And I’m here back in the warehouse, putting things in motion.
Nobody knows what’s about to happen.
Les and Taz come to the table.
Then Aric and Raf.
And last is Ado.
He’s lucky he’s shown up.
If I had to go looking for him then the plan was going to change.
But he’s here.
“Mac, what’s wrong?” Aric asks. “You look…”
“Just sit down,” I say.
Everyone sits.
“We have a problem,” I say.
“What kind of problem?” Raf asks.
“An operational problem,” I say.
I look at Ado.
He has a terrible poker face.
He looks ready to sweat and cry.
That’s when I lower my head.
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“What’s wrong, bro?” Taz asks.
“Give him a second,” Les says.
I lift my head and look up. “I have to tell you guys something. And it’s going to change everything.”
“What is it?” Ado asks. “Are you okay?”
I look right at Ado again and shake my head. “I feel like someone has stabbed me in the back.”
“How so?” Aric asks.
I push from the table and rub my chin.
“What I’m about to say cannot leave this table. Got it?”
Everyone nods.
“This is going to change… fuck it. There’s something wrong with Mama.”
The table is silent.
Taz and Les are surprised by my announcement.
But it’s all part of the plan.
“Mama?” Raf asks. “What’s wrong?”
“Jolie brought it up to me and I pushed her away,” I say. “I was a damn fool for that. What I’m saying is…” I look at Taz and Les and nod.
“Mama keeps fucking up,” Les says.
“Forgetting things,” Taz says.
They’re both sad.
I’m hitting them all in the heart.
I have to though.
“Forgetting things?” Ado asks.
“She almost got Les and I killed,” I say. “Taz too. I’ve been playing it off. But I can’t anymore. She went to the doctors. She’s…” I take a deep breath. “She’s got Alzheimer’s.”
“Fuck no,” Aric says. He stands up. “Fuck no. No.”
“Shit!” Raf yells. He slams his hand on the table.
I look at Ado.
There’s a sense of relief in Ado’s eyes.
That’s exactly what I want.
“I’m so sorry, Mac,” Ado says. “Are you sure?”
“Doctors, bro,” I say. “And I’ve seen it myself now. It’s like she’s there one second and then gone the next. Like a wave or something. I don’t know how to explain it. But we aren’t in the kind of business where that’s acceptable.”
“Does she know you know?” Aric asks.
“No,” I say. “I mean, maybe. She had Jolie drive her to the doctor. I don’t know what she’s going to do. When she’s going to say something. But one thing I know for sure, we aren’t going to say anything. To her. To anyone.”
“We’re sure of this?” Raf asks. “I mean…”
“We’re sure,” Les says in a deep voice. “We’re sure.”
“It fucking sucks,” Taz says.
“More than sucks,” I say. “But it’s what we’re facing. It also means we have to be extra careful with everything. I’m not going to say that Mama is wrong about everything she says, but we just have to be sure of it before we act. I can’t stop thinking about the info she gave on Jolie’s old man. We were this close to getting to him. To getting to Jolie.”
I look at Ado again.
His nervous face comes back.
“You have any idea where she is?” Ado asks.
“No,” I say. “And this thing with Mama only makes it worse.”
“Fuck, bro,” Ado says.
Again, relief washes over his face.
I want to fucking kill him right now.
I look down at Taz and I can see him ready to explode.
“That’s all I wanted to talk about right now,” I say. “I’m working on some stuff but it doesn’t matter right now. Everyone just keep an eye on things. Don’t tell Mama anything. If you see her acting different, just go with it and then tell me.”
“At some point though, bro,” Aric says.
“I know,” I say. “We will handle it.” I look around the table and nod. “As far as everything else. Business as usual. Keep things flowing.”
“Done,” Les says.
He hits the table and stands up.
Everyone breaks away from the table.
I carefully watch as Taz walks to the door at the same time as Ado does.
I can already see it happening.
Taz throwing his shoulder and knocking Ado into the wall.
Then calling out oops.
I let out a whistle and get Ado’s attention.
I wave him toward me.
Taz glances back at me, lip curled.
Ado walks toward me and my hands ball up into fists.
I picture him stealing cash, pulling a gun on Jolie, threatening her.
But right now every decision I make doesn’t just hit my life or the crew, but it hits Jolie’s life.
The end of this is me with Jolie.
Holding her on the beach.
Kissing her under the stars.
“How’s your mother?” I ask Ado.
“Still dying,” Ado says.
“You know, bro, In some crazy universal way, we all are,” I say. “Right? Each second is another taken off our life. We just don’t know how many seconds we have.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Ado asks.
“No,” I say. “I’m just making sure we’re on the same page with everything still.”
“Yeah. You’re cold as fuck, Mac. As always. You hate me and can’t let go of what happened. And I get it. I’d probably be the same way. And you miss the fuck out of Jolie. I wish I could help.”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m sure you do. It’ll all work out. Let’s go take care of some business.”
We leave the room and I shut the door behind me.
