2000, Northern Florida
A Week Before Grizz’s Execution
Grizz steeled himself as he prepared to speak the words. “Grunt is not my little brother.” A long pause, then, “He’s my son.”
Blue stared at Grizz and leaned back in his chair, slowly nodding.
“I should’ve seen it,” he told Grizz.
“No, you shouldn’t have seen it. I did everything I could to convince you and him from the beginning that it was anything but that. I should’ve told you early on, but I didn’t think it mattered.”
“Does it matter? I mean now that Jan told me on the phone that he set you up, does it matter that he’s your kid?”
“No. Doesn’t matter,” Grizz answered Blue. “Besides, we both know she’s lying.”
“Is she? I have to tell you, Grizz, there is no doubt that Kevin is his kid. I know you’ve made peace with him since Leslie told you about the billy club, but he’s not looking good. At least in my eyes. I saw it in your face just now, too. You thought about it again and it bothered you. You’re wondering if he was truthful about what he told you. Seems like every time we think we know something, another Grunt bomb is dropped.”
“You leave Grunt to me. Why your crazy ex decided to implicate him is something you can find out when you go to see her. Maybe she’ll tell you. Maybe not. Either way, you be sure to tell her you believe her and you want revenge on him, too. If she thinks you believe her, it’ll only help us more.”
Blue nodded in understanding. “How come you never told me to find her?”
“I didn’t have to. I knew you’d never stop looking for your boys. When you found Froggy a few months back, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before you found Jan, too. Too bad the fuck isn’t still alive to get what he had coming, but I still need her to finish this. You got a problem with that?”
“Fuck, no. She has it coming.” Blue got quiet then and looked at Grizz. “You’re scheduled to die next week. What if I’d found her after that?”
“I’d have gotten something to you telling you how what you’ve been setting up was supposed to end. It’s all been written down and would’ve been delivered to you after I’m dead. I would’ve trusted you to make it happen as I’d planned it. I knew you’d never stop looking for your kids, and once you found them, you’d handle it for me. I consider it a bonus that you found her before I’m gone. At least I’ll die knowing she has what’s coming to her. Too bad fucking Froggy isn’t still alive to be at the party.”
“You’re right. I would’ve handled it. I will handle it.” Blue started to smile as he stared at the blotter on Grizz’s desk.
Then something else occurred to him. He became very serious, glancing back up at Grizz. “Some recent shit has come to light about Grunt. Does the fact that he fucked my wife give you any new doubts about him?”
Grizz had to think hard on this one. He’d had a very long conversation with Grunt after Leslie told him about the billy club. They’d planned on meeting again before Grizz’s execution. Grunt would be here in a few days, Grizz reflected. He had a lot to tell Grunt and would use the opportunity to ask about Blue’s kid, Kevin. He didn’t think he was wrong about Grunt, but he figured he should still have a back-up plan. As much as he wanted Kit to be taken care of, he wouldn’t leave her with Grunt if Grunt wasn’t the person he said he was. He would think on this a little bit longer.
In the meantime, he knew for certain he wouldn’t be able to meet with Blue again before the execution. Blue would be leaving to go see his ex-wife in person. Grizz wasn’t sure if they’d be able to have a secure phone conversation, either. They needed to finalize the plan now.
“You still have a plant who’ll be in the execution viewing room?” Grizz asked.
“Yeah, she’ll be there,” Blue answered. They’d decided early on to have someone there to watch for any eleventh-hour signs from Grizz.
“I’ll give a signal.”
They discussed the plan Grizz had in place to handle Jan, expanding it now to include Grunt. How it would involve Grunt would be determined after Grizz met with him one final time. If he was clean, he would be able to continue his life as it was now. If Grizz detected even a hint of anything that was off, he’d have Blue take care of it. Son or not, nobody fucked with Grizz. Nobody except for them.
He would signal Blue’s informant accordingly, and Blue would know how to wrap things up.
Grizz changed topics. “You said Leslie needs more convincing. What do you have planned?”
