by Lane Hart
I tell myself to act unfazed by whatever it is, but that shit goes right out the window when I lower my eyes to the image of a naked corpse, missing half the skin on its face and body with dead, glassy eyes staring off in the distance. Vomit rises up into my throat so fast, I almost don’t find the trashcan at the back of the room in time before I lose all the contents of my stomach.
“What the fuck is that?” I ask the cop while I try to get myself under control, even though I’m pretty sure…
“We believe it’s what’s left of Robert Kelly, your girlfriend’s brother,” she answers. “Is it?”
“I…I dunno,” I answer honestly, heaving again at the thought of the dead person in the photo.
“Your ego will be happy to know that your funny little friend, Knox, had the same reaction to the photo. Ivan, however, remained stone-cold and took in the image like a man. Is he the one who disposed of the body?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask her in honest outrage. “None of us had anything to do with…that,” I say nodding my head to the table where the photo still lies face up.
“Then tell me who did,” she says simply. “I would love to look for Robert’s murderer someplace else, but you see, we have intel that Robert was one of Mario’s fighters, just like you, Ivan, and Knox. He had bruises and a concussion that the autopsy examiner says happened before death and was consistent with the injuries a fighter might receive on a bad night. If the district attorney asked me if I thought one of you three killed him and dumped him in the river, I would even say no.”
Getting up from her chair, her high heels click-clack as she comes over to where I’m still hovering over the trash can in case I get sick again.
“But I do think at least one, if not all of you, have an idea of what happened to Robert Kelly. And if you’re caught lying to law enforcement about the details of a murder, well, that’s a felony in the state of North Carolina. You could serve some serious time, maybe even be charged as an accomplice for helping cover it up. And let’s not forget that arson-homicide I’m still investigating you for…”
I keep my mouth shut, because I’m certain that if the cop bitch had proof of anything, like the fact that I was the one who fought Robbie that night, she would have had me charged and thrown in jail by now. She’s grasping at straws, but I don’t know for how much longer.
Will someone rat me out? Tell the police that I was the one who knocked Robbie out and likely killed him?
I may not have tossed him into the river, but I’m just as responsible for his death.
My anger got way out of hand. I was so worried about Gabby and hated Robbie so much for not protecting her that I lost control and cheated to win at any cost.
Including his life.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gabby
“Do you know how much longer they’ll be?” I ask the young officer stationed at the front door of the apartment. The guys were taken away in the back of police cruisers over three hours ago, and I still haven’t heard anything. I would go to the station myself, but I’m afraid my babysitter is here to make sure I don’t leave.
“No idea,” the officer replies. “But the boss woman is on her way back to talk to you right now.”
“Talk to me?” I say in confusion.
I figured that since they took the guys that they were getting busted for illegal fighting. I have no idea what the punishment is for that, but I wouldn’t think it would be more than a slap on the wrist, right?
Hanging out in the living room, I wait on the sofa, mindlessly flipping through movie channels on the television even though I have no interest in watching anything at this point. Finally, the front door opens.
I jump to my feet and hurry toward the foyer until I see her — the woman in a pantsuit again with a badge on her hip.
“Gabrielle?” she asks, holding out her hand toward me.
“Yeah, Gabby,” I answer when I shake her hand.
“I’m Jade Horton, a detective with the Raleigh PD. Can we sit down somewhere and talk?”
“Sure, but I don’t think I can answer any of your questions,” I tell her.
“No, no, that’s okay,” she says when I lead her back to the living room where we sit next to each other on the sofa. I grab the remote to turn off the television.
“You came in and filed a missing person’s report for your brother Robert Kelly about a week ago?”
“Yes,” I reply, wondering why she’s bringing that up.
“Gabby, I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, but we need you to identify the body of who we’re almost certain is your brother.”
“Wh-what?” I ask.
“We suspect foul play. He was beaten, bruised, and received a concussion before his body was tossed into the river.”
“Oh, my God,” I mutter as I slap a hand over my mouth. “Robbie’s…he’s…he’s dead?”
“I’m so sorry,” she says again with her hand on my knee, like that makes the blow she just dropped on me any easier to take.
“I don’t understand,” I say. “How did he…”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” she replies. “Was your brother a member of an underground fighting ring?”
It’s so hard to think or comprehend anything she’s saying as tears overflow from my eyes and my throat begins to burn, trying to come to grips with the fact that my brother is gone…
“Gabby, was Robert a fighter for the Italian Mafia? Mario Guerra? Is that how he received the injuries? Did someone beat him to death?”
The word yes is on the tip of my tongue, because I’m too upset to answer with anything but the truth.
But then I remember that whatever I say could come back on Cain, Ivan, and Knox.
“I-I don’t know…I don’t know what Robbie was into. I-I didn’t see him much,” I lie. “Excuse me,” I say as I jump up and head for the bathroom to escape any more of her questions. Locking myself inside, my back slides down the door as I sob into my hands.
…
Cain
After making us sit around for another hour or so, a uniformed cop finally opens the interrogation room door and says he can give me and the guys a ride back to the house.
