Page 39 of Hodge
My fist balls as I think about what he did when I see Locke.
“Locke. Come here,” I call out to him. He walks over and drops into the chair next to me. I spin the computer around for him to see.
“What the fuck,” he mumbles under his breath.
“You think my dad is gonna have an issue with me handlin’ him?” Locke runs his hand through his hair and shrugs.
“I don’t know, Hodge. That really his daughter?”
“Looks that way. How did we never know he had a daughter?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think anyone ever brought it up,” he adds.
“Well, I’m bringin’ it up with my dad.”
“You gonna unclench those hands before you break a bone?”
“He left her to that, Locke. To him. That bastard who hurt her.”
“What’s it matter to you now?” I know what he’s doing by pushing my buttons. I know he’s trying to push me into admitting what I feel for Kemah, but I’m not going to. She doesn’t deserve the chaos that comes with being with me.
“Don’t do that shit, Locke. You of all fuckin’ people, don’t do it.”
“Fine. But you can’t ignore what you feel, brother.”
“I’m not tryin’ to. I just want to figure this shit out.” Just as he’s about to say more, my dad walks in from outside. I lift my hand and wave him over, watching as he walks this way.
When he gets close enough, he notices my clenched fists. Slowly, I unclench them and rest them on my lap.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Christopher is Kemah’s dad.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Shocked the shit out of me too,” I tell him. He scrubs his hand across his face before looking back at me.
“And I know what you want to do.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s written all over your face, son. You want to take his ass out.” I nod my head once as he looks at me.
“You’re not wrong.”
“Fuck. We do a lot of business with him.”
“I know that, too.”
“But she means more to you than that, yeah?” Fuck. Why are they all trying to do this to me today? Why are they all trying to force me to say what they already know?
“You gonna let me take this motherfucker out or not?”
“You don’t need me to tell you that you can. You’re gonna do it regardless.”
“I wouldn’t go against the club,” I state. There’s no way I could go against them. This is my home, my family. They’re the only family I’ve ever known, and I sure as hell wouldn’t mess that up for anyone. Kemah deserves to know that it’s over. That no one is going to fucking touch her or hurt her again. And I’m the one who’s going to make sure that happens.
“Come on, Hodge. Look at you!” He points at me, waving his arm up and down. “You’re practically ready to rush out the door right now.”