“It can’t go down until a few days after your execution. But it’ll definitely happen before she submits her article. She tried to be cute when I caught up with her at the grocery store. Believe me, she’ll know we’re serious. She won’t print it. Kit will never know.”
“Good. Very good. I don’t mind about the fucking article. But I don’t want Kit to be hurt by finding out Grunt is my son. I shouldn’t have told Leslie, but we can stop it. Kit never needs to know.”
“She won’t know. I’ll handle it.”
The conversation was over and Blue knew he was going to be dismissed. He thought this might be the last time he would ever be able to ask Grizz something. Something that had nagged at him. It really wasn’t important. He didn’t have to know everything about Grizz, and he obviously didn’t. He was floored by the admission that Grizz was Grunt’s father. He’d known Grizz since they were kids and had no idea. Though truth be told, Candy hadn’t come around much, and nobody at the The Red Crab had even known she was pregnant.
But there was something else that had aroused his curiosity.
“You told me if you’d died before I found Jan, you would’ve had me pull the trigger on the plan by getting a message to me.”
Grizz nodded.
“Who? Who is the person all these years you’ve been communicating through? You get messages to and from certain people. Even me. Who are you using?”
Grizz stared hard at Blue. “Does it matter?”
“No, I guess it doesn’t. I’m just curious.”
“You’ll have to stay curious. It’s not for your protection. It’s for theirs. After I’m gone, the gang, or what’s left of it, is yours. Handle the Jan thing, and keep Kit away from anything and everything gang-related. You shouldn’t have a problem with that. She was never cut out for that lifestyle and has stayed away since I’ve been here. In spite of that, keep an eye on things if you can.”
“No, she wasn’t cut out for that lifestyle, was she?”
Blue looked sheepishly at Grizz. Like he had something to say and wasn’t sure how to say it. Grizz detected it.
“What is it?”
No answer.
“Tell me. What’s up?”
Blue sighed. “I don’t know about taking over when you’re gone.”
Grizz gave him a half smile and cocked his head to one side. He wasn’t surprised.
“Blue, I’ll be dead. I don’t give a fuck what you do. You can shut it down, sell it to the highest bidder, just walk away from it. Do whatever you want.” He paused and became serious as he added, “I should’ve done that a long time ago. Probably wouldn’t be sitting here.”
He honestly couldn’t say if his last statement was true. But, believe it or not, he felt for Blue. He knew Blue had recently become involved with a woman. A woman who had turned his world upside down and inside out. Her name was Dicky, and Blue had told Grizz he finally understood Grizz’s attraction to Kit. Kit’s goodness and complete disdain for anything criminal was endearing.
Dicky was a cop. But Blue couldn’t help himself. He fell quick and hard for the redhead who’d actually just been promoted to detective. He’d been brought in for questioning about a recent drug arrest. He wasn’t worried about it; he hadn’t been involved so he had nothing to hide. But during questioning, he couldn’t take his eyes off the detective. She was in her late twenties or early thirties and very attractive in an eclectic sort of way. Curves in all the right places. A beautiful face with intelligent, bright green eyes that rivaled Grizz’s. Short, red hair that stuck out everywhere. He couldn’t tell if she’d styled it that way on purpose or if she’d rolled out of bed and left it that way. He felt a stirring below the belt when he thought about her rolling out of a bed. He liked what he saw.
He’d been sitting in the interrogation room when she charged in, apologizing to her partner for being late. She went to set her coffee on the table. But she’d been holding it by the lid and the lid came off, spilling coffee everywhere. Returning with paper towels, she proceeded to wipe up the coffee mess but accidentally elbowed her partner in the nose. She had just thrown away the soggy paper towels and was heading for the table when her cell phone rang. It was attached to her belt. She reached for it a little too quickly, and as she whipped it off her belt clip, it flew out of her hand. Narrowly missing Blue’s head, it hit the wall behind him and shattered to the floor.
She was a bumbling klutz. Blue was fascinated.
