Razor's Edge (Afflictions) (34 page)

She sighs and slowly extracts herself from the closet. “They were going to fight Ben.”

“Fight Ben?” Like Ben’s too much for two grown men?

“Yeah. There is an underground kiddie fighting ring. Gary was going to toughen Ben up and enter him to make money. Said the balls that Ben showed in the shop gave him the idea.”

“That’s fucked up.” Wiley looks at me. “Guess you guys were right on—”

I glare at him, then look back to Sasha. “Do you know where Ben is?”

She shakes her head. “After I heard what he was going to do, I called Bebe. Gary caught me and beat me till I blacked out. I woke up in the closet. The last I saw Ben, he was in the kitchen with a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of him he wasn’t eating.”

Shit. He could be anywhere. Maybe Tryst shouldn’t have killed Gary.

“I’ll go check the basement. It’s huge and there’s a small tunnel to the garage.” Sasha heads to a rug and pulls it up, revealing a door. A second later she disappears down it.

I nod to Wiley. “Go with her. And make sure she doesn’t—”

“I gotcha.”

I leave him to it. I open the first door on the right and it’s nothing but a small bathroom. After quickly checking the shower, I move onto the next room. “Ben!”

           The room’s empty. Only a full-sized bed and nightstand. There’s a closet next to it and I open the door.

Relief floods through me. Except for a shiner, a chain dog collar around his neck and some tears, Ben looks okay. He’s trapped inside a dog kennel with a padlock on the front of it.

“Dad! Get me out!”

He’s calling me Dad. Despite the shitty situation, it’s everything I need to hear. “I will, buddy. Just hang tight. I
gotta find something to get the lock open.”

“He’ll kill you. He told me he was going to kill you!”

I shake my head. “Don’t worry buddy. He ran from us. Just calm down. I’m going to get you out.”

             
Forty-one

Morgan

Lina’s ashes sit in a purple and silver urn on top of the mantle. Gloom in the air, the funeral home is full of people in black. Some cry and others mourn quietly the loss of a good woman. Bryan’s sad words filter through the air, saying goodbye to the love of his life. It could’ve been Shay. Thank God it wasn’t. But fuck…Lina. Relief and shame war in my gut.

Bryan’s voice cracks and his words halt. He looks out over us and adjusts the sling holding his right arm. He wipes his eyes. “Sorry, I…” He clears his throat and his eyes dart around the crowd, “I can’t do this. She wasn’t supposed to die. She was too young and our life was just starting. I asked her to marry me…we were going to after the tour. And now...” He looks at her urn, then shakes his head. “I can’t.” He stalks from the podium into a back room.

Wiley and Lina’s mom follow.

That couldn’t have been easy for him. We all feel the pain that he’s going through. I want to run after him and give him some words of comfort, but I don’t know what to say. Instead, I walk up to the podium. If I can’t comfort him, I might as well cover for him.

I look out over Lina’s friends and family. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Morgan. I may be the leader of the band Lina was a part of, but she was the glue that held us together—her heart, her spirit. Her drive to succeed was the force that made us all focus on our common goal.”

Visions of Lina breaking up fights flood into my mind. My heart aches and I want to cry. I force myself to hold it together. My eyes zero in on Shay. She’s crying, but nods to encourage me. “I remember when I first met her. I wanted our band to be all guys, but then she played. Her talent was beautiful. I couldn’t believe that she wanted to be in a heavy metal band. She should have been playing in an orchestra. The way her fingers tickled those keys matched her heart.”

I run my hand through my hair. What else can I say? “When she hooked up with Bryan, I remember thinking, ‘Now, there’s a lucky man.’ Lina had a way of making you feel like you were special, but also had a talent for making you see when you were wrong. She was a great addition to our lives. And we won’t be the same without her. She was one of a kind. We’ll miss you, Lina.”

I leave the podium and a woman takes over, one of the girls Lina went to school with. She begins to go through memories of their times together, and the service moves quickly after that. Ten more people come and go, saying their goodbyes before the priest says a few things, and a verse from the Bible.

Bryan hasn’t come back, but Lina’s mom has. She’s standing next to the urn as we wait to hug her and give her our condolences. It’s my turn.

