Page 53 of Wild Card
Ash was brought here to fix the drug problem in town, and maybe that’s exactly what he did. If that's the case, I should be relieved that he’s gone; I should fear a man who could take a life so willingly… but I don’t. I felt safe when Ash was around; I felt protected. If Kaleb was the person dealing those dangerous drugs that almost killed Esmé, then maybe he deserves to be dead. Tears start dripping onto my pillow when I’m reminded that I’m never going to feel that safety again.
Getting out of bed, I make my way across the hall and into his room. It’s exactly how he left it. I keep promising Earl that I’ll strip the bed and put on fresh sheets, but I like that the room still smells of him, too much. Pulling open his covers and snuggling myself beneath them, I breathe in his scent and feel the ache in my chest get a little bit heavier. A part of me wishes that Ash Monroe had never come to this town. I wish he hadn’t taught me how to love, because life seems much crueler now that he’s not here.
TWENTY-FIVE
Hack
“You're such a fuckin’ idiot,” I growl at myself in the mirror when I’m back in my trailer, washing the blood off my hands. I was right there in front of her, and I was too damn scared to tell her how I felt. Too fuckin’ cowardly to ask her if she wanted to grab a drink or hang out sometime. That prick who cut me up, as I pulled into the gas station, paid the price for it, and he sure looked like the kinda prick that would wanna press charges for the ass-kicking I gave him. I was wearing my cut at the time; Byron’s gonna be pissed at me for bringing unnecessary heat to the club.
My trailer rattles when someone starts knocking at the door, and while I finish draining away the blood from the sink, I grab a towel to cover my scuffed-up knuckles.
News spreads fast in Cody, and I’ll bet that's Sheriff Underwood, come to fuckin’ arrest me already.
“Alright, I’m coming!” I call out when the knocking gets more and more persistent, and when I fling the door open and see some scrawny kid standing in front of me, I frown at him inconfusion, waiting for him to explain what the hell he’s doing banging on my door.
“You're one of them, right?” he asks, looking over to the clubhouse.
“What's it to you if I am?” I ask, still wondering what business he’s got being here.
“I need to find Ash. I know he was one of you, too. I’ve been looking everywhere for him. He’s not at the bar anymore, ” he explains, looking jumpy as fuck.
“Ash left town weeks ago. What d’ya need him for?” I question the kid, starting to get impatient.
“He…he needs to know something. It’s about Kaleb Kingston,” he tells me, looking over his shoulder nervously.
“Tell me whatcha know.” I instantly step outta the trailer and grip the kid by his jacket, so he can’t run.
“I…I need to speak to Ash. I trust him. We met at a party once, he was kind to me.” The boy screws his eyes tight shut, like he’s prepping himself for me to swing at him.
“Ash is a friend of mine. A good one; whatever it is you came to tell him, you can tell me.”
“I…I’d rather talk to him.” He shakes his head, and instead of rattling the truth outta him like I wanna, I decide to try a softer approach and release him. “Listen, you obviously came here lookin’ for some kinda help. If you tell me what happened, I can offer you that help.” I dust off the shoulder of his jacket as a sign of goodwill.
“I was at the vigil,” he starts explaining. “I had to watch him shaking everyone's hands; acting all sad and sympathetic toward the Kingston family.” He shakes his head in disgust.
“Who ya talkin about, kid?” I ask because the last thing we need right now is this.
“Brett Porter, the mayor’s son. He killed Kaleb,” the kid whispers. “And now he’s acting like some kind of fuckin’ saint.”
“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” I’m starting to panic because it’s sounding a lot like this kid knows something. “Brett Porter didn’t kill Kaleb.” I scoff, acting cool while I try and figure out what to do with this.
“He sure as hell did. And I know that for sure because I watched him do it.” He’s looking me straight in the eye, and I can’t see any trace of a lie.
“I was up on the landing, crouched down, hiding, and I saw everything.” He keeps looking over at the clubhouse warily. “I came here to give Ash the information I got because I trust him, and it’s the right thing to do. Those people shouldn’t be searching for their son when there’s no hope of finding him. I have a friend who knows I’m here, and if I’m not back in one hour?—”
“Quit the bullshit. You were there?” I need to know for sure because if what he’s saying is true, this is bad… really fuckin’ bad.
“I’ve been staying at the Kingston place,” he explains.
“I take it the Kingstons don’t know you’ve been staying there?” I look at the worn, raggy clothes he’s wearing.
“Of course, they don’t know.” He shakes his head. “No one's ever there; the place is practically empty all year, and I got nowhere else to go.” He takes a long breath so he can get back to his story. “Kaleb never comes back during the school semester, and his parents hardly use the place, so I was surprised when he showed up a few weeks ago. He caught me off guard, and I had no choice but to hide. I stayed upstairs, crouched down on the landing, waiting for an opportunity to get out of there, but Brett showed up before that could happen.” He’s still fidgety and nervous, and it's putting me on edge.
“Tell me what you saw,” I remind him to focus.
“Kaleb was pissed that Brett had called him back from college. I heard him say he didn’t want to work for him anymore. Especially now that you guys were involved.”
“He said that? Are you sure?” I gotta check if what I’m hearing is right because if it is, we’ve made a terrible mistake.
