He leaned forward and extended his hand with the bottle of rum.
“Thanks, but I don’t drink.”
“I saw you drinking at the bar two nights ago.”
“Okay, the first drink had alcohol in it,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t count because it was for work. I don’t drink during my free time.”
He gave me a skeptical look but gestured for me to continue. “Next question.”
“Hold on. I’m thinking.” I was trying to figure out what to ask next when an idea hit me. “Will you tell me the entire story from when you met Bean to when you joined the club immediately after you answer yes to this question in order to help me uphold my new one murder at a time mantra because I might kill you if you say no?”
“Yes, but only if you agree to smoke a fucking joint without trying to turn this very clear statement into a question.”
“I’m going to agree without asking why because I don’t want to waste a question on an answer I know will offend me.”
“You’re tense. Fuck me for noticing.”
I exhaled heavily. “You’re right. If you roll it, I’ll smoke it.”
Without giving me an ounce of shit, he rolled a joint at the kitchen table while he told me about Bean.
“I’d been in prison for five weeks when Bean arrived. I’d seen him but hadn’t talked to him because I didn’t like his cellmate. A week later, which was also the day after Joshua’s visit, I sawthat fucker headed for Bean with a shiv in his hand. Bean was showering with his back turned. I don’t know, I guess because I’d just been stabbed in the back by my brother, I snapped and called his name. When he turned and locked his knee, I kicked it as hard as I could. His leg bent at a weird angle, and he fell to the ground screaming. His buddy saw what happened and jumped on me. The guards broke it up, and I ended up in solitary for a few days. When I got out, I had a new cellmate—Bean.”
He paused, lit the joint, and passed it to me. I looked at the rain pummeling the sliding glass door to the balcony and wondered if I should open it, but I didn’t want to waste a question.
He chuckled. “Stand in the bathroom with the fan on.”
“I won’t be able to hear you.”
“You are a relentless pain in the ass. Go. I’m coming.”
I did as he said and made myself comfortable in the tub.
“Yeah, I thought that’s where you’d be. Here,” he said, handing me a pillow.
“Thanks.” I took the pillow and refrained from commenting on his thoughtfulness because I wanted to hear the rest of the story.
He sat on the closed toilet lid and continued. “Bean got out before me. He’d told me about the Kings and invited me to come prospect for the club after my release. It wasn’t a hard decision. They guaranteed me a place to live and a job. I said yes, and Bean was waiting for me outside the gates when I was released. We flew to Hawaii that night, and I patched in the next day.”
“Patched in,” I said carefully.
“Yeah. Cooter knew about all the shit I did for Bean. He said I’d proven my loyalty during the years we were in prison together and waived my prospect period.” He paused and took a swig from his bottle. “My turn.”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you killed anyone other than the two I know about?”
I laughed. “No. Not even close. Must be something about Hawaii.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.”
“It’s true,” I insisted. “I’d never had the urge to kill anyone until I killed my uncle. It didn’t happen again until Matthew.”
“And Ashley, and my brother,” he reminded me.
“Those are suggestions.”
“You had a plan for Ashley!”