Rivers flow from her brown eyes, and I give her a soft hug. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Lina was a great girl.”

She nods.

I’m not good in these types of situations. I should be. I’ve lost both of my parents. I know how it feels to lose. Maybe that’s why. Because even though people’s hearts are in the right place, nothing they say makes the situation better. In the end, the person’s still dead, and you still have that hollow ache in your heart. I move on and let Shay say take over.

I head through the back to find Bryan. He hasn’t returned to the service and I’m worried about him. 

Walking down a long hall, I check each room but come up empty. I open the last door, and Tryst is standing by a window looking out, his face expressionless. There are about ten other people in the room, but they talk quietly in little groups and don’t notice me as I enter.

When I come up to Tryst, he turns and looks at me, a scowl on his face. “It’s her funeral. It shouldn’t be a media circus.”

I glance out the window.

Reporters from all the local news stations and paparazzi litter the funeral home’s lawn. It comes with the territory. Her death and the shooting have been topping the headlines for three days now. Something needs to happen. I wish Justin or Miley would do something stupid and take the heat off of us. Lina’s family doesn’t need this crap. “No, it shouldn’t.”

“Do you know how I felt when I killed Gary?” His voice is a soft whisper.

I glance around to make sure no one has heard him. They give no indication that they have. Everyone’s too upset to pay attention to Tryst’s confession. “I don’t think we should talk about this.”

Tryst turns from the window, leans against the sill, and crosses his arms, his posture as casual as if he were about to talk about the weather. “I felt nothing. No remorse. No relief. No vengeance. Not during or after.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“I need to go out there and confess.”

What? Did I just hear this dude correctly? “No. That’d be a very bad idea, my friend.”

He shakes his head. “Lina’s family doesn’t deserve this. And there’s something wrong with me.” He points to his temple. “Up here. Dudes like me belong in a mental ward. What if I do it again? I’ve done it before. Just ’cause it was in war, does that really make it right?”

“Don’t do this, dude. Please. You were doing us all a favor by killing that guy. No one knows he’s dead. You don’t need to play Mr. Martyr here.”

“I killed
Bebe’s brother. Doesn’t she deserve to mourn him? She might’ve hated Gary’s actions, but she’s still his sister. It’s only right. Me confessing.”

I get what he’s saying. And
Bebe does deserve to know. “You’re right. You say you don’t feel anything. But you do. You might not know it, but what you just told me screams ‘guilt.’ I don’t think you should tell the news. That’s not who you should confess to first. Bebe deserves to hear it from you instead of finding out on the TV.”

“I plan on telling her first.” He runs a hand over his shaved head. “I should go find her, then go outside and confess. The cops out there will handcuff me, and the media will more than likely follow us to the police station.”

“I don’t want you to do this, dude.” It’s only right, but my reasons are selfish. I don’t care. He did us a favor and he doesn’t deserve to be punished for it. Nothing I say will stop him, though. If I’ve learned one thing about Tryst it’s that once he sets his mind to something, he does it, no matter the fall out.

“Take care of my cousin and your kids.” He gives me a weak smile. “Don’t let Shay feel guilty over what I’m about to do, ’cause I know she’ll think it’s all her fault cause she hooked up with that asshole. And it’s not my job to protect her from herself anymore. It’s yours. Killing Gary was my last act as her savior.” He pats my shoulder. “You’re a good guy,
Morg. I’m glad she has you.”

I stare a hole into his back as he leaves the room. There has to be something I can do. I can’t let him fuck up his life because of that evil piece of shit. Even dead, Gary is still hurting those I care about. There has to be a way for this all to be okay.

My phone vibrates and I look down. It’s the real estate guy I talked to yesterday. I don’t need this distraction. My friend is about to throw himself off a cliff. I’ll call the guy back later. Right now I need to stop my friend from making a humongous mistake.

Shay

“I barely knew her and I’m sobbing like a baby.” I take the tissue Bebe hands me and blow into it. We’re in a spacious back room with low lighting. Mourners are around us, talking and crying quietly.

Bebe
, dressed in black for the first time in her life, leans in. “Death is sad. And Lina was a great woman. She never judged me like the others did.” She sits back in her chair and smiles. “I remember the first time I met her at the after party. She broke up a fight between me and Paula. That woman sure had some guts, I’ll tell you. And she took my side.”

