“Well, good morning to you too.”
I roll my eyes and start the car. “What do you need, Steph?”
The call clicks over to the Bluetooth in the car as I pull away from the curb.
“Who pissed in your Corn Flakes this morning?”
Granted, I’m being a prick, which I rarely am. I’ve always found it’s easier to get people onside with honey rather than vinegar, but after that trip down memory lane, I can’t put on a front.
“I’m going to hang up now.” My hand moves toward the screen on the dash to end the call.
“Wait! I wanted to let you know that Sean was in here last night looking for you. Ray just told me.”
Ray is the head of security at our Seattle club. Since I’m away, I asked Steph to have a bigger presence at the main club and told the rest of the staff to go to her for anything that came up. But since I’m the only one who deals with Sean directly, I understand why she’s calling me.
“It will have to wait until I get back.” I turn right off Hattie’s street and find myself heading in the direction of Carla’s hair salon.
“Where are you anyway?”
“None of your business.”
“Whatever.” Steph’s voice sours at my tone. “When can we expect you back?”
“Friday. Not sure what time, though. Tell Sean to come to the club on Saturday night, and we can talk.”
“Fine. I’m going to be at the Sacramento club this weekend, so I’ll see you next week I guess.”
I make another turn that brings me closer to the salon. “We may have to do our check-in on a video call. I have to be back here next week too.”
There’s a slight pause. “Bastion, what’s going on?”
“If there’s something you need to know, I’ll tell you.” I press End on the call.
I consider Steph a friend, and yeah, we’re fuck buddies, but I’m still her boss. We’re not in a relationship, nor does she know anything about my upbringing. So she needs to back off when I tell her to.
I’m curious what the hell Sean wants. I allow his gang, the Reavers, to run drugs through my club in exchange for a cut. We’ve had an arrangement for the past few years, and it’s been lucrative for the both of us.
Whatever. He can wait.
I pull into a parking spot on Main Street directly adjacent to the hair salon. There’s a large window at the front so I can see inside, no problem. And there’s Carla, working on a client—all smiles as though she doesn’t have a worry in the world. As though she doesn’t have a son she abandoned sitting right outside herwindow. A son who has bided his time until he can ruin her perfect snow globe life.
I unclench my hands off the steering wheel, freeing the tension ache.
“Fuck this.” I put the vehicle in drive and pull out of the spot.
A horn honks and tires screech on the pavement. I flip them off in the rearview mirror, getting the hell of Dodge, before my patience dies.
6
BASTION
I’ve been back in Seattle for a day, and already the urge to return to Wisconsin presses against me. I’m anxious to get my plan underway. I’ve always been this way. Trent would calm me, tell me not to rush. To always be prepared. Every time I think of the photo albums I found at the bottom of Hattie’s closet, it’s as if my insides turn to oil, and I want to punish someone.
Sure, I could show up on Carla’s doorstep and give her a piece of my mind, but the satisfaction I’ll gain from that will only be temporary. Slowly deconstructing her pride and joy, peeling away the layers of naïveté and innocence that cocoon Hattie, will be much more satisfying. Carla will never be able to look at her little angel the same, and for the rest of her life, she’ll know it’s her fault that I went after her precious daughter. She’ll have no one to blame but herself. Let her live with the shame of ruining her daughter since she seems to feel nothing for ruining her son.
There’s a knock on my office door, and I sigh. “What?”
Ray pops his head in. “Sean is here to see you, boss.”
