Page 57 of Filthy Savage
Colonel Arthur Travis
“I don’t know,but we can ask at least one of them what the fuck is going on as soon as we make it back to your house.” I snatch the card and slam the safety deposit box lid shut. Forcing myself to focus, I do my best not to panic. “Let’s get some answers.”
“Wait. Can we ask Kade and Keith to meet us away from the house?” Nancy asks, following me outside. “I don’t want things getting ugly in front of the kids.”
“Fine. Tell him where we are. He can meet us at the diner across the street while I ingest an insane amount of coffee.”
* * *
I stretchout in the back corner booth of the bistro Nancy has picked out. I may be stretching, but I’m in no way relaxed. Why would Mom have put these four names together, locked them in a bank vault, and hidden the key in the secret compartment of a vase? She could have written this down days, weeks or even years before she and Dad were violently murdered in their own home. It has to be big.
“Kade’s old man better have some answers,” I tell Nancy.
I can’t wait to hear what my brother-in-law and Los Diablos president has to say about his father’s name, Keith Jackson, being on the list. Kade is unlucky in a way. He’s low-hanging fruit, the closest and easiest person to tackle today. I’ll see Vincent pretty soon. Probably next. The former Director Harvey Bain is now Nevada State Governor Bain. Even he was accessible. His son, Jordan Bain, is Sabrina’s best friend, and happens to be the same Jordan we rescued from the Los Diablos jail all those long months ago. The only person on the list I have no idea how we’ll access is for former Colonel Travis. Today, he’s General Travis, and from my knowledge, we have no common contacts, family, friends or associates. Not that I know of, anyway.
“Are you sure we can do this in here?” Nancy asks.
“Why not? You picked the place. Plus the coffee’s pretty good.”
“I’m just worried that…promise me you won’t lose it in here, all right?”
“We can chat in his truck if you prefer. That will be completely private.”
“You’re probably right,” Nancy chokes out.
I reach across the table and place my hand over hers. “Hey. He’s the one who’s got to explain himself. You have no reason at all to be nervous.”
“Really Alexander?” She pulls her arm away. “The grandfather of my children could have had something to do with Mom and Dad’s deaths. And Vincent too. Somehow, Mom knew something that connected the four of them. No matter what he says, our lives are forever changed because of that list.”
I agree with her wholeheartedly, but the last thing I want to do is freak her out more. “Are you sure I’m the one you’re worried about? Because from where I’m sitting, he owes you a heck of a lot more than he does me. In any case, they’ll be here soon. Let’s try to reserve judgment, okay?”
Speak of the devil, Kade waves from the front door minutes later, motioning for us to meet him outside. I finish my cup of coffee, help Nancy to her feet, and we join Kade. No one speaks. Nancy can’t even look at her husband at first. She always gets quiet before she unleashes her wrath, and fuck, does she ever know how to raise hell. All the designer outfits, shoes and handbags in the world can’t take the badass out of my sister.
We follow Kade to the side of the building where two black SUVs are waiting. Nancy is giving him the evil eye the entire way.
“Pops is here,” Kade says, pointing to one vehicle. He spins around to face Nancy. “I took the kids to stay with my mother, and left some of the boys to keep watch. What’s this about, honey?” he asks, taking a step toward her.
“Don’t even try to act like you’re innocent,” Nancy shouts. She backs away and folds her arms over her chest so he won’t touch her. “You know something. I can see it all over your face, and there’s no way your father would willingly show up today on just what I said over the phone. Tell me, what does he know about my parents’ death?”
Kade’s eyes dart all over the place. He walks over to the wall and leans on it, almost doubled over with his hands on his knees as though he might puke.
“Dude, you’d better start talking, because right now you’re looking real sketchy,” I say. “And guilty.”
Kade lifts his head. “Nancy, you need to know that I had no idea about any of this until today when I picked him up from their house.”
“What did he tell you?”
“Any day now,” I growl as Kade takes his sweet time to explain. “You’re upsetting the mother of your kids…and the one she’s carrying. Talk.”
Kade takes some effort to straighten up. “Let’s just speak to Pops. He can start from the beginning.” He tries to put his arms around Nancy again, but she isn’t having it.
I give a less than polite nod to the four bodyguards Kade has brought along in the second SUV. One of them opens the rear door of the vehicle Kade’s father sits in. I jump in beside him. Nancy takes the front passenger seat and Kade takes the driver seat.
“Good morning, Mr. Jackson,” I greet the older man, out of respect for my elders and nothing else. I nod over at him, noticing the man’s face and physical build is an almost exact carbon copy of Kade’s, except for the spattering of gray hair on his sideburns.
“So I hear the two of you found out some things about Natalie and Alain,” Mr. Jackson asks. “Care to share what you know?”
Nancy turns from her spot in the front seat, posture tight as she avoids Kade. “All we have is your name, and a few others. Please Keith, just tell us the truth.”
