Page 43 of The Heir

“Did my dad have a coke problem?”

Easy groaned, and the rider grunted, prompting me to turn.

“I remember your old man.” Mackie invited himself to the conversation, and I wished I’d headed inside while the getting was good. “I was like fourteen or fifteen when he passed away.”

I wanted to leave, but my feet were so fucking heavy, something inside me wanted to hear all I could about him.

“I don’t remember him ever being strung out.” Mackie admitted, after a thoughtful pause.

“Anthony was never–” Easy stopped and groaned again, “My brother was the best drug trafficker in the area, Blaze. He moved the shit. You don’t do that if you’re spun out. Nobody hires a junkie to move drugs, you dig?”

I slowly nodded, thinking I followed.

“But you ain’t willing to say he didn’t use it,” I pointed out.

“He did coke with my dad. Sometimes in the garage. Sometimes in the kitchen,” Mackie offered, “My mom would raise hell about it. My dad would shove her around, be the big bad wolf, and she’d take us kids and leave. Ant always tried to get him to leavefirst. He’d always say,I told you, asshole. I told you we should have gone to the shop or the clubhouse. He never wanted to party at our house. He wasn’t like that, being reckless in front of people, especially kids.”

Easy nodded.

“He did crazy shit, but he was a family man, I don’t know how to explain that to someone who has never– Well, I mean you lived the life you were just– Too little to remember.” Easy shrugged.

“Did Daisy know that he had that side of him?” I couldn’t imagine my Aunt Daisy standing for that type of shit. “I just can’t imagine her not confronting him or a dealer or… involving herself.”

Easy and Mackie both laughed.

“She did one time,” Mackie’s eyes got big. “I was at my grandad, Mark’s, house, back when he was president. It was right before that raid that his wife got killed in, maybe two months before– I don’t know… but anyhow, she came out there raising hell! She said Ant got pulled over, and that the police had raided her house and Ant’s house, but they found nothing. Ant had a bunch of money on him that they tried to say was indicative of criminal shit, but–”

“I remember that,” Easy cocked his head, “I don’t think anything came of it, though. He had likeseven grand in cash, a couple of norco tablets, and I think they found two scales at the house he and Crystal lived at, but it wasn’t enough to amount to shit.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. He might as well have told me we secretly lived on Mars.

“Are you serious right now? My mother– In a drug raid? On the other side of the badge?”

“I know right! Oak was a disciple, now he’s a fed.” Donnie laughed.

Mackie sobered at once and looked at Easy, who cleared his throat. Mackie snorted, his gaze instantly darkened, and his jaw tightened, “I’ll catch ya’ll tomorrow.”

He didn’t wait for a response, he just stormed toward his bike.

“I, uh– I think I better get to bed myself,” I mumbled, and started toward the house.

“Night, brother,” Donnie called.

“See ya in the morning,” Easy bid, his gaze not having left Mackie’s back.

Chapter Seventeen

Marchella

My grandfather made himself scarce, allowing me to flee to the sanctuary of my attic bedroom. It wasn’t anything new. My father had his good periods and his bad spells; when the bad times rolled through, I often found myself staying at the farm. It’d been that way since I was in high school.

He usually woke up before the rooster crowed, and by the time I got around to moving he was long gone to the chores. As luck would have it, my phone went off at five minutes after four. Dawn hadn’t even threatened yet, and the phone was dancing around on the bedside table.

I blinked away my confusion and squinted against the glare of the light.

“Fuck,” I whispered, when I finally made out the four letters on the caller ID.

Work.

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