Never Doubt Me (17 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Chase

W
hen we start down the long dirt driveway that leads to Kyle’s ramshackle house, I’m rethinking whether I should have brought Kay with me. Perhaps a detour back to the house to drop her off would have been wise, since I don’t want my girl anywhere near the kind of debaucheries that occur in this drug den.

But it’s too late now, so I content myself with just saying, “Hey, I think it’s best if you wait in the car. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure,” Kay replies, “yeah.”

She doesn’t sound put off in any way. Hell, I know she has no real desire to meet Kyle Tanner. I don’t blame her, either. I wish I too could avoid an up close and personal with that prick today. But I need to know if my brother’s been a-calling.

When we roll up to the dilapidated frame structure, there are no cars out front.

Kay remarks, “Huh, it doesn’t look like anyone’s here.”

I point to a beat-up old Dodge truck, circa early nineties, parked around the far side of the house. “That’s Kyle’s piece of shit.” I jam the gearshift in park. “He’s home.”

Kay nods. “Oh, okay.”

I lean back in my seat and scrub both hands down my face, then turn to Kay. “Listen, I’m leaving the keys here. Just let the truck idle. If there’s any trouble, any at all, take off.”

Kay unclasps her seat belt and twists toward me. “What kind of trouble are you expecting, Chase?”

“Well,” I begin, “Will is clearly not here, but he probably was around earlier. And if that motherfucker admits he sold my kid brother anything even remotely illegal, I’m laying his ass out. I don’t want you witnessing shit like that, all right?”

Kay presses her lips together tightly, says, “Okay, but I’m not leaving you here with no way home. If something like that does, uh, occur, then I’ll go, but I’ll wait for you at the end of the driveway.”

I give this woman who’s so unconditionally supportive of me a sad smile. “I’m sorry I’m even putting you in a position like this.”

“Chase”—she places her hand on mine—“don’t.”

It’s important that I finish what I’m saying, though, so I continue. “I’m trying so hard to be the kind of man you deserve, Kay, I really am. But it seems like this shit from the past keeps popping up and leading me back to the ways I used to solve problems.” I lift up my hand, make a fist. “Like through intimidation…or by using force.”

An image of Doug Wilson’s frightened face pops up in my head. Kay doesn’t even know about my little discussion with her ex. I think she believes Doug never contacted her because he chickened out. Well, he did, but only due to me. I should go ahead and confess to Kay right here and now. And while I’m at it, I should probably tell her about my deal with Kyle, share with her how my hand ended up bloodied.

But I don’t say a word. I know how disappointed in me she’ll be. I can’t bear to watch how her face will surely fall, how her eyes will fill with hurt. So my secrets remain hidden.

In the meantime, while I’m ruminating, Kay is saying, “Do what you have to do, Chase. I’ll understand.”

Oh, the irony.

I just shake my head. This is not how I envision our future—me not sharing things that she has a right to know, me paying visits to my onetime dealer’s house, me making deals with said dealer, all while Kay blindly supports my antics.

“Christ,” I sigh under my breath as I step down from the truck.

Up on Kyle’s porch, I knock on the metal screen door. I didn’t notice on my last visit, but the flimsy door is covered in kick marks. I knock again and the battered thing clangs and shakes.

“Hold the fuck on,” someone yells from inside the house.

Three seconds later, Kyle swings open the front door. He wavers on unsteady feet, and says in a slurred voice, “Fuck, Gartner. What—”

His glazed-over eyes slide lazily to my truck. When he spots Kay in the passenger seat, he comes to life.

His lips turn up into a lecherous grin, and I respond in a voice full of warning, “You better wipe that smile right off your fucking face.”

“What? I can’t appreciate a pretty girl?”

“Not mine.”

Kyle wisely shuts the fuck up. But after a few seconds elapse, he asks, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

I get right to the point. “You see my brother or that punk friend of his today?”

“What do I look like, a fucking babysitter?”

I take a step toward Kyle, and he backs up. I’m holding the screen door open and now I’m one step closer to being inside his house.

I nod to the darkened living room, where bottles and drug paraphernalia are strewn all over the floor. “There’s no place to run, Kyle. You may as well just answer the question.”

