Ash (31 page)

I chuckled and composed myself. “Hey, that’s not even funny.”

“It is. Poop is yucky, Daddy. Poopy bum bum.”

I burst into laughter. There was something so infectious about a child’s sense of humor that it made all the dark feelings disappear. For a while, at least.

I fixed us something to eat and sat across from him.

“Will Grandma let me sit up late?” he asked, and finished off his sandwich.

“That all depends on how good you are.”

“But Daddy, I’m always good.”

“Are you sure about that?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

He thought for a moment and grinned. “Well, most of the time I am.”

“Then, I guess that makes everything okay.”

“Sure, it does, Daddy.”

The kid was definitely a chip off the old block. What could I say? He had a knack for making my day so much better.

“You ready?” I asked.

He let out a belch and giggled. “Yup.”

“Then, let’s go to Grandma’s.”

He ran to this room, grabbed his plush Mushi Monster, and raced back to me. “Can’t forget Dewy, Daddy.”

“Oops, no, you can’t.” I carried his bag and opened the door.

As I drove off, a car pulled out from behind me and followed.

Great, I thought. Just what I need.

I drove slowly, checking my rear-view mirror, memorizing the number plate of the black Grand Cherokee. With its tinted windows, it was hard to see the driver’s face. I’d never seen the Jeep before, and it didn’t fill me with confidence. Shortly before I turned off, the Jeep slowed down and pulled in along the sidewalk, coming to a complete stop.

Nervous and angry, I wracked my brains, trying to figure out who it was as I made the journey to my parents. A little over twenty minutes later, we pulled up outside my parent’s home.

Jake jumped out of the truck when I opened his door.

My mother greeted us at the door with her usual warm smile. “Hello, sweetheart.” She touched Jake’s face, and he disappeared inside. “And how’s my boy?”

She always did that when she was trying to be a smartass. I let her have her moment.

“I’m good. Just make sure he doesn’t have a ton of juice before bed. I’ll be here Monday to pick him up.”

“Are you not coming in?” she asked, surprised.

“No, I’ve a ton of stuff to do, and I feel shitty already for having to leave him,” I replied. “I’ll just sneak off and let him wrap you and Pops around his fingers, like always.”

“Well, he is our only grandchild. What do you expect?” She laughed. “Have a good weekend, honey. Jake will have a wonderful time.”

I kissed her cheek and wanted nothing more than to be her little boy again. At least that way I would have been saved from what I was about to do.

“I love you, Mom.”

As I left, the weight of the world was suddenly on my shoulders, and it was all my own doing.

I cleared my throat and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Ash.” Andrés’ voice sounded smooth.

“Andrés, I’ve been expecting this call.” I kept my cool.

“Good.” He chuckled. “We have some nice video footage for your viewing.”

Fuck! They videoed it? I thought.

“I’m not sure that is something I want to see,” I replied.

He tutted and sighed. “It would be a shame. She is quite the fighter. Although, the wind has been truly knocked from her sails.”

“She wasn’t . . . hurt?”

He laughed in response. “What kind of man do you think I am?”

“Andrés, I mean no disrespect, but I know exactly what kind of man you are. I’m not stupid.”

I could tell he was amused by my blunt honesty.

“Ash, some things will never change. I can honestly say she is fine. A little bruised, maybe. Perhaps a little shaken. But certainly afraid to sleep with the lights off.”

I knew this villain. The very man who made me reevaluate what I wanted in life. The road in which he wanted me to travel didn’t bode well once I was introduced the sinister side of his crimes. I despised myself for even going to him, but he was man who did the job well, and there would be no ties to me.

“There is a black Cherokee parked a hundred yards from the front of your block. I’ll see you in five minutes,” Andrés said, and ended the call.

Without wasting a moment, I grabbed my keys and left the apartment. My mouth was dry, as though I’d swallowed sand. I couldn’t shake the unease swarming through me. I had to put on a show and refused to allow Andrés to see that I was way out of my comfort zone.

The Jeep was parked along the side of the road. As I approached it, the rear passenger opened, and I stepped inside. Smoke filled my nostrils as the door closed.

Andrés smiled, puffing on his cigarette. “This is a nice part of town,” he remarked. “You’ve come a long way, my friend.”

“It’s home.” I glared at him.

“Yes, I can see that, and from what Felipe has told me, you’re a good father.”

“I try my best,” I replied. “Connie was a good teacher.”

“Yes, sweet little Connie.” I hated how he said her name. “She had the balls of a hundred men. God rest her soul.” He blessed himself.

I was getting irritated and swallowed the pent-up rage that simmered beneath the surface. “Cut to the chase.”

Andrés laughed, flicking his cigarette out the window.

“Always so impatient. We’re going for a little ride.”

“This wasn’t the deal,” I said.

“No, this wasn’t the deal, but this is education, compadre.”

Fuck, this was what I hated the most about the man. He was unpredictable. Everything told me to jump out of the Jeep, but they knew where I lived and could pin so much on me. It wasn’t worth the risk.

I took a deep breath and focused on the present. I tried to make sure I didn’t let any of my fear rise to the surface.