“That’s the third one this month, Dicky,” her partner said dryly. “They’ll start docking your pay.”
Without missing a beat, she countered, “No problem, Charlie, I have stock in the cell phone company.”
“Good, cause you’ll need it. Just like you’ll need stock in fender parts and the dry cleaners down the street.”
Ignoring her partner’s reference, Dicky sat down and looked Blue in the eyes. Her gaze was unwavering. She wasn’t embarrassed by her recent mishaps. She wasn’t put out by her partner’s comments. She stared hard at Blue, and he thought he detected a bit of dislike in her gaze. No. He was wrong. She didn’t dislike him. She downright hated him. Did his dick just twitch?
“I’m Detective Fynder, and I’m sure Detective Connor has already told you why you’re here, Mr. Dillon.”
Blue burst out laughing. “Finder? Your name is Dicky Finder?” He’d never thought he’d hear a name more ridiculous than Kit’s real name, Guinevere Love Lemon.
“Yes, Fynder with a “Y” and we are not here to discuss my name.”
Blue couldn’t explain it. He’d never been attracted to someone like her before. And he wasn’t certain if that was what he was feeling now. He’d tried settling down and having a family. As much settling down as he knew how to do. He would never try that again. So he’d stuck to easy women who were only interested in the same thing he was. An occasional fuck session, no strings attached. Woman had tried to snag him into something more. Eventually, even Pauline gave up and set her sights elsewhere.
He’d tried, too. He really thought that by marrying Jan he could find some semblance of a normal life, but he just didn’t have it in him. He was a whore chaser and would always be a whore chaser. He didn’t give a shit what women wanted, what they thought, or how they felt. He hadn’t felt anything in a long time and didn’t plan to.
Until now. Something tugged at him.
There was no logical reasoning behind his instant attraction to her. But it was there and he couldn’t deny it. He felt a spark of something new and exciting. He felt a personal challenge. He wanted to get to know this woman. He wanted to know why she hated him so much. As crazy as it sounded, he found her contempt for him attractive. How fucked up is that? He grinned.
“Ahhh, Dicky,” Grizz said now, leaning back in his chair. “So, it’s getting serious?”
Blue looked away. “Yeah, I think so. Shit, I don’t know. She needs me. She’s so smart and everything, but she’s a fucking mess.”
“After all these years and all the women who chased after you because of the bike and the ink, and you’re just now figuring out you’re attracted to women who aren’t attracted to that? That’s pretty fucking funny, Blue.”
Blue just shrugged. “Dicky’s different, Grizz. Can’t explain it.”
Grizz nodded knowingly. Blue hadn’t done his homework. Dicky was no mess. And Dicky didn’t need Blue, but she wanted him to think she did. She knew exactly what she was doing. Should he warn Blue? Should he tell Blue what he’d found out about her?
No. He’d let Blue find out for himself. It’s not like his life was in danger or anything. Grizz did have a small regret at not being around to witness it for himself, but he also knew his loyal friend was capable of handling himself. So Blue was in love with Detective Dicky Fynder. Good luck, buddy. You’ll need it.
“I’ll say it one more time, Blue, and I mean it. It’s your life. Do what you want. I’m just asking that you take care of the last few things we discussed after I’m gone. You don’t have to watch Kit or Grunt. Just keep your ears to the ground to make sure they are as far away from anything gang-related as possible. I don’t think it’ll be an issue, but it would help me as I face that table knowing that you’re out there.”
He stood. Blue was being dismissed.
Blue stood, too, and grabbed the file with his family’s pictures. Grizz snagged it out of his hand.
“I’ll hold on to this until I have my last face-to-face with Grunt,” Grizz said.
They stood there as the seconds ticked by. No last words between friends. No hugs or pats on the back. Blue wouldn’t be coming back.
Finally, he nodded slightly at Grizz and headed for the door, but not before Grizz saw a light sheen of tears covering Blue’s dark eyes. He would’ve cried, too, but he’d made a vow a long time ago that he’d never shed another tear. And he hadn’t.