Maria

 

“So, you’ll never guess how I found out you were in jail,” I said through the phone in the wall of the visitor booth.

 

“Who told you?” Brawn asked with a defeated tone.

 

“No one, so you don’t have to worry about that. Everyone has been quiet. They’ve been acting like you’re just not there, like everything’s okay and I’m the crazy one for thinking something’s up,” I said, unable to stop letting the words fall out of my mouth in anger.

 

“Listen, I’m really sorry, Maria. This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. He kept looking down at the table in front of him as if he were ashamed to look at me.

 

“You know, it wasn’t until I went online and pulled up county records. I don’t know, Brawn, maybe it was the biker stereotype that made me think to do it, but there you were,” I said.

 

“I guess I let you down, huh?” he said, a little attitude and defiance returning to his voice. He looked up at me. His gaze met mine, and I could see in his eyes that I’d finally struck a nerve.

 

“No, but you could have told me what you were trying to do so I could tell you how stupid you were being,” I told him.

 

“Who told you?” he asked.

 

“Cory told me.”

 

“How did Cory find out?” he asked, like it mattered.

 

“Think about it, Brawn. Someone had to be there to run the shop today while you were still in here. So of course Cory found out.”

 

“Has anyone seen Bobby?”

 

I shook my head. “We haven’t at the shop, and Cory hasn’t said anything. From what Cory told me, if Bobby was in on it, he’s going to be laying low for a while.”

 

“So should you. You need to worry about school. Let me handle this with our lawyer,” Brawn urged me.

 

“Nope, not that easy, babe,” I told him. “You got in trouble because my dad is a dick, so I’m going to help you out. I’m going to go talk to my dad for you.”

 

“Like hell you are,” he snapped at me.

 

“I’m sorry? Did you forget who you’re talking to? You don’t talk to me that way.”

 

“Yeah, well, surprise. You don’t need to see your dad. Lord knows what he’ll do to you,” he added.

 

“Do you really think I have something to worry about?” I asked.

 

“I don’t know, and neither do you. I didn’t expect him to call the cops on me for kidnapping you when I went to talk to him about Bobby, so I don’t know, Maria. Be careful. And if you feel like being smart, stay out of it altogether,” he said.

 

Just then, the guard called out his name. “Johnson!” He started walking over to where we were sitting.

 

“I’ve got to go,” he said. “Be careful.” He hung up the phone and slid back as the guard approached. I sat with the phone in my hand and watched him walk away.

 

“Ma’am,” a voice said behind me. “Miss Kelly, it’s time to go.”

 

I hung up the phone and turned around to see a young guard standing behind me with a polite smile on his face. He hadn’t worked there long enough to look hard and seasoned like the other guards did. I wanted to tell him to give it time, but I had work to do.

 

I had to come up with a plan to get my father to drop the charges against Brawn. They were bogus, essentially. He’d tried to kidnap me, but agreeing to a business deal instead didn’t sound much like kidnapping to me. I figured I could at least go talk to my father to explain to him what had actually happened.

 

I also needed to find out what happened with Bobby. What had he seen? What did he know? And if it was all concocted, why had the name Carlisle come up? My dad and Bobby knew Brawn would have recognized that name, but why?

 

Cory had told me everything Brawn had told the MC’s president, James. The news had come down through Mark, who was quietly overseeing the shop on behalf of Shift until they could get Brawn out of jail. Mark was keeping an eye out for my dad’s men or Bobby, or even some of the guys associated with Carlisle.

 

I didn’t get to tell Brawn everything, but I hoped he understood that no matter what he told me, I was going to work to help him any way I could. I left the jail and drove over to my dad’s jobsite. I didn’t stop anywhere to take the time to compose myself or figure out what I was going to say.

 

I pulled up next to the trailer and got out of the car. I looked around the jobsite. It was the same place where we were working when Brawn had abducted me, but it looked nothing like it had then. The office building was standing and the parking lot had been poured. The remaining workers were putting the finishing touches on everything, getting it ready for the shell companies to move in. I was still convinced there was very little legitimate work going on in these office suites that were popping up everywhere.

 

As I got out of the car, my dad’s voice came from behind me. “Let me guess, that’s Mickey’s car.”

 

“Hey, Dad,” I said from the driver’s side door, neglecting ever-so-conveniently to answer his question.

 

“I figured having him locked up would draw you out. Please, come up. We need to talk.” He sounded almost cheerful to see me. It was staged, I knew. He was just happy to have the upper hand again.

 

“Right. I’m not here to talk long,” I said when I walked inside his office.

