“Want me to find out?” Taz asks.
Rex growls and waves his middle fingers at Rex.
“Nah, she’s pregnant now,” I say.
“Doesn’t bother me,” Taz says. “Free sex. Because you know she can’t get knocked up a second time.”
Rex makes more noise.
I step on his freshly broken leg.
He shuts his eyes and turns his head.
“So this is it, Rex,” I say. “You and I are back on opposites ends of the world. This doesn’t mean I’m going to help Jared either. I think you both are fucking stupid. But you need to know how fucked Jared is. Stuck with Kerri through this. Attached for life through a kid. You’re free to walk away.”
“Actually, he can’t walk, Mac,” Les says.
“Oh, fuck, that’s right,” I say with a smile.
I stand up and take a deep drag from my cigarette.
I exhale the smoke slowly and look around.
“You might want to call for help, Rex,” I say. “And you know the drill. What to say and what not to say. I mean, it’s a damn shame that you lost your balance and broke your other leg.”
Rex looks at me again.
He’s broken.
Not just his legs.
Or his heart.
His soul is broken.
Should I feel bad?
I don’t fucking know.
I tried to reach out to him, right? I mean, I did break his leg and take control of BC. That was just life. Business.
But this… this is a message.
Maybe I got too nice with him.
Helped him too much.
It doesn’t matter much now.
He’s going to have to heal himself on his own.
Whether he likes it or not his girlfriend fucked another guy and got pregnant.
That’s not my problem.
And now his other leg is broken.
Again, not my problem.
I take one more drag of my cigarette and then drop the lit cigarette to his chest.
Rex fights to swat it away as I turn to face Les and Taz.
“What did it sound like?” I ask Taz.
“Like a bone breaking,” he says.
“Do we want to know what this is?” Les asks.
“No,” I say. “We have bigger things to talk about.”
“Like what?” Taz asks.
“Dirty money, an affair, plane tickets to Hawaii… you know, the usual.”
“What the fuck are we in right now, Mac?” Les asks.
I grab his shoulder. “The biggest pile of shit we’ve ever seen.”
I’m standing outside the house, putting a lot of moving parts together in my head.
Nothing is going to be easy. But I didn’t say it had to be easy to be done.
Behind me I hear a giggle.
When I turn my head I see Taz with his arm around a pretty girl.
As she walks down the porch steps, her chest bounces, almost smacking her in her chin.
I laugh to myself.
Taz always finds the ones that don’t believe in wearing a bra.
Not that I’m complaining.
To top it off, this girl is wearing a necklace with some kind of large, black pendant that ends right where her impressive cleavage begins. It’s like a blinking fucking sign that says Look at my tits! and I make sure to follow the sign.
“This is Abigail,” Taz says.
“I’m going to call you Abby,” I say to her.
“Okay, sure,” she says. “Did you break Rex’s other leg?”
“What?” I ask. “Who the fuck said that?”
“I just… heard it…”
“No, darling,” Taz says. “Mac did not break Rex’s other leg. What kind of sicko would break both legs on someone?”
“He’s telling the truth,” I say. “I think Rex just had a hard fall.”
“Speaking of hard,” Taz says.
Abby giggles again and grabs for his shirt.
“Where are you two going?” I ask.
“Uh…,” Taz says with a grin. “Consider me a wish fulfiller.”
I lift my eyebrow.
I see Abby’s face turning red.
Taz leans toward me. “She wants to fool around in the courtyard.”
“You enjoy that,” I say. I look at Abby. “I’m sure I’ll never see you again.”
“Why not?” she asks.
I laugh.
I almost feel bad for her.
Almost.
Taz walks away with his arm around Abby.
I walk up to the top of the porch and Les comes outside.
“You going soon?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “I just need you to keep the place quiet and empty. So I can make sure-”
Ado comes outside next.
I stop my conversation.
“Hey, Mac,” Ado says. “Les.”
Les nods. He goes back inside.
“What’s his problem?” Ado asks.
“You smell,” I say.
“I do?” Ado asks.
He lifts his left arm and smells himself.
“Fuck,” I say. “You’re dumb, bro. I’m messing with you. What are you doing tonight?”
“I’ve got nothing,” he says. “Need me to do anything?”
“Go out and have fun,” I say. “Let your mind waste a little.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“You don’t want to go look for Jolie or anything?”
I grab his shoulder. “Look, bro, I appreciate your worry on Jolie. She’s out there. Somewhere. I’m going to find her. Okay? That’s not your worry.”
“I want to help find her.”
“Why? So I’ll get all soft and give you cash?”
Ado swallows hard.
Busted.
This is exactly why I can’t tell him what’s going on with Jolie.
He needs to think she’s been kidnapped.
And I need to come up with a decent exit strategy for Ado.
Again… more moving parts in my head.
“What the fuck, Mac?” Ado asks. “I never said that. I never would.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Ado,” I say. “Get out of here. Go have a fun night.”
“You know, I mean it when I say about Jolie,” he says. “I see how happy she makes you. I know you don’t like me, Mac. I know you’d rather me be gone from the crew. I know what I did. Okay? I took part in that bullshit stuff with BFH, okay? I thought I could have the chance to right my wrong. But I guess not.”
“Your heart’s only bigger because your mother is about to die,” I say. “You’re going to feel alone and you’re afraid of it.”
“Fuck you, Mac,” Ado spats.
“Fuck you right back.”
Ado walks away.
I don’t feel bad.
What I said to him was true.
Maybe people change. Maybe they don’t.
Whatever.
My mind and my night is going to shift gears in about two seconds.
I’m going to get Jolie and bring her here.
It’s not a shock that Mama isn’t thrilled with my idea.
But she understands it.
She trusts me to be safe.
She’s at the sink, washing dishes, and refuses to let me help.