Page 35 of Wall

“Worrywart.”

“You’ll be ready when I come for you tomorrow night, won’t you, Mona?”

Ready?

My heart’s been pummeled, my mind’s whirling, and my body’s thrumming with excitement and occasional misfiring sparks of insecurity and rage. Ready? No.

“I’ll be dressed,” I say.

We’ve come this far.

It’d be a shame to throw in the towel before Miss Janice gets her ring.

CHAPTER 6

WALL

Iknow as soon as I leave, Mona’s gonna get all up in her head, so I give her a wave, tell her I’m goin’ to get her ring, and to be ready by seven.

I call Heavy on my way to my ride. He’s awake, clackin’ away on his computer. The man is a machine.

“Did Forty tell you about Ethan Eckels?”

“He did.”

“There a plan?”

“Yup. We’re gonna ride out at four. Get him while he’s still in bed. You at Mona’s?”

“I was.”

“We can handle this if you need to be somewhere else.”

“I’ll be there by four.”

I drive off, and then I circle back, turning off my headlights before I get to our house.

Our house. She ain’t changed nothin’. Took some pictures down, but other than that, it’s like the day she kicked me out. That’s got to mean something, right?

I park in front of the Chaudry’s and watch as one-by-one, she turns the lights out. The living room. The dining room. The bedroom.

More than anything, I wanted to stay. She wasn’t indifferent. I saw the wet spot on her panties. Saw her nipples pokin’ through her bra. Mona ain’t wild. She don’t cuss much or party. But she loves to fuck. I could’ve got her there.

But then what when she wakes up still mad? I mean, she damn near flipped the table. She got cause. I ain’t doubting that. And maybe pissed off is better than broken. I do know adding sex to the equation ain’t gonna make things simpler. This is too important. I gotta play it slow.

I watch our house, dozing off in the frigid cab of my truck, until it gets close to go time, and I head off toward Petty’s Mill. Guess I’m gonna go fuck up a drug dealer at the ass-crack of dawn on a Saturday morning.

I knew Heavy would want to deal with this quickly once he learned Eckels is still in the area. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s ready to tackle it first thing. The man runs a multimillion-dollar construction company, full custom garage, strip club, and quasi-legal motorcycle club. He’s efficient by nature.

When I pull up to the clubhouse, there’s a windowless white van parked out front with the back doors open.

“Wall! Get in here so we’s can go! Smells like ass in here!” That’s Creech. He’s probably not sober, and definitely the source of the ass smell.

“I’m here.” I hoist myself into the back. It’s jam-packed with brothers. Heavy’s in the passenger seat, and the prospect with the straggly beard, Mikey, is driving.

The rest of us squat on overturned Steel Bones Construction buckets. Forty, Charge, Nickel, and Grinder along one side. Pig Iron, Creech, me, and an older dude in khaki pants and a pale-blue collared shirt along the other.

One of these things isnotlike the others.

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