I scanned them, then tossed them aside, along with two bottles of old cologne tucked into the corner of the closet.
A plastic bag crinkled when I grabbed a third bottle, then fell over with a thud. “What the hell?” I pinched the bag between my thumb and forefinger and dragged it forward. A worn notebook had been stuffed inside and sealed with rubber bands around the bag.
My heart raced. Wade had secrets. I’d known that for a while.
He’d been a secretive bastard as long as I’d known him, but his threats tonight confirmed something I’d been hesitant to name.
I ripped the bag open and flipped through the notebook.
Names. Dates. Dollar amounts.
They lined the top of the page and had been filled in with cramped penmanship that almost made them unreadable.
I scanned the list, noting local businesses and entries that matched names Wade had mentioned with a curl of his lip and respect in his eyes.
I flipped to another page that listed payoffs, favors, drop locations, and what looked like illegal shipments based on the cargo he noted.
Tiny writing in the margin bent me forward to shove the notebook into a tiny fragment of light.
“Mrs. Tanner. Three year old girl. Leverage.” My blood ran cold. I read every single entry, every notation of what the evil son of a bitch considered leverage. My lungs burned with the need to breathe, and I inhaled so sharp and fast my vision swam.
Jail would not hold a man like Wade.
For all the officer’s reassurances, he would not stay gone.
Wade in jail gave me time to prepare for his inevitable return.
And when he came back, he’d come back hunting for control.
He’d come back for revenge.
I had proof of his evilness in my hands.
Proof, and insurance.
And something that would most definitely get me killed if the wrong person realized I had it.
At that point, I would not be Wade’s problem.
I would be the problem theyallneeded to eliminate.
Heart in my throat, I shoved the notebook back into the bag and wrapped the rubber bands around it while standing and leaving the room.
I couldn’t make a decision tonight.
My jumbled thoughts told me to burn it. Immediately.
But what happened when Wade came looking for it? I needed some kind of leverage, and answers like that didn’t pop up in a moment of whimsy and sleep-deprivation.
I’d hide it for now and figure out what to do with it later.
I shoved it under the loose floorboards beneath the bathroom sink and stood listening to Mom’s breathing, taking in the smell of spilled whiskey with every inhale.
I’d deal with it in the morning.
2
CALLIE
