Dirty South Drug Wars (18 page)

An oak desk sat nearby with papers and envelopes scattered about. The names of various college letterheads grabbed my attention. I picked one up, but Tanner snatched it from my hand.

“That’s private.” He gathered up the various papers and shoved them in the desk drawer.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at him. “Really? Just like my sketchbook was private?”

Tanner sighed and rubbed his fingers against his forehead. I turned away from him and strolled around the room. A realistic model of a skeleton was on one shelf, and a model of the human brain sat beside it. A book next to the models had a sketch of a human brain on the cover. I picked it up and flipped it over, reading the back cover.

“It’s about epilepsy,” Tanner said. “My father had epilepsy.”

I carefully returned the book to where I’d found it. “Are you going to college to become a doctor or something?”

“I was …”

“What do you mean ‘you was’? Why aren’t you now?”

“That’s before I found you,” he said with a careless shrug. “If you think I’m leaving you now, you’re crazy.”

“Tanner,” I whispered, horrified. “You can’t turn down an opportunity like that for anyone.”

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Tanner pulled my stubborn body into his arms and planted a slow kiss on my lips. I didn’t return it at first, still pissed off he’d even think about turning down an opportunity like he’d been given. But my body soon won against my mind, and I found myself molded to him as he deepened the kiss. All too soon, he peppered a few last kisses on my lips.

“Better get in the shower before Melissa comes looking for us.” He smiled against my mouth.

Tanner escorted me to a huge bathroom almost the size of my bedroom. He left me there to shower, locking the door behind him and grumbling about the people in his house not understanding boundaries.

Gritty dirt scratched my face with each swipe of the washcloth and my cheeks flamed from the friction. I was embarrassed that it’d been there without my knowledge. Dirt was still deeply embedded under my nails, but there was little I could do about it at the moment. I dried my body with a thick, fluffy towel and slipped into Melissa’s clothes.

I left Tanner’s room and froze in my tracks. Standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, was a girl I’d never seen before in my life.

The western-style sconces lining the hallway cast a soft, yellow glow on her long, blonde tresses, giving her the illusion of a halo floating above her head. The girl was around my age and was tall and curvy. A pretty, sleeveless, lilac dress hugged her shapely figure. Thin scars ran along one side of her arm.

“If it isn’t the infamous Rue Monroe.” Wariness disappeared and a smile crept over her face. “And to think I believed you were a figment of Tanner’s imagination all this time.”

“Shelby?” I guessed.

Tanner had mentioned Shelby in conversation. Like with Chance, he failed to mention her scars or the source of them. All I knew of Shelby Hayes was that she’d graduated high school the year before and would head off to college soon to pursue an education in pediatric medicine.

Although I didn’t know much about her or Chance, I was impressed by them. They wore their scars like battle wounds. They could have hidden them beneath layers of clothes, but no. They were on full display.

“The one and only.” She smirked, pushing herself off the wall and shocking me with a hug. “I always knew exactly what I’d say to you if Tanner brought you home. I’ve rehearsed it in my head a million times.”

“And what’s that?” I asked.

“I accept you for who you are. But Tanner is like a brother to me, and if you hurt him, I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t hurt him,” I said. “If I do, you have my full permission to put me in my place.”

“Oh, honey.” Shelby patted me softly on my face. “What makes you think I need your permission?”

With that, she raised an eyebrow at my frowning face, laughed at the way I glared at her, placed her arm through mine, and escorted me to the dining room. The girl was strange, but I found myself liking her. She reminded me of Josie in a way: vocal and honest with her thoughts. I had a feeling Shelby and I would become very good friends.

Supper was a strange affair, to say the least. I sat at a large, walnut table on a deep, cushioned chair, gawking at the fancy dinnerware and place settings in front of me.

I guess running a factory has huge perks
, I thought to myself as I shook my head over the irony of my situation. I’d always hated the drug business my family involved themselves in, and here I was falling into the same situation by choosing Tanner: dirty money, lies, and secrets.