He fumbles in the pocket of his flannel shirt for his pack of smokes. He digs out a cigarette and places it between his lips. “You mind?” he mumbles.

“No, go ahead.”

Kyle takes a lighter from a pocket of his pants and lights up. He inhales and blows smoke off to the side, then admits, “Yeah, your brother stopped by earlier.”

“Was he with Jared?”

Kyle leans his shoulder on the frame of the door and nods.

I raise an eyebrow. “You sell them anything?”

For a minute, I expect him to give me shit for not getting his money from the addict. But I think he sees in my expression that he best not utter one fucking word on that subject today.

Kyle takes another hit of his cigarette, exhales, and then looks away. “I didn’t sell either of them any drugs, if that’s what you’re asking.”

I’m surprised he’s answering so willingly, but something is off in his tone. I just know he’s fucking lying about something.

“So why were they here?” I press.

“Beats me,” he replies. “Guess they just wanted to say hi.”

This motherfucker is entirely too smug. I know he’s hiding something. He may not have sold them any drugs, but some kind of shit went down.

“You expect me to believe they stopped by on some kind of a fucked-up social call?”

Kyle tosses his cigarette out in the direction of the yard. As he watches it arc into the air, he replies, “Maybe they wanted drugs, but then they changed their minds. Who knows with kids these days?”

I’ve had enough of this asshole. I take a step back and let the screen door fall. Kyle catches it a second before it hits his face. Frankly, I’m impressed his reactions are that good.

I point at him and take another step back. “Listen up, Tanner. If you see my brother or his buddy again today, you make damn sure that you
continue
to not sell them a fucking thing. You got it?”

Kyle puts his hands up, and behind the mesh screen, he kind of looks like he’s in jail. How crazy is it that this dickhead has never done any time? Nothing, nada. He just continued with his criminal ways, all while my ass remained incarcerated. I’m no innocent, not by any means, but Kyle Tanner takes criminal behavior to a whole new level. After all, I may have been carrying forty hits of X with the intent to sell, but it was
his
supply that got me busted.

“I got it,” Kyle says, “no drugs for little Gartner and his pal.”

I don’t bother responding. I just turn away and jog back over to the truck.

“I gotta get out of here,” I say to Kay as I jump inside and slam the door. “That fucker gets in my head.”

I’m clenching and unclenching my hands on the steering wheel when we drive away.

Kay, noticing my anxiety, places her warm little hand over mine. “Hey, you did well, Chase. You didn’t hurt Kyle. There was no trouble. And I’m proud of you for that.”

Ha, if only she knew that I punched an addict who owed Kyle money and that I intimidated the fuck out of her ex-boyfriend. But I can’t dwell on that shit right now.

I lift the hand that Kay is covering and bring her curled fingers to my lips. “I love you so fucking much.” I brush my lips over her knuckles.

When I release her hand, she trails a finger over my cheek and jaw, rubbing at the light stubble. She leans over and kisses me. When she settles back into her seat, she says, “So, what did Kyle say? Did he have any info?”

“Yeah, he did, actually.” I shoot her a sidelong glance filled with meaning. “Will and Jared were at his house earlier, but he claims they didn’t buy any drugs.”

Kay’s brow furrows. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, why would they go see him, if not for drugs? What other possible reason would your brother or Jared have for visiting Kyle Tanner?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, babe.”

“It sure is,” Kay says under her breath. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“I agree.” I turn out of Kyle’s driveway. “But something’s going on, I’m sure of that. I just have no idea what that something is.”

We’re quiet on the short drive into town.

When we hit Market Street, Kay asks, “Where should we go next?”

“I was thinking maybe Pizza House. Will really likes their food. Maybe he and Jared stopped in for lunch or something.”

It’s wishful thinking, sure, but not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, I’m actually hoping all those two kids did today was grab a pizza. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the stop at Kyle’s is weighing on my mind. It has me concerned, very concerned. I think Kyle sold Jared—or more likely, my brother—
something
.

But what?

I am considering possibilities—and coming up blank—when Kay and I walk into Pizza House. Nick emerges from the back, and when he spots us, it’s obvious he’s shocked as shit to see Kay. But his shock turns into fawning when he starts to speak to her.

“Hey, Kay,” he gushes. “You look fantastic. How’ve you been?”

