Redemption

by Sam J. D. Hunt

  He nodded, throwing back the rest of his Hennessy. “Hank Larsen is no one we need fuck with, that’s fo sho!”

  “The problem is, I’m already involved.”

  “Get uninvolved, Mack. Like pronto, my man.”

  “His ex-wife and I are, well, we’ve become close.”

  He shook his head so hard I swear I could hear his brain smack his cranium. “This I cannot do, Macintosh. His crew is too imbedded – they bad.”

  “She’s my daughter’s social worker, too.”

  “That is tragic news, my friend.”

  The bartender came back and Mo ordered another cognac. “You sho you just want H20? This shit is about to get real for you.”

  “I’m sure. Can you at least offer some Saints and Sinners level protection? A bit of manpower just until I can figure it out?”

  “I’ll give you Joe Boy and Ronnie D, but they can’t kill Larsen and his boys. Surveillance, maybe a show of force for ya, but if it comes to blood, we is out, my man.”

  My hand shook a little as I reached for my bottle of complimentary Station Casino water. “Well, thanks for the advice.”

  He drained his glass and nodded. “You know I love you, but you can’t just leave us and then expect us to risk our necks. But pay the two boys in cash, clean cash, and we is even for now.”

  “Deal. Can they start tonight?”

  “They already at yo place, my man. Texted them ten minutes ago. Ain’t nothing happening to yo little girl on my watch.”

  “Thanks, Bro.”

  “You is welcome, Macintosh. And next time, don’t drag my elegant ass out to fucking Sam’s Town.”

  “Sorry, I left Grace with a friend and didn’t want to go far.”

  “You sure you didn’t want a tequila or somethin’? Take the edge off?”

  “I like my edge fully on.”

  “I feel you, my man.”

  “Gotta get back, but thanks. I owe you. Next time, we’ll meet at Drai’s.”

  “Oh, yes you do. And let’s hope there’s a next time for ya, Macintosh. You on about eight o’ yo nine lives.”

  Sure enough, when I pulled into the parking lot, the dark car containing two members of my former gang sat. Their wage wouldn’t be cheap, but I had to keep Grace and Tara safe at all costs.

  “If it isn’t my two favorite ladies,” I said, forcing cheerfulness as I opened the door.

  “Look she’s smiling at me! She is such a good baby.” Tara had her in her arms, swinging her gently as Grace babbled. “We should get her a swing.”

  The day prior, we sounded great to me. Grace loved her, and even though I couldn’t yet say it outright, so did I. Peaceful family bliss seemed completely within reach, and for the first time ever in my life, I’d been happy.

  But the two words she’d said earlier that night, the name Hank Larsen, changed everything. I wasn’t just dealing with a crazy ex-husband, I was dealing with the second most dangerous man in Las Vegas.

  Of course, I was the first. Grace, however, and now Tara, put me at a serious disadvantage. Hank had nothing to lose, and I had everything.

  My only hope was that Hank and his band of dirty cops didn’t care enough about Tara to interfere. And I did have my own powerful Metro PD contacts, but how far they’d go for me, I wasn’t sure.

  I reached for Grace, desperate to hold her. “Thanks for staying with her.”

  Tara looked a little surprised, as if I’d stung her. “Stay with her? Of course I would. Don’t treat me like the babysitter, Shawn.”

  I forced a smile. “I didn’t mean it like that, baby.” The word sounded awkward, forced, which only made it worse.

  I took a deep breath and tried again. “Sorry, I’m so fucking awkward at this having a relationship thing. Let me get her fed and to bed and we’ll talk, okay?”

  “And you’ll tell me what’s really going on and where you were?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Give me twenty minutes. There’s some wine in the cabinet by the microwave.”

  “More Pink Kitty wine?” she said with a smile.

  “Nah, I got this shit just for your sipping pleasure at Albertsons. It’s in an actual bottle with a cork – classy like you.”

  I gave her a quick kiss as I walked by with Grace in my arms.

