Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski

ChapterTen

During the ride back to the hospital, I replay everything over in my head. I’m angry. I’m hurt. And now I don’t know if there’s anyone left to trust. What will our parents say when they find out about this? Do they know? Am I the only one who doesn’t? I wonder if Ivy has been going through the same hellish torment, and if she has, then that sucks.

“You’re going the wrong way to the hospital,” I complain to Sheriff Dan.

He flicks his eyes at me in the interior mirror and huffs. “We’re taking the scenic route. You should be glad I’m not throwing you in a cell for what you did.” We take a sharp left, circling the outskirts of town. “If you must know, I’m giving you a way out. I told Bodie you would be better off going to the coast with your parents, but he assured me he’d keep an eye on you no matter what.”

“He was the one who pulled me out of the fire,” I reply.

“That’s right,” Dan confirmed. “And he’s been keeping tabs on you the whole time he’s been gone.”

“Whose idea was it to pretend he was dead?” I interject.

Dan exhales a heavy sigh. “That was down to me. I asked Jason to keep tabs on you too, and look what happened there. You caused a scene, which forced him to take extreme measures to keep you safe. You’re a walking liability.”

His stern words held true, but it didn’t mean I had to like them. The things he was saying to me left a bitter aftertaste.

“Are you saying Jason claimed me because he had to and not because he wanted to? But that’s not what he told me,” I challenge.

Eventually, we approach the hospital parking lot, and Dan swings the car toward the barrier a little too forcefully. “Do you believe everything people tell you?” His cynical tone hits me like a slap across the face. “You were told what you needed to hear. And if you have any sense, you’ll pack a bag and get the fuck out of Mountview because like it or not, you have a target on your back. I imagine Booker will have heard all about our big fuck-up and will send his goons after anyone connected to Jason. I’ve got to get home to check on Liv; although I doubt Booker will harm a hair on her head. He’s still sweet on her after all these years.” There’s resentment in Dan’s voice as if those words are laced with poison.

He stops the patrol car and pulls the handbrake sharply. “Go, get out.” He jerks his head at the door. “Get checked over, then get the fuck out of town. I better not see you after tonight.”

“Not before you tell me about Booker and Jason’s mom,” I demand, grating on Dan’s last nerve.

Dan scowls at me. “I thought she cheated on me with him back when we were teens. It took a while for us to move past it, and when we did, several years had passed.” He taps the steering wheel with his forefinger, considering whether to continue. “Look, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry how things turned out. I love Jason like he was my own flesh and blood, but this is something you don’t wanna be mixed up in. Take my advice and get the hell out of Mountview tonight if you can. Don’t wait. Just go. I’d hate to have to bury one of Garrett Blake’s kids for real. Your father and I go way back. He’s one of the good guys. It would do him a world of good if you spent some time with him for a while. Go fill your lungs with some clean sea air and wait for the dust to settle.” Dan hands back my scuffed phone. “An officer found this. I figured you’d need it.”

I reach out to take it, curling my fingers around it. “Thanks. But what about Bodie and Jason?”

Dan’s brows dimple in the middle. “I know you’re mad. You have every right to be. But please believe me when I tell you they were acting on my command. I’ve been trying to take down Booker for a very long time. I’ve spent my career trying to bring him down. Just know, they didn’t mean for you to get caught in the middle of this. It’s not the way it was supposed to be.”

I nod to show I understand, even though it’s not completely true. I doubt I’ll ever fully understand their reasons. There’s never a good reason to lie to the ones you love. Without trust, there’s nothing. And right now, I have zero trust to go around. I’m all out. It’s over. I want to say it was good while it lasted, but that would be lying. Nothing was real. It was all based on lies. Now I know what Dan is asking me to do, and it makes sense. I should go. There’s nothing left for me here, just a burned-down auto shop and a house filled with painful memories.

“I should probably go say goodbye,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion.

Dan flashes a sympathetic smile as I leave. He doesn’t wait around. He’s already driving away as the sliding glass doors open, and the building swallows me whole. I tell the nurse on the reception desk that I’m Jason Knight’s girlfriend. She tells me he’s been rushed into surgery, and that I can wait in the family room with his brother. Brother. That’s rich. Blinking back the tears in my eyes, I follow the signs along the corridor until I find the right room. Then as I go inside, I’m confronted by Bodie. He stands quickly and rushes to hug me, but I recoil from his touch as if it repulses me. I should be relieved to see him standing there alive and well with nothing but superficial bruises from the fight. But I’m not. I’m angry. No, I’m more than that. I’m broken. I feel betrayed. And nothing anyone can say will ever make this okay.

“I fucking mourned you,” I spit out the words through gulping breaths, trying to keep the rising bile from creeping up my throat. “How dare you try to comfort me now. Where the fuck have you been all this time?” I knock his hand away as he reaches out to touch me.

Bodie flinches with regret. “I’ve been staying with Dan and Liv.”

I place my hand over my stomach and take a step back. “I don’t believe this. Liv is Mom’s friend. She held onto our mother as she sobbed at your graveside. I can believe this from Dan, but her?” I stagger back and collapse onto the sofa, then lean forward to rest my head in my hands, driving my fingers through my hair. “How could you do this to her . . . to Dad . . . and to Ivy?”

Bodie grips the bridge of his nose and grimaces. “I’m going to explain everything after we stop Booker. This is bigger than us, Kiera. It’s bigger than you know.”

“Your girlfriend is heavily pregnant,” I say, my face twisting with contempt. “When were you gonna come clean about that?”

“I wanted to,” Bodie replies, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I knew Mom would never leave town if she knew.”

