Page 20 of Bullet

“Vance,” I call to him, “I’m so sorry about your dad, but the Pride didn’t do it. They want answers too.”

“Amelia’s telling you the truth. We haven’t stepped foot near your garage since we left that afternoon. We’re also not the ones who drew weapons first. You said it yourself: the Pride wouldn’t kill for a measly couple of bucks. Someone’s trying to implicate us for the murder of your father,” Bullet adds.

“Meanwhile, your father’s killer is walking around free.” War puts in his two cents.

“What happened to the girl in the shop?” Risk asks. “Cops say she’s missing.”

Vance shakes his head. “Been looking for her too. It’s like she just disappeared. No one’s seen her in town.” He jerks his head up to meet Risk’s gaze. “You think she did this?”

“Doubt it, man. She’s fucking tiny,” War answers.

“She’s on the run. And she’s not safe out there,” Guard says.

“Where do we go from here?” Bullet asks Vance, then says, “I get that we’re not friends, and personally, I don’t like the way you do business, but we didn’t kill your father. And I need you to stay away from my woman. She does not come into this.”

“I’m not letting my father’s murderer go free,” Vance states, clenching his teeth.

“The cops want answers,” War says.

“So do I!” Vince spits, visibly frustrated.

“So do we,” Guard says calmly. “We’ll let the police do their investigation. We’ll do our own because I want answers.” He puts a hand on Vance’s shoulder, and he reacts as if a hot poker hit him. He stares at Guard, but Guard says, “Your father loved you, but you’re the only person he cared about. It’s because of this that I’ll keep you informed of what we find out. Never lay a hand on another Pride brother or sister, because they’re my family, and it will not go well for you.”

Vance nods, then walks back to his car. He looks broken and hurt, like a son would who lost his dad.

Eleven

Good Ending to a Bad Day

Amelia

The scene with Vance brought up a lot of emotions, the first being intense fear when I looked into his angry eyes and knew that anger was aimed at me. Death is absolute. Yes, we have our memories, and those memories belong to us forever. I have conversations with my grandmother even though she’s gone, and sometimes when I listen carefully, I can almost hear her voice uttering her words of wisdom.

When my grandmother died, I was beyond sad. Nana Jean was a lively woman, and I don’t recall a day when she wasn’t busy doing something. Whether it was baking, meeting up with friends, shopping or volunteering, she was always on the go. Because she was my nana, I never noticed her slowing down, and then one day, she wasn’t there at all.

Nana Jean lived a long and happy life; Sal still had a long life to live. His time was violently cut short, and although I’m not a fan of Vance, or Sal, for that matter, I can understand the pain of losing someone you love. It seems that the only thing Sal did care about was his son.

Vance walked away broken-hearted, and I felt the agony of his loss.

“Babe, this isn’t on you.” Bullet’s voice is gentle. His strong arm comes around my shoulders, and his lips graze my temple.

“I know.” I sigh heavily. “He looks so lost.”

“It was his father. And even though Sal was a shit mechanic and an unethical businessman, he loved his kid, and his kid felt that love. It’ll take time, but he’ll bounce back,” Bullet says. We sit in silence on my couch as I lean into him. It’s a while before Bullet speaks. “Broke my heart when I lost Helen. She was the closest I ever got to a mother. She was something else.” He chuckles. “Helen was all milk and cookies until you didn’t do your homework; then she’d become a fire-breathing dragon. She wasn’t abusive, but she was determined. She would sit with me for hours to make sure I understood what I was doing. I would tell her I wasn’t smart enough, and she would stop everything, sit me down, and say, ‘There are all kinds of smart. Some find it in books, others in doing tasks, but Aaron, never, ever again do I want to hear you say those words.’ She was a good woman, and not only with me, but with Crush too. She loved him just as much because love is infinite, she’d say. Losing her hurt like hell. I miss her every day, but I moved past hurt, past the anger, and moved into a place where I found peace. Helen wanted that for me.”

My eyes are welling with tears hearing him speak about his beloved Helen. “I’m sorry I never got the chance to meet her.”

“She would have loved you,” he replies with a smile. “I’m sorry I never got to meet your nana. She sounds like a feisty old woman who loved you very much.

“Yeah, she was. She would have talked your ear off, but she would have liked you too. Nana Jean said that a real man won’t just tell you he loves you but shows you he does. I don’t know another man who would have gone through all the trouble you did to get back the money for me. Look at the tragedy that came from it.”

“It isn’t as simple as that. There’s more to this story. We just haven’t figured out all the pieces yet. Why would he go back to the shop that late at night without backup, even if he did think it was the Pride? I got a look in his safe, and there was a lot more cash than what he gave us. If you’re running a business, you take your money to the bank and make a daily deposit. The shop was a front for something else. It might have started as a mechanic shop, but I think Sal was dealing with bigger fish that swallowed him whole. The biggest question that keeps rattling around in my head is where Violet disappeared to, and why. She had a bunch of college books she was studying when we met her, but Wildcard hacked into the college enrollment files in the local schools; they haven’t got a Violet Harper listed anywhere.”

“Doesn’t she have a family, somewhere she lives?”

“Orion has a feeling that she might have been running for a while. A runaway can get into a heap of trouble on the streets. So he cross-referenced her name and description in the police database. He got nothing when he checked for arrests, but she came up on a missing person’s report. The picture was from a few years ago, but when Orion pulled the photo up on the screen, War confirmed it was the same girl. She’s on the run again. Guard thinks she’s the key to this whole thing,” he answers, then adds, “We’re keeping all information to ourselves for now. Vance isn’t thinking straight and isn’t going to be any help until he settles. As for the police, they’re too focused on making a case against Satan’s Pride to seriously look at other suspects. Guard wants us cleared fully, and that means figuring out who really killed Sal and why.”

“You’re telling me,” I point out.