Page 14 of Gray’s Surrender

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He accepts it because I’ve never given him a reason not to. I ride to the old landing before heading home. Fresh tire marks cut through the damp earth near the entrance, but they could belong to any truck using the river. They could.

I should call Kane.

Instead, I start the bike and turn toward home. I refused Bishop. I checked the road. By the time I reach the highway, I’ve almost convinced myself that’s enough.

CHAPTER 4

MEG

Gray leaves at three forty-two.

At three fifty-one, Ruby carries her new stuffed red panda into the living room and drops onto the couch with the boneless exhaustion of a child who has walked every path at the zoo.

“Can I watch something?”

“Yeah, but only a kids’ show.”

“Dad lets me watch grown-up stuff on Saturdays.”

“Your dad also asked me not to believe everything you say when he’s out of the room.”

She considers that, then smiles despite herself. “Okay, kid stuff.” I hand her the remote and take the empty water glasses to the kitchen. Ordinary actions settle the house around us. The air conditioner clicks on. A cartoon voice starts in the next room. Outside, cicadas grind through the heavy afternoon. My body is sore in places that make the memory of Gray in the garage rise with every step. I’m rinsing a glass when I hear an engine slow on the road.

I look through the window above the sink and a dark pickup turns into Gray’s drive. The cracked left taillight is obvious, and there’s no front plate. Every soft part of the afternoon disappears. Nothing about it looks right. It’s definitely not a Kingdom Come club truck, and I don’t recognize the people in it.

“Ruby.”

She hears my voice and mutes the television. Two men climb from the truck. One is tall and narrow, with a shaved head and a dark beard. The other is heavier through the shoulders. Both wear ordinary clothes, no cuts, but the bearded man has a black bandana tied around one wrist. I lock the door, take my phone from the counter and call Gray. Gray’s number rings out. By the time his voicemail picks up, one man is heading for the side door and the other is circling toward the front.

So I call my brother. Tank answers on the second ring.

“Meg?”

“Two men are outside Gray’s house. Ruby’s with me.”

His voice hardens instantly. “Use the route. Get her out. I’m calling Kane.”

The side-door handle jerks.

The side-door handle turns once, hard.

“Ruby.” I look into the living room. Her face has gone pale. “Cedar.”

She moves immediately, with no question and no frozen second. She runs through the kitchen, opens the back door and crosses the yard. I watch until she drops beside the loose fence panel and crawls through. The side door jumps in its frame. I lock the back door again and take Gray’s square-edged house key from the hook beside it. I notice the small fire extinguisher next to it and grab that too. Suddenly, the sound of wood cracking fills the room.

The side door swings inward and strikes the wall. The bearded man enters first. He looks toward the living room. “Where’s Gray?”

I pull the pin from the extinguisher. “Get out.” The second man appears behind him. He’s shorter, with pale eyes and a deep dent in the bridge of his nose.

“Bishop said Gray needed one warning,” he tells the first. “Find the kid.”

I discharge the extinguisher into both of their faces. White powder fills the doorway. The bearded man swears and throws an arm over his eyes. I drive the metal cylinder into his knee as he comes through.

He folds immediately. The other man reaches for me through the cloud. I swing again, but he catches the extinguisher and tears it from my hands. It crashes against the refrigerator. I run toward the hall, but he catches the back of my shirt and drags me around. The fabric bites my throat. I drive Gray’s key across his face with my whole fist. The square edge cuts a crescent from the corner of his left eye toward his cheek.

Blood appears instantly, and he roars before striking me with his left hand. Pain explodes through my mouth and cheek. I hit the wall shoulder first, scrape along the edge of a framed photograph and fall onto one knee. The bearded man pushes through the powder behind him. “Where is the kid?”