 

“That’s fine, dear. It won’t take long.” His tone changed. He wanted to talk business. I wasn’t his daughter anymore, not in the way that most dads saw their daughters. I was a piece of property, at best, and he was negotiating for ownership.

 

He went and sat down behind his desk, and I followed behind, sitting in the chair in front of him.

 

“So, how have you been? You look like you’re doing fine. Maybe you could use a little more sleep, but other than that, you look okay,” he said in a flat tone.

 

“Small talk, dad? Really? You didn’t call me in here to talk about my day or what I’ve been doing. Besides, I’m sure you got everything from Bobby,” I said, adjusting myself in the seat so I was more comfortable.

 

“Ah, Bobby. Yeah, he’s a good kid. Hard worker. You know, I’ll give The Twisted Ghosts that. They do raise up some hard workers.” He was such a patronizing ass.

 

“You didn’t invite me into your office just to brag about Bobby and The Twisted Ghosts either, did you?” I asked.

 

“You know, you keep talking like you weren’t the one who decided to drive over here. You did that, Maria, not me. So, since there must be some grand reason why we’re talking, why don’t you tell me why you’re here?” He sat back with a smug little smile on his face.

 

“Easy. I’m here because I knew your little stunt was designed to get me here. You already know why I’m here. I’m here to get you to drop those ridiculous charges against Bra – Mickey.” I corrected myself at the last minute, but I was pretty sure he’d heard what I was about to say.

 

“It’s okay if you call him Brawn, honey. I know all about him. I know his older brother goes by Shift, and his younger brother is called Hero. I know about Mark watching the shop you and Mickey run together. I know about James and Shank, about Cory. I know about the ladies in the office and the other apprentice working in the shop. I know about the cabin in the woods and the house in town. I know everything,” he explained to me slowly.

 

My skin crawled as he talked. I wondered how he knew everything, but I didn’t want to sound like he’d affected me, so I refrained from asking.

 

“Tell you what, Maria; let’s make a deal.” He leaned forward again, putting his hands on the desk.

 

I swallowed hard. “What did you have in mind?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

 

“You come back to work for me. You accept my offer to train you to take over the company, and I’ll release your boyfriend. I’ll have all the charges dropped, and he’ll be free to walk away like nothing ever happened,” he said.

 

“Except we can’t see each other after that, huh?” I said.

 

He shook his head and gave me a sad look. “No, I’m afraid not. That means I’m going to need you to drop out of school, and I’m going to need you to move back home. But, hey, at least you can return his car, because you’ll have your own car back. And you’ll have all of your things back, too.” He talked to me in an exaggerated tone, like a car salesman.

 

I nodded while I listened. A plan was formulating in my mind. He was giving me an opportunity to do so much more than to simply get Brawn out of jail. I wasn’t going to try to convince him I wasn’t leaving my boyfriend. I had a plan to bring him down using his own deal.

 

“Give me some time to set some things straight. I can’t just get up and leave like that,” I explained. “But I’ll do it.”

 

A smile as exaggerated as his tone broke out across his face. “You make me so proud sometimes, Maria,” he said, rising up behind the desk with a hand held out to me. With words like his, I would have expected a hug, not a business-like handshake.

 

“Save it for one of your employees,” I told him, standing up and ignoring his outstretched hand.

 

He chuckled and took his hand back. “I’ll be expecting an answer by tomorrow,” he told me as he sat down. “Oh, and don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. I don’t want any trouble from the MC. I’d hate to have to handle them,” he added before I walked through the door.

 

I left his office with a plan hatching in my mind. I was going to take my dad down and set everything straight. I didn’t want to leave Brawn to do it, and I sure as hell didn’t want to drop out of school to do it. I had to find a way to make sure everything worked out the way I wanted it to while I was investigating my dad from the inside.

 

I hopped in Brawn’s car and drove back to the house. I had a lot of work ahead of me if I was going to join my father back at the jobsite the next day. Just as Brawn hadn’t wanted to depend on the MC for his business, I didn’t want to count on him. I wanted to be able to do it myself. He was my father; it felt like my responsibility.

 

I pulled up the driveway to the house and sat outside in the car.

 

“When you go in there, it’s going to be empty,” I told myself. “When you leave tomorrow, it’s probably still going to be empty.” I shook my head and wiped away a stray tear. I had worked so hard to help him build his dream, and it was becoming my dream, as well. I wasn’t ready to walk away, but I had to remind myself it was only for a brief time. I got out of the car, and walked into the silent house.