I walk through the garage and I feel Taz staring at me.
He wants to explode.
We all do.
Aric and Raf are hurting over the news of Mama.
Today is just getting started though.
“Everyone out,” I call out. “Les, Aric, you’re with me. Taz, you take Raf. Ado… hit the track.”
“Yeah?” Ado asks.
I nod. “Yeah. We’re overdue to check on supplies down there. Can I trust you down there?”
“Of course you can, Mac,” Ado says. “I’m tired of these bullshit parties and stuff. I want real work.”
“Then it’s yours,” I say.
We all split off into our vehicles and I hit the button to shut the garage door.
Les is in the passenger seat next to me.
“Where am I texting to meet?” he asks.
“Skatepark,” I say.
“What are we doing?” Aric asks.
“Getting to the bottom of the truth, bro.”
Taz grips the railing and looks ready to rip it apart.
Les is calm and collected.
Peg Leg Mikey is in on the conversation because I trust him more than I trust Ado.
Aric and Raf have to first collect their jaws off the ground from the shock of the story. And then the anger comes in a big wave.
“And we just sat there with him?” Raf asks.
“What the fuck, Mac?” Aric asks.
“Listen to me,” I say. “I know what we want to do. And there’s a way to make this right. We can’t rely on Mama the way we want to. There’s a plan in place for this kind of thing. This isn’t something where you just replace the cash, beat the fuck out of Ado, and toss him to the
curb. And this is my fault. So I have to fix it my way.”
“How is it your fault?” Peg Leg Mikey asks.
“Ado was in the middle of a situation a while ago,” I say. “He wanted to overthrow me. Wanted to take control of BC. Not him, but other parts of the crew. He was honest and I kept him around.”
“It’s not your fault,” Aric says to me. “It’s Ado’s fault.”
“He wants to help his mother,” I say.
“Well maybe we should have her meet her grave earlier than expected,” Raf says.
“Fuck, bro, she’s got cancer,” Les says.
“I don’t care,” Raf says.
“I’m with Raf,” Taz says.
“Listen to me,” I growl. “I’ve got it worked out. You just have to trust me.”
“I trust my fists,” Taz says.
“Taz, cut the shit,” Les says.
“Come over here and say that to me,” Taz says.
Les takes a step and I grab his shirt.
“Stop,” I say. “I get it. This is a fucked up mess. But if we don’t do this the right way, it all comes crashing down.”
“What do you need from me?” Peg Leg Mikey asks.
“You just run this place tight,” I say to him. “Any bullshit and you call me. Make sure you work with Van and Clay too. This entire area needs to be safe at all times.”
“Done,” Peg Leg Mikey says.
“I fucking hate this,” Raf says. “All of it.”
“We all do,” Les says.
“I just want to…”
Raf walks by us and goes to the top of the halfpipe.
A skateboarder named Chimmy comes up the halfpipe and stops.
Raf punches him in the face.
“Raf!” Les yells.
“Let him go,” I say.
Raf grabs the skateboard and swings it at Chimmy.
Chimmy screams when Raf hits him with it.
Raf throws the skateboard down the halfpipe and then does the same with Chimmy.
“My turn,” Taz says.
He cracks his knuckles and jumps the railing.
“Before we go destroying the skatepark,” I call out. “Can I tell you the next part of the plan here?”
Taz looks back at me. “It better be good.”
“Trust me, bro, it’s fucking good.”
14
JOLIE
“Promise me you won’t say anything to anyone?”
Violet hurries to a window and opens it. “I’m talking to Jolie! She’s safe! I found her!”
“Violet,” I growl.
She starts to laugh. “Seriously? Nobody can hear me.”
“You’re tucked away in your princess-castle mansion,” I say.
“Don’t be jealous,” she says. “This is the benefit of your parents having you by mistake.”
I laugh. “You just love owning that, don’t you?”
“Hell yeah,” she says. “I get whatever I want when I want. Just as long as they don’t have to deal with me.”
“You realize how old you are…”
“I do,” Violet says. “I’m not sure they do.”
She walks back to her bed.
The video shakes and dances, making me a little sick.
She crashes to her bed and I look away.
I feel like I’m on a boat in a hurricane talking to her like this.
It’s the best I can do without seeing her in person.
“I can’t wait to see you again,” I say to her. “And just hang out like normal.”
“Normal? There is nothing normal about you anymore, Jolie.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s good though. I like it. So no more giant bathtub for you?”
“Not here,” I say. “The shower is nice.”
“That tub though…”
She wiggles her eyebrows.
“You just liked the attention,” I say to her. “Making Les and Taz go crazy.”
“It’s all for fun,” she says.
“Yeah, but the thing is… these guys don’t do fun, Violet. Everything is serious.”
“Serious… whatever.”
“You don’t…” I shake my head. “Never mind.”
“Oh, fuck, I forgot to tell you,” Violet says. “I went to a party two nights ago. Guess who was there?”
“Who?”
“Liam.”
