don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“Don’t have to what?” I asked.
“Move.”
Luke scoffed. “And why not?”
“Because I took care of things, just like I said I would.”
Fifty-One
KAYLA
In the silence that followed Adrian’s father moved to one side of the room, then settled back into the comfort of the leather couch. He hoisted one leg up over his opposite knee and sighed. “Got anything to drink? Water or soda, or—”
“What exactly did you take care of?” Adrian demanded.
“I talked to John Payne,” his father shrugged. “Not the little snot-nosed whelp he sired, but the big guy.”
“And he listened to you… why?”
“Because we go way, way back,” Adrian’s father replied. “All the way back, to before any of you were born.”
The news was astonishing to me. Judging by the looks on the other’s faces, it was the same for them too.
“I pulled his ass out of the fire once, too,” the man went on. His gaze unfocused for a moment, as he called up a old memory. “A really big fire. He still owes me for that and he knows it.”
Silence followed, bridging the gap between decades. For several long seconds, it stretched uncomfortably out before us.
“W—What did he say?” Warren eventually stammered.
“Well for one, he had no idea what his son was doing over here,” the man said. “When I told him, he nearly shit a brick. More like a cinder-block, really. Then he called Junior into the room and backhanded him so hard I think he went cross-eyed.”
“Wait, WHAT?” Adrian demanded. “He hit him?”
“Like really hit him?” I pressed.
“Yup.”
“With his hand?” Luke trailed off skeptically.
“Yes, with his hand,” Adrian’s father continued. “Knocked him flat on his ass. Made him tell him exactly what he’d been doing to you, and the real reason he bought the property. He signed off on that, by the way.”
Warren opened the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He handed it to Adrian’s father, who smiled graciