Page 66 of Zen's Crash

Rigs throws Siege a dark look. “Kill them now or kill them later? What difference does it make? If our cop friend fails to get a conviction, we kill them ourselves. If he gets a conviction and they end up in jail, we’ll kill them if and when they get released, unless a fellow inmate gets to them first. It makes no difference to me.”

Siege says in a determined voice, “Then it’s settled. I’ll call our contact and offload both of them as soon as they can send a wagon.”

“Until then, we need them both in lockup, preferably not together,” Rider says.

Tank interjects, looking all kinds of put out. “Earlier, we had Junior locked in the downstairs bathroom. Granted, it’s not very comfortable, but the door locks, and there’s no window. His father did very well in our cell.”

Siege jerks his chin towards the door. “Good plan. Tank, I want you and Dutch on them right up until we turn them over to the cops.”

Terrance and his father are still complaining loudly as they’re hauled off.

I get to my feet. “If there’s nothing else for me, I want to check on Lexi and then crash. I’ll have a lot on my plate tomorrow trying to track down what’s happened with her inheritance, and I still have to launch an investigation into my sister’s missing cryptocurrency.”

Siege holds up a pillowcase, one with blood on the outside. “Maybe this will help you?”

“What the hell is it?”

“Terrance’s laptop, the one you used to smash his face in with.”

I find myself immediately reaching for it. “There’s no telling all the shit I’ll find on his laptop. Thanks, Siege. I got a little distracted after he knifed me.”

“No problem. That’s what club brothers are for. We’ll always have your back. Remember that, Zen.”

***

I don’t find Lexi at the bar, so I head up to our room. She’s balled up on the bed, crying her eyes out. I sit on the side of the bed, and she crawls over to sit in my lap. “I don’t understand why my cousin said that sick stuff. Seeing someone with substance abuse or mental health problems should make you want to help them get treatment, not want to kill them to give them peace.”

“I know, Lexi. It’s the fundamental difference between being fucked in the head and being a normal person.”

“I can’t believe they killed my father over money.”

“Lexi, I’m gonna be real honest with you. Money is one of those things you don’t really value until you don’t have enough. When I was growing up, my dad got injured and had to have a string of back surgeries to get back on his feet. It took about three or four years before he was earning again. During that time, my mom was working two jobs just to keep a roof over our heads and afford my father’s medical care. I quit all my extracurricular activities at school so I could be home with my sister. Times were really hard.”

Lexi’s expression turns empathetic. “I remember you mentioning some of that before. I’m really sorry your family had to go through that.”

“I’m not sorry. My father got better, and now he works a job he loves. I put my sister first, and she grew up to be smart and resourceful. I think having to go through all that at a young age made us both tougher.”

“I get it. I really do,” she responds.

“Now, straight to the point I was trying to make—money is critically important and directly linked to survival. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to steal from another person.”

Her face lights up with understanding. “That’s exactly right. You suffered hardship and didn’t turn into a criminal, much less a killer.”

“It’s because I was raised to know right from wrong. That’s one thing I’ve always had in mind, when I have kids, I want to raise them like me and my sister were raised.”

Her nose wrinkles in a delightfully pensive pose. “You want kids?”

“Well, yeah, I’d love a family of my own one day. It’s one of the reasons I work so hard to be financially stable. Though, unless I can find my sister’s crypto, I’m gonna end up paying twenty grand a year tuition for the next however many years so she can go to the college of her dreams. I’m pretty sure I’ve found the right woman, we can worry about making kids later on down the road, when we’re both ready. ”

She nods, looking thoughtful. “I’d love to have kids one day. Though right now I probably need to get my own life sorted—but I’m pretty sure I’ve found the man I want to be their father.”

A slow smile spreads across my face. “I see we’re on the same page relationship-wise.”

She gives me a tired smile in return. “Yeah, I know there’s a way back from all this. Now that my father’s killers have been arrested and we found out one of them was my stalker, I’m ready to settle down with a therapist and begin workingthrough all this trauma. There’s no way I’m going to let those two assholes ruin my life.”

Reaching out to stroke her long black hair, I try to say something reassuring. “I know this situation has been a real shitshow and today has been an especially rough day. Want to cuddle up and get some sleep? I’m not sure a good night’s rest will help with this level of trauma, but it’ll at least refresh you. Then, tomorrow I’ll help you find a good therapist. I’m gonna be at your side every step of the way during your recovery.”

She gives me a sad smile, one that’s fit to break my heart. “I’d really love that, Zen. I appreciate you standing by me on this.”

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