by Freya Barker
“Are you okay, honey? You’ve been quiet these past couple of days. Something eating at you?”
Just like Sophia to be straightforward. Part of me wishes I could unload on her, just lay it all at her feet. The other part of me is worried one day I will and she’ll know what a fucked-up bastard she got herself involved with.
“I’m fine,” I lie, pressing a kiss to the patch of exposed skin at the base of her neck before I lift my head. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower and I’ll give you a hand with dinner.”
“Actually, I was hoping you’d get Ravi to help you finish that firepit out back. I picked up some giant marshmallows when we did groceries a couple of days ago. I thought he might like to roast some for dessert.” She turns her head and glances through the living room and out the sliding glass door, where Ravi is tossing an old Frisbee one of them must’ve found lying around for Van. “I was thinking maybe he never had that before. It’s something we did with my parents all the time. You think he’d like that?”
I press my lips to the side of her head.
“I’m sure he’ll love it.”
I don’t have the heart to tell her the boys devoured entire bags of roasted marshmallows when we were camping back in June.
By the time I get out of the shower and head downstairs, Ravi is sitting at the counter in the kitchen, watching Sophia chop vegetables.
“Ever hear the saying a watched pot never boils?” I ask him, as I ruffle his hair.
“I’m hungry.”
Sophia swings around. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“Grab a banana to tide you over and come outside with me. Need a hand with something. “
I’d already started digging a hole for the firepit after Sophia’s parents left. Duff had been satisfied just tossing down some rocks in a circle so I let him. But if his daughter wants a firepit, I want to make her a proper one.
“We’ve gotta get those stones and that bag of sand that’s been in the back of my truck,” I tell Ravi when we get outside, Van happily trotting out behind us. “We’re making a firepit.”
“Cool.”
“I’ve already dug the hole but I want to line the bottom with some sand and those small pavers. Then we’ll build up the circle with the stones.”
It takes us maybe an hour to put the thing together.
When we stand back to admire our work, Ravi looks mighty pleased with himself. He’s a smart kid with good spatial sense. He’ll do well working with his hands.
Behind us the door slides open.
“It’s perfect,” Sophia says, coming down the steps.
She sits down on one of the four stumps the kid and I rolled over here to circle the fire. They’d been behind the woodpile, clearly intended to be used at some point. I plan to use them as the base for two raw-edge benches, but that’s a job for another day.
“Can I build the fire?” the kid asks.
“How about you save that for after dinner?” she answers, grinning over at him. “Go wash your hands. It’s on the table.”
He doesn’t have to be told twice and is off like a shot. Sophia gets to her feet and walks up to me, putting a hand on my chest.
“It really is perfect.”
She lifts up on tiptoes and treats me to a sweet kiss.
“Glad you like it, baby.”
The tacos are the shit, some with shredded chicken, the others with spicy sliced flank steak, and topped with some kind of chipotle sauce she threw together. Thank God she likes to cook and is damn good at it too, because everyone knows what a disaster I am in the kitchen.
We had a late start and by the time Ravi is shoving the last taco down his gullet, it’s already getting dark outside.
“I’ll clean up.” I collect the dirty dishes and dump them in the sink. “You guys go ahead outside and start that fire before it gets too late.”
It doesn’t take much to tidy up, and I’m just about to head out back with the bag of marshmallows I found when my phone rings in my pocket.
Wapi’s name pops up on the screen.
“What’s up?”
“You need to get your ass down here.”
“Where? What’s going on?”
“Backyard. We’ve got a problem.”
That’s all I get before the line goes dead. Shit.
I see Ravi just got a nice fire going when I step outside.
“Did you find long sticks?” I ask him when he about snatches the bag from my hands.
“Yup.”
He shows me a couple of nice long ones.
“Good. Don’t give yourself a sugar coma,” I caution him when he shoves three gigantic marshmallows on one stick.
Then I bend over Sophia, who is watching him with a smile on her face.
“I’ve gotta run, Fee. Something urgent’s come up, but I’ll try to be back as soon as I can to get the kid home.”
She tilts her head back and asks worriedly, “Everything all right?”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
They’re having a good time and I don’t want to spoil their fun before I know what is going on.
“Okay. And don’t worry about us. I can get Ravi to the clubhouse when were done here.”
I hesitate for a second but then I remember the urgency in Wapi’s voice, and drop a hard kiss on Sophia’s lips.
“I’ll call you.”
Sophia
“No more for Van, kiddo. Too much sugar isn’t good for him.”
I don’t bother cautioning Ravi that twelve marshmallows after he just ate five tacos might be pushing the envelope as well. From the way he presses his hand in his stomach, he’s discovering that for himself.
“Okay.”
I’ve been a little uneasy since Tse left abruptly, wondering what could have happened to make him rush out of here. It sounded urgent. As long as it’s not dangerous.
I hope he’ll call soon.
“Next time, if you want, you’re more than welcome to bring a friend.”
I’m trying to fill the deep pockets of silence. Ravi is the least talkative kid I’ve ever encountered. So unlike my sister’s girls, who chatter nonstop. Especially Reagan, who is about to turn twelve, going on twenty. I bet she could talk Ravi out of his shell.
