Piston by Andi Rhodes
Chapter Twenty-Four
It’s a life I love, one I will always have, but it’s a life that can hinder relationships if you let it.
Piston
“Iswear to God if you don’t answer that phone, I’m gonna smother you with a pillow.”
I slip out of bed and chuckle. Holland is amazing and very much the love of my life. But she is not a morning person and I make a mental note of that because I’d like to live long enough to enjoy a life with her.
“Go back to sleep,” I call over my shoulder as I stride to the living room where I left my phone last night.
Squirrel’s name flashes on the screen and I hit the answer button.
“It’s early, brother,” I say. “You better have a good reason for pulling me from my girl’s bed.”
“I wanted to give you another hour, but Fender didn’t want to wait,” Squirrel says on a chuckle.
“Tell Fender to go fuck himself,” I snap, although there’s no real heat in my tone. “Holland is not a morning person and if she kills me for waking her up, I’m gonna haunt his ass.”
“Can it,” Fender demands. “I need you to get to the clubhouse.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re on speakerphone,” Squirrel tells me, although it would have been nice to know that before I stuck my foot in my mouth.
“Squirrel, you’re an asshole,” I grumble. I heave a sigh and shove my hands through my hair. “What’s going on?”
“Well, once Riker got back with Meredith, we confirmed that she wasn’t involved in the fire and threat at the club.”
“I figured she wasn’t, but how did you confirm it?”
“Power of the Nightmare Room, P,” Fender responds. “Works every time.”
I roll my eyes at his exaggeration. It doesn’t work every time. There are a lot of people who would attest to that if they were still above ground.
“Anyway,” Squirrel says. “No one could find a link after talking to their contacts, and I figured the key to all of it lies with those potential runners and their families. Turns out, I was right.”
“Get to the point,” I snap. “Who are we killing?”
“No one.” Fender’s tone is gritty, angry. “But you and I are going to be having a conversation with Des and Devin. They’re supposed to be coming to the clubhouse today to watch Pony do a few tattoos on the brothers.”
“Wait, you think Des and Devin set the fire?”
“I don’t think it was them, but I do think their parents could be involved. Squirrel, tell him what you found.”
“Their dad, Sal, has a pretty lengthy criminal record. Mostly drug related stuff, but I managed to hack into his sealed juvenile records. Guess who was a bit of a fire bug in his younger days?”
“Jesus.” The word whooshes out of me. “What about the mom?”
“Rachel’s a bit of a different story. There are a few charges related to prostitution, but those were all back before she married Sal. About a year after they got hitched, her charges start to line up with his, all drug related.”
“I know it’s not a smoking gun,” Fender says. “But my gut tells me it’s worth a conversation with the boys.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Look, they’ll be here in about an hour. Kiss Holland goodbye and get moving.”
“See you in a few.”
I sigh as I stab a finger at the end button. Not exactly what I wanted to have to deal with first thing in the morning, especially with Holland still naked in bed, but this is the life. It’s a life I love, one I will always have, but it’s a life that can hinder relationships if you let it.
* * *
Des and Devin are sitting on the steps of the clubhouse porch. Fender and I have been grilling them for over an hour, but so far, they insist they know nothing. The problem is, I don’t believe them.
“I don’t know what the hell to tell you,” Des argues. “Our parents are too lazy to do anything like you’re talking about. Besides, they haven’t left the house in weeks.”
Fender and I exchange a look and I know he’s on the same page I am. Des is spewing bullshit. He knows something. And Devin? His sidelong glances at his brother tell me that he thinks he knows something, but he doesn’t want to get anyone in trouble.
“You can’t possibly know that they haven’t left the house,” Fender counters. “You and your brother have been here more times than not, which means they could be doing whatever the hell they please when you’re not home.”
Des jumps up and comes at Fender. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he shouts.
“Sit the fuck down,” Fender snaps.
Des glares at him for a second and then shoves past him and stomps toward the wooded area of the property. Devin stands to go after him, but I grab his arm.
“Let him go, Devin. He needs to cool off a bit.” Devin looks at me and his shoulders slump in defeat. “Listen, kid, if you know something, you need to tell us.”
Devin’s gaze darts from me to Fender and back again.
“Fender, can you give us a minute?”
For some reason, Devin is more comfortable around me. Maybe it’s because I spared them both that night in the woods, maybe it’s because he sees me as some sort of savior. It doesn’t matter why. What matters is how I use that to our advantage while also not breaking the kid’s spirit.
“Sure.” Fender starts walking in the direction Des went. “I’m gonna go keep an eye on Des.”
I nod and then refocus on Devin. “Now, talk to me.”
Devin shrugs. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say whatever is on your mind, kid. This isn’t a test. There are no right or wrong words. Only the truth.”
“I don’t sleep so good sometimes,” he begins. “When that happens, I usually get up and watch TV in the living room.”
“Yeah?” He nods. “I do the same thing when I can’t sleep. What do you like to watch?”
One tactic I’ve learned works almost as well as the Nightmare Room is gaining a person’s trust. I prefer the Nightmare Room. It’s quicker, more efficient, but I’d never take a kid in there.
“We don’t have cable so there’s never anything good on. Those commercials where they try to trick you into buying crap… I usually watch those because they’re boring and put me to sleep.”
I chuckle at that. “Smart kid. I’ll have to try that sometime.”
“What do you watch?”
“I scroll through the channels and watch a little bit of everything.”
He nods as if it makes perfect sense to him. “A few days ago, I had a nightmare and got scared. I heard my parents talking so I got up to go sit with them.”
Devin swallows and averts his gaze.
“Makes sense.”
“I got to the end of the hall and they were both pacing around the living room. I knew they were drunk and when they get like that, they’re mean. I didn’t want to be with them, but I didn’t want to go back to bed so I sat down in the hall and listened to their conversation.”
“I get it, kid. Nightmares are scary.”
Trust. It works wonders.
“My dad was mad about something. He kept saying ‘they took our cash cows’, that ‘he’d make them pay’.”
“Do you know who they were talking about?”
I know. He knows too but desperately wants to be wrong.
Devin shakes his head. “No. But then I overheard some of the guys talking about the fire and about a note that was left at the gate. It made me remember what my dad said.”
My blood boils even as my heart breaks for him. He wants to be wrong, but more than that, he wants to do the right thing. He’s loyal to a family that doesn’t give two shits about him. That’s a good quality to have, but it’s also dangerous.
“Did you tell Des about any of it?”
“No.”
But he knows. As sure as I am that I’m in love with Holland, I’m sure that Des knows what his parents did. Not only does he know, but he’s also a part of it. Somehow, some way, he’s in this up to his eyeballs.
“Why don’t you go inside and see if you can find Pony? I’m going to go help Fender watch your brother.”
“What are you going to do to him? To Des?”
“Why do you think we’re going to do something to him?”
Devin shoves his hands into his jean’s pockets. “Because you don’t believe him. I’m not stupid, Piston.”
“I never thought you were.” I decide to be honest with him. “And you’re right. We don’t believe him. But we’re not going to hurt him.”
“Promise?”
My senses tingle. He wouldn’t be asking me to promise if Des hasn’t done anything to piss us off.
“I promise we won’t hurt him.”
Devin glances toward the woods where his brother went and then back to me, heaving a sigh.
“He’s the one who put that note on the gate.”
