“He left her for dead on the side of the road.” The evil part of me whispered something in my ear, and I couldn’t resist his demands to repeat it out loud. “I would have reported it to the police, but I only caught half the number plate. C-A-L-E…but I didn’t quite get the rest of it.”
The color drained out of Bethany-Melissa’s face. “Cale… The last number wasn’t an eight, was it?”
Yes.
“Might have been. Why?”
“Never mind. The main thing is she’s okay.” She glanced up at me. “We can’t leave her in the car all day though.”
I frowned. “I left the windows down.”
“Why didn’t you just leave her at home?”
“There’s no one there. I didn’t want her to be lonely, and I can at least have lunch with her if she’s here.”
She smiled. “That’s very sweet.”
I shrugged. “I haven’t had a pet for a really long time. I’m not really sure what to do with them. My last dog died when I was seven.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“We never forgave my mother for that.”
Bethany-Melissa’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Excuse me?”
“She killed my dog.” Which was the real reason I’d been too scared to leave Little Dog at home today. I’d promised my mother I’d do the hit, but I knew her. Loving something, or worse, someone, was a weakness when it came to her. It didn’t matter who it was, woman, child, or helpless rescue dog. If hurting that thing, or even killing it, meant she could control me, then she’d do whatever it took. I had a lifetime of stories to back up my claims. Which was why if I wanted a wife and a family, and to leave the family business behind me, then I had to get my mother to agree to it.
Bethany-Melissa’s horrified expression made me realize I’d said too much.
“It was an accident,” I assured her.
Doubtful.
“She was backing the car out of our driveway when he ran out.”
Her horrified expression morphed into something more like sympathy. “Oh. That’s so sad. I bet she felt awful.”
I knew better than to tell her how my mother had looked me in the eye as she’d run down our dog without an ounce of remorse.
Like mother, like son. I might have liked animals more than she did, but remorse wasn’t something either of us did well.
I had to get the crazy from someone.
11
BLISS
As the week wore on, my anxiety levels crept up. Caleb had been busy with work all week, but that wasn’t uncommon. We often only saw each other on weekends, so I spent my evenings at my father’s house, eating dinner with him and Nichelle and the kids. The three of us adults pasted on fake smiles so the kids didn’t know there was a problem.
My father and Nichelle were worried about money and the fact we’d very likely lose this house soon. I was worried about money too, but I wished it were only the bank who was looking for me.
My nightly ritual had become checking and rechecking the locks on the doors and then lying awake in my wing of the house, listening for any sound that was out of place.
But nothing happened. There were no more masked figures in the bedroom, threatening me with bodily harm if I didn’t produce the money.
The money I still had no idea how I was going to get. Nash had said not to worry about it, but that was easier said than done when it was me these guys were coming for if the cash wasn’t delivered on time. I didn’t want Nash doing something illegal to get the money and I was pretty sure he didn’t have it just sitting in his bank account.
Between my car payments and the costs it took me to continue fitting in with Caleb and his friends, I’d been living week to week ever since my father had stopped supplementing my income with his credit card. I couldn’t ask Dad for the money. I knew he didn’t have it. If I asked Caleb for the money, he’d want to know why, and even if I could get around those questions, he’d ask why I didn’t ask my father for the money. I couldn’t do that to my dad. He’d be mortified if it got out how poorly his business was doing.
Caleb was a smart, savvy businessman who moved with the times. My father was the opposite, sticking to what he’d known, never innovating, never moving forward. My father had been so pitiful when he’d begged me not to reveal the extent of his business problems to Caleb, and I had never wanted to let my father down. Not after everything he’d done for me.
The only answer I could see was to sell Psychos as quickly as possible. Pay out Axel’s debt, and if there was anything left, I could give it to my father.