The three of us are silent, refusing to even look at each other too long for fear of giving anything away.
When we pull up to the apartment, I see a police cruiser and unmarked car parked in the street and realize exactly what’s going on.
“That bitch!” I mutter, trying to open the passenger door of the damn cruiser, but it’s locked and can only be opened from the outside.
“What?” Knox turns and asks from the front seat.
“Fuck. She’s already told Gabby,” Ivan answers in understanding from beside me.
I’ve never laid my hands on a woman before; but if that cop showed Gabby the photo of her brother, I will beat the shit out of her.
Finally, the slow as fuck officer gets out of the driver seat and opens the car door. As soon as I’m out, I take off running inside.
“Where is she?” I ask the detective when I burst into the apartment and don’t see Gabby.
“Bathroom,” she answers, at least having the decency to lower her eyes in sympathy for her.
“You’re a fucking bitch for doing this to her!” I tell her. “You could’ve waited to tell her when I was here!”
I try the bathroom doorknob but it’s locked, so I knock on it gently rather than bust it down like I want. “Gabby? Let me in, angel. I’m so damn sorry,” I tell her.
Thankfully, she opens up a moment later, red-faced with her eyes puffy from crying. Dammit, I should’ve been here for her when she found out!
“Did you know?” she asks.
“No, baby,” I say, wrapping her in my arms. “I just found out at the police station,” I tell her. Which is the truth. I may have assumed it was Robbie they had found as soon as I saw it on the news, but I didn’t know for sure until I saw the photo of what they say is
his body.
“I’m so sorry you found out alone,” I tell her as I hold her tightly to me.
“Who…who did this…to him?” she asks against my chest between sobs.
And I want to be honest with her and tell her it was me. That I’m the one who knocked him out and left him to die, but I can’t. She’ll never forgive me.
“I don’t know,” I answer instead. “We’ll find out.”
“I didn’t…I didn’t say anything,” she whispers, letting me know that even after that cop bitch nailed her with the news of her brother’s death she didn’t break and tell them a damn thing.
“Good, baby. That’s good,” I tell her with a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry,” I say again, even if the words are worthless. I have no clue what I can say or do for Gabby, and it’s fucking killing me.
“Sorry, Gabby,” Ivan says when he and Knox walk up.
“So sorry, sweet cheeks. He didn’t deserve to go that way,” Knox says.
Both guys consume Gabby and me in a group hug, making me feel even worse as they try to comfort my girl.
I’ve always known I was a piece of shit. Gabby was one of the few people who thought I was something more, and now I’ve let her down too.
Her brother is dead because of me, and I know that nothing will ever be the same again.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Gabby
A few weeks ago, when Cain tried to convince me to run away with him, I should’ve listened. Maybe if I had, the two of us could be living in some small town far away from here, pretending Robbie was still alive and fighting, rather than planning my brother’s funeral.
“If you’re on a budget, cremation is much simpler,” the asshole funeral home director tells me.
“No, I don’t want to do that,” I say without having to even consider it. I know Robbie is dead whatever we decide to do with his body, but I just can’t bring myself to burn him to ashes. I need to say goodbye with a proper burial. Seeing his deteriorated body in the morgue...that horrible image will never be erased from my memories, but at least once he’s buried I’ll have a place to visit him.
“We’ve got the money, so don’t bring that shit up again,” Cain warns the director. I give his hand a supportive squeeze, glad that he’s been with me every second helping me get through this nightmare.
“Okay, so you’ll need to pick out a casket. Here’s the catalog with the model numbers of the ones I have in stock circled,” the death salesman tells us. “I’ll give you a few minutes to see if you find something you like.”
“Thanks,” I tell him as he gets up from his desk and leaves the room. It’s not the director’s fault that Robbie’s dead. No, that’s all on one of the fighters and probably Mario too.
“What a prick,” Cain grumbles from beside me.
“Calm down,” I tell him. “He’s just doing his job.”
“Do you like any of these?” he asks, nodding to the magazine. “We can go someplace else if not.”
“It doesn’t really matter which casket, as long as he’s not cremated,” I tell him as I glance over the photos and prices because money is tight for us. Cain and the guys have saved up a nice stash from their wins, but I don’t want them to spend more than we need to for a funeral.
“Did you call your mom?” he asks softly as I turn pages.
“Yes. She offered her condolences but can’t make the drive up,” I reply with a heavy exhale. It’s not like I expected my mom to be sober or anything, but I thought she would at least come up here to help with funeral arrangements before we say goodbye...
Even now, I still can’t believe Robbie’s really gone. Sure, he wasn’t the best brother ever, but he was still my brother, my family. My only family. At least I have Cain. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him over the years, especially going through all this alone. Still, I can’t help but think he’s not telling me all he knows about the night of Robbie’s fight.
“Who did he fight that night, Cain?” I ask the question that’s been on my mind since the detective broke the news to me yesterday.
“I-I dunno,” he answers.
