Chapter Twenty-Seven

BISHOP

The four-car garage that we pulled up to was dwarfed by the house that towered behind it.

All red brick.

Three stories tall.

A couple of huge pillars held up the roof over the front door, making it look like some kind of historical building, possibly a museum or library.

Not that it looked out of place. The entire street was lined on both sides with places that looked similar, if not identical. This place sat right on the water's edge, hovering over an inlet that led right out onto the Detroit River.

"These places are worth a couple million at least," Cain commented as we pulled into the driveway behind some pimped-out wagon.

When we climbed out, the sounds of people talking and laughing floated in the air, and Blue looked over at me with a wide grin. "Sounds like we just got invited to a party."

With no fencing running around the properties, the four of us marched down the side of the house and into the open backyard. There were at least twenty to thirty people there, all wearing bathing suits and half of them girls, all of whom I would ask to see ID from if they came into my bar. They all sat around, a couple of them in the spa in the corner, the music blaring as they mixed and mingled with each other.

Not really surprising since the temperature was close to ninety. It was a nice day for a barbecue, which a couple of guys were tending to, the smell wafting in the air and making my stomach growl.

Too bad it was about to be ruined.

I nudged Cain, and he hooked a couple of fingers in his mouth, letting loose a whistle that had a couple of people almost leap straight out of their skin.

"Excuse me!" I announced when all eyes finally landed on me. "I'm looking for Ali and Jason?"

Eyes skirted, low whispers moving through the group before someone finally stepped forward. "I'm Ali," he answered with a frown.

"And Jason?" I called again, scanning the faces before finally catching a pair of wide eyes. "You."

He was off, throwing himself through the open sliding doors and stumbling inside.

"Rafe," Blue ordered, grinning as he nudged the kid in the ribs with his elbow. "You're up."

"You get him before he gets in his car, and you don't have to clean the ring at Brawlers for a week," I added for good measure. I'd never seen him move so fucking fast, taking off the way we had come around the side of the house.

Because that ring was fucking disgusting every day, covered in blood, sweat, and God knew what other bodily fluids.

Knowing that stupid bastard Jason wasn't about to make it anywhere before running into Rafe, I turned my attention back to the crowd who were still frozen, probably shit-scared.

"We're gonna have a chat," I told Shay's brother, pointing directly across the yard at him where he was shuffling nervously. At least he didn't run, I'd give him that. "The rest of y'all, get the fuck out."

Bodies hustled, tripping over each other, scrambling to their feet and pulling towels around themselves as they hurried for any exit they could find. Most headed back out the front, but a few loaded onto small boats tied to the private dock.

Everyone was gone within a minute, leaving just Ali and us. "Inside, now."

He didn't question me, and I followed him in, Cain and Blue right on my heels.

"Where do you—"

"Right there is fine," I ordered, pointing at some ornate-looking sofa that probably came straight out of the American Revolution. "Take a seat."

He moved toward it. "What's this about?"

"You're Shay's brother, right?"

His hands instantly curled into fists, and he spun to face me. "Did you do something to my sister?"

"Oh look, someone's balls dropped in finally," Cain joked as he wandered the room, flicking through papers on the desks and pulling books off shelves.

"Shay lives with me," I told him, folding my arms across my chest. "And last week, I found her in my bathroom, absolutely beside herself about a couple of little pills you'd given her."

His eyes shot open like saucers, and he started waving his hands around. "Woah, woah, woah. I offered them, but she didn't take them. She threw them on the table."

"Yeah, where your fucking buddy here…" I pointed to Jason as Rafe dragged him in, tossing him onto the sofa. "… slipped them into her bag."

Ali pinched at his brow with his fingers. "I… no… it's not…"

I let him process his fucking stupidity and turned to the bastard himself. Jason had blood dripping from his nose, and his cheek was red like it had taken a few blows. "This your handy work, Rafe?"

Rafe held up both hands. "I maintain he hit himself in the face."

"I'd believe it," Blue agreed.

"The hell do you want?" Jason snapped, spitting on the floor. "Shay's an addict. I wouldn't believe anything she fucking sa—"

I grabbed him by the leg, pulling him off the sofa and onto the hard wooden floor, his body landing with a hard thump.

"Ah… stop!" Jason screamed out.

I stood over him, pushing my boot into his side, right under his fucking ribs. "Where's your stash?" I demanded, digging a little harder and making the little bastard scream. "Where are they?"

"I don't have any!" he screamed when I finally pulled back. "I swear I don't!"

I glanced at Ali out of the corner of my eye, noting the way he clenched his teeth as if he was trying to keep from saying something.

This kid had pills.

"This shit look weird to you?" Cain commented as he stepped back from the wall of bookshelves. "Like, everything else in this room is old. These are fucking new. They don't fit the vibes at all."

"We're renovating!" Jason protested, scooting back so he could lean against the sofa. "It's a process. You have to start somewhere."

"Or, you're just building in a place to hide shit because you know eventually you'll piss off someone like us, and you need to be able to protect your stash," Cain countered, stepping up and beginning to pull on every single fucking book, sending them flying onto the floor until finally…

Click.

About three or four shelves popped open and swung wide, revealing a deep, purposely-built secret cupboard filled with bags of little green pills.

