get you to shoot him, Aaron,” Quinn said firmly. “He’s going to say whatever it takes to make you shoot him.”
“So I watched them. She went after your dad, you know? Fucking skinny Paul Larsen. Instead ofme?”
“Aaron, please.”
“When he asked me if he should go out with her, I said yes. Because I knew that if she was into his type, she’d never be into me, but fuck if it didn’t grate on me. What did that bitch—”
Quinn struck Aaron’s arm from below, the shot ringing in the dark, glass shattering high on the warehouse wall.
“No!” Quinn grabbed Aaron and pushed him away from Henderson. “You don’t get to do that.”
