“Don’t talk about my sister. I know you didn’t think much of her, even she said as much.”
“She didn’t deserve to die.”
“You actually believe that, then do the right thing. Turn that fucker into the cops, so he pays. I got a feeling he did something to Diana, too. I haven’t seen her in days.”
“We haven’t either,” he lied.
She stared at him so long he wondered if she saw through the lie. “I didn’t mean to show disrespect,” she said in a low voice.
He nodded and after another moment she left. When he turned around, he watched Stephanie creep out from the hallway. “You eavesdropping, Miss Priss?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Couldn’t be helped. I was on my way to the kitchen when she yelled about you protecting Wreck. I forgot to ask about him—”
His eyes narrowed. “Seems you forgot what I told you, too. For your own protection, you know all you’re gonna know.”
Her expression went blank. Then she said, “Oh.”
When he stood toe-to-toe with her, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She snuggled into him while putting her arms around his waist. “Yeah, ‘Oh.’ You like having your sister in town?”
“Yeah,” she said, but it sounded hesitant.
“Tell me.”
She pulled back. “Nothing to tell. It’s just weird being mothered by her now that Mom’s not around. Plus, I feel guilty about her being here, but Turk told me to get over it.”
“He’s right.”
She sighed. “I knew you’d say that.”
His eyes darted to the door when Brute pushed inside. “You need something?”
“Blood and Major are leaving. Figure you wanted to say goodbye.”
Stephanie gave him a calculating look. To divert her attention, he leaned down and kissed her. “Get what you need from the kitchen. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
He checked the time on his phone as he walked out to Major’s Nissan Titan. It was a quarter after noon, which seemed early for them to hit the road. Then again, they had planned to leave last night, but were forced to spend the night when Joules and Mensa got Major soused.
When he drew even with the brothers gathered around Blood and Major, the others quickly said their goodbyes and wandered away.
Blood stubbed out a cigarette on the ground and blew the stream of smoke away from Har. “Gotta say, seems better when you visit us. Didn’t get the first crab-leg or crawfish on this visit.”
“That was the plan for lunch,” he said.
“Bullshit, Har. I’ve seen how long it takes your men to pull that shit together.”
He grinned. “You’re right, but aren’t you leavin’ a little early? It’s only four and a half hours to Tally.”
Major grunted. “Bad enough we didn’t get out of here last night! The longer Wreck sits in the bed of my truck the harder it’s gonna be to deal with the smell, Prez.”
Har nodded. They’d stored Wreck’s body in a freezer, but things would deteriorate quick in the warm weather.
“Besides, might be four and a half to Tallahassee, but my in-laws are a little further than that and we need to make the drop before sunset.”
Har shook hands with Blood. “Thanks for comin’ out, brother.”
Blood slapped Har’s bicep. “Anytime. Least we can do after everything you did for Roll and Trixie.”
Har watched the pick-up truck leave.
Brute strode up to him. “Another reason they needed to leave early, Turk thinks he and Suze are bein’ followed.”
He speared his brother with his gaze. “You shittin’ me? Why didn’t this come up in church?”
“Just called me while you were dealing with Callie. Anyway, they left the hotel to get lunch and if he sees the same vehicle, he’ll text me.”
He shook his head. “Bet it’s Dennizen. Too damn many bodies in this shit. Fuck.”
“Yeah,” Brute sighed. “You won’t like this, but I think Stephanie needs to stay somewhere else.”
“I don’t like that. Why the fuck would you suggest that?”
Brute hesitated. “He finds out who she is, he’s gonna nose around. And you said she reported that shit that happened to her back in Jacksonville. All of a sudden she’s with you, and living with you to boot. I don’t know. Just trying to control what we can, man.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not hiding her. He comes around, I’ll tell him the truth. Hooked up with her after finding out she’s back in town to stay. Hell, Jenkins can attest to that.”
Brute’s brows furrowed. “He can?”
Har laughed. “Yeah. Told me the worst way to get a woman’s attention was by taking all her chips. I said I didn’t want her attention, but he called me on my bullshit. Also when he said she signed over her paycheck, but that’s old news.”
“If you’re sure.”
He shrugged. “First, we gotta hear from Turk that he’s being tailed.”
Stephanie
IN THE KITCHEN, THE only caffeine-free soda I could find was a lemon-lime soda. My stomach was tied up in knots, and my only suspect was the antibiotics. As I stood debating whether to toast some bread, Har came up behind me.
“What do you need, Miss Priss?”
I wheezed with laughter. “I need you to stop calling me that, Harmful.”
“That is not my name to you. Just Har works, Harm if you have to. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, but my stomach is out of whack, so I don’t know what to eat. You know if there are some saltines around?”
He opened a cabinet off to the right, then handed me a sleeve.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
With one hand he grabbed my soda and the other grabbed my free hand to guide me back to his room. He closed and locked his door while I settled on the side of his bed and popped a cracker into my mouth.
I felt the bed jostle while he took off his boots. Then I saw him hang his cut on a hanger on the wall. He climbed onto the bed. Once he positioned himself with his back to the wall, he spread his legs, caught my gaze, and looked meaningfully
