Page 56 of Wild Card
“We got time, let's just deal with one problem at a time.” I lift my cut off the bed and slide it on so we can get outta here and get to work.
“All this time that cunt had us runnin’ around in circles.” Hack stands guard at the door while I root around Byron’s office. I have to use my lockpicking skills to open a few drawers in his desk, but I’m still coming up with nothing. Byron is well respected, and we’re gonna have to have some good, hard evidence if we’re gonna take this to Jameson. Time is ticking; pretty soon, everyone will be back from the vigil, and I’m starting to feel the fuckin’ pressure.
“How's it going back there?” he calls back to me, starting to look as anxious as I am.
“I got nothin’.” I stand up and shrug. “Fuck!” Slamming my hand into the wall, I start to feel my rage take over.
“Dude, calm down, we’ll find somethin’; we still got the kid. We’ll head to the lake and look for him.”
“Look for him where? He won’t be stayin’ at the Kingston place anymore, and if that kid’s got any sense, he will have skipped town the second he told you all this. If Byron knows there's a witness, that kid's dead. Come on, there's gotta be somethin’.” I rack my brains thinking where to look next
“If Byron had a computer, I’d do my thing, but the man’s a technophobe.” Hack presses his head back against thedoorframe while he tries to come up with something. “Shit… someone's comin’,” he calls back to me.
“Who?” I quickly scramble to put everything back in place. “It’s…It’s…Esmé?” He sounds surprised, and when I move outta Byron's office and shut the door behind me, I watch through the door as she gets out her car and rushes toward him.
“What's up, darlin’?” Hack grabs hold of her when he sees how distressed she looks.
“You need to find Ash; you have to tell him to come and stop that wedding from happening. He’s the only one who’s gonna get through to her.” She’s so panicked and flustered she can hardly get her words out, and when she looks past his shoulder and sees me, she sighs with relief.
“You came back.” She races toward me, flinging her arms around my neck and almost knocking me off balance. “Thank God.”
“Esmé, you wanna tell us what happened?” Hack asks her, his face full of concern.
“Nothing’s happened, it’swhat'sgonna happen that's the problem. Ruby is really gonna marry my brother tomorrow.” She shakes her head and fights back tears. “You can’t let it happen, youhaveto stop her.”
Hack says nothing, just gets that clever-assed look on his face that has me wanting to punch him again.
“Esmé, we’re kinda in the middle of somethin’ import?—”
“What could be more important than her?” she cuts me off. “Ash, my brother is a bully. He’s dangerous, and he’s only marrying her so he can win a fucking election.”
“What election?” Hack looks confused.
“That doesn’t matter, right now. What we need to do is stop our friends from making the biggest mistake of their lives.” She looks up to him for support, and he stands united with her as they both wait for my response.
“Ruby wants to marry Brett, she told me that herself,” I remind them. I've already made a big enough fool of myself.
“No, she doesn’t. She has to because he and my dad are…” This time, Esmé cutsherselfoff. “You know how they can be.” Her shoulders shrug guiltily. “Please, Ash, don’t let this happen,” she pleads with me desperately.
“I can’t deal with this, right now.” I start marching out the door.
“Wait, Ash, where are you goin’?” Hack calls out.
“I’m gonna find the kid,” I yell back, hating them for interfering, and hating myself for knowing they’re right and feeling too weak to do anything about it.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Ruby
“You look beautiful,” Earl tells me, trying to convince me with a smile that doesn’t make it all the way to his eyes.
“I’m gonna be fine,” I assure him, ignoring the filthy look Esmé gives me as she walks past us and starts making her way up the aisle.
“You don’t have to lie to me, I know why you're doing this.” He swallows a lump in his throat. “You’re momma told me everything. I just wish it was me she’d called that night, instead of him. She should have known he’d tell Derek; the pair of them always have been thick as thieves.”
“Wait…I thought she told the mayor?” I stare up at him, confused, and even though the organ player has just hit my cue to start walking up the aisle, I stay where I am.
“No. There's one man to blame for all of this, and I only found out the other day what kind of a man he is. I should have seen it sooner. Earl's eyes land on Byron, who's sitting in one of the pews, smiling like everyone else who's turned out to watch this shit show.
