Page 9 of Havoc

Preacher had listened to all of it from the head of the table, with his eyes on the money.

“He lost the mine road he was using to smuggle with,” he said. “He lost Laine’s buildings. So now he comes onto Main Street in broad daylight and leans on a woman who he thinks is vulnerable.” He looked around the table. “Tomas Rivas thinks nobody’s standing behind her. I want him to find out he’s wrong. I want a bike parked outside that laundromat from the time she opens until she locks up. And I want a brother inside all day, in his colors, where the whole street can see him.”

“I’ll do it,” I said.

He was still talking when I said it. Every head at the table turned to me.

Lock was looking into his coffee. “Shocking,” he said.

Smoke laughed. Deacon looked at me for a long moment and went back to flicking the money pile.

“Is this club business for you,” Preacher said, “or is it personal?”

“Both.”

He thought about that. “She’s close with your sister.”

“Since second grade.”

“Then keep your head straight. You say that woman’s coming back for her dress next Friday, and I want your eyes on her when she does. Deacon, deposit the money in our safe. Ava-Rose will want to hand it back herself. Havoc’s got the shop, and Lock relieves him when needed. Deacon, find out everything about the company this woman claims to own.”

He brought the gavel down.

Brynn was standing outside the laundromat when I got back.

I parked at the curb, right in front of the plywood, where everybody on Main could see the bike. My sister is a foot shorter than me, and yet I’ve still been a little afraid of her my whole life.

“She called me this morning,” Brynn said. “She told me everything. Three days, Havoc. She told me it was kids, and I believed her.”

“She told me the same thing.”

“She’s staying with you?”

“Yeah. Thought it was safest.”

“Good.” Her eyes were red. Through the door I could see Ava-Rose behind the counter, counting out change for Mrs. Delgado as if it were any other morning. “She’ll tell you she’s fine. She isn’t, Havoc. She cleans when she’s scared, and she won’t sleep.”

“I know. I heard her tossing and turning last night.”

Brynn grabbed the front of my cut in both hands, the way she used to grab my shorts when we were kids and she needed me to listen.

“You keep her safe. Promise me. She’s my best friend.”

“Nobody’s going to touch her.”

“I know.” She let go. She patted the leather flat, right over the patch Ava-Rose had sewn on for me, and looked up into my face.

“And you remember what you promised me. I still mean it.”

CHAPTER 3

AVA-ROSE

Two nights I’d slept in Havoc’s bed, and he hadn’t been in it for either of them.

He slept on the couch. I knew, because his bedroom door wouldn’t shut, and through the gap I could hear every time he turned over on the creaking couch.

On the third night I got up for a glass of water.