“Get me the ice pack over there,” she said, pointing to an icebox. They’d made the ice from water and acetone. It couldn’t be used for drinks but it was perfect for keeping packaged meat and medicine cold. He collected the pack and handed it to her. She was distracted. His mother lovingly touched the side of Miriam’s face. “I’m here, sweetheart. Momma’s here.”
He nudged her with the ice pack.
“Thank you, Jessie. You know, I appreciate all you do.” She placed the ice pack on an area of swelling, “How did you come to find her?”
He told her but stopped short of telling her about the Strickland brothers. Jessie looked out of the room toward the front of the house. Dylan leaned against the doorway, waiting, eyeing him. He knew if he didn’t tell her, Dylan would, and having it come from him would be twice as bad. There was nothing she abhorred more than weakness.
“I need to tell you something.”
His mother was half-listening, still talking to Miriam.
“What is it?”
His stomach churned. He needed an angle. Some way to lessen the blow. He would tell her that it was a response to them killing their father. That would do it.
“Luke, Edgar, and Jared are…” he trailed off.
“Are what? Responsible?”
That’s when he saw it. He could lie and say they had attacked Miriam, and for that, he and Alby had killed them, and maybe, maybe she would buy it. But eventually, the truth would get out. He opted to come clean.
As soon as he did, she looked up at him. “You killed them without my approval?”
“They would have killed Alby. There was no time to think.”
She rose, her face a picture of anger.
Jessie closed his eyes, waiting to feel the sting of her open hand, as he had so many times before. She was about to go nuclear. Tear into him. Leave him battered and bruised.
That was the way it always was. It was all he’d ever known.
Except that wasn’t what happened.
Eyes still closed, he felt two hands wrap around his cheeks.
“Jessie. Hey, son.”
He opened his eyes to find her close to him. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“But…”
“No buts. We will handle this. You did what you had to. I need to realize you aren’t boys anymore. This was inevitable. I knew this day would come.”
It confused him. He’d expected backlash, a flaring temper, not this.
“How then? How will we handle this?”
“Leave that to me.”
ELEVEN Hank Strickland
Humboldt County
The ATV growled as he brought it to a stop outside Seth’s farm off Wallan Road. His expression was calm, but his emotions were anything but that. All of his boys had properties spread throughout Garberville. Much like the Rikers, they’d positioned themselves in key locations, doing everything they could to support the business and protect their own. “Hey Pops,” Seth said, scooping up a cold beer and hopping down off the porch to hand it to him. The fool wasn’t alone. Six family members were lounging outside, drinking, listening to music. The small group only made up a fraction of his kin.
Hank shut off the ATV, then approached him.
Seth extended the beer, a drunken smile on his face. Hank slapped it out of his hand, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him down hard on the soil, knocking the wind out of him. Through gritted teeth he spoke, “Boy, what did I say?”
He gasped for air as Hank tightened his grip. “Huh?”
His brothers Derek and Marco launched themselves off the porch, yelling at him to let go. “Dad. C’mon. You’re hurting him.”
“Back away!” he bellowed, still holding Seth tight. With his one free arm, he reached around and pulled out a gun from the back of his jeans and placed it against Seth’s temple.
Seth’s eyes were now wild and fearful.
“Come on, Dad. You’re choking him,” Derek yelled.
He ignored them, fixing his steely gaze on Seth. The one and only one that would have been responsible for leading the others to do such a heinous act. Revenge was one thing, but there were some lines he didn’t step over. Nor would the Rikers. There were unsaid rules of engagement. And these kinds of actions were off-limits.
“Is that what you did to her? Did you choke her? Did you rape that girl? Did you?!”
Seth couldn’t get the words out. Hank released his grip just enough that he could speak. “No. No, we never raped her. We just wanted them to think we had.”
“You just wanted them to think? Boy, are you stupid? Did I raise you to be stupid?”
He shook his head.
“Is he telling the truth?” Hank asked without looking at the others.
“He is. We slapped her, tore off her clothes to humiliate her the way they humiliated ours.”
He lifted his fierce eyes to gauge their expression. None of them were good at lying. “Lie to me, and your punishment will be twice as bad. Did any one of you force yourself on Miriam?”
“No, Pops,” Seth said.
He tightened his grip, wanting to tear his throat out.
It took every bit of self-control to not do it.
“You stupid fucking idiot. I told you to do nothing until I had decided what we would do. Now you all listen up, and you listen good. I will say this only once. We will pay them back for what they did to your brothers, but if I ever, ever see you do what you did today, I will put a bullet in all of you, do you understand?!”
He pressed the gun hard against
