by Jae Hood
Brodie shook his head in disgust. “How could y’all do such a thing, betraying our family like this?”
“You don’t know the whole story, Bro,” I said. “Everything you know as the truth is really just a lie cooked up by Amos.”
“You’ve got until we reach the Birchwood Medical Center,” Brodie replied, “to explain everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
We took turns hurriedly explaining everything. We told Brodie about Nana’s safe and the contents linking Davis to my father’s murder and the fact that Amos himself was a Montgomery and not a true Monroe. I explained how my father, Graham, and Tanner Sr. had made an agreement to work alongside one another in the drug business, only to have two of the three men later murdered. Then we spoke of Levi.
“Levi deserved what he got,” Brodie said. “But Amos … there’s no real evidence linking him to Uncle Jeb’s murder. The documents, the photos, they all point to Davis? You’re basically telling me you’ve put all your faith in the Montgomerys without any actual evidence.”
Frustrated, I threw my hands up. The Jeep veered and I grabbed the steering wheel. “What more evidence do you need? Why else would he hold on to all the photographs, witness statements, and original, un-doctored police reports if he wasn’t somehow involved?”
Brodie ran his fingers through his hair. “Maybe those police reports aren’t un-doctored. Maybe the ones on file are real and the ones in the safe are doctored.”
“That makes no sense,” Lucy interrupted. “If Amos wanted Davis in jail for Daddy’s murder, he could have already put him away for life. Instead, he’s got all this evidence collected against him. Why would he hold on to it unless maybe Davis has something on him as well?”
“I don’t know,” Brodie responded. “But it’s funny how a little loving from the Montgomery boys has blindsided y’all and turned you completely against your own flesh and blood.”
“Your cousin, Peyton, is dealing meth in Mayhaw,” Shelby said, “for Amos and Davis. They’re working together.”
Brodie’s glare was fire and ice, his sneer twisting his face into a menacing mask of disbelief. “Peyton wouldn’t do business with a Montgomery.”
“Drew felt like bonding tonight.” Shelby slumped down in her seat, her fingertips skimming her neck. “He’s tweaked out of his mind, rambling on and on about every sin he’s committed the past couple of years. Some of the things he told me, they made me sick. I started crying, and it pissed him off. He wrapped his hands around my throat, told me he’d kill me if I repeated anything he said. Two days have passed since he last slept and he’s on edge. He’s capable of anything and everything.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Brodie asked. “Why are you ratting out your boyfriend?”
Shelby licked her broken lip, casting Brodie a solemn gaze. “You ever put so much faith in someone, praying night after night they’d get better, only to be slapped in the face by the reality that maybe they never will?”
My cousins and I sent an inadvertent gaze Lucy’s way. Lucy dropped her head, a smile curling on her lips, her demure happiness void of discernment. Then again, none of us understood the workings of Lucy’s mind, let alone me, her own sister.
Shelby drew in a deep breath and released it in one long sigh. “Yeah, well my faith is dwindling. And you deserve to know the truth.”
“So does Graham,” I said. “He took you in and raised you as his own. You shouldn’t keep these secrets from him. Maybe you’ve been placing your faith in the wrong person. Graham can help. He can help you get out of this relationship. He can help with Drew’s rehab.”
The Jeep went silent as I turned off the highway and pulled into the parking lot of Birchwood Medical Center. The two-story complex sprawled across a few acres of land, surrounded by tall pines. The front parking lot only held a handful of vehicles. Two lone ambulances rested under the awning of the emergency room, abandoned by their occupants.
A shiny black Cadillac sat near the exit, the surface gleaming beneath the harsh overhead lighting. A ball of dread formed in my stomach, not at the sight of Graham stepping out of the car, but at the sight of the strange man who exited the vehicle on the passenger side.
The man was tall and bore a striking resemblance to Graham. They shared the same distinguishing features: the dark mass of hair, cold eyes that could pick you apart, limb from limb, with one stern stare. He was much younger than Graham, looking to be in his late twenties.