I roll my eyes. “Really?”
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” Violet says. “Liam… like… ohmygod…”
“So what happened to him then?” I ask. “Last I heard he was one step away from ending up at Brooks Crest.”
“He went to live on a ranch in Texas,” Violet says. “I swear on my life. And let’s just say… whatever he was doing there, ohmygod… his body… ohmygod…”
Okay, now Violet is getting annoying.
Which I’m used to.
But we’re on opposite ends of life.
She’s living the party, flirty life.
I’m still pretending to be kidnapped.
“Do you want to hear this or not?” Violet asks.
“Sorry,” I say. “Tell me the details.”
“Oh, I don’t know if you want those,” she says with a grin. “But I rode that cowboy so hard that he-”
The bedroom door opens.
In walks Mac with the entire crew.
“Uh, Violet, I have to go,” I say.
“Violet?” Taz asks. “Where?”
I turn my phone.
Taz hurries to the phone and stands there so his area is on the screen.
“Like what you see, darling?” Taz asks.
“Too many clothes,” Violet teases.
Taz grabs for his jeans.
“No way,” I call out.
I look at the screen again and Violet is blushing.
“What is wrong with you?” I ask her.
“Where’s Les?” Violet asks.
“I’m here,” Les calls out. “I’d rather see you in person.”
Violet smiles.
“Violet was just telling me the story of how she fucked a cowboy,” I say.
“Jolie!” Violet yells. “Stop!”
“What?” I ask.
“A cowboy?” Taz asks. He plops down on the bed next to me and grabs my hand. He points the phone at him. “You like that shit, darling? Throwing hay around and milking cows?”
“I like what it does to a guy’s body,” Violet says.
“You’re going to love what I do to your body,” Taz says.
“Is that so?” Violet asks.
“Okay, that’s enough,” I say. “You two can pick this up later.”
“I’m in,” Taz says. “I’ll need a really big phone though. So it fits on the screen.”
Violet giggles.
I look over to Les and he looks pissed.
“Do you want to say bye to Violet?” I ask Les.
“I don’t say goodbye,” Les says. “That means I’ll never talk to her again.”
Violet giggles again.
I end the video call.
Taz looks at me. “I’m going to fuck your best friend someday soon.”
“I feel bad for her,” I say.
“I don’t,” Taz says.
Taz moves off of the bed.
I stand up and Mac touches my face and kisses me.
His tongue flickers against my lips and we start to really kiss. Right in front of everyone. Which I’m not used to and have never done. So my face is burning red hot. So is the rest of my body. But I don’t want Mac to stop kissing me.
When he does stop kissing me, he pulls me close to him.
“Are we good yet?” Les asks.
“Can we get down to business?” Raf asks.
“Business?” I ask.
Mac looks down at me. “Time to show everyone just how fucking badass you are, sweetie.”
It’s one text message that changes my life.
And it isn’t some big dramatic thing either. It’s not li
ke in the movies where there’s music playing or it’s a certain kind of day or time or whatever.
I’m just standing in Mac’s room.
Surrounded by his crew. Minus Ado, of course.
Mac tells me the plan.
The crew all nods in agreement.
Everything in a way is on my back.
It’s up to me to decide what to do.
I’m not forced into anything.
I can tell Mac I don’t want to do it.
I know that. He knows that. The crew knows that.
But I want to do it.
I want the truth. I want everything to come to an end. I want to be with Mac like normal. I know our normal isn’t the normal of many… like Violet. Her normal is something I’ll never have. That’s okay because I never wanted that anyway.
I’m happy for her. She got to sleep with Liam.
And I’m happy she gets to flirt with Taz and Les over the phone.
Just as long as she doesn’t get too close like I did.
Except, I don’t mind it. I can’t picture my life without Mac.
And, yes, my thoughts are racing.
Deal with it.
I look at my phone and see the text message.
There’s a part of me that wants to cry. A part that demands I cry.
Mac touches my back. “You okay, sweetie?”
“I am,” I say. “I really am. Is Mama Dae okay with this?”
“She’s fine,” Mac says.
Meaning she doesn’t know about this. You’re doing this on your own, Mac. To protect me. To protect her.
I know how rough and tough Mac is. How mean he can appear to be.
But what he’s doing now proves that he has a heart.
Again, is this normal?
Not a chance in hell.
But that’s okay.
My phone buzzes in my hand.
“He responded,” I say.
My mouth goes dry.
Mac looks at the screen.
“Okay,” he says. “Take a picture of the plane tickets.”
“Not the money?” I ask.
“No,” Mac says. “The plane tickets will hurt worse.”
My hands are now shaking.
I take a picture of the plane tickets and send them as proof.
“He’s going to ask for a picture of me,” I say.
“He can see you in person,” Les says.
“He’s right,” Mac says. “Text him the spot. One hour.”
I type up the text and send it.
I get a reply.
Jolie, are you okay? Please just tell me you’re safe.
Mess Us Up (Brooks Crest Book 3) Page 13