by L. Wilder
“Pfft,” he grumbled. “So, you worked with your daddy, and now you think you know more than my lawyer and can get me out of this place?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all.” I tried to assure him. “My father was really good at his job. He’d always hoped I would follow in his footsteps, so he taught me a few things along the way—like how important a parole hearing could be.”
“How so?”
“Well, there are certain things the board looks at when they’re trying to decide if a hearing is justified, and good behavior is only a small part of it. They want to see that you’re making an effort to prepare for the transition back into society.”
“I’ve done what I can.”
“So, no trouble since you’ve been here?”
“Just a couple of run-ins, but I haven’t initiated anything, and I haven’t killed anyone while I’ve been in here—if that’s what you’re asking.” When I didn’t respond, he said, “It’s hard to keep your nose completely clean in a place like this, but again, I haven’t started any trouble.”
“Okay, that’s a start. What about classes or a job?”
“No classes, but I’m working. Been making fucking license plates for the past two damn years.”
“Would you consider being moved to a position where you could learn a field... maybe plumbing or electrical or carpentry?”
“Those are hard to get.”
“I’m aware, but you can’t get one unless you try,” I pushed. “And the counseling, especially anger management, could go a long—”
“Fuck that,” he grumbled. “I’m not doing that shit.”
“Easy, brother,” Menace said in a calm voice. “She’s just trying to help.”
“Well, I didn’t ask for fucking help!” He leaned over to us as he spat, “It’s bullshit! I don’t need fucking anger management!”
“Clearly.” I stood and turned to Menace. “I think it’s best I wait for you outside.”
“Sit,” Dalton ordered. I didn’t budge. I was too scared to make a move, so I simply stood there until his expression softened, and he muttered, “I’m sorry for the outburst. Please, just sit.”
No longer feeling threatened, I sat down and said, “I’m sorry for pushing. I know Menace thinks a lot of you. Apparently, all your brothers do. I was only trying to give a little advice in hopes of getting you out of this place as soon as possible.”
“You really think the counseling will help?”
“It’s one of the first things my father would suggest to his clients when they were trying to get out on parole.”
Menace and Dalton shared a look, then Menace said, “Just say the word. I’ll get in touch with the attorney and see what we can get set up.”
“Make it happen.”
“You got it.” Menace turned and looked over at the clock above us, then said, “Sorry to cut it short, but we gotta get going.”
“No problem.” We all stood, and Dalton shook Menace’s hand. “You two be careful doing whatever it is you’re gonna be doing.”
“We will.”
Dalton then turned his attention to me. “Thanks for the advice. Unsolicited or not, I appreciate ya trying to help.”
“I hope it helps.”
“You and me both.”
After a final goodbye, Menace and I walked out of the prisoner’s visiting room and out to the parking lot. Moments later, we were back in the SUV and on the road. We hadn’t been riding long when I felt the urge to say, “I’m sorry if I overstepped back there.”
“No need to apologize.” Menace’s eyes skirted over to me for a second, then back to the road as he admitted, “I’ve been trying to figure out how the hell to get him out of there for years, and then you...you come in there and finally give him the hope I never could.”
“You’ve been there for him through all of this. That’ll always mean more to him than a little advice from a stranger.”
“Maybe, but it sure as hell means a lot to me.”
Hearing the sincerity in his voice truly touched me. It warmed my heart to think I might’ve helped Dalton in some small way, especially since he meant so much to Menace. I found myself wondering if Billy meant as much to him as Dalton. I didn’t have a clue who the man was or what he could do to help me with my situation with Rossi. When Menace mentioned we were going to see him, I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t see the point. He was offering to help, and I wasn’t in a position to question it, but after our visit with Dalton at the freaking federal prison, I was beginning to wonder if I’d made a mistake in not asking more about him. He could’ve been a psycho serial killer they hired to just kill off Rossi and the rest of his mafia family…or worse. They could’ve hired him to finish me off and end my problems altogether. I highly doubted it was the latter, but that didn’t stop me from asking, “So, what’s the deal with this Billy guy?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Who is he? How do you know him? What’s he do?” I shrugged. “Anything.”
“I can’t really get into all that.” He kept his eyes on the road ahead as he declared, “It’s club business, and we don’t discuss club business with anyone outside of the club.”
“You don’t talk to anyone about stuff that goes on with the club?”
“Nope.”
“Well, that’s just asinine. I mean, seriously? How does that even work?” I pushed. “There are people who need to know things.”
“Not if they aren’t directly tied to the club.”
“And this Billy guy is tied to the club?”
“He is.”
“Okay, but we’re not going to see him about the club. We’re going to see him because of me. I don’t see why I can’t at least know who the guy is.”
“We might be going to see him because of you, but he’s working with us on behalf of the club. So...”
“Well, that’s just asinine.”
“You already said that.”
“It deems repeating, because it is, in fact, asinine! Very much so.” I crossed my arms with a huff. “What about the ol’ ladies? Do you talk to them about club business?”
