Page 41 of Havoc

“I’d thought everything through. I planned it down to the last minute.” I picked up the story. Minnie didn’t know this part. I wanted her to know as little as possible. “I did some digging of my own and found out Matt had been cheating on his long-term girlfriend, who has a pretty powerful father. I also found out he had a whole other family, a wife and kids in Wisconsin. That was going to be my bargaining chip.”

“Get to the point of all this, Kenna.” Grim stood and moved toward me.

“Grim,” Trigger warned, and I gave him a ‘thank you’ look as Grim backed off.

“I need to tell this my way, Grim. You said from the beginning.” I took a breath. “So, I arrived at Minnie’s, and like always, got patted down for a weapon at the door. Once Nate cleared me, I headed through the back way to one of the lap dance rooms. That’s where Minnie told me he was. She said his two buddies were in other rooms down the hall. I used a key card and got in. No one saw me.” I rubbed my forehead and let that night’s memory flood through me. “I didn’t know,” I swallowed back the rush of words that wanted to come out but couldn’t, “I just…” I licked my lips as I tried to find the words.

A can cracked open, and everyone looked over at Rail. He started to sip loudly then looked around as if to ask what was up.

“Keep going,” Rail encouraged me, and I caught Brick’s smirk.

“Okay.” I closed my eyes and dug deep to find the set of balls I needed. I had to get this out in the open so I could breathe again. “The moment he saw me, he had the wrong idea about why I was there. He made a move for me, but I was ready and held up the proof about his other family, and that's when things turned. I told him I knew about what he’d been told to do, and that if he testified, I’d out him. I said if he wanted to keep the life he had, he’d need to figure out a reason not to do it. But then,” I swallowed, and the rest of my words came out in a rush, “he grabbed me and threw me on the floor, then he was on top of me. I kicked and screamed and then there was a gun and somehow it went off. Then Minnie came running in. I never had a gun. Nate checked. I was cleared!”

“Fuck me.” Grim slammed his fist into the table.

“The fuck, Minnie?” Trigger growled and looked at her. “How’d he get a gun in the club?”

“I don’t know, but if he wanted to bad enough, you know you find a way, Trig.” Minnie’s voice was as high as I’d ever heard it. I tried not to think of the mouse as she began to explain her part of what happened next.

“Anyway, I heard a bang, and I grabbed the closest bouncers, and we rushed in the room. Kenna’s hands were bloody, and some of her dress was wet, but she had on black so that concealed most of it.” She eyeballed me, and I waved her on. “I told her I’d handle it and that she needed to get out of there. When she left, we cleaned up, and the guys disposed of the body the way we always do, and that was that.”

“That shouldn’t have happened,” Grim hissed at Trigger, who nodded. “Do you have any idea how bad this is, Kenna?” Before I could answer, something hit him, and he stood straight. “That guy at Secrets, the one I killed, was he one of Matt’s guys? He must’ve followed you there.”

“Yes.” I knew better than to withhold anything else. “We bumped shoulders on my way out. He must have followed me to your hotel.”

“And were those the same guys who were poking around Minnie’s club that night we were all there?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, that was the third guy. I’m guessing they don’t know it was me, because we looked right at one another, and he didn’t seem to make a connection. I think they were just sniffing around.”

Grim cut me off. “But you don’t know for sure.”

“Well, no, I guess I just figured they’d kill me when they had the opportunity.”

“Truth, Kenna, killing you is the least of your worries with guys like that,” Grim snarled.

“Hold on, what about the dancer in the room? Did she recognize you?” Morgan asked.

“I don’t think she even saw me. I didn’t see her. She was gone the moment the door opened.”

“They’re taught the door opens once and that’s for the client to go in,” Minnie explained. “Any time after that, they get the fuck out of there.”

“I wanna talk to her.” Trigger rubbed his chin.

“Me too,” Minnie huffed, “but she bolted that night. It’s not uncommon with these girls. She’s probably worried it was her pimp. Tracy’s skittish, and her pimp is a nasty S.O.B.” Trigger gave her a hard look. “But I’ll keep tryin’ to find her.”

“Kenna,” Grim positively vibrated with anger when I looked at him again, “what, exactly, was Matt Myers asked to testify about?”

I licked my lips and knew the shit was about to hit the fan. “The Riverside Massacre.”

“Wasn’t that, like, four months ago?” Brick thought out loud. “Yeah, where that factory hired retired vets, and the owner came to open for the morning and they were all found slaughtered. Necks sliced from ear to ear.”

“Yeah.” I made a face remembering the photos I’d seen.

“That case is still open, yeah?” Morgan asked.

“Yes.” I ran a hand through my hair.Here we go. “Matt was supposed to testify, along with a few other people, that they saw the Devil’s Reach at the scene.” The place went silent. “Given who was killed, how they were killed, and your club’s priors, it was going to be a slam dunk case.” I looked at their faces. I was the only one in the room who moved. “I had to do something. You guys are family, so…I guess it’s done. I killed him.”

Trigger moved his head slowly to look at me. So much was written on his face that I couldn’t figure him out.

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