“Okay, so it’s our job to figure out fact from fiction,” Ryder said. “I think the best thing to do to achieve that is to get out there and talk to people. Feel people out, get them to open up, get whatever details you can, and then we’ll compare notes.”
“Sounds good to me,” Riot agreed. “Blade, what’s your position in this community?”
I scoffed. “Non-existent, these days. My sister lives here, with my nephew. She still lives in my folk’s old house, so I can visit her and my presence won’t be questioned. I’ll find out what she knows about everything, and dig around in some other places. There’s a few prominent families that I know, so if I need to, I can show my face and see what I can uncover.”
“Why’d you leave, man?” Slade asked.
I shook my head, the memories of my last few days here flooding my brain.
“A girl,” I said, lifting my chin so my voice wouldn’t crack with emotion. “Rose. She still lives here, married some asshole from one of those prominent families I told you about, just like the family she was born into herself. Rose was a Finley and she married a Davenport. I’ve known her all my life. We had a pretty intense relationship but I’m from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, and her family didn’t approve of us being together. Hell, they never did, even when we were just friends. But, once we graduated from high school, and it was clear I had no intentions of going anywhere, her family made sure I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her father made it very clear that he had other plans for Rose’s life. I was not a part of those plans.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“He threatened my sister. At the time, I was defenseless against him. They’re powerful people. They can get away with anything they want. I was just a kid. I tried to resist, but they killed my sister’s dog, just to make their point. So, I didn’t have a choice but to break up with her. That wasn’t enough for them, though. They wanted me gone and I knew that staying here without Rose would be too much for me to handle — I knew it would be impossible, in fact. I loved her too much. And I knew I’d never be able to watch her marry someone else. And I loved my sister, too. I knew I had to leave, so I did. And I never looked back.”
“That fucking sucks,” Slade said.
“You said it, brother,” I replied. “But I did the right thing, at least at the time. My sister is healthy and happy and has a son of her own now. I went on with my life, and so did Rose. She got married right after I left and didn’t waste any time starting her family.”
“She still here?”
“Yep, as far as I know.”
“You still love her?” he asked.
“Always, man,” I said, shaking my head. “But what’s done is done.”
“You should go get her back, brother,” Slade said.
“Slade!” Grace said. “Stay out of that.”
“Why?” Slade asked, wrinkling his brow. “Love is love, right?”
“We’re here to work, not disrupt anyone’s life,” Ryder said, his voice gruff.
“Yeah, and to fuck up the bastards that hurt Cherry,” Riot replied.
“Yeah, yeah,” Slade said, shaking his head. “I know that. And I’m all for kicking some serious ass. But y’all know what a hopeless romantic I am and I hate stories of true love being interrupted.”
“I seriously doubt that Rose wants anything to do with a man like me,” I said, laughing. “It was a long time ago and I’m a different person now. I’m sure she is too.”
“Well, I’m just saying leave a door open in your heart,” Slade replied.
“Leave a door open in your heart?” Riot teased. “Damn, Slade, when did you get so fucking sappy?”
“When I fell in love with Diana, I guess,” he snapped. “And I’m fucking proud of my sap, you asshole. I’m like a fucking maple tree, man! Sappy and delicious!” He roared at his own joke, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him.
“I’m going to head over to my sister’s,” I said, standing up. Talking about all of this was getting to me and I really just wanted a break.
Riot threw me a set of keys. “Your rental car is outside. It’s the black Mercedes.”
“Keep us posted,” Ryder said.
“Will do,” I replied, ignoring the pointed look Slade gave me. As I reached the door, he called out to me.
“Blade!”
“Yeah?” I said, looking back at him over my shoulder.
He formed a heart over his chest with his fingers and then spread them out, making an explosion sound with his mouth. “Open heart, buddy.”
I shook my head and walked out, his words ringing in my ears.
‘You should go get her back…’
Chapter 8
ROSE
The shrill sound of the school bell rang out, followed by a steady stream of kids pouring out of the doors of Windsor Forest elementary school. I scanned the faces, looking for Clem’s familiar smile, the spitting image of her father’s smile.
Not that I saw that smile too often these days — neither his, nor hers, unfortunately.
In fact, none of us had been smiling lately.
Between all the drama of life — having two daughters, including one about to turn eighteen, the seemingly constant talk of murders in town, and the quickly rising temperatures of a humid Southern spring, there really wasn’t a lot to smile about.
That made it even better when I finally spotted Clem and she actually was smiling. She flew into my arms, embracing me like she hadn’t just seen me
