Page 52 of Sunny Undone

A tiny wrinkle appears on Bennett’s forehead at Knox’s logic. “My client is keen to proceed.”

Knox stands, pulls himself to his full height, and then places his knuckles on the table to look down on Bennett. “And I am keen to think.”

A moment passes between them. Bennett is obviously used to getting his own way. Except he’s trying to negotiate with a biker who isn’t dazzled by a big number on a piece of paper.

I know Knox. He could win the lottery tomorrow, and he’s still gonna grumble over the price of lemons.

Bennett stands and buttons his jacket. “I think you’ll find it a good and fair opportunity. Properties like this…in businesses like yours…can become increasingly difficult to maintain when development begins moving in. Traffic. Construction. Changes to access. Lots of fresh eyes land on those who were here before. Sometimes selling early saves everyone considerable inconvenience.”

There’s a tone to the way he says it. It’s a threat disguised as advice.

“Interesting perspective,” Knox says and offers his hand.

Bennett takes it, and I can tell the moment he fears for his bones. Knox has a fierce grip, and Bennett can’t hide his wince.

As soon as they are gone, the door closed, I turn to Knox. “You aren’t really going to think about it, right?”

“Absolutely not. Ridge, you got the trackers on those two vehicles?”

Ridge nods.

“Havoc, the two prospects?”

Havoc nods too. “In a civilian vehicle, no club colors. Will follow Bennett and see who he meets with.”

Knox looks to me. “Call Wren. Get everything you can on Bennett. His firm. His clients. Recent land purchases. Shell companies. Planning applications.” He looks to his vice president. “North, who’s in the town planning department that we have anything on? We need to go hit them up. Throw everything at them to get them to tell us everything they know.”

“Della’s waterways run through some of the surrounding parcels,” I say. “It has to be connected.”

Knox nods. “Likely. We’re not selling. But that fucker doesn’t need to know it, yet. Sunny, do what you have to do to find and help Della. Find out everything she knows. Take Ridge and whoever else you need. But before you do, let’s get bodies on the entrance points to those plots of land. I want to know who’s coming and going. I want access blocked.”

“What about Bennett?” Reaper asks.

Knox looks to the door. “When we’re done, I’m gonna kill that slimy son of a bitch for trying to fuck with me in my own fucking clubhouse.”

There’s a round of applause, hooting, and hollering, before men start to break away to get on with their tasks. This is starting to feel like an extension of the adventure Della and I were on. Like Indiana Jones and…wait…am I Marian?

Knox glances at my bruised and battered knuckles. “For the record, Maren was saying last night that she really likes Della. Think it’s ‘cos she’s pregnant, but she wondered if you’d ever thought about having kids.”

The question catches me off guard. But in many ways, I think of how fathers probably ask their sons this question, at some point, and I trust Knox as my stand-in father to answer him honestly.

“That’s a leap. But, I do, someday. Not sure if they’ll be my own because what if they have my shitty genes? The ones that made Mom an addict and me slow in school. Throw in whatever shit genetics my biological dad might have. Feels wrong to land them with that. I don’t know how to prevent it.”

“For the record, I think you’d be a good father, Sunny. Your kids would know and see how much you loved ‘em and wanted ‘em to have a better start than you did.”

I rub the side of my index finger over my lips, for a second, as complex emotions flutter through me. “Not got much to offer them in the way of family. Grandparents gone, don’t even know who my father is, and my mom…well, she ain’t no use to her grandkids as she is.”

“Look at me.”

I hadn’t realized I’d dropped my head, but I do as he says.

“You got me, Sunny. Iron clad promise I’d be there for you and your old lady and your kids in any way you want or need me to be. You gotta know that.”

His gaze is so intense, I have to sniff and look away. “Thanks, Knox.”

Knox sits back in his chair and looks out of the window, giving me a minute to compose myself again. “When I accepted the role of president, I committed to protecting Gator Flats. But I thought it would be against an obvious enemy. Men who want to come sell hard drugs or traffic women using our access to the water. Something Della said to me the other day has already been sitting wrong. She said if she isn’t going to protect the wetlands, who will? And while I don’t think of myself as an environmental crusader, I do worry what development and water poisoning will do to the town. We can do what we do because the town is small and everyone is in our pockets. Bennett was right about one thing: If a big development hits on that land, the town’s gonna change. And that land butts up close to mine. We lose our privacy, but worse, what if they pollute the very waters my kid’s going to grow up in? I’d never forgive myself for not taking it seriously.”

“Fuck me, Prez. You should run for the real president job with a speech like that.”