“Fine, thank you,” she responds.

“You haven’t stopped in for a takeout in so long,” Nick says, feigning disappointment. “I was starting to worry about you, thought I might have to stop by the church and make sure everything was okay.”

What a tool. I guffaw, and Kay entwines her arm with mine in an attempt to calm my ire. She knows me so well.

“Aw, Nick,” she says, “I’ve been fine.” She leans into me, cuddling to a point. I know it’s her way to dismiss Nick’s flirtation. “It’s just that Chase, here, has been volunteering to pick up all our take-out orders lately.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Nick says dryly, nodding curtly to me.

Everyone quiets, Nick wipes at his brow. He’s sweating. But I can’t figure out whether it’s because he’s uneasy around me—I mean, he obviously still likes Kay—or if he’s unnerved because he’s the person who facilitated my meeting with Doug Wilson.

Sorry, dude, but we’re in on that one together
.

I hope my eyes are conveying that exact message when I shoot Nick a meaningful look. He just ignores me, though. I don’t know, maybe something entirely different is weighing on his mind.

Nick shoves his hands in the front pockets of his dark pants and leans back on his heels. Back to business, he asks, “So, what brings you in today? You want to order something to go?”

“No, we’re good,” I reply. “We just stopped in to ask if you happened to see my brother in here today.”

Will has accompanied me to pick up a number of takeout orders, thus Nick knows what he looks like.

Nick shakes his head. “No, sorry, man. I haven’t seen him, not today.”

I turn to go, mutter, “Okay, thanks.”

Kay tightens her hand on mine as we leave Pizza House. “Well, there’s strike number three,” I say. “Shit, Kay, I’m running out of fucking options here.”

She softly says, “Let’s just go home, Chase. Maybe Will is back at the house by now.”

She has a point. It is after four o’clock.

“Yeah,” I agree as we get in my truck, “maybe.”

“Hey, we’ll find him,” Kay says reassuringly. “Even if he’s not at the house, we’ll find him.”

I wish I had her confidence.

I rake my fingers through my hair. “Fuck, let’s talk about something else for a while, okay?”

“Sure,” Kay replies.

There’s a long pause. I pull out of the Pizza House lot and turn in the direction of the house.

Once we’re on our way, Kay sighs and says, “So I guess Missy is doing okay with the rummage sale. Her mom must have come through. I haven’t received a single panicked call or any frantic texts. If things were going crazy over there, I’m sure Missy would be letting us know by now.”

“Yeah, she must have things under control.” I chuckle, then add, “By the way, that was really nice of her to help out like she did.”

“It was,” Kay says. “And I’m glad you two are finally getting along.”

Kay sounds like she really means it, so I share with her how Missy’s actions surprised me this morning, in a good way, especially how compassionate she was regarding the situation with my brother.

“Yeah,” Kay replies, “I think Missy is really trying to turn her life around. She must have truly meant it when she said she wanted to be a better person for her kid.”

“Speaking of which”—I tap my fingers on the steering wheel—“has she told Nick’s cousin that he’s going to be a dad in, like, seven months?”

“No.” Kay sighs. “She claims she hasn’t talked to Tony yet.”

I shake my head, and Kay adds, “She needs to tell Tony soon, I know. He has a right to know he’s going to be a dad.”

“Yeah, he does,” I agree.

Talk of Missy ends, and, out of the blue, Kay asks, “By the way, did it seem like Nick was acting weird back at the restaurant?”

“What do you mean?” I hedge.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. He just seemed…off.”

I chuckle and toss out, “Maybe he seemed ‘off’ because he still likes you, baby girl.”

Kay glances at me from under her lashes. “I don’t think that was it, Chase.”

She knows as well as I do, though, that Nick Mercurio wants her more than ever. But I sure as fuck don’t care to prolong a discussion focusing on Nick’s lust for my fucking girl.

So, I re-focus the subject. “Who knows, maybe Nick was acting weird because Missy told him about Tony.”

“No, no way.” Kay shakes her head. “If Missy said anything at all, even just a hint that she’s pregnant with Tony’s baby, Nick would definitely tell him. And Missy, for all her hesitation, wouldn’t want Tony to find out that way.”