Page 75 of Wrecked for Love
30
CLAIRE
It had been almost two weeks since the incident at The Willow, and life was inching back to normal—or as normal as it could be with Elia still playing chaperone and the constant unknown lurking in the background. We both knew it wasn’t over. Armand Voss, that disgusting ass, was still alive. Elia was certain of it, and so was I. He and his brother were hiding, waiting. Somewhere.
Today, I found myself at the hardware store with Annette. The queen of local gossip, she was my best shot at figuring out if anyone had caught a whisper about Armand. As much as I hoped she hadn’t—because a fifteen-year-old like her should never be tangled up in anything as dangerous as the Vosses—I needed to ask.
“The Vosses are exhausting!” Annette said, tossing her hands in the air.
“Just exhausting?” I questioned her choice of word.
“Okay, more than that.” She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping with the sharp awareness of someone who’d grown up knowing better. “They used to burn houses. Their enemies’ houses. Or beat the hell out of them.”
She flicked a glance around before continuing, “The sheriff’s tried to take them down, but they covered their tracks too well. Now and then, they arrest someone—a small-time crook, the bottom rung. But the Vosses? Untouchable. You know that feeling when everyone knows who the bad guy is, but there’s no proof? Yeah, that.”
It was easy to blame the sheriff, but Buffaloberry wasn’t exactly swimming in resources. The sheriff himself was based in the county seat, miles away, leaving just a couple of deputies to keep an eye on things locally. Even the NYPD struggled to stay ahead of crime in the city, so what chance did an understaffed rural outpost have against the Vosses? Especially when those bastards had turned evasion into an art form.
Annette cleared her throat, then added, “These days, people just keep their heads down, say yes when they have to, and stay out of their way. That’s what I meant by exhausting.”
“Do you personally know any of them?”
“Hell no!” she replied, making a face like I’d asked her if she’d ever befriended a monster. “Though I heard they might’ve left town recently.”
So shehadheard something. I knew she would.
“People actually saw them leaving?” I asked, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.
Annette shrugged dramatically. “No one’s seen them in a while, so that’s the theory. Before, you’d spot the Vosses skulking around, but lately? Ghost town. Maybe they finally made it big at Madison Square Garden.”
The mention of a New York landmark threw me. “Made it big as what?”
“Combat sports, obviously.” She smirked. “Though let’s be real, I doubt they have the kind of flair that gets you raving fans. No signature moves, no showmanship. Just general menace.”
“How did you know all this?”
“People know the Vosses are obsessed with combat culture. They tried to start something like that here. A fighting tournament called the Buffaloberry Rumble.” She rolled her eyes. “It was all legal. Everyone knew about it. But it never took off. Turns out, watching two guys throw haymakers behind the feed store isn’t exactly high entertainment. Even theGladiatormovies weren’t that popular here.”
I chuckled at her deadpan delivery. “I doubt they left town to chase stardom.”
“I suppose not.” She sighed. Maybe they’re just taking a holiday like everyone else…except, well, we don’t. At least, I don’t!”
“That’s because you’re the good one, helping your folks out. When that year-end bonus and double holiday pay kick in, you’ll be glad you didn’t take time off.”
She nodded absentmindedly, then jerked upright. “Wait, what? Double pay?”
“Well, yeah, you get paid double for holiday shifts, right?”
“Damn! My dad’s been holding out on me!” she exclaimed.
I shot her an “oops” face. Maybe I shouldn’t have let that slip.
“I’m going to ask him about that!” she said before circling back to the original topic. “But seriously, Claire, why are you so interested in the Vosses?”
I leaned on the counter. “You’ve gotta know the bad guys if you want to really know the town, right? Just being nosy.”
Annette let out a laugh. “Well, I’ve told you all the good things about this place. You should stick to that. Why go digging into the sordid stuff? Most of it’s just rumors, anyway.”
“Like my house being haunted?” I teased. Even though I had officially moved out of The Willow, I continued to rent it, not wanting to alert the town to any sudden changes.