“That’s Ray,” Shelby said. “Ray Montgomery, Graham’s first cousin.”
The sight of Tanner, emerging from the emergency room with Bryce and Chance in tow, faded her words into nothing. I grasped the door handle and sprang from the Jeep, but froze at Tanner’s solemn stare. He shook his head minutely.
Chance crossed the lot, his fingers flexing out and in, coiling into tight fists before extending. “Shelby.”
Brodie was helping Shelby from the Jeep, but stiffened when Chance’s hands wrapped around his arms. Chance flung him to the side as though Brodie wasn’t nearly twice Chance’s size. Brodie stumbled against the concrete before regaining his footing.
Shelby slowly emerged from the Jeep, battered and bruised. Chance cupped his hands on her face, tilting it as he inspected the busted lip, the growing hand prints appearing on her neck. Fingers leaving her face, he turned, glaring at Brodie.
“You. You did this. You hurt my sister.”
Brodie opened his mouth to protest, but not a word was uttered. Chance threw a steady punch upward, smacking Brodie in his jaw. I reached out to stop him, but Chance shoved me to the side. I fell to the ground as the two men broke into a scuffle, exchanging curses and blows. Chance knocked my cousin to the ground, his rage overpowering Brodie’s size.
Shelby and Lucy yelled, begging Chance to stop, but it was as if they weren’t there. It was as if none of us were there.
Josie stood apart from everyone, leaning against the Jeep, observing the tussle with a look of pure disgust on her face. Tanner and Bryce stepped in after a matter of seconds, but it felt like hours. They grabbed Chance, forcing him off my cousin and pinning him against my Jeep a breath away from Josie.
“Drew called and told me everything,” Chance screamed at my prone cousin, spittle flying from his mouth as he struggled against Tanner and Bryce. “He told me you attacked my sister in the parking lot of the car wash.”
Enraged, I stepped forward, heat creeping over my chest. “Brodie didn’t attack your sister. Drew is the one who threw her to the ground. Drew is the one who’s been hurting her for months. Everyone’s been too blind to see what’s right in front of them. Tell them, Shelby. Tell them about Drew.”
Shelby parted her lips, her face paralyzed in fright. Disappointment drained me of my plight, forcing tears to my eyes. Shelby gave a slight shake of her head, an odd dimness in her eyes. Dimness. Deadness. Her eyes were dead, the strong girl who’d once introduced herself to me with a warning on her lips no longer alive.
Lucy’s sobs broke me from the sorrow and betrayal I felt inside. I gathered her in my arms and held her, our drying clothes uncomfortable and scratchy against each other’s skin.
Two security guards and a man wearing kelly-green scrubs darted outside. The security guards helped Brodie to his feet and escorted him inside. He leaned on their shoulders until a nurse came through the glass ER doors with a wheelchair. Holding his head up high, Brodie grumbled something, and the nurse allowed him to pass. Shelby trailed behind, awakening from her blank spell. Sobbing, she limped into the arms of the scrub-clad man who assisted her into the wheelchair.
“The boy thought you needed this worse than he did,” the nurse said. She wheeled Shelby into the building, and we watched until we could no longer see her windblown hair or bruise-stained neck.
“This is exactly what I was talking about, Tanner. Those Monroes are nothing but trouble.”
The man named Ray gave me a cold, hard stare. He stood near the Cadillac, glaring at me in disdain, his ri
gid posture a traitor to his sweet tone. He removed a cigar from his breast pocket and lit it. Smoke billowed around his curling smile, mixing with the rain that suddenly picked up speed.
Someone grabbed my arm, squeezing and dragging me beside them. Startled, I met Josie’s unwavering gaze. Lucy and I flanked her sides. Graham stepped around the Cadillac, his stoic expression unyielding. In my heart, I knew there was a reason he hadn’t defended my family or me, but my anger muddled any common sense. And doubt. Doubt also waged a war inside my heart, and I detested the uncertainty I felt for Graham, for Tanner.
Tanner.
