Chapter 30
Max
It didn’t take much convincing to get the DA to agree to let me turn state’s evidence against Dad in exchange for immunity for both me and Chris. After telling my story in full detail, they weren’t interested in pursuing criminal charges against either of us anyways.
They were solely focused on Dad. We were kids at the time of many of the events I recount to them and under duress during the ones from our adulthood.
He gets charged with the murder of my mother along with three other murders. I’m sure there’s plenty more but those were the ones I knew about. The ones I witnessed.
They plan to interview Chris when he gets out of his recovery program but they decide to wait. He’s set to be done in two weeks and there’s no sense in screwing up his progress at this point.
They have enough information from me to make an arrest.
The most terrifying part of the investigation is when I get a text from Dad demanding I show up at the house to help him. There’s nothing different in this text as opposed to all his others but I still feel paranoid as fuck when I read it.
I’m overwhelmed with the feeling he’s found me out. That he knows what I’ve done and has invited me over to finish me off.
Worst of all the detectives ask me to wire up and try to get a confession recorded. It would seal his fate faster than anything else.
I’m all but shaking when I show up at his house and let myself in like nothing is wrong, all the while having a wire taped to my chest and a white van with tinted windows full of cops parked at the end of the street.
Cops and Lacey.
My sweet angelic girl.
I tried not to think about the fact that she insisted on being there too. She was worried sick about how this would all play out and I was worried sick Dad might actually kill me this time with her listening in on the entire incident.
I knew what that would do to her and didn’t want her to have to live with that. Chris either. If anything happened to me my big brother would always blame himself for going away and seeking treatment, leaving me behind to take Dad down alone.
I force myself to focus on my job for the night and not worry about the possible outcomes. Anything could happen but at least the cops were within a hundred yards of us.
“What do you need me to do?” I ask when Dad enters the kitchen.
We both ignore the three girls sitting on the couch with Natalie, waiting to start their long night of working the streets. They laugh together but mostly stay quiet enough to stay off his radar for the time being.
Even they knew the importance of staying invisible to him for as long as possible.
Natalie gives me an odd look that I can’t quite read. Maybe she can tell I’m acting weird. Which most certainly means Dad will be able to tell.
I force my body to relax, even though inside my nerves are amped up. He stares at me with a cold look and a chill runs through me.
“Have a seat, son.”
His tone sends a second, deeper chill through my body and into my bones. Into my heart. He didn’t call me here for a job. I should have seen that. Should have known after months of silence from him. He hadn’t called me out here since the altercation Chris and I had with him and I was such a fucking moron for not seeing that.
Is this how he gets caught and arrested? By killing me over a wire tap?
I sit, unsure what else to do. I need to keep my cool and a level head while I try to figure out my next move.
“Why did you ask me to come tonight?”
“I think you know why. You and your brother pushed your fucking luck the other night.”
I swallow hard but try to remain outwardly unaffected. “So what? You have a hole for me to dig?”
He sneers at me and doesn’t say a word for a long moment. Long enough to make me uncomfortable which I would guess is the point.
“You like digging holes now, Max?”
He’s onto me. I stay quiet.
“You know what happens to people that try to talk to the cops, right Max? Because I had your phone records pulled. You sure have been in contact with them more than I’m comfortable with.”
My heart drops but I push forward.
“Why would I call them, Dad? I’ve helped you. I would get charged with all the same shit as you right? That’s what you said.”
“Do you want to go to prison, Max? This isn’t a fucking game. You might hate me. And I really don’t give a shit. But do you really want to ruin your own life just to ruin mine? Is that how petty you are? Have you forgotten what you’ve done?”
“I haven’t forgotten shit.”
“Well then. I suggest you retract whatever you’ve already told them. I’m quite fond of you. You’ve always been good at what we do. Good at picking girls most of all. Right Natalie?” Her face reddens on the couch and contorts into a glare behind his back. He doesn’t bother to look back at her to see her reaction. “So I’m willing to let this little indiscretion slide. I would hate for you to end up like your mother. You remember what happened to her. Right?”
I snap.
I lunge at Dad and knock him to the ground in his fancy ass suit. The two of us roll around on the marble floor, fighting for the upper hand. Without Chris backing me up it’s more of a struggle but I get a few really good punches in.
I don’t stop, hoping the cops can hear this meeting going to shit through the wiretap and swoop in to put an end to it. I didn’t get them the details they wanted but it was as good as it was going to get.
Dad and I weren’t close. He wasn’t going to have a heart to heart with me, confessing all his sins.
Without warning Natalie rounds the corner with a gun pointed down at us. I don’t know where the hell she got it from but I guess there are plenty of guns lying around this house if you knew where to look. She had lived here plenty of time to learn.
For a split second I wonder if it’s me she’s planning to shoot. Both of us. We both played a pretty heavy hand in her ending up in this damned house all those years ago.
We both freeze and break apart at the sight of the barrel pointed our way. She keeps the gun trained on Dad and I breathe a sigh of relief. It only takes moments for the police to kick in the door and rush inside. There are five of them, guns drawn, shouting at Natalie to drop her weapon.
She does without hesitation.
As I watch Dad get handcuffed and shoved in the back of a cop car, lights flashing, I regret not doing this sooner. This felt like the closing of a chapter. The closing of a whole book really. It was the fresh start I always wanted and dreamed of.
Lacey comes rushing from the police van and crashes into my body. I catch her and hold her against me so tight she lets out a whoosh of air.
“I was so worried. Thank God you’re okay.”
I kiss her firmly on the lips and press my face into the crook of her neck, holding her close. It’s over. We can relax and feel safe. We can focus on each other and the relationship we’re building.
Natalie walks out into the street behind me, along with the three other girls from the house. The police have ushered them outside to search the house and now have caution tape sectioning off the yard.
Lacey notices them over my shoulder and nudges me. “Where are they going to go tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
Hadn’t even thought about it.
“We should invite them back to the apartment.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
He smacks my chest. “It’s not their fault.”
“You know who that is right? Natalie? The crazy bitch that tried to fuck me behind your back?”
She shrugs without a care. “I trust you. She needs somewhere to go.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re unbelievable.”
She shrugs again and heads over to the girls to invite them back to our apartment for shelter tonight.