A smile spreads across my face. Sinister and full of mischief. “His daughter.”
“What a damn minute,” Marni cuts me off, “You mean to tell me that my dad didn’t kill Josh?” Her face drops into her hands. “Then who the hell did?”
“I’m not finished. We then decided to call the guys and fill them in on the plan. We scooped up Josh’s body, tossed it in the trunk of Zed’s grandma's car, and took him to Briarwood.”
“You’re telling me that her dad just hit him and drove off and you guys actually caught the entire thing on video. This is fucking epic.” Zed beams all too eagerly. “We’ve got that fucker in the palm of our hands and we’re gonna squeeze the life out of him. I’ve never liked that bastard.” He begins pacing the basement floor while Josh’s body lies next to him wrapped in an old afghan.
“We can’t push him too far. We tell him that we want Marni for a while and we make a deal. No one touches her. She will not be harmed. Got it?” I say, making myself perfectly clear.
“Works for me,” Lars says. Tommy follows in agreement.
“What the hell is in it for us?” Zed huffs. “Doesn’t seem fair that we do all the dirty work and you get to carry out your plan with no gain for us.”
“How about this,” I tap my fingers together. “We all have people who have done us wrong. We all get our shot at revenge. When I’m done, someone else gets their chance. One shot. Four acts. We stick together no matter what.”
“That sounds a little bit better. I can handle that. I’ve already got a poor soul in mind who needs to atone for his sins.”
I put my hand out, and the guys pile theirs on top. “One shot. Four acts. We’re in this together from start to finish.”
Tommy chimes in, “And anything that happens in between.”
We break.
“We need to get rid of this fucking body before he starts stinking up the place.” Zed pinches his nose.
“We could just bury him down here. No one comes to this place, except for the occasional scarefest. Chip up the cement, dig a hole, and drop him in, and we’ll cement the surface again,” Lars says.
Tommy gags as he walks toward the stairs. “I can’t stomach this shit. You guys have to do that part without me.”
“I’ll take care of Josh and grab a few bags of cement tomorrow. You all go home. I’ll text you when it’s done. Then we need to talk about what we’re doing with his car that's parked in front of Tommy’s house.” Zed surprises us all by taking some initiative.
“Thanks, man. When you’re done, meet us over at Tommy’s house. We’ll come up with a game plan.”
“Wait. Zed buried Josh in the basement. So why was he digging up a spot down there last night?”
“He was?”
“Yeah. I assumed he was planning to toss one of you guys in there with Josh, but you all seem fine to me.”
“I guess that could have been his plan. But, I got through to him and left. Haven’t heard a word from him since and don’t plan to.”
Marni nods in agreement. “Yeah, let's hope that none of us do. Is that all to the story?”
“Pretty much sums it up. You know what happened next.”
I pull out my phone and hold a finger up to Marni. “Hey, Lars. We need to go check on things at Briarwood. It seems Zed was stirring shit up in the basement. Pick us up at the end of the driveway.”
I end the call.
“We?” Marni questions.
“We’re in this together. Remember? You’re one of us now.” I hook an arm around her, and this time she doesn’t toss it off like it's infected.
“Alright. So, Josh is dead. We have no idea who did it. Lars and Zed still think that it was my dad and could use that against him at any given moment. Should we tell them the truth?”
“I’ve filled Lars in. He knows now.”
“And, Zed? Do you plan to tell him so he doesn’t do something stupid that could send my dad to prison?”
I shake my head. “No. Not until we find out who really killed Josh. He could turn it around on us. Someone out there knows something and eventually, we’ll find out who that someone is. When we do, let’s hope for their sake they don’t have something we want.”
“You don’t think it could have been Zed who hit him, do you?”
I shrug a shoulder. “At this point, everyone is a suspect.”
“We’ll meet you guys inside,” I tell Tommy and Lars when they get out of the car.
Marni tucks a leg under the other and turns toward me in the back seat. The back of my hand grazes over her cheek. “I’ve missed you.”
She chuckles and turns her head to look out the window. “It’s only been a day.”
“It felt longer.”
Turning back to me, her expression is solemn. “Talon, I just don’t know how this could ever work between us. Everything is so messed up.”
“That’s because we’re messed up. You and I both. Nothing has ever been easy for us, so why would it be now?”
“I’m just not sure that a relationship is the best thing for me right now.”
“I agree. Besides, I don’t do relationships. Never wanna get married. Definitely not having kids.”
She smiles. “Same.” Then she takes my hand from her cheek and holds it in hers, tracing the lines of my palm. “What if we just take things slow?”
My eyes dart to hers. “As long as it's fast in the bed.”
“Such a man.” She snickers.
I lean forward and press my lips to hers. “Your man.”
“I thought we just agreed to take it slow.”
“This is slow. But I don’t want anyone else and you better not be with anyone else.”
“Or what?”
“You’ve seen what I’m capable of my little rebel.” I kiss her lips again, and again, and again. Then I