“Nope.”
“What about the girls who work in the club?”
“Nope.”
“Asinine.”
“Are you done?” I turned to face him, and when I saw the smirk on his face, I rolled my eyes and glared straight ahead. “You know, you didn’t ask the most important question.”
“Oh, really? And what’s that?”
“Why we don’t share club business?”
“Okay, yes. That’s a good question.” I looked back over to him. “So, why don’t you?”
“We look out for the people we care about and have always believed the less you know, the safer you’ll be. It’s not always easy. In fact, sometimes it’s really fucking hard, but trust me when I say it’s for your benefit. Not mine.”
“Oh well, when you put it like that.”
“Exactly, now settle in. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
“How long?”
“You’re not going to start that shit again, are ya?”
“Nope.” I sat back in my seat and stared straight ahead. “I’m done. Not asking another question.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Oh, you just wait and see. I won’t ask another question for the rest of the day!”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
“Ass.”
Out of pure spite, I did my best to keep all my questions and doubts to myself, but it wasn’t easy. There were so many thoughts bouncing around in my head, but every time the temptation to speak started to brew, I swallowed back the thought and tried to focus on the road ahead. The silence was exhausting, so I finally closed my eyes and dozed off. I slept right up until a hard jolt had me springing up in my seat and looking out the front window. We were on a long, winding, gravel road, and there wasn’t a house in sight. I was about to turn and ask Menace where we were when I remembered that I’d tol
d him I wasn’t asking any more questions.
Trying to work around my stupid declaration, I glanced back at the tall stalks of corn that were growing in the field in front of us and said, “Wow, that’s a lot of corn.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Looks like a pretty big farm.”
“Apparently so.”
After continuing down the rutted gravel road for another mile or so, we came upon a beautiful pond with a long pier. Behind it was a large white house resting on top of a hill that looked like it was straight out of a Southern Living magazine. I’d never seen anything so beautiful. Not only was there a white picket fence outlining the entire property, but also a large walnut tree that cast just the right amount of shade on the enormous front porch; not to mention all the gorgeous ferns that were potted at every corner. This place was not at all what I was expecting, especially after visiting the prison. When I couldn’t stand it a minute longer, I finally asked, “Is this Billy’s place?”
“I knew you couldn’t do it!”
Menace
I was just as surprised as Parker when we pulled up to Billy’s place. I thought for sure that Viper had written down the wrong address, but then the front door opened and Billy stepped out onto the porch. He was wearing his typical khakis and freshly ironed, white button-down with tan loafers and horn-rimmed glasses. His dark brown hair was perfectly combed to the side, making him look more like an accountant instead of a fucking cleaner. His face was completely void of expression as he watched Parker and me get out of the truck. She followed close behind as I started down the front walkway and up to Billy. “Hello, Menace. Good to see you again.”
“Hey there, Billy.” I extended my hand. “How’s it going?”
“I can’t complain.” Billy shook my hand, then turned his attention to Parker. “Is this the young woman Viper was telling me about?”
“Yes, sir. It is.” I placed my hand on the small of her back. “Her name is Parker, and we both truly appreciate you agreeing to help us.”
“Why don’t you both go collect your things, and I’ll show you inside to your room.”
“Sure thing.”
Parker waited on the front steps with Billy while I ran to the truck to grab our things. While I couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, I could hear them talking back and forth like long lost friends. By the time I made it back up to the porch, Parker was smiling, and Billy was smiling right along with her—which was something I hadn’t expected from either one of them. When they noticed I was standing there next to them, they both immediately stopped talking and looked at me like I’d just interrupted some in-depth discussion. I lifted the bags and said, “All set.”
“Great.” Billy opened the door and motioned us to follow. “Come on in.”
We followed him through the front door, past the living room, and down the hall, and I had to say, I was a little thrown by what I saw. Everything in the place was white—the walls, the sofa, the chairs, and the rugs. Hell, even the paintings on the walls were shades of white with a black or gray background, and the white theme continued throughout the entire house with the kitchen cabinets, countertops, and all the bedding included. It was all nice stuff, really nice stuff, but it was odd—like an OCD, off-the-charts kind of odd. Billy opened one of the doors and motioned us inside, then said, “This is it. Not much to it, but the bed’s comfortable. I think you both will be pleased.”
“Wait, Menace and I both will be staying in here?”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
Before Parker could respond, I stepped between them. “Not at all. This will do just fine.”
“You sure?” Doubt riddled his voice. “I’d offer my daughter’s room, but there’s a chance she might—”
“That’s not necessary, Billy.” I didn’t even know the man had a daughter, but then again, I didn’t know anything about him except the fact that he was the club’s cleaner. “This is perfect. I appreciate you putting us up.”
“No problem. Glad to help you and the brothers any way I can.” Billy looked down at our bags, then said, “I’ll give you two some time to get settled, and then we can have something to eat and discuss what we’re going to do about your friend here.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen preparing dinner. You can just meet me in there when you’re done.”
