Page 35 of Hateful Union

My hands tighten on the steering wheel, “He wants to make sure that I've stayed clean. That I’m not being followed and haven’t let things slip to anyone.” It’s a pain in the arse. I understand that he's protecting me, but sometimes it feels as though he’s waiting for me to mess up.

“He’s an arsehole, Ray, that man stares at your tits most of the time.” She scrunches her nose in disgust.

Yep, he’s a perv. Whenever he talks to me, he always stares at my chest. I could be wearing an oversized sweater and he’d continuously stare at my breasts.

Gabby is quiet as I continue to drive towards the beach. It's where we go to talk. We have a house that we've been staying in. My parents think that I'm with Gabby, it's true. I am, just not at her house. Gabby and I have had this house for a while. It's just somewhere for me and her to get away from all the shit.

Being who we are—the children of criminals—it's a lot to take in. It's a lot to deal with, and I'm so grateful that I have someone at my side, who has my back and knows exactly what I'm going through, and I know exactly what she is. Although her dad's not an animal like mine is. But thankfully, we got lucky when we found each other. I’d do anything for her. Just as she would for me.

The rest of the car ride is quiet, neither of us talking, but I know she's got something on her mind.

Before we reach the beach, I make a pit stop at the meeting place with Ramirez. I keep Gabby hidden and out of view, but she pitched a fit the very first time and the only way to get her to stop was to allow her to come with me.

“You’re late,” he tells me as I step closer to him. Once again, his gaze is trained firmly on my tits.

I grind my teeth and bite back the retort. “I’m here now and I have something for you.”

I hand him the thumb drive and he raises his brow, thankfully, pulling his gaze from my chest and moving it to my face, “What’s this?”

“Evidence. I think you’ll find it helpful. From locations to associates.”

A slow grin forms on his face and if he weren’t such a perv, he’d be attractive as hell. “I’m impressed.”

I roll my eyes, not much impresses this fucker. “Now, what is it that you wanted to see me about?”

“I’ve also been doing a little bit of digging. Your friend, Mayer Banks…” I swallow at the mention of my best friend. “He wasn’t who you thought he was.”

“I know that already,” I snap, not wanting to hear what he has to say.

He shakes his head, “No, you’re not listening. He was not who you thought he was. He had nothing to do with the shit your dad’s been doing.”

I blink hard. “What?” I whisper.

“Yeah, I can’t give you the full details, but Mayer hated this shit about just as much as you do and he, just as you are, tried to do something about it.”

My throat lodges as my body begins to shake. God, Mayer.

“Stay safe, Raylee. It won’t be long until we’re closing in and when we do, heads are going to roll. I want to make sure that you’re out of the way when they do.”

I nod and watch as he walks away. Yet again, I’m left with more questions. Every time I think I have the answers, more questions pop up.

Only when Ramirez is out of sight do I make my way back to Gabby, as usual, she demands to know everything that was said. I don’t hesitate in giving her what she needs.

“But,” she whispers, “if he wasn’t part of it, why did those arsehole’s kill him?”

That’s exactly what I haven’t been able to wrap my head around. If what Ramirez said is true, then someone has let Mayer hang and that is something I’ll never forgive.

I start the car and back out of the parking lot. It’s time to go to the beach. Time to get away and think.

“What’s going to happen when the truth comes out?” she asks softly.

I don’t answer her. Eventually, my family is going to start to wonder why I keep disappearing and why I’m not staying at home. And when they do, the shit’s gonna hit the fan.

It's what I dread the most, my family finding out what I've done. I know they're going to lose their minds when the truth comes out. I know that no matter what happens, I'll be seen as a traitor. And I'm okay with that. As long as the shit that my dad’s doing stops.

All the evidence I've uncovered so far, I've not found any that implicate my brother's. But I still feel uneasy. Something in my gut is screaming at me that there's more to this than what I can see, I just pray that it's not them. That will be the ultimate betrayal.

My brothers, they’re the shit, and I love each and every one of them, especially Bentley, he and I are the closest. I don't know what I'd do if they were involved in this as well. It's bad enough knowing that Mayer was part of this. That cuts deep. And he's not here to defend himself.

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