Page 109 of Burn Bag

I was vaguely aware of Red shooting around my side and tackling Slider to the ground, slamming his fist into the man’s face. I would have tried to intervene, but I was too devastated. My baby was gone. I had put so much love and attention into that truck, and with the snap of my fingers, she was gone.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger!” Slider shouted, pushing Red off him.

“The messenger? That’s all you have to say?” Red shouted.

The nurse came running over, yelling at both of them, but I was too devastated to care. I sank down in a chair and buried my face in my hands, feeling like I was about to cry.

Red sat down beside me, his hand immediately on my shoulder in a soothing gesture. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’re here for you, man. We’ll give her a nice burial.”

I shook my head. It wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t sure I could handle anything like that anyway. “Just take it to the junkyard,” I muttered.

“The—I’m sorry, what are we talking about?”

Sighing, I dropped my head back and stared at the hospital ceiling. I couldn’t deal with this right now. My truck was gone.

“Kavanaugh, what the fuck are you talking about?” Red demanded.

“She totaled his fucking truck,” Slider announced. “It’s gone. She drove it straight through Duke’s shop window and slammed it into the brick wall. That thing is toast.”

Just hearing the words again nearly had me breaking down, but somehow, I held it together. I had to.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re crying over a fucking truck? I thought Daphne was dead!” Red exploded.

I shook my head. “She’s with the doctor. Probably a good bump on her head, which is to be expected after totaling my truck.”

“Are you—are you fucking crying over your truck?” Red snapped.

I wiped my hand over my face and found, yes, I had a tear dribbling down my cheek. I shrugged, not really caring. “She’s really gone.”

Red hauled me up by the shirt, glaring at me hard. “Your wife is in the hospital, and all you care about is your fucking truck?”

“No,” I jerked out of his grasp. “She was the first thing I asked about. She’s back there with the doctor. There’s nothing I can do for her right now, but then Slider told me about…” My voice cracked on the last word and I couldn’t go on.

“Christ,” Red sighed. “I thought she died. Maybe you could lead with that next time.”

“I was in shock.”

“Well, no shit. If Zoe totaled my truck…well, that would never happen because she knows not to drive my truck.”

I snorted in amusement. “I thought Daphne did, also. It turns out, she doesn’t listen so well.”

“Fucking hell,” Red sighed, shoving his hand through his hair. “I seriously thought we were about to bury a body.”

“Nope, just my beautiful truck.” I sighed. “Christ, who knew marrying this woman would come with so many complications? I mean, what the fuck was she doing, anyway? I fucking told her not to drive my truck. I told her not to leave the house, in fact.”

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. The grieving process couldn’t last forever. I would never forget my truck, but Daphne…she fucking knew better.

“She jerked the wheel because she was about to hit a fence,” I muttered. “How the fuck do you go from almost hitting a fence to running through a building?”

“Duke is fucking pissed.”

“Lock probably is also. Fuck, our insurance is gonna go through the roof.” I stared at the ceiling, wondering if insurance would cover me. “She wasn’t on the insurance yet,” I laughed humorlessly. “There’s no way the insurance company will pay out. Not only was she at fault, but she wasn’t insured to drive it.”

“I don’t suppose you could claim that a fence frightened her,” Red muttered.

“I fucking loved that truck,” I sighed.

Red clapped me on the shoulder. “I know, man. I know.”

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