Cutting a piece of steak, I shoved it in my mouth and listened to Melissa talk about color schemes. She said something about altering the decor in the house, but it was hard keeping up with the conversation with Tanner’s fingers dawdling up my leg. Tanner grew impatient with my refusal to acknowledge his touch. He squeezed my inner thigh, causing me to jump and drop my fork.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Melissa asked.

Tanner swallowed and grinned. “Yeah, what’s wrong, dear?”

“I just … get really excited … over decorating,” I said. “Maybe I can help you?”

Melissa beamed and nodded. Chance snickered, poorly hiding the sound by shoving a forkful of baked potato in his mouth.

I reached below the table and pinched Tanner’s arm as hard as I could, but it didn’t faze him a bit. He grinned at me between bites as we finished supper and then dessert, with his hand still on my leg. Heat burned in my belly and my forehead was beaded in a cold sweat. My body was on fire, and I couldn’t wait to be alone with Tanner. I’d either kiss him or kill him.

“So, Rue, Tanner tells me you’re eighteen and a senior this year,” Graham said as Melissa collected our dessert plates. “How is it that you haven’t graduated?”

“My birthday is in late August,” I replied. “My father thought it’d be best if I waited an extra year before starting kindergarten. He was worried about me starting too young. He didn’t want me falling behind the other kids in class.”

“That was a wise decision,” Graham said, leaning back in his chair. “But then again, your father was always smarter than people gave him credit for.”

Tanner’s hand finally left my body. I stared stunned at Graham. All the tingling from Tanner’s touch had turned my brain into a puddle of mush. Had Graham complimented my father? Surely I was delusional.

“Why don’t y’all continue your conversation on the veranda?” Melissa said.

My stomach clenched in nervousness as I followed Tanner outside. The thought of conversing with Graham about my deceased father made me nauseous.

What Melissa referred to as a “veranda,” I called a “screened-in porch.” It held the same furniture as the front porch: dark wicker with deep cushions and resin tables. Tall, glossy, green plants, with leaves the size of baby elephant ears, sat around the porch, tucked between the various pieces of furniture. Flowers bloomed everywhere, casting their fresh, fragrant scent in the air.

The sound of the river nearby reminded me of Tanner and me lying on a pier. A huge, round, outdoor bed sheathed in pillowy, white cushions sat nestled in the far corner of the porch. An image of us, limbs entangled, pressed against one another on that bed set my body on fire once more.

Tanner sat on one of the oversized chairs and gave me a knowing smirk. “They’ll go out of town before summer is over.”

Graham sat down nearby and lit a cigar. “There’re some things we should discuss if you plan to pursue a relationship with my nephew, things you should know.”

“Okay.” I snuggled myself in Tanners arms, dreading whatever Graham had to say.

“First of all, I hope being kept in the dark about certain aspects of our lives doesn’t bother you,” Graham said. “There will always be a level of distrust between you, Tanner, and our family. It has nothing to do with who you are, per se, although I’d be lying if I said the fact that you’re a Monroe doesn’t bother me. It does concern me, and always will.”

“If that’s not the case, then what is? Why do you distrust me?”

“Because betrayal is all we’ve ever known,” Graham replied. “Cops, lawyers, judges, friends, and even family—none are trusted. You seem like a fairly intelligent girl. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors of my family’s business. And I’m not talking about the factory we own.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Our side business will never be discussed with you,” he said. “In five, ten, fifteen years, if you’re still with Tanner, you will continue to be none-the-wiser as far as that aspect of his life is concerned. It’s not only because of distrust. It is also for your own protection. I treat Melissa the same way. She is aware of what I do for a living, but knows nothing of the finer details of that side of me. You should think long and hard before choosing this life.”

“I’ve already chosen Tanner,” I said. “I understand there’s reason for y’all to mistrust me and my family, although it does sting a little knowing Tanner will never trust me. But it’s not as though he’s taking the easy path in life by being with me. My family hates yours. I have no idea how this is going to work, but I’m willing to try.”