  With Grace sound asleep in her crib and the monitor on, I sat next to Tara on the couch. Her leg was draped over mine, and her left hand was comfortably laced in my right.

  “This is nice,” she said absently, sipping her merlot.

  “Nice.”

  “What’s wrong with nice?” She jabbed me playfully in the leg.

  “Actually, it’s pretty fucking incredible. But the thing is, Tara, that nice isn’t my life. Or yours.”

  She took another drink. “Why can’t we have this? A start at something new and maybe incredible.”

  “Because our pasts are beating at the door like wolves. Grace’s door.”

  “Hank is behind me now.”

  “Never. He won’t let go. So that means he needs to go and we all know it.”

  Thirteen

  I Don’t Beat Around The Bush. Unless It’s Yours

  Mack

  “I told you to keep her away from my parents!”

  Just when life seemed to be on an even keel, the universe sent a monkey wrench to fuck me up like it always does. The very next morning, with Saints and Sinners watching over us, Misty was at my door.

  “They’re her grandparents, and I decide that shit now.” They hadn’t arrived in town yet, but I’d agreed to a supervised visit.

  “Did the judge order us to?” She nervously leaned from one foot to another, her chewed up nails raking through her dirty hair.

  I didn’t like the word us one bit.

  “No, but the social worker said it would look good.”

  “Look good,” she spat. “That mousy-ass little bitch isn’t going to make decisions for our daughter.”

  “For my daughter.”

  Her bloodshot eyes met mine. “I want her back. Now.”

  I shook my head. “Never.”

  The black Mercedes rolled up and stopped, waiting.

  “That your pimp? You’d best clean it up, Misty, or you won’t even be hooking anymore.”

  “I’ve been clean before. I didn’t do drugs the whole time I was pregnant.”

  “Well let me go nominate you for mother of the fucking year.”

  “I could clean up again.” She stared at her nails as if cockroaches might explode from them.

  “I hope you do. But right now, you’re so fucking messed up that I bet all the dicks inside you OD on meth.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the car, a shudder running down her skeleton frame. “I need money. I owe them a lot, Mack.”

  “How much?” Everyone had a price.

  “Twenty grand.”

  “Done.”

  Her gaunt face finally showed a sign of life. “You mean it? You have that?”

  It would hurt, but I could get it. “In cash. The second you sign over your parental rights, it’s yours.”

  A wave of fear washed over her. “I need it now, Mack.”

  “Go to the courthouse today. It’s easy I’ve heard.”

  My outward demeanor was cold as a python, as usual, but inside my heart pounded. One quick legal procedure and I could finally have my daughter entirely to myself.

  “Well, maybe my parents will make me a better offer. Word on the street says they’re suing you for custody?”

  And there it was. My eyes went even colder than usual as I stared her down.

  “You know damn fucking well that anyone who tries to take Grace from me will end up out in the Mojave. I’d hate for that to include her egg-donor of a tweaker mother.”

  She shivered and looked back at the waiting car. “They’ll kill us all if we don’t pay.”

  “If you don’t pay. Give me Grace and I’ll give you cash. Simple, baby.”

  With that, I slammed the door inches from
her face. I’d meant every word I said to her. No one was taking my child from me, no one.

  But Misty wasn’t done, not by a long shot.

  Tara

  “I wish I could take you to the gym. I’ll miss you.” He leaned in and picked Grace up from her crib. “Right, baby girl?”

  Seeing them together warmed my heart. Yet at the same time, dark clouds hung over us all.

  “Go boxing, baby daddy. There’s nothing I want more than to spend an afternoon with my best girl.” I reached for her, wrapped her in my arms, and absorbed the perfect scent of my favorite baby.

  “It’ll be a couple of hours – I have two of them in from out of town to train. After that maybe we get the little lady to sleep and…”

  “Netflix and chill?”

  “Nah, fuck like animals. I don’t beat around the bush. Unless it’s yours.”

