Page 20 of Grim

“I know those guys had roughed her up and had her scared out of her fucking mind.” I kept my tone steady and showed no emotion as I continued, “I know her car was a piece of shit and wouldn’t start, and I know she had no place to go and was planning to take her kid to one of the shelters in town. She’s got no money and nobody to turn to. A chick like her isn’t gonna have the means to cause trouble.”

“She’s a woman,” Prez scoffed. “She has plenty means.”

“I can handle her.”

“I certainly hope so. She’s at your place now?”

“Yeah, Skid is with her. He’ll watch over things until I can get back.”

“You sure he can handle that?”

“He’s come too far not to.”

“I know this hasn’t been easy on either of you. I know that firsthand, but it will be worth it in the end.”

I was just about to respond when my burner started ringing. I quickly reached into my pocket, and when I glanced down at the screen, I was surprised to see that the number had a Washington area code. Curious, I looked up at Prez and said, “I need to take this.”

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I nodded, then stepped away and answered, “You got Grim.”

“Hey, man. It’s Rooster.”

“Hey, brother.”

His words were laced with apprehension as he asked, “I know you guys have a lot going on, but I was wondering if you’d seen or talked to Beckett today. I’ve been trying to call him but couldn’t get him to answer.”

“Yeah, well, there’s been a bit of a situation, and it’s left us all scrambling.”

“What kind of situation?”

“Beckett went after the guys who hurt Amy.”

“He did what?”

“Yeah, he just went barreling in there and got himself killed.”

“Damn, brother. That’s all kinds of fucked up. I knew he wanted his revenge, but I never dreamed he’d do something like that. You got any idea what Preacher’s gonna do?”

“We’re taking care of it.”

“Just say the word, and we’re there. We’ll help get these guys...”

“I appreciate it, brother, but we got it covered.”

Rooster was silent for a moment, then said, “I sure wish I’d gotten his message sooner.”

“What message?”

“It was a text he left on my personal, but with everything we’ve had going on I didn’t see it.” Rooster sounded broken up as he explained, “Looks like he sent it the night you guys got back... Told me he was done walking, but I doubt that’s gonna make much sense to you.”

“No, afraid not.”

“He was having a tough time, so I told him you gotta go through hell to get to the good stuff, and even though it’s hard, you gotta keep walking. I’d reminded him of that the day he left, and I hoped he would. Guess he just didn’t have it in him.”

“He let his demons get the best of him and left us with a hell of a mess.”

“I can imagine, and I hate that for you guys. Beckett was a good kid. I’m sure it’s been rough.”

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