“So, tell me about Jake,” he said.

“I don’t want to talk about my kid.”

“I had a son once,” he admitted. “He was everything to me.”

I stared him.

“He was born on the Fourth of July, of all dates, and he brought the greatest sense of pride. He was a noisy little shit, but that didn’t matter because he was mine.” He paused and turned his head in my direction. “He would’ve been almost nine years old now.”

I bit the inside of my lip, watching his eyes glaze over. I gulped down a breath and asked, “What happened?”

He lifted his fingers, pressed them against his right temple, and made a popping sound. “His mama didn’t want me in her life, so she shot my boy in the head before killing herself.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered.

“Right in front of me.” He nodded. “I’ll never forget the way he fell or the look of fear on his face as his mama put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. She warned me that she’d teach me a lesson, and sure as hell, she gave me an education on how far bitches will go to ruin a man.”

I was dumbfounded. I hadn’t expected this at all.

“I’m sorry, man,” I said, shaking my head.

“It’s not your fault, only the bitch that’s burning in hell.” He was angry.

“I can never understand someone taking the life of a child, nevermind their own.”

He chuckled before his voice turned serious. “Never underestimate the devious mind of a poisonous bitch.”

It all began to make sense. By him helping me, he was using Marcy as a way of avenging his child’s death, which was an unnerving realization.

The Jeep came to a stop, and the door was opened.

“Let’s take a walk,” Andrés ordered, and I got out of the Jeep.

We were at St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery. I glanced at Andrés, and he nodded toward a path.

Andrés and I walked side by side. The presence of his henchmen behind us gave me a sense of impending doom.

“I buried him just up here,” he announced. “It was a beautiful service.”

Relief washed over me. “I can’t imagine what this has done to you.”

“It’s made me a very bitter man,” he admitted. “But I am fair when it comes to business.”

“Why are we here?” I asked.

“Because I like you, Ash. I always did. Even when you thought you knew better than me, I always liked and respected you. That doesn’t happen often. That’s something you know very well.”

“But why here?”

He sighed. “You’ve a beautiful son. A child with a future. Something I had, but he now rests eternally. This is not a fate I wish to bestow on any man. When you came to me with your problem, I had my boys do a little digging. I like to know everything. They dug and dug some more, and found a lot of nasty shit about your friend. She really is a piece of work.”

I could feel the bile rise to the back of my throat. I cleared it.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, she was going to town on you, man. She had a list of everyone in your life. They were all targets. She was getting ready to report you to child services. It’s just as well that you came to me when you did.”

I shook my head. “She was going to report me for child abuse?”

“And everything else.”

“Fuck!”

“My man, that is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

“What?”

Andrés laughed and snapped his fingers at Felipe.

Felipe walked over to us and handed him a phone.

Andrés flicked through it and held it up for me to see. “Take a look, and tell me what you see,” he said.

I grabbed the phone and scrolled through the images.

Marcy’s small apartment office hadn’t changed much. Her desk was still a mess with notebooks, envelopes, and Post-It notes strewn across its surface. Pinned on the notice board above her desk were pictures of Jake and I. Dates and times, where we had gone, what we had done.

“What the fuck?” I muttered.

On closer inspection, she had a list of everyone I knew, from Danny, my parents, right down to Tracey. It was ridiculous. She had actually been following me.

“What has she been doing?” I asked, shifting my gaze to Andrés.

“Well, it appears that your lady friend has a bit of an obsession with you, my compadre.”

I sucked in a deep breath and asked the one thing I hadn’t wanted to. “You mentioned something about a video?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Andrés grinned and took the phone from me. “Let’s take this back to the Jeep. I don’t want this stuff around my kid.”

We walked back to the Jeep and got in.

He lit a cigarette and pressed play, handing the phone to me.

I watched the darkness on the screen. They were inside the apartment, waiting on her return. Then, there was the sudden sound of keys opening a door and a light came on.

Marcy walked around the living room and switched on the light by her desk. A loud bang, something falling got her attention. She looked up and stared.

“What the fuck?” She gasped.

The camera moved in her direction, focusing in on her facial expressions. Her eyes were narrowed, her brow furrowed. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and walked cautiously in the direction of the kitchen.

Bang!

A noise came from behind her. When she turned around, she came face-to-face with a masked man.

“Get the fuck out of my home,” she roared, pushing at the masked man in front of her.

The man didn’t reply. He lifted his hand and rubbed his chin.

“Settle your ass down, bitch.” His voice was deep and menacing.

She took a step back.

“Now show me where you keep your stash,” he said.

“I don’t know what you’re on about,” she shouted.

He laughed and looked behind him. “Hear that, boys? Little Miss Prissy, here, hasn’t got a clue. Shall we educate her?”

There was a sound of mutual laughter, and the camera zoomed in as more of Andrés’ henchmen appeared. It was like a scene from
The Purge
. Completely lawless and out of control.

Chairs went flying.

Lights flashed.

Marcy screamed.

In the commotion, the camera was flipped to the side, and I saw firsthand how violent Marcy could be.