  He leaned in to kiss me, and I thought back to just a couple of short weeks ago when kissing was off limits for him. Now, our tongues were always intertwined.

  After Shawn left, I put Grace in her new swing and went to harness Thug for a walk. “Hey boy, let’s go!” I said.

  But he didn’t move from his bed in the corner.

  “Thug!”

  He raised his head and whined, but didn’t get up.

  “Walk?”

  Instead of his normal lumbering up in anticipation, he went back to sleep.

  “Poor gentle giant,” I said, patting his head. “Get your rest.”

  So Grace and I loaded up her top-of-the-line Cadillac of a stroller and set out without him. As soon as I had it off the porch, there was a voice from behind me.

  “Be careful of this neighborhood. I’d hate to see a rich bitch like you get hurt.”

  I swung around. “Ah Becky, always the charmer. Do I need to do a clean house check on you right now?”

  “Be my fucking guest,” she snapped, gesturing toward her front door.

  “Maybe when we get back from our walk.”

  “Well aren’t you the little wifey? I thought you were here to take that baby away, not pretty much adopt her yourself?”

  “Go away, Becky.”

  “He’s only with you to keep her. You know that, right?”

  I turned away from her, stung. That very thought had crossed my mind more times than I could count.

  “And maybe I’m only using him for his giant dick, the one you’ll never get.” A knot formed in my stomach as I said the harsh words. Tears stinging my eyes, I managed to ignore her and rolled down the dusty parking lot with Grace.

  We didn’t make it far.

  She came from the bushes in the most insane ambush I could ever imagine. It was crazier than any scene in a movie.

  Her face was dirty, her clothes torn. But still, despite her chaos, she wore the platform shoes of a streetwalker.

  “That’s my fucking kid!” She howled, grabbing on to the handle of the stroller.

  Grace howled as we fought for control. The sound of her discomfort was all the fuel I needed. I kicked at Misty, fighting as dirty as a middle school mean girl in a bathroom brawl.

  “Let go!” I hissed as she pulled at Grace’s safety harness.

  I was no weakling, but Misty was as high as the Strat tower. The strength of her meth rage made her dangerous.

  “I need that kid! They’re going to kill me, bitch!” Her worn-down fingers pulled at Grace’s bare feet as I punched at Misty.

  “He’ll kill you if take her! You know that!” The words came from my lips, shocking even me.

  “It’s my baby, give it to me!”

  “She’s not an it, you psycho!”

  I pulled at Grace, desperate to keep her safe. And then, a foot intervened.

  I looked down to see a tiny Sketcher sneaker pop out and trip Misty. In her platform shoes, she had no balance, and she fell back on her bony behind. I turned the stroller and ran.

  Becky was right behind me. “She’s dead!” she howled.

  “Let’s just get Grace back.” Over my shoulder, I could see Misty get into a black Mercedes. She hadn’t planned this on her own.

  “I told you this wasn’t your neighborhood, lady. But I will say, you held your own.”

  As we hurried back, another black car rolled up.

  “You ladies okay?” a voice asked from the window.

  We ignored it and ran.

  “Hey, don’t tell Mack we went to McD’s, alright?” another voice yelled from the car as it followed us back.

  “Fucking idiots!” Shawn screamed as he pounded on the dark tinted window of the black Lincoln.

  “We were hungry, Mack. Sorry, won’t happen again.”

  “So he sent me the stupidest fucking people!”

  “Everything seemed quiet. Those chicks didn’t tell us they were taking the baby out.”

  He leaned in and got inches from the driver’s face. “Because they didn’t know you were here. Secret is out now, isn’t it?”

  “No one told us shit. Besides, we’ve been here all night. Day shift never showed.”

  He sighed, his hands on his hips. “Okay, go home. Come back tonight, with food. If the blonde hooker chick comes back, grab her. Don’t hurt her, though – unless you have to.”

  I stood in front of him, Grace in my arms. “So you want to tell me again about how you’re not affiliated with Saints and Sinners anymore?”