Blue choked out a laugh, hurrying forward and beginning to pull them out. "There must be like a thousand fucking pills here." He leaned in, squinting his eyes. "Woah, eighty milligrams too."

Cain was silent for a second, his eyes looking to the ceiling. "That's like more than fifty thousand dollars' worth on the street."

"Grab them," I ordered, stomping back over to a very frightened-looking Jason and grabbing hold of his fucking hair. It was long enough for me to grip tightly, the crybaby screaming as I used it to drag him out onto the patio, his body scrambling to keep up.

The boys followed me out, all three carrying a large saran-wrapped block of tiny pills.

I dragged Jason's body over the rough cobblestones. They tore at his skin, and he cried out in pain, his sobs growing louder as I finally stopped next to his hot tub.

I reached over, dipping my finger in to test the waters. "Perfect," I announced, turning to my men. "Throw them in."

With looks of absolute glee on their faces, they tore a hole in each package and walked over to the pool of bubbling water.

"No!" Jason screamed, and Rafe quickly handed me his package before tackling the asshole and forcing him back. "Those are mine! I'll… I'll sell them to you. I'll give you a percentage of the profits I make! Please…"

Grinning, I held my package over the water and watched them fall, the sound almost like a light spring rain as they hit the water. Blue and Cain did the same, ignoring how Jason screamed, cried, and pleaded with us to stop. We held up those little bags until they were empty.

The water quickly changed to a muddy green color with a white froth forming a thick layer across the top as the pills dissolved into nothing.

If someone got in that water and let it soak into their skin for a while, they'd probably fucking die.

Looking over at Jason, I was tempted.

But I knew it wouldn't be long before one of those little punks who left or some nosey neighbor called the cops. So we were about to make a hasty exit.

"You tried to slip my fucking Old Lady a couple of pills." I walked toward Jason, now on his feet, bracing himself against the glass outdoor table. His legs shook, his body flinching with every step I took closer and closer. "You thought it was funny, right? Tempt the recovering addict. See what it will take to break her so you can drag her back down to your fucking level. Next time you come near her, I'll kill you. Got it?"

"Y… yes. I do—"

I grabbed his throat, slamming his body back and shattering the glass.

The metal frame around the edges stayed intact while Jason went straight through. He hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud, groaning loudly as he lay across the mess of scattered shards.

"Good," I spat, screwing up my nose and turning to Shay's brother. "You should be fucking proud of your sister and the woman she's become. I know you had a shitty childhood. You went through some shit no one should ever have to, but that's no excuse to roll over like a little bitch and let this fucking punk fuck you in the ass. Grow up. Do the right thing by her, or the next time I come back, I'll be looking for you."

He nodded, the first one slow, like it was taking time for my words to soak in.

But slowly, each nod grew a little quicker until his head was bouncing. He looked me directly in the eye. "I'll do better."

"Good." That was all I had to say. He was lucky he didn't know what his friend had done. Otherwise, I would have been tempted to dunk some motherfucker in the hot tub. "Let's go."

My brothers and I wandered back toward the side of the house the way we came. "Hey!" Ali called just before I took the corner. The boys paused to wait, but I waved them on.

"I'll be there in a second." They continued to the truck while I leaned my shoulder into the side of the house, waiting as the young guy jogged over to me. He hadn't even touched his friend to try and help, which offered him a few more bonus points in my eyes.

"Does she hate me?"

"No. She doesn't. You're not the reason we came by. He was." I pointed to Jason, who was still crying like a baby but had yet to move.

"I didn't mean to upset her by offering her something," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "I've only ever wanted to do whatever I had to so that she wasn't in pain."

Honestly, I believed that. He had good intentions, but his execution was horrendous.

"Shay told me you negotiated for her to go to rehab while you did time," I told him, followed by a single nod. "I respect that you did that for her and helped her build the life she has now. But you could have a life, too, you know. Away from the need for drugs and toxic friends. That fucker is going to get you killed, Ali. Get the hell out before that happens."

Something in his eyes had changed, even just from the moment we'd strolled in here and caused chaos.

"I want that life," he rasped, emotion caught in his throat. "I was clean too for ages. Had a job, and living a simple life. Then Jason called. Said he had this place, money, and a job for me. Made it sound like it was going to be everything I'd dreamed of, and I ended up right back in the hell I was before I got locked up."

I felt for him. Not just because he was Shay's brother but because I'd witnessed the power one person could have over others.

In The Valley, they preached all this bullshit, the elders constantly rambling about how perfect heaven was going to be when we got there, hoping that their followers would be so focused on a lifetime in this beautiful, celestial kingdom that they would ignore the horrible shit they had to endure to get there.

The beatings. The physical labor. Having to watch your barely-of-age child marry her fucking uncle.

I dug around in my pocket, pulling out a fifty-dollar bill. "You know where the public library is? Woodward Avenue?"

He scrunched up his nose. "I… yeah… I think so."

"Get a taxi or an Uber." I reached over and put the note in his hand. "I'll have someone meet you there. Her name is Gem. She's a little crazy, but if you're serious about wanting to get clean, she'll take you to a three-month facility paid for by me."

His mouth fell open, and he tightened his hold on the cash. "Okay. Yeah. I'll call a taxi now."

"Don't fuck it up. Do it for your sister."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"And probably before you leave, you better call an ambulance for your friend."

Or not.

I'd leave it up to him.