Page 52 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
Alarick’s face grows stony and he tells the truth, because that seems to be his strongest asset, telling the truth even if it’s brutal. I’ve figured that out the hard way when he’s assessed some of my work. “Chances are, if he’s alive, he’s in a bad fuckin’ way. If they’re cuttin’ fingers off, they’re not messin’ around. They might keep him alive, to lure you in. You’ll probably get another message soon, if I were to guess.”
Tatum nods, but I can see the pain in his eyes. He knows his brother has done wrong, but it’s still his brother and he doesn’t want to see anything bad happen to him. Of course he doesn’t. It’s family.
“The good news is, the men he’s using are clearly not his own because they’re fuckin’ sloppy. Tryin’ to snatch the girls in random, open places, and running when someone arrives says he’s just taking what he can get. That could work in our favor. Because he’s not local, he’s not runnin’ his show as tightly as he should be.”
Tanner nods, and says, “That’s good for us, if we can find out where he’s hiding out.”
“Yeah,” Alarick says, “should make it easier to get in. Let me get back onto my boys, see what I can come up with. Sit tight, and watch those girls, because he wants them, and he’ll do whatever he can to get hold of them. He wants to make you both suffer.”
“Why would they suffer if he takes the girls?” Madeline says, narrowing her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Nobody says anything, but good old Alarick, being the truth teller that he is, says, “Because they’re in love with those girls, and that man knows it. Later.”
He turns and walks out, leaving Madeline with wide eyes, Tanner with a tight jaw, and Tatum glancing at me like a huge secret has just been revealed. Is it true? Does he still care about me? I know Tanner still cares for Callie, even if he hasn’t told her yet.
Just as he leaves, Callie walks in and stares at us all, having missed the entire conversation. “Why do you all look like he just told you that the world is about to end?” she asks, staring at Tanner.
Madeline looks at Callie, really looks at her, then in a huff, turns and storms down the hall. Tanner, exhaling, turns and follows her. Callie watches them go, and a flash of pain spreads across her face. I know something happened between her and Tanner last night, but she’s not talking much about it.
“What’s going on?” she asks me.
I walk into the kitchen and grab out a bottle of vodka and a few glasses, filling them and handing her one. “Let’s get drunk and I’ll tell you.”
She laughs. “Sounds good to me.”
“Boys?” I ask, holding out a glass to the two men staring at us, Tatum’s face looking like he’s not dealing with the idea of Chase not doing well in there, so I know he could use a drink, or ten.
“Yep,” he says, stepping forward and taking the bottle out of my hand instead of the glass. He tips his head back and swallows it down, gulp after gulp, his eyes squinting from the burn.
Only then does he hand it back to me to fill the rest of the glasses. I stare at the bottle, quarter empty now. “I guess we’ll be needing another one of these,” I say.
Callie grabs her keys. “I’ll go get more alcohol and snacks. Looks like we’re going to need it.”
“I’ll come with you, you can’t go alone,” Ethan says, following her out.
Tanner and I are left alone, and I can hear Tanner and Madeline squabbling in the room, even though the door is shut. I take the bottle to Tatum and hand it to him, then I walk out onto the large patio and take a seat. A moment later he joins me.
“We’ll get Chase out of there,” I say to him after a few moments. “Alarick is the best, I know it.”
He nods but doesn’t say anything. He’s hurting, he’s confused, and he’s angry.
“I should have never let him hide all those years ago. Can’t fuckin’ live down that guilt. He was wrong, and I should have made him face it.”
“Why didn’t you make him face it?” I ask, taking the vodka when he hands it to me and taking a long sip. Loving the way it burns as it goes down.
“Because he was young, and he was so fuckin’ broken about it. He was scared. He wasn’t a bad person, I knew that, fuck, I grew up with him. I knew what he was and what he wasn’t. He made a mistake. I was tryin’ to help him.”
I get that.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I don’t think what you did was wrong. I just think you made a choice that wasn’t the smartest, but you did it for family and that’s really something. Not many people can stand back and say they’ve done things like that for their families.”