“That’s okay,” he mumbles. “I don’t really have any.”
My heart spasms in my chest. He sounds so sad. So lost. I just wanna wrap him up, but I’m afraid he’ll bolt if I touch him. Tse told me about the incident at the clubhouse but Ravi never talks about it.
“How come?” I ask gently, and he glances at me, as if the question surprises him.
“I don’t get along. I’m not like the other kids.”
He says it very matter-of-factly, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. My pregnancy hormones are filling my eyes with tears as I furiously blink them back. I’m going to terrify the kid if I start crying now.
“You know,” I start carefully. “I remember having a hard time adjusting when I went to college. You’ve met my parents. They’re different. My sister, me, and my younger brother were all home-schooled. We lived in Arizona on a large piece of land with a bunch of other families. Grew all our own food, and never owned a computer. We had to go into town to use one in the library.”
“You grew your own food? What, like vegetables?”
“Yup. It was like one big farm. We grew vegetables, had some livestock for milk and cheese, and sometimes meat, but mostly we ate vegetarian meals.”
“You eat meat now, though,” he points out.
“I do. I’ve changed a lot since I left home.” I try to steer the conversation back around. “Still didn’t really know how to make friends, though. When I was younger other kids teased me because I was different, and by the time I was grown up I was pretty used to being by myself. That’s until I met Kelsey, Finn’s mom. She and I grew to be good friends. She’d had a different kind of childhood as well and we understood each other.”
I notice he’s listen
ing intently and then appears to get lost in thought as he stares into the dwindling flames.
“My mom made the best Naan,” he suddenly says, his eyes still on the fire. “She had this big round heavy pan I had to help her lift on the stove. It would get so hot, steam would come off.”
That explains some of his features. He looks at least part East Indian to me.
“I love fresh Naan,” I prompt when he falls silent. “In fact, I love all Indian food.”
“She loved that pan,” he whispers, and I have to lean forward to hear him. “And then my uncle smashed her head in with it.”
I couldn’t have held back my gasp if I tried, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
“He said she shamed the family honor and I had to go live with him.”
Swallowing down the bile surging up my esophagus, I ask, “How old were you?”
“Nine.” He lifts his gaze on me. “Do you think you can make me Naan some day?”
God, how I wish Tse was here. I’m terrified of saying something wrong and breaking his fragile offer of trust.
“I never have before, but I’m happy to try. Maybe you can help me?”
“Sure.”
He picks up the Frisbee and throws it for Van, who happily jumps up from where he was lying and bounds after it. As if he didn’t just drop the most heartbreaking story at my feet.
The buzzing of my phone has me almost jump out of my skin, and I rush to pull it from my pocket.
It’s a message from Tse.
Gonna be a bit longer. Need you to take Ravi to clubhouse and wait for me there.
I check the time and notice to my surprise it’s almost eleven. The boy should probably be in bed by now. The fire is almost out anyway.
Okay. Leaving now.
Ravi just nods when I tell him and quickly throws some sand on the fire like Tse told him to do, before he follows me inside.
“Are we taking Van?” he asks, when I grab my wallet and my keys and open the front door.
“No. He probably needs a nap after all the exercise you gave him today. We’ll be back soon enough.”
I watch as he bends down and gives the dog a hug before he follows me out the door I lock behind us.
Just around the bend past Paco’s property I see rear lights up ahead. A car is parked half on the road, half on the shoulder, with the driver’s side door wide open. When I get closer, I notice something lying in the middle of the road. Not something, someone. They’re not moving.
I stop the Jeep at a distance.
“Is she hurt?” Ravi asks.
It’s only then I recognize it’s a woman with blonde hair. Something about her is familiar.
“Stay here,” I tell him.
I get out and am already pulling my phone from my pocket as I jog toward her.
“Oh no…Mandy?”
I kneel down on the ground beside her and brush the hair off her face, when suddenly her eyes snap open.
“I’m sorry.”
It’s the last thing I hear.
CHAPTER 24
Tse
THERE ARE ALREADY five or so bikes parked in the back, except for one lying on its side.
I could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles from the road and rounded the restaurant parking lot to the back. Three patrol cars and an ambulance are blocking my view of the back door.
Getting out of my truck, I rush toward the sound of angry voices to find Paco and Honon struggling with Kaga.
“What the fuck is going on?” I bark at Wapi when I spot him near the rear of the ambulance.
“It’s Lea. She was heading home when someone took a knife to her in the parking lot. I was at the bar.”
“Lea?”
Kaga’s wife has been working at the restaurant now for a month or so. She’s a sweet woman. She and Kaga have been together for probably close to twenty years and have a couple of teen boys. Kaga is our second in command, his calm and laid-back character a perfect counterbalance to Ouray’s often more explosive personality.
Kaga is not so calm now.
“How is she?”
“I don’t know, man. Emme went out to toss some garbage in the bin and saw her lying there. Yelled for me.” He runs both his hands over his head and I notice they’re stained red. “So much blood. She was lookin’ at me but couldn’t talk. I didn’t know where to put my hands to stop the bleeding.”