And that’s huge, considering how Gretchen and I are the only women who’ve liked
Bebe and given her a chance. Most women hate her. It’s probably because she could take their men. It’s not her fault. She’s messed up and has an addiction to sex. But she’s a really good person when it comes down to it. The woman has a heart of gold and would do anything for the ones she cares about.

Tryst comes through the door and walks up to us. His face expressionless. “I need to talk to both of you, and you’re not going to like what I have to say.”

Uh-oh
. What did I do now? The last time Tryst said something along those lines was when we made up in the hospital and he called me out on my shit. It was hard to hear, but he forgave me for dumping Morgan and going back to Gary, and forgiveness with Tryst is hard to come by. He can really hold a grudge.

He plops down on the couch in between
Bebe and I. “I have a confession I—”

“He wants to confess his love for
Bebe.” Morgan walks up and plops down next to me.

“What?”
Bebe shrieks.

“That’s not what I have to say.” Tryst is glaring at Morgan.

What the hell is going on?

Morgan nods. “I know but I thought it would lighten the mood.”

“It’s a funeral. You shouldn’t lighten the mood.” Now Bebe’s glaring at Morgan.

“You’re right,
Bebe. I’m sorry.” Morgan’s eyes lock on Tryst. “There’s a right time for everything. And a funeral is no place for confessions.”

“Fuck that. I want to know what Tryst has to say.” I glance at Tryst. He’s death staring at Morgan.

Tryst looks at me and his expression softens. “I was the one who should’ve been keeping an eye on Ben the night he was taken.”

Really? “Ben’s safe. And Gary took off. You don’t have to feel guilty about that. I never blamed you.” Morgan and Tryst told me how it went down. They beat Gary and Morgan told him what they found on his computer. The underground kiddie fight clubs he was running for profit. Gary escaped when they called the cops.

Tryst nods.

“What did you need to tell me?”
Bebe quirks a brow.

Tryst sighs. “I’m sorry that he’s your brother.”

“That’s it?” Bebe scrunches her face. “That’s all?”

“Pretty much.” He stands. “Good talk.” Then he leaves.

There’s something wrong with my cousin. He doesn’t say sorry over things he has no power to control. His apology to Bebe makes no sense.

I go to stand and Morgan grabs my arm. “Let him go. I think he’s still working out some shit. He needs to be alone.”

“What just happened—”

“I
gotta go.” Bebe eyes the way Tryst left then looks back at me. “I’ve got a client in forty minutes.” She stands. We do, too, and she hugs me. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Yeah, I should. Gretchen’s probably in need of relief. Carla and Ben have got to be taking a lot out of her.”

She nods and leaves through the door Tryst did.

I turn to Morgan. “What’s going on with Tryst?”

He rolls his ring between lips. “We weren’t completely honest in what happened to Gary. He wanted to come clean. But now isn’t the time for it. We’re supposed to be mourning Lina. I just reminded him of that.”

My gut sinks. “You lied to me?”

“No, well, yes…but only because you were with Bebe when we brought Ben back. I was going to tell you the truth, but Bebe can’t know until I figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“Tryst slit Gary’s throat and we covered it up.”

Whoa.
My head’s spinning and I’m shocked.
Gary’s dead.
A wave of relief washes through me. Does that make me a bitch? I should be sad, right? Instead, the only thing I feel about this messed-up situation is grief for my two closest friends. This is so fucked up. I get why Morgan and Tryst had to lie to Bebe. But— “She deserves to know.”

Morgan nods. “I know. Tryst should be the one to tell her, though.”

He has a point. And the seriousness of the situation hits me—if Tryst tells Bebe what he did, he will end up in prison for the rest of his life, all because I chose the wrong guy. He killed Gary to protect me. I have to protect him. I have to keep this a secret and he can’t tell Bebe. “I have to find him.”

I go to leave and Morgan steps in front of me. “He was going to confess to you both. I stopped him. He won’t be doing it any time soon.” His arms come around me. “Let go say our goodbyes and get out of here. I want to get back
to the kids.”