Page 63 of Zen's Crash

Being our Prez, Siege starts the interrogation. “Why did you try to abduct your niece today?”

“Just wanted to have a friendly visit.”

Siege’s fist crashes into his jaw, causing his head to wrench sideways. “Are you a fucking masochist or something? Tell us what we want to know or it’s only gonna get worse.”

Harris turns his head and spits blood out on the floor, then gives Siege a bloody smile. “Wow, ain’t nobody ever tried to beat information outta me before.”

Siege draws back to hit him again, but Rigs stays his hand. “Don’t bother, brother. He likes pain. If you keep beating on him, you’re gonna wind up being his handsome new crush.”

“Goddamn, Rigs. You say the creepiest shit,” Siege throws back.

“I’m not wrong, though, am I, Harris?” Rigs says.

“Fuck you, preacher. I don’t swing that way.”

Rigs leans down to look him in the eyes. “You sure don’t like women, if your body count is any indication.”

His mouth snaps shut so fast it’s almost comical.

Rigs tells him, “You might as well come out with it. We’re a bunch of bikers. There ain’t nothing you’ve done that we haven’t seen a thousand times over. If you tell the truth, you might even make it out of this clubhouse alive.”

Siege adds, “We can always bring your son in and beat on him until you talk. We’ll start with his fingers and work our way up.”

Spiting a mouthful of blood on the floor, Harris speaks, “Fine. We’ll play it your way. If you must know, I like women well enough. In my world, they’re a tool to be used anddiscarded. Deep down inside, every man feels the same way—they just don’t like to admit it, because they think it makes them a bad person.”

Rigs folds his arms across his chest. “Speak for yourself, you sick bastard.”

I speak out before I can stop myself. “Is that what you had in mind for Lexi—being used and discarded like all the others?”

“My niece? What kind of man do you think I am?” Harris says looking offended.

“I think we’ve established exactly what kind of man you are, we’re just trying to see how far down the shit goes,” I answer.

“Look, I don’t care one way or another about her. I just need a death certificate.”

“Why use and kill the others but not Lexi? Because to get a death certificate I would think you need a body. Could you not bring yourself to harm her? Is it because she’s your niece and you have some actual morals rolling around in your brain?”

He glares at me. “I only kill women who deserve it. Whores, cheaters, liars, and manipulators.”

“Like your mother?” I ask. “Your son told us all about how your mother was a drug addict who had a revolving door of men running through the house when you were young.”

“Yeah, just like her. The world is a better place without women like that messin’ with a man’s head.”

“Lexi isn’t any of the things you just mentioned.”

“No, she’s not. Poor girl just has a thing for bikers. Lexi is a scared little mouse that likes to hide away from the world though. She gets it from her father.”

“You mean your brother?”

He nods. “Yeah, we never got along. He was always the golden boy, and I was the black sheep. We were raised in different worlds. I hated him for a long time because he got everything good and all I ever got was shit.”

“Why kill Lexi, though? That part still doesn’t make sense.”

His lips press into a firm line. We’ve hit a soft spot, and he’s not gonna talk about it, so we don’t force the issue.

It’s Rigs who guesses it. “I’m thinking this has to do with an inheritance of some sort.”

“My mother’s father left Terrance the hunting lodge, which is worth practically nothing since it’s just a shack with no electricity or hot and cold running water. I ended up with his old pocket watch. It was supposed to be a personal insult about wasting time. Anyway, he left us what he had, and my brother got nothing from our maternal grandfather.”

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