We both jerk our heads around when the ambulance suddenly tears out of there. Kaga’s loud keening sets my hair on end and when I look his way, he’s on his knees on the ground.
“We need to get him to the hospital,” I announce, walking toward the small group, grateful I opted to drive instead of ride. “Get him in my truck.”
At that moment Ouray comes walking out of the restaurant and marches straight up to Kaga, hooks him under the arms and hauls him to his feet. Then he takes the other man’s face in his hands and leans close.
“Get it the fuck together, brother,” he barks in his face. “You keep this shit up and they won’t let you into the hospital either. Your wife needs you calm.”
That last comment seems to resonate and moments later we’re putting him in my passenger seat. Honon and Ouray get in the back and I guess the other guys will follow later.
“Someone get me up to speed,” I ask, as I steer the truck toward the exit.
Ouray explains how he, Kaga, and Honon were just coming back from the gym when Paco ran out of the clubhouse. He’d been checking the camera feed for the restaurant and saw the attack go down.
“We just took off. Didn’t realize it was Lea until we got here. Paco actually thought it was Sophia at first, with the similar haircuts.”
Never registered that before, but now that he mentions it, they both have short brown hair and are probably about the same height. Suddenly uneasy, I fish my phone from my pocket and toss it in the back seat.
“Text Sophia, tell her to bring Ravi to the clubhouse and stay there.”
I don’t want to waste time arguing over the phone with her, nor do I want to tell her what is going on until we know how Lea is doing. Otherwise, she’ll insist on coming to the hospital and I need to know she’s safe at the clubhouse.
“Good call,” Ouray mumbles, and when I glance in the rearview mirror I catch his worried eyes on me.
“She’s texting back,” Honon announces and I sigh in relief. “Says she’s leaving right away.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Kaga mumbles beside me.
“You need to cool it, brother. Focus on Lea.” Ouray leans forward and grabs a firm hold of his shoulder. “Family first, then we’ll talk revenge.”
I get us to Mercy in record time, where we’re directed to a waiting room while Ouray is trying to get information from the nurse at the desk.
“Any idea who it was?” I ask Honon.
We’re standing off by the doors while Ouray sits down next to Kaga in one of the few available seats. The ER is busy. Every time a white coat walks in through the doors, the rumble of voices quiets and all eyes turn that way. Everyone is eagerly awaiting news.
“Paco said it was hard to make out on the screen. Fucker came at her from behind. Looks like he stabbed her first in the back and when she turned around, he repeatedly slashed at her front. Says she tried to fight him off.”
“Jesus.”
“All he could tell was the guy was maybe a couple of inches taller—not by that much—and had a slight build. Dark clothes, probably a hoodie, or whatever. Light-skinned.”
“Where’d he go after? Did he see?”
“He was already on the phone with the cops when he watched him run across the parking lot toward the trees at the back.”
I’m suddenly transported back a few weeks to the alley where I saw a figure of a similar description kick Sophia, who was on the ground, before taking off. I followed him through those trees and between two buildings, right across to the other side of the railroad tracks.
It would make sense. The feds had
picked up a few of the dealers before the sting went sour, but that particular guy had not been among them.
“Be back in a minute,” I tell Honon, and walk down the hall and out the door to the parking lot to make a call.
“Yeah.”
“Paco, it’s Tse. I had a thought.”
“Kinda have my hands full. Feds just showed up.”
“Appreciate that, brother, but I may be able to help. That video of the attack. Can I access that from my phone?”
“Fuck, man, you don’t want to see that shit. Trust me on this.”
When I explain my suspicion it might be the same dealer from the alley, he immediately texts me a link and a password.
“Skip ahead to nine oh five,” he says, staying on the line with me. “That’s when she walks out. You can see the guy coming from the other side of the bin.”
I watch Lea come into view, walking away from the restaurant. She’s maybe twenty feet into the parking lot when you can clearly see a shape detach itself from the shadow of the dumpster. Crouched low, the figure sneaks up behind her.
I hiss sharply as I witness the brutal attack, but force myself to observe the figure instead of Lea’s futile fight. The moment she drops to the ground, the guy backs away a few steps before he turns and starts running.
“Wait a minute,” I mumble, stopping the feed and backing it up.
There, right as he crosses through the beam from the light over the back door.
I replay it again to make sure.
“Nine oh seven,” I tell Paco. “Guy is running, the light hits his right side. There’s a name running down the sleeve of his hoodie. Pretty sure I saw something similar on the guy who attacked Sophia. He moves the same way too.”
“Shit. Tell me she’s safe, brother.”
“Should be at the clubhouse. I’ve gotta go.”
I end the call and immediately call the clubhouse where Brick answers.
“Did Sophia and the boy get there okay?”
A moment of heavy silence passes before Brick responds.
“She’s supposed to be here?”
“Texted her half an hour ago. Maybe a little longer. Let me call her.”
Hanging up, I dial her number and listen to it ring until it goes to voicemail. Maybe she’s driving. I try again and leave her a curt message to call me right away, but it’s not sitting well with me.