“Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“I tried but Mia stopped me.” He sighed. “TJ and Belle found her that day. When Mia woke up, he apologized and gave her back her mother’s ring. I guess he was forced to commit the crime and didn’t have a choice.”
“Why did you hold that back? Why didn’t you tell me!”
“Did you hear her go off on me at the harvest dinner? I know which battles I can win with that woman, and it definitely wasn’t that one. You know how she feels about the authorities,” Andre said.
The memory of Mia yelling at Andre in Spanish came back to him. All Andre’s concerned looks and scowls directed at Belle and TJ suddenly made sense.
“But I’m your friend!”
Andre looked down as if ashamed.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Andre rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t know you were that serious about her. Women come and go in your life—none of them stick. I figured maybe you just needed to get her out of your system and it wouldn’t matter. But now that it’s more serious . . . I just wanted you to know everything.”
The pieces clicked into place. “The kid held a knife to you? The other one, right? He was young, around TJ’s age? Same height and build?”
Andre shrugged. “I talked to Mia and she said he was taller and broader, but not much older than TJ. He was White. Light hair.”
A chill ran down his spine. Hazy pictures became clearer. A flicker of a memory before the metal bat swung and knocked him out. Ice-blue eyes and a somewhat familiar face. He shot up from his desk and grabbed his coat.
“Where are you going?” Andre stood, holding out his hands.
“To talk to TJ.”
***
Bently burst through the front door. Belle and TJ both jumped at the table. A cup of coffee spilled between them.
“Shit!” She ran to grab a paper towel and mopped it up, moving the notepad and pens out of the way. “What’s wrong?”
Bently slammed the door and stalked to the kitchen. “Did you know?” His voice boomed. If she’d kept this from him, he didn’t know how he would handle it.
“Know what? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Belle asked.
Bently searched her face—there was nothing but genuine concern there. He turned a hard gaze on TJ. “You mugged Mia and Andre.”
TJ looked worriedly between him and Belle.
Belle’s mouth opened in an “O” and her eyes grew wide as she shook her head. “What? No. TJ would never do such a thing. Are you kidding me right now?” Her voice rose with hurt and anger. “Tell him you didn’t, TJ . . . Tell him!”
TJ looked down, biting his lip. “He said if I didn’t, he’d come after Belle.”
Belle gasped.
Bently didn’t need to look to know her face was painted with horror and disbelief. The urge to run and comfort her grew inside him. Bently tampered his rage and let out a defeated sigh. He forced himself to sit at the table. “Start from the beginning.”
TJ shifted uncomfortably. “This kid at school was the only one who was nice to me when I first got there. He took an interest. Got a few bullies off my back. He seemed cool at first. He gave me music gift cards sometimes. That’s mostly what we talked about. Then he introduced me to a few of his other friends. They were older. They played pranks on people and it was fun at first. But then they started doing other stuff.”
Belle’s body trembled as she sat across from them.
TJ continued, his eyes glued to the table. “They broke into some cars, houses. I didn’t want to do it, but Junior told me that I owed him for dealing with the bullies at school. Said all I had to do was be the lookout. I did it a few times, but I felt so guilty. I told him I was done. But they just laughed at me. He pulled a knife on me and told me that if I didn’t fall in line, he and his friends would come visit Belle. They’d take turns . . .”
Bently’s fists clenched and he ground his teeth. “Keep going.”
“That night in the alley, that was the last time. He kept getting bolder. I thought he was gonna kill Dre . . . I didn’t have a choice.” Tears spilled from TJ’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, TJ? I could have helped.” Belle’s voice choked.
TJ shook his head. “I knew you’d be disappointed in me. I figured I would do whatever it took to protect you, like you did for me. Then Bently showed up and I thought maybe he could keep you safe. I knew I had to go to college, and having him around would be good for you.”
“What does Junior look like?”
TJ blinked, turning his gaze to Bently. “Few inches taller than me. Blond hair, blue eyes.”
“Did you know he was the one that attacked me?” Bently pressed.
TJ shook his head vehemently. “No. I thought maybe it was him, because he hated cops. Loathed them. He specifically talked about the sheriff. I didn’t think anything of it until I met you. But I was never sure.”
Could this be the same guy? His gut told him yes.
“You stopped hanging out with him and he’s just left you alone?” Bently asked.
“Yes. I haven’t hung out since Mia and Dre. He’s come up to me at school a few times . . . Uh . . . left a dead rat in my locker. Stuff like that. Haven’t seen him since school let out. I just steered clear of him and ignored it.”
Belle covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as she shook her head.
Bently wanted to comfort her, but he was torn in two. TJ had known this whole time who was most likely behind this danger and he hadn’t said anything. The kid was as slow to trust and
