Page 30 of Ruin
I keep it simple and to the point.
Someone at the table whistles while someone else grumbles something. My eyes stay on the computer screen.
“That’s too much,” Prez says simply.
I look up then, blinking slowly.
“This is what I said from the beginning. But we don’t have a choice. This is bare minimum payments to men, who, quite frankly, may not even accept what we’re offering. If they aren’t paid decently, they’re going to give us trouble.”
“Then we need to find something else to offer them.” Prez rubs his forefinger and thumb together as he looks toward the windows. “What if we pay them in product?”
“In product?” I ask. “You want us to pay some heathens in weapons?”
Prez chuckles, then shrugs. “With the caveat that they keep their bullshit in their own state.”
“We can’t consistently pay them in weapons. That will get old really fast,” Kaison adds.
“And it’sreckless,” I add.
“Maybe not. It all depends on what they do with them.”
I grit my teeth, knowing it’s best to keep my mouth shut. I can’t fix the world. All I can do is keep my town safe. Other people need to worry about keeping their own towns safe. I can’t fucking do it all.
But I don’t have to be part of the problem. Doing this doesn’t feel right. It feels dirty, and I don’t fucking like it. The problem is will arguing be worth it? I’ll lose in the end. So I push my feelings aside.
“Okay,” I say calmly. “I’ll need to know what kinds of weapons we’re working with. I can get prices and go from there.”
“Wonderful. I’ll get back to you by the end of day. Now, Shark, what’s up with Crazy Harry?” Prez asks.
“Took everything I could find from his house. Only place I didn’t check was in his walls.”
“Why didn’t you check there?”
“Don’t think he’d remember putting them in there, if he did. Didn’t see anything that led me to believe he had, either. No new paint, no cracks, nothing.”
Prez nods carefully, then continues on but I drown him out.
I am confident in saying that guys in this club, minus Coyote, want what’s best for this town. My brother and I, though we don’t have much in common, care about the wellbeing of the people in Pinehaven. And though my father was a real piece of shit, he took care of this place too. That’s where my brother gets it from. He idolized our father, and wanted to make him proudby walking in his footsteps. The more I think about it, which I try not to do, I realize I was the only person my father treated like shit. And he’s dead so I’ll never know why.
Of course, my brother’s opinion on our father changed when I opened up to him about what he did to me. Still, it didn’t take away the compassion Kaison has. Out of the guys in the club, he’s the best at dealing with the townspeople. He’s charming as hell when he needs to be. Though he’ll tell you he hates it, he secretly likes it. He’s doing his part, and that makes him proud.
My need for keeping this town safe? It has nothing to do with what genes I got from our father and everything to do with what the bastard did to me. When he died, I vowed to do everything in my power to keep the kids in this town safe and help them get the best life they can, so they can get the fuck out of here and make something of themselves.
I didn’t get so lucky, but that doesn’t mean they can’t. I’m only one person, but one person can make a difference in a lot of people’s lives if they go about it the right way.
When Church is done, Ghost and Tank leave to go pay Terry, the convenient store owner a visit, because he’s been rather unhappy since his son—Noah—became our newest prospect. He’s a good kid, and though I wish he’d do something else with his life, at least if he’s here and keeps a good head on his shoulders, this club may get put back together one day.
Kaison invites me to lunch at Daisy’s, the diner his girlfriend works at, even though I already told him I’m not going thereanymore. It smells weird, it’s loud, and the food is sub par. So I declined.
We took over Daisy’s diner last month in a heat-of-the-moment situation, when the owner was harassing Kaison’s girlfriend and being an absolute piece of trash. Noah, because he hasn’t earned a name yet, has been spending most of his time there, figuring shit out since he has business experience. I wasn’t too happy about the seizing, since I figured I’d be the one forced to handle it all, but it’s good knowing someone else has it under control. And he does have it under control. Noah is smart.
“Hey, did your sister buy that house on Cedar Road?” Tank asks as he drops onto the couch. I’m gathering my stuff so I can make a quick escape to the school without Prez knowing, to make sure Kenting is all set. Then I have to go by the diner to check on Noah, but I wasn’t letting Kaison know that. He’ll be gone by the time I get there, and I won’t have to tell him about it.
“Nah, someone else snatched it up,” Spam says as he drops beside Tank. “Paid seventy-five grand over asking.”
“That sucks. Would have been a nice place for her kids and shit.”
“They’re looking at another place a few towns over, but nothing is as big as the one here. She loved that giant oak tree in the front.”
