CHAPTER THIRTY
Tank
“So how does it feel?”
I look over at Renegade, not able to keep the smile from spreading across my face, or the joy out of my voice as I answer. “To be back? It feels fucking amazing.”
He laughs as he takes a drink from his to-go mug of coffee. “It’s awesome to have you back. I like Ace, but you’re my best friend.”
I’m letting Renegade drive, which is totally unlike me, but they’ve all asked me to be honest with them, and I admitted to Holden it would be best for me to wait a few weeks. I need to do a couple of pass-through’s on the bottoms before I’m ready to drive the road myself. It’s nothing like PTSD, but there’s a nervousness I can’t explain, even though I’ve tried. Everyone seems to understand and for that I’m grateful.
“I know, I love Blaze, don’t get me wrong,” I stretch my leg out, pleased at how it feels. “But I’m glad to have someone else’s company for a while.”
He nods in agreement. “Same. I love Whit and Stella, they are my life, but I enjoy coming to work and hanging out with the guys.”
“Y’all set a date yet?” I ask as I take a drink of my coffee.
This right here, riding the backroads of Laurel Springs and talking with my best friend is what I’ve missed more than anything. It’s just not the same, texting.
“We’re talking about it,” he stops at an intersection and looks both ways before he eases through. “I think it’d be fun to have a destination wedding this summer.”
“Dude, who the fuck are you? How do you even know what a destination wedding is?” I’m this close to revoking his man card.
“I live with a damn wedding planner, man. The question is how do you not know what it is?”
I shoot him a look. “I’m sorry, you’re the one who figured out she wanted to actually go to an Alabama game for her birthday, after she tried to tell us for years. I think that should tell you how well I’m able to comprehend shit my sister talks about.”
We’re interrupted as the biggest boom I’ve heard on this side of the world rocks the silence, and the ground surrounding us trembles.
“Either we just had an earthquake, a bomb went off somewhere, or a fuckin’ still just exploded,” Renegade stops the car and both of us get out to look along the tree line.
“Over there, near the Strather’s place,” I point to dark smoke billowing above the trees.
We jump back in the car as I radio in our position and let dispatch know we’re responding. Seems like everyone else is also responding and as we come to a screeching halt at the access road, we all get out of our cars. The team can see the flames from where we stand, we’ll have to wait for the fire department to do their thing before we can move in.
“Alcohol vapor?” I question as we stand around in a circle.
Ace nods, rolling around a toothpick in his mouth. “Or it overheated. Either way, it’s enough to make it go boom. Highly concentrated, whatever it was.”
“Think we’ll find a body in there?” Renegade asks, as he wipes the sweat from his brow. This fire is hot as hell.
The roar from the fire trucks drown us out until they get set up. All of us stand a respectable distance away, letting them do what they need to.
“To answer your question,” Holden looks at Renegade. “I don’t think we’ll find a body. I think they’ve started to automate the process.”
“You figure that out, or did Leighton tell you that?” The words are out of my mouth before I can take them back. I’m not sure if everyone knows he took her home with him or not, and to be honest, it’s not my place either.
Luckily he doesn’t hand me my balls, but from the look on his face, I know not to push my luck again.
“To be honest,” Holden meets my gaze. “I think this is to send Leighton a message. They know she’s staying with me because they aren’t fuckin’ slick about snooping around my property. They’ve been watching me, and I’ve been watching them. I think they’re afraid Leighton will talk so they’re getting rid of evidence and moving operations.”
“Has Leighton said anything?” Renegade asks as we watch the fire department go to work.
There’s a stormy look on Holden’s face, one I’d never like to be on the receiving end of. “She doesn’t talk much about them, and I can’t say as I can blame her. If she talks about them and incriminates herself, she’s probably afraid I’ll take her in.”
“You have before,” I point out. “It’s a valid concern.”
“Yeah,” Renegade laughs softly. “Unless you’re married. Then you can invoke your right to silence, but who’d get married to someone they don’t love.”
“Somebody who’s scared to death,” I answer for them. “I saw her that day, she was scared to death. Hell, I’m scared thinking what may have happened to her had her path not crossed with Blaze. None of us truly know what she’s been living with in her family.”
Holden’s eyes darken and his face becomes a mask. I think for the first time, maybe he does know some of the things she went through, maybe Leighton’s confided in him. But my gut tells me if she has confided, she’s not told him everything. I don’t think she trusts anyone that much. “He’s right, she is scared to death of them, and this is definitely something they would do.”
“Probably because the trial is in a couple days,” I remind him. “Are you all going to be there?”
“Damn right we’re all going to be there. We have a couple of guys from Birmingham coming in to cover shifts while we’re all at the court house. We want to see Brooks get what’s coming to him. He deserves that and more after what he did to you,” Holden and Renegade both agree.
“You know it’s not in our hands. It’s in the hands of the judge and jury, so we’ll have to respect whatever happens.”
It’s hard to have that mindset about the trial, though. I want badly to know exactly what the fuck’s going to happen to the kid who tried to ruin my life and the bitch of it is, I have no say in the matter. Other people do, and they have the option to either make him pay or let him walk free. Neither option feels great to me, because I think above all, he should learn a lesson.
I just hope like the hell the judge does the right damn thing.