“Will do.”
Once Billy left the room, Parker took her bags and started putting away her things into the closet and adjoining bathroom while I simply shoved mine in the corner next to the dresser. I’d just lain down across the bed when she appeared in the bathroom doorway and whispered, “Hey, how well do you know this Billy fella?”
“Not that well. Why?”
“I don’t know... He’s not what I was expecting.”
“Um-kay. So, what exactly were you expecting?”
“I don’t know, but I wasn’t expecting Mr. Prim and Proper, and I certainly wasn’t expecting him to live in a place like this.” Her brows furrowed as she whispered, “Is it just me or does it seem like he has a thing for white?”
“It’s not just you.”
“It’s weird, right?”
“Maybe a little.”
“A little?” Parker smiled and almost laughed as she whispered a little louder, “Come on, Menace. Work with me here! The guy is a little off his rocker, don’t ya think?”
She was saying exactly what I’d been thinking, but I wasn’t going to let her know that. I sat up on the bed and looked at her. “You can’t judge a book its cover.”
“I don’t know, man. I think this time we can.” She teased. “I feel like we just stepped into that movie, Sleeping with the Enemy. Next thing you know, he’ll be telling us we gotta line up the hand towels in just the right way. Oh! And I bet the cans in his cabinets are lined in perfect little rows with all the labels facing forward.”
“I think you might be getting a little carried away here.”
“Nooope! I’m just getting started.”
She smiled one of her smiles, and it got me right in the gut. Damn, this woman never ceased to amaze me. Parker’s life was in danger and she was in a place she never dreamed she’d be but could still find a way to laugh. I hated to put a damper on her fun, but I didn’t have a choice. “Well, you’re gonna have to give it a break for now.” I got up from the bed and nodded my head towards the door. “He’s waiting for us.”
“Okay, if I must.”
She giggled quietly as she followed me out the room and down the hall to the kitchen. When we walked in, Billy was standing at the counter chopping vegetables. There were several pots boiling on the stove and something cooking in the oven. Even though he’d been busy preparing a big meal for us, everything was in perfect order. As Parker approached the counter, she smiled and said, “Wow, it smells wonderful. Is there anything we can do to help?”
“No,” he answered assertively. “I just need to finish this salad, and then we will be ready to eat.”
“Oh, okay.”
Parker gave me a side glance as she sat down on one of the stools next to the counter. I took a seat next to her and said, “I hope you didn’t go to a lot of trouble on our account.”
“No trouble.”
He continued chopping away at the onions and carrots like a fucking sous-chef. Parker gave me a little prod with her elbow, then her eyes widened as she motioned her head over to one of the open cabinets. I looked over to see what had her so excited, and just as she’d suspected, all the cans were lined in a perfect row with all the labels facing forward. When I turned back to Parker, her lips were set in a grim line and her eyebrow was cocked high. I gave her a stern look, warning her to knock it off, then turned my attention back to Billy. “So, uh... Viper filled you in on everything that’s going on with Parker, right?”
“He did.”
“Do you think you can help her?”
“I can.” He tossed the vegetables into the bowl with the other ingr
edients for the salad, then said, “We will discuss it after dinner.”
It was impossible not to feel a little unsettled by Billy’s peculiar behavior, but I didn’t care how strange he behaved—not if he could help us solve Parker’s problem with Rossi and his crew. Parker and I waited until he had everything finished, then we helped him carry it all to the table. The guy had gone all out: homemade rigatoni with garlic bread and a huge garden salad. Once we were seated, Parker looked out at the entire spread and said, “This looks wonderful, Billy.”
“I hope you will enjoy it.”
After laying his napkin across his lap, Billy lowered his head and mumbled a quick prayer, then started placing food on each of our plates. We were all about to start eating when Billy reached over and moved the salt and pepper shakers to the center of the table, slightly turning each one so they were both positioned just the way he liked them. Parker gave me another side glance, but I refused to look at her. Instead, I tried to focus on eating my food and nothing else. But it wasn’t easy, especially when Parker kept nudging me with her foot every time Billy did something odd. Thankfully, she finally stopped pestering me and actually started eating. We all just sat there in silence, and it seemed to suit Billy just fine. Once we were done, Parker and I helped him take the dishes to the counter, and I placed our glasses in the sink. “Dinner was great, Billy.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He motioned his hand towards the door. “We can talk on the porch.”
“Okay.”
Parker and I followed him out front, and we sat down on the swing while Billy got comfortable in one of the rocking chairs next to us. We each sat there for a moment, taking in all the colors of the sunset. I had to give it to Billy. The man had quite the setup. It almost made me want to move out of the city and find me a place out in the country. We hadn’t been sitting there long when Billy looked over to me and asked, “May I speak freely?”
“I’d like to say yes, but you know how the club feels about discussing our personal business.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of crossing any line on that front, but I do feel that it is important for Parker to know that if we proceed with my plan, there’ll be no turning back.”