  “Are you asking as a girlfriend or as a case worker?”

  “Would the answer be different?”

  “Fuck yeah. Let’s go inside.”

  He reached for Grace, her smile wide at seeing her daddy back.

  “Nice banged up face,” Becky yelled from her porch.

  “You shoulda seen the other guy,” he shouted back, middle finger in the air.

  “Yeah, well, that bitch you have there will fuck ya up pretty hard – she’s a scrappy little thing. Tread carefully.”

  I smiled as I turned to walk back toward Shawn’s door. Becky and I had definitely found some mutual respect.

  “I need to do more of this training stuff like I did today,” he said.

  Grace was on a blanket on the floor surrounded by toys – toys she was mostly far too young for. Shawn was next to her, savoring every minute she was awake.

  “Is it really less dangerous though? Look at your nose.”

  “Eh, that’s no big deal. It’s legit, on the record, work. And these guys pay, if they’re big enough like the two today. If I could get on Oliver Martinez’s crew, it would be mega.”

  “Isn’t he that big MMA fighter that was at the MGM last month?”

  “Yeah, and he’s back next week and has already messaged me.”

  “So why don’t you seem more excited about the prospect?”

  He rolled to his back and lifted Grace up, making her laugh. “She’s so much more fun now. Uh, it wouldn’t be here, that’s why. None of these guys live here.”

  I got up and walked to the window and looked through his rickety blinds. “Your boys are back.”

  “I was a bit hard on them. No one really told them what the threat was. We sure as fuck didn’t think it was Misty Magic.”

  “What is the threat, Shawn?”

  “You know damn well who is out to get us.”

  “Yeah, well now it seems like there’s more than one who.”

  He rolled up from the floor, Grace in his arms. “Let me get her a bath and to bed, and then I’ll get you a bath and to bed.”

  “This conversation isn’t over, Shawn.”

  “It is for now,” he said in a sing-song voice, making the faces at his baby that made her laugh.

  Late that night, I tapped him on the shoulder. “Explain this.”

  “It’s a shoulder. Mine is bigger than most, but basic anatomy—”

  “Funny.”

  “I’m not.” He rolled over and pulled me on top of him.

  “No, you’re not, and distracting me with blistering hot sex isn’t going to get you out of answering the questio
n.”

  “Damn. Well, it’s just another gang thing, honestly. But that one is more about the roots of it all.”

  “A shield?”

  “Yeah, it started as some ancient order of priests, monks, and other religious type peeps. Badass assassins for some sort of good, it seems.”

  I traced the outline of the familiar symbol, the one that was inked all over his body. “And the sinners?”

  “Same thing. Ying and yang, I guess. Dark and light. Not opposites, but balance.”

  “Are you trying to convince me that this gang is somehow doing good?”

  He let out an actual laugh. “No, rarely anymore. But they still probably have a bit more loyalty and ethics than the newer organizations. They came out for me today.”

  “Because you’re one of them.”

  “No, Tara, I’m not. I did leave. I mean, as much as one can leave. I’m paying those guys – cash, too much of it.”

  “Another reason you need to get out of here as soon as this file is closed,” I said.

  But I knew that I couldn’t leave with them. I was stuck, at least for the time being. More and more it seemed that what was best for Grace wasn’t me.

  Fourteen

  Wait, Babies Have Gyms?

  Mack

  “The visit is set up for Monday,” Tara said over coffee the next morning.

  “Great.”

  “I’ve learned as much as possible about these people. Two daughters, one highly successful, the other—”

  “The other became Misty Magic.”

  “No, actually Melissa was the higher achiever of the two. Honor roll, graduated at the top of her class at Pepperdine, but somewhere during grad school, she just spiraled.”

  “What, wait? The chick who just tried to rip Grace out of her stroller?”

  She nodded. “Yes, something definitely happened. But after that, she went back and forth on and off drugs. But never went home, never seemed to truly get back on track.”