Page 63 of Ache
“He’s being escorted now,” the warden informs us. He’s a well-dressed man in a blue suit with calluses on his hands and weathered lines around his eyes.
“I appreciate the assistance.” Tage shakes his hand once again.
“Officer Shipman and Officer Foreman will assist you with anything further. Don’t hesitate to contact me.”
“Will do,” Tage agrees. He’s been different since we stepped out of the car. Overly serious, professional, and quite frankly, a bit fucking intimidating. I’m impressed.
He’s showing me he’s more than just a lone cowboy.
The warden leaves, Officers Shipman and Foreman adopt a position in each corner of the room. Everly nearly expires in her seat, and Tage paces. It’s tension fucking city in the twelve-by-twelve enclosure.
I sit next to Everly and take her hand, passing her an encouraging smile. She looks like she wants to puke.
There’s a knock on the steel door, and the roller coaster begins. A moment later, a man shackled in irons with tattoos all over his neck and one teardrop by his eye dressed in dark grey scrubs is escorted in by two corrections officers who look like they compete in bodybuilding competitions as a side job. I have been to plenty of jails, visited numerous kinds of inmates, but this is a whole new level even for me.
The guards sit Gunner down and attach his handcuffs to the link on the tabletop. I muster my most stoic face as Gunner runs his black eyes over each of us. He clearly has no idea what he’s here for.
When they land on Tage, he smirks darkly. “You’re still walking around, groundhog?”
Groundhog?
“Loud and proud.” Tage doesn’t cower.
“How many of those nine lives you got left?” It almost sounds like a threat.
“Enough.” Tage’s response mirrors Gunners. It’s clear they have history. I did a little research on Gunner and the raid that went down at his compound eight years ago. Of all the agencies mentioned, Endeavor was not one of them, and there was no mention of an operative named Tage, not even in the court files I could access.
It was quite the takedown, though. Millions of dollars in cash and drugs were seized, along with militarized assault weapons. Gunner had his hands in a little bit of everything. Including child abuse and neglect.
Everly is so eerily quiet I almost forget she’s in the room. She has somehow managed to shrink away to nothing, to near invisibility.
Gunner sees her, though. I have a feeling she was never invisible to him.
“You are so grown up.” He almost sounds nostalgic. She remains silent. “Why you here, pretty? Never thought I’d see you again.”
“I didn’t want to come.” Everly’s voice is gravelly.
“But here you are, with . . .?” He finally notices me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Legal counsel,” is my snarky reply.
“Legal counsel?Right.”Gunner knows there’s more to me than that. Five minutes in his presence and I can already tell he’s shrewd, intelligent, and greasier than motor oil.
He looks around the room, at me, at Tage, at Everly. “What exactly is going on here? What’s this all about?”
“Mom,” Everly provides him with the answer.
“Aww, Christ. Is she dead?”
“I wish.”
Ouch.
“What’s she up to now?”
“Trying to ruin my life.Again.”
“This time I have nothin’ to do with it. I’m vacationing here.” He lifts his bound wrists and the metal clinks.