“Trust has to be earned,” Graham said. “Along with trust comes the truth. Are you ready for the truth? Are you ready to hear the truth about your father’s murder?”

Graham’s cryptic words caused my body to freeze in Tanner’s arms. My heart picked up speed as I met Graham’s solemn gaze. I nodded numbly, and Graham gave a stern nod in reply. He crushed the cigar in an ashtray and stood up, disappearing inside the house. Tanner rubbed soothing circles on my upper arms as we awaited his return. I knew in the deepest recesses of my heart that whatever Graham revealed on that veranda would change me and everything I’d come to believe about my father, my family, and the Montgomerys.

When Graham returned, it was with a picture frame clutched in his hands. He handed it to me and returned to his seat. I took it from him with shaky fingers and stared at the photograph in shock.

It was a photograph of my father, just as I remembered him in the time before his death. He was tall and ruggedly handsome, with his signature gruff smile. Standing to his left was a younger Graham, and to his right an unfamiliar male.

The unfamiliar man had chiseled features: prominent cheekbones, a slight cleft in his chin, black hair, and a penetrating stare. I knew immediately, without ever having met him, the stranger in the photograph was Tanner’s father. The men stared at the photographer with matching serious expressions on their faces. The background of the photo was a new kind of familiar—Graham’s living room.

“What is this?” I whispered. “I don’t understand.”

“Your father, my brother, Tanner Sr., and I were in the midst of negotiations between our families,” Graham said. “Jeb and Amos had some sort of falling-out with one another. Tanner Sr. knew the details but took them to his grave before I could learn the truth about why Jeb turned against Amos.

“That photo was taken two days before my brother was murdered. The night he died was the night we were to finalize our negotiations. Tanner Sr. went to meet Jeb, but never returned. I was unable to attend the meeting and my brother died. If only I’d been there, maybe I could have saved him. I’ve lived with the guilt of that all these years.”

“Where were you?” I asked. “Where were you when your brother was murdered?”

“Mobile, Alabama.” Graham sighed. “Meeting with an associate of mine. An important shipment arrived that I had to be present for. Normally I don’t leave a paper trail when I’m out of town on business, but by the grace of God, I used a credit card at a gas station in Gulfport. The store also had me on camera. I’m sure my brother’s death would have been pinned on me by Buck Bridges. He was supposedly on patrol that night, making his rounds on the outskirts of town. He claimed he heard a gunshot and went to check things out. That’s when he found my brother’s body. I’m sure I narrowly escaped death myself that night. Buck and your uncles have been after me for years.”

“So you believe my father was involved as well?” I asked, disgusted. “You think he was faking the negotiations to lure the two of you to your deaths?”

“No, I don’t believe your father was involved.” Graham’s frown was grim. “I do believe your Uncle Amos and Buck Bridges were involved. I think Amos found out about our secret negotiations and took matters into his own hands.”

The truth weighed heavily on my heart as Graham appraised me, contemplating the guilty expression on my face. Tanner shifted under me, taking my hands. There was a colossal part of me that speculated it was all a trap: inviting me to dine with them, showing me nothing but acceptance, Tanner’s undying devotion to me since the age of twelve. If it was a trick, I was falling for it. Guilt had weighed me down for years, making me bitter and weary.

“If I knew the truth about your brother’s murder, would you tell me the truth about my father’s?” I asked, studying his passive face.

Tanner’s slightly callused hands stilled against my arms. His breathing and the steady strum of his heart against my back picked up speed. He may never trust me enough to divulge certain aspects of his life, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t try to earn his trust in other ways.

“My sources say Amos murdered your father,” Graham said in a low voice, not waiting for me to confess his brother’s murderer before confessing my father’s. “I have no evidence of this. It’s just hearsay, really. I wasn’t involved. In fact, the night of your father’s murder, I was being held in a Louisiana jail for questioning in the disappearance of a man. Now, that man I
did
murder, but that’s a body that’ll never be found. The alligators in Louisiana swamps rarely leave any evidence.”