Page 38 of Wall

“Prospect!” Heavy calls over his shoulder. Mikey jogs forward, and Grinder rotates to his lookout position at the front blinds. “Walk Brianna—”

He looks at Forty.

“Anne Devers of Pyle,” Forty supplies.

“Walk Brianna Anne Devers to the nearest convenience store, and call her folks to pick her up. Wait with her until they come. Get their tag number.”

“Yes, sir.” The prospect crooks his elbow and offers it to Brianna. She ignores it.

“Are you gonna kill him?” She asks in a whisper, her arms clutching her purse so tightly her knuckles are swollen and white.

“Do you really want to ask me that?” Heavy meets her wild eyes, and she swallows.

“That’s my engagement ring.”

Heavy has this strange effect on people. Mesmerizing fear and then a kind of hypnotism. I’ve seen many men confess to him, drunk and sober. It’s an oddity, for sure.

“It was stolen.”

She drops her head. “It figures.”

“You knew.”

“I guess I did.” Her voice is almost inaudible.

The prospect offers his arm, again. She sighs and heads out the front door on her own steam. We wait until Pig Iron manages to wrestle the busted front door back into its frame before we deal with our remaining issue.

Forty marches over to loom over our drug-dealing friend. “We told you to get gone, Eckels.”

“I ain’t in Petty’s Mill.” He still has some fight left in him.

“What was it I said?” Heavy looks to Forty.

“You suggested he drive ‘til he hits water, and then he could stop. Or keep going. You left that open.”

“I hear California and Florida are both good places for a fresh start,” Pig Iron muses.

“Turn over a new leaf.” Creech plops himself on a very nice leather couch which doesn’t match the peeling walls or the moth-eaten rug.

“Good places to find yourself.” Heavy adds, stepping forward. “Yet, we find you here. In the next town over.”

“I ain’t affecting your business.” Eckels’ eyes are darting around the room like a lizard. He’s lookin’ for an out, but there isn’t one. He’s surrounded. So he tries wheedling. “In a way, I’m a benefit. Law’s always looking at me. Don’t have time to look at anyone else.”

Well, that was the wrong thing to say.

To the outside eye, Steel Bones is one hundred percent legit. We have an excellent relationship with local law enforcement. I myself have organized charity rides with the local chapter of the Blue Hawks.

Eckels is suggesting he knows something different. The chances of him walking out of this house have decreased exponentially.

Heavy doesn’t respond for a minute. Then he says, “I want to introduce you to someone. Everett?”

Yeah, we’re using names now. Eckels ain’t gonna be breathing much longer.

The civilian steps forward.

“You want to take your mask off, so he can look you in the eye?” Heavy asks.

Mr. Smith does. There’s pure hate and rage on the man’s face.

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