Before entering the ER, I glanced over my shoulder. Tanner’s hair was wet with rain, slick and shining in an ungodly mess. The moisture trailed down his forehead, softening his long, sweeping lashes. The lean muscles in his arms and chest pressed against his soaking wet shirt. Rainwater whipped around us as the wind sucked it beneath the outside awning of the emergency room. The friction of the water slapped across my stinging face.
I walked inside the ER. Filtered coolness prickled my skin. The drone of a television mounted on the waiting room wall wasn’t enough to drown out the sound of a train rushing inside my head.
With hands shoved deeply into his wet, worn jeans, Tanner entered through the emergency room doors behind me. They breezed open for him, leaving a swooshing sound ringing through the air. Jaw set, he closed the distance between us, each step filled with purpose until Ray clamped his hand on his shoulder, leaned in, and whispered something in Tanner’s ear. Dogged determination melted away, replaced with a scowl and a curt nod. Ray patted his shoulder as though he were praising a child.
Tanner broke our gaze.
He turned and walked away, avoiding the nurses’ station and following his family down a long corridor without looking back. Wind, thunder, and rain pounded against the building and I pressed my hand against the place where my heart once rested. There was a frantic pounding below my palm, as frenetic as the storm raging outside, but it wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. The rush of blood as it screamed in my ears and churned through my veins wasn’t real.
Nothing was real.
*
The rooms in the ER were closed off by glass doors, the occupants hidden by a curtain on the inside. Brodie lay on a hospital bed, arms crossed over his chest, his lips pressed into a hard line. The only movement in the room was the flex of his jaw and the persistent rise and fall of his torso. His eyes flickered to mine once he noticed me standing at the door. I stepped into the room and sat on a plastic chair near the sink.
Blood no longer streaked across his face. A busted lip, swollen eye, cuts, and scrapes all replaced the crimson stain.
“You seen Drew or that Chance guy anywhere around?” he asked.
I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. “I doubt Drew will show his face here.”
Brodie nodded and stared at the ceiling. “What do you see in him? And is he worth it? Is he worth all the bullshit that went down tonight?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “I’m in love with him.”
“Jesus.” Brodie scrubbed his face with his hands in a momentary lapse of judgment, wincing at the self-inflicted pain.
A throat cleared beside us, catching our attention. Bryce stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. He nodded in greeting and poked his head out the door, looking in both directions before stepping inside. One tug of the curtain and we were closed off from the outside world.
Brodie sat up, the bed squeaking below him.
Bryce held his hands up and approached the bed with cautious steps. He sat on a rolling chair near the foot of the bed. “Tanner sent me in here to give you a heads up about what’s been going on the last few days.”
“Why should I care?” I asked. “He walked right past me in the waiting room. Acted like I was nothing.”
Bryce leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “He can’t be seen with you. Give me five minutes to explain.”
“Five minutes,” I said. “Better make it count.”
With a triumphant grin, Bryce surged forward into the details of the last few days.
“Ray showed up a few days ago,” he said. “Blew into town with a couple of his brothers. Uncle Graham told him everything. Told him about the safe, about everything in it, my father’s involvement.”
“And?” I asked.
Bryce sighed. “And he thinks all the documents are forged. He believes everything is cooked up by your family to turn the Montgomerys on one another.”
“That’s crazy,” I said. “Graham didn’t set him straight?”
“He tried. He assured Ray the documents and photos are authentic. Ray doesn’t believe him.”
“Which means?”
Bryce frowned. “Which means you’re in trouble. Tanner and I, well, we overheard Ray telling Graham that he’s gonna …”
“Gonna what?” Brodie asked, his fists clenching in his lap.
“If Tanner doesn’t end things with you, Ray’s gonna clip you.” Bryce shrugged, as though he hadn’t dropped the weight of the world onto my lap.
I groaned and palmed my face, massaging the soreness and anxiety from my forehead. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“Simple.” Bryce grinned despite the situation. “Stay away from Tanner.”