So, he was planning to wait until Dan nailed Booker and then miraculously resurrect from the dead. “You’re not Jesus, Bodie. I for one won’t blame Ivy if she kicks your ass to the curb. You’re an asshole,” I yell at him. Then point aimlessly at the wall, not really knowing where the surgery room is. “And Jason is an asshole too. As far as I’m concerned, you can both screw yourselves. I’m out of here. I’m done. You’ve got what you wanted. I’ll move in with Mom and Dad and be out of your hair for good.”

“Keira,” Bodie says my name pleadingly.

I pause at the door, then slowly turn my head. “I’m glad you’re not dead, but don’t ever pretend to care because this only proves that you don’t.”

Bodie sighs sadly as I leave. If all he can say is how he did it for justice, then I don’t want to hear it. I would have understood that. I wouldn’t have tried to talk him out of it. Our parents wouldn’t have breathed a word of it to anyone. We’ve always handled things as a family. So, why does it feel like Bodie’s loyalty to his brotherhood – the fucking Knight Hawks – came first before anything else? This only proves that I’m not cut out to be a biker’s girlfriend. I don’t want to be second best. I’m an all or nothing kind of girl.

Jason’s surgery goes well. He was lucky. The bullet missed his vital organs. The fucker will live to ride another day. Is this relief I’m feeling? Maybe. It’s the same relief I felt when I saw Bodie was okay. But there’s no way they’re getting let off the hook that easily. They hurt me. I want them to suffer. Jason is awake when the nurse brings me to his room. The word has gotten around the hospital that their missing patient has returned, and my doctor isn’t too impressed with me. Jason and Bodie don't know this, but he signed my discharge notes while I’ve been waiting. I’m thinking about taking Dan’s advice. I’m here to say goodbye.

“Hey, beautiful,” Jason slurs his words. “Come over here and let me take a look at you.”

I sit on the side of his bed, and Jason’s eyes twitch questioningly. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“You knew about Bodie all along, didn’t you?” I say accusingly.

I can tell by the way he cringes that he’s sorry I had to find out this way.

“Did Sheriff Dan tell you to claim me?” I swallow the lump in my throat.

Silence.

I force myself to look at Jason and see his eyes drowning in anguish.

“Don’t make me repeat the question,” I say, my voice wispy and frail.

Jason’s hand curls around my wrist gently. I don’t pull away from him. I maintain eye contact as I wait.

“Yeah, but—” he stammers to explain, but I stand, having just had my worst fear confirmed.

“So, that’s it. I was just a loose end you needed to tie up.” I put on my bravest face as I look at him, my expression hard as stone. “Well, now that’s out there, you don’t need to pretend anymore. Good luck taking down Booker. Maybe I’ll see you around if I ever come back to visit.”

I watch the color drain from Jason’s face. It’s like he’s too stunned to speak, my words knocking the wind right out of him. He makes to move, but then collapses back onto the bed and grimaces with pain, his hand flying up to cover the freshly taped gauze on his chest. I feel a stab of guilt as I leave the room, but it’s quickly forgotten as I walk down the corridor. I wasn’t too harsh. My reaction is justified. I’m too busy mulling things over in my head when somebody pulls me into a dark room and insists that I hush.

“It’s me.” I recognize Bodie’s hushed murmur. “Don’t make a sound. He’s here.”

“Who’s here?” I whisper.

“Booker,” Bodie replies. “Look.” He jerks his head at the slit of glass in the door, and we both peer through it and see Mayor Booker storming down the hall with Marcus Jackal three steps behind him.

I blink hard, my heart thumping with alarm as they both enter Jason’s room.

“What do we do? They’re going in there to finish the job!” I say, panicking.

“No, they’re not. Let’s see if we can listen.” Bodie leads the way as we sneak across the corridor to eavesdrop on them.

“What do I fuckin’ owe the pleasure?” I hear Jason crudely say.

“Can’t a father come and visit his son in the hospital?” Mayor Booker replies, making my eyes bulge with that revelation.

I hear Jason snort with amusement. “You have some nerve. I’ll give you that. What the fuck is he doing here? Get him out of my face.”

“Can’t you boys just learn to get along?” Booker tries to sound all paternal as he castigates them. “If you want to behave like children, I’ll treat you like children. Marcus, say sorry to your little brother for shooting him in the chest.”

Brother!

Bodie sees my alarm and waves his hand to silence me. He puts his finger against his lips, his frown deepening.

“I wasn’t aiming at him. That stupid dick jumped in the way to save some crack whore from getting her brains blown out,” Marcus protests.

Jason saved me. He took a bullet in the chest and could have been killed instead of letting Marcus shoot me.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Jason roars, and I’m shocked to hear Jason get triggered as Marcus talks shit about me.

“Ah, how gallant. Jumping to your girlfriend’s defense,” Marcus taunts Jason. “I know who she is. I remembered where I’d seen her before. She’s that grease monkey from the garage. The one you allegedly claimed in the dive bar. I’m surprised she made it out of the inferno alive. What is it with these Blake kids? They have a habit of coming back from the dead.”

“Stay the fuck away from them, or I swear I’ll kill you,” Jason vows, and it takes all my restraint not to go barging in and jump to his defense because hell knows I want to.

Now I understand why Jason and Bodie didn’t want to tell me everything. It’s because Booker is Jason’s real father. And I have a gut feeling that Liv didn’t cheat on Dan from what I can tell by Jason’s resentment. Bodie drags me back inside the empty room just as Booker and Marcus barge out through the door. Booker looks stressed. He turns on Marcus and grabs the front of his T-shirt, his face reddening with anger.

“If you’ve screwed things up for me, we’re through,” Booker growls vehemently. “I said I wanted you to break him, so do it. You know his weakness. Find her and end this.”