“You fought that night too, right?” I ask, remembering that he had just fought before our first time together.
“Yeah,” he answers before clearing his throat and studying the images of caskets in the book. “I don’t usually see Ivan or Knox fight either, because I’m either warming up in the locker room or recovering.”
“Oh,” I mutter. “Do you think either of them know who it was?” I ask.
“Maybe,” he says without making eye contact. “Let’s just focus on getting this done for now. You’ve got enough to worry about.” He leans up on his seat to look at the pages of caskets.
“Yeah,” I reply, surprised that Cain’s not leading the mob of fighters to the man who killed Robbie, seeking revenge for me.
“Do you think it was an accident or on purpose?” I ask him.
“Gabby, don’t worry about that shit. You’ve got a funeral to plan right now.”
“Just give me your opinion,” I say.
Blowing out a breath, Cain reclines in his chair and looks at me a long silent moment before he answers. “It was probably an accident, angel. Maybe the ref didn’t stop the fight in time. Who knows? But I don’t think anyone killed him on purpose. I do think someone wanted to cover up whatever happened, tried to make it look like he disappeared. I’m so sorry, baby,” he says, yet again when he reaches for my hand and brings it up to his lips to kiss my knuckles.
And for some reason, I think he’s apologizing when he says he’s sorry, not just offering his condolences. Maybe it’s because he’s covering for one of his fighter friends, or can put himself in the killer’s shoes. Either way, I’m pretty sure Cain is hiding something from me.
…
Cain
When Gabby finally falls asleep Saturday night after the god-awful day of planning her brother’s funeral, I slip out of bed to go talk to Knox and Ivan.
I find Knox eating a sandwich in the kitchen and motion with my head for him to come with me to Ivan’s room. His door’s open and he’s awake, sitting in bed reading a book with the lamp on. As soon as Knox comes in, I close the door behind him.
Looking between them, I say, “Has Gabby asked either of you who her brother fought that night?”
Even though I’ve tried to stay by her side every second, the fact that we live with Knox and Ivan mean there’s plenty of opportunities for Gabby to talk to one of them without me knowing.
“Nope,” Ivan replies.
“Nuh-uh,” Knox answers.
“Thank God,” I whisper in relief. “What the fuck are you gonna say if she does?”
“Did she ask you?” Ivan asks.
“Yes.”
“Well, what did you say?” Knox asks me.
“I said that I didn’t see his fight.”
“Okay, then we’ll say the same,” Knox agrees. “Ivan didn’t have a fight that night, and I can say I was getting my dick sucked at Escapades.”
“Good,” I reply.
“She’s gonna find out,” Ivan remarks.
“No, she won’t. Not if we all keep our mouths shut,” I tell him.
“Secrets always come out,” he counters.
“Not this one,” I say with conviction. “She can’t. If she were to find out I…”
Fuck, I can’t even say the words.
“You didn’t kill him,” Knox says with a slap to my shoulder. “You fought him and won, for her. What happened afterward isn’t on you.”
“You know, I seriously doubt she’ll see it that way,” I tell him. “And I fucking cheated!” Honestly, I’m not sure if I buy that it was an accident myself.
“The funeral is in two days, then maybe it will all be behind us and she’ll let it go,” Knox suggests.
“If someone killed her, do you think either of you could ever let it go?” Ivan asks.
“Never,” I answer on a sigh.
>
“Then good luck trying to convince her to drop it,” he says.
…
Gabby stays in bed until noon the next morning but I can’t sleep a wink, not with the images of Robbie’s dead body haunting me whenever I close my eyes. I need to do something to burn off all this anxious energy so I head to the gym to work out for a few hours. I also want to listen to the gossip, see what everyone is saying. Tomorrow, most of the fighters will be at Robbie’s funeral. All it will take is one jackass spilling the truth to Gabby to ruin everything.
Instead of sweaty fighters hitting each other like usual, the place is quiet as a tomb.
Mario is in the boxing ring, wearing a three-piece suit like usual, the look on his face enraged.
“There will be no fights from now until the foreseeable future! Raleigh PD is breathing down my fucking neck because of this shit, so you’re all out of work until they give up and find someone else to piss on,” Mario says to the group of men, who all grumble in response. “If you want someone to blame, blame him,” he tells them, pointing a finger right at me.
Everyone in the whole place turns to scowl at me after Mario puts the blame of their income loss on my back.
“His girl is the one who went to the police, and I know they picked up Cain and his boys. Did you keep your mouth shut?” he asks, calling me out.
“We didn’t say shit,” I assure him. I didn’t even need to ask Ivan or Knox to know that’s true. “The police don’t have shit either,” I add.
“Oh, I bet they have more than you think,” Mario disagrees. “So you better hope you’re right; because if this shit gets any closer to me, you’re going down for it,” he warns.
Son of a bitch.
If I go to prison for this, then it’s only a matter of time before my past catches up with me too. When they pin two murders on me, I’ll never see the light of day again, and Gabby will be left to fend for herself while being circled by sharks.