Page 10 of Nothing to Lose: Lost Trilogy: Part 1
I have no idea what they mean by that, but I can tell it’s nothing I’d want to know about my mother, so I don’t ask.
“What can I do for you, Lucas, son of Elaine?” Bricks leans back against the cast iron pole running from floor to ceiling in the abandoned warehouse we currently occupy.
I take a deep breath and look Bricks square in the eyes. I am scared shitless, and he is my only option right now.
“My mother told me to look you up if I need help with anything,” I manage to say without my voice wavering.
“And do you?” Bricks raises an eyebrow at me, his presence taking the entire space. The four people he has with him are not even on my radar, my focus solely on Bricks.
“Do I what?”
I know what he’s asking, and I know I shouldn’t be a smartass, but I can’t help it. He knows what I’m doing and just smirks in the corner of his mouth.
“Wrecker,” he calls to one of the guys who have been staying back.
“Yes, Prez,” the man named Wrecker steps forward, cold eyes assessing me in the same way as Bricks had only a minute ago. They are similar in the way they carry themselves, so now I’m wondering if they’re related.
“Kid’s got balls,” Bricks juts his chin toward me. “Could be a good prospect. He reminds me of your brother,” he continues, and the way he says the wordbrotherseems to bother Wrecker, but only for a fleeting second.
“I guess we’ll have to see how the rest of the evening goes before we decide,” Wrecker replies in his deep voice, sounding almost as if he is growling at all of us.
“Ah, that’s smart,” Bricks agrees. “That’s why you’re my number one guy in the club, son,” he starts laughing like a hyena.
I continue to stand in front of all of them, wondering if maybe I made a mistake.
“What do you need help with, kid?” he finally asks, his tone completely different now.
“I think Kenny is trying to get me killed to get to the trust fund my mother was in charge of for me.”
I tell him everything, spitting the words out at a fast pace, willing him to believe me.
“If your mother is in charge of it, why would he kill you for it?” Logical question, I agree. I’m happy he’s actually listening to me.
“She signed it all over to him.”
“Ah,” Bricks nods in understanding. “Not my problem, kid.”
“She is dead,” I spit out in panic. He is my only hope. I don’t want to die.
That piece of information seems to be taking Bricks by surprise. Actually, more like shock.
“She was alive the last time Shortie ran reports on Kenny for me. That was last week,” he eyes me with suspicion now. “When did she die?”
“Last night,” I blurt out, then grab my cell phone from the pocket of my jeans to show him the video.
My abrupt moves seem to put everyone on high alert, and before I know it, I have four barrels of guns pointed at me while Bricks watches.
“It’s just my phone,” I mumble in despair with both hands up, one of them holding my phone. How the fuck did I land myself in this kind of a situation?
Bricks juts his chin at me. “Show me.”
With shaky fingers, I manage to unlock my phone, then access the video in the last text message I received from my mother. I pressPlay, then turn it around for everyone to watch while I stare at the ground.
I can’t watch it again, but I know exactly what they’re seeing from the sounds coming from my phone.
When my mother’s heels start clicking on the wooden dock behind the house, I know we’re getting really close to what they’re about to see.
The roses drop to the ground with a gentle whooshing sound, the thorns echoing in the quiet night when they hit the dock.