“What? What do you—”
“Just go with it. Whatever Tanner tells you tonight, go with it,” Bryce said, pausing near the doorway. “Hey, Brodie, no hard feelings. No matter what Drew told Graham, we all know the truth, okay? Drew’s been dabbling more than dealing. Graham lets him slide because of Shelby, but now this … I swear we didn’t know he’s been abusive.”
“Chance doesn’t seem to think so,” Brodie said, “considering he just tried whipping my ass.”
Bryce frowned. “He’s been friends with Drew since we were kids. No one wants to believe their buddy would beat up their sister. But even Chance knows what a hothead Drew is. He’ll come to his senses. Hell, even Tanner and Graham didn’t believe Drew’s bullshit story when he called. His story had more holes than my underwear. He happens to see y’all at the car wash, pulls up with Shelby to confront you, and Brodie attacks Shelby and not him? Dumbass. Of course Ray egged it on, made Chance believe the evil Monroes were to blame.”
Brodie pressed his lips together and didn’t reply. Bryce ducked out of the room and left me alone with my cousin, who gave me a questioning stare. “You know what Tanner’s gonna do, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s gonna break up with you.”
My unintentional snort echoed off the walls of the tiny room. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He groaned and hopped off the bed, tearing some sort of device from his finger and tossing it on top of the sheets. An alarm went off, loud enough to alert anyone standing outside the door.
“What do you think is gonna happen, Rue? That Ray guy intends to kill you. A nice, clean break is the only way to keep you safe. Either that or Tanner’s gonna have to kill him. Which option do you think he’ll choose? He’s a Montgomery. He’ll hurt you before his own kind.”
Two nurses entered the room, scolding Brodie, their hands fluttering around. He dodged them and stepped outside the room, with me following behind.
The truth of his words was daunting, but I forced them aside.
*
I chased after Brodie, following him into the lobby. Lucy and Josie sat waiting for us, exhaustion evident on their faces. The Montgomerys were nowhere to be seen. I darted past my family, my steps faltering once I was under the emergency room awning. Smoke billowed nearby, the scent of expensive cigars lingering in the air. Around a concrete column stood Tanner, Ray, and Graham, so absorbed in their conversation they didn’t notice my presence.
“I told you those Monroes are nothing but trash,” Ray said. “The women are filthy whores. She’s using you, Tanner. She’s nothing but a Monroe spy.”
“Tanner.”
The word left my mo
uth without my permission. The three men turned and stepped out from behind the column. Tanner’s face softened and my heart swelled. Hope fluttered inside my chest, the wings of which tickled the empty space earlier consumed with doubt.
Graham snuffed out the cherry of his cigar with the toe of his shoe and removed a new one from his breast pocket, lighting it. “You know what you have to do, son. Finish it.”
Nodding, Tanner clenched his jaw and approached me.
“You need to leave. We were fools to think this would ever work.”
“No,” I whispered.
His left eye twitched and I knew, I knew this wasn’t real.
Whatever Tanner tells you tonight, go with it.
Tanner stood with his weight on one hip, staring as far away from me as he could. Resolution painted his features, and if I’d believed the lie, the disregard on his face, it would have crippled me.
I feigned sucking in a ragged breath. “You’re my best friend, my soul mate. How can you just walk away? How can you walk away from us? From this?”
I reached for him, but my hand stilled in the wet air as he took a step back.
“What else have you lied about?” he asked.
“Wha—what do you mean?”
“You lied about Shelby. Is there anything else you lied about? Was any of it real?”
“Of course it was real. I love you. And I would never lie to you about anything, including Shelby. Drew is the one who hurt her, the one who put her in the hospital.”
Tanner sighed and shook his head. “Even if that were true, this is for the best. The bad blood between our families is too thick.”
“Now you care about what our families think?” I laughed, hoping it sounded as bitter and crushing to them as it did to my own ears. “Where’s that reckless boy? Where’s the boy who doesn’t care about the consequences, the boy I fell in love with?”
Tanner’s family gaped at us, sadistic smiles on their faces. We were giving them a good show.
Tanner ignored their probing stares, his voice dropping to a whisper. “That boy no longer exists. Stay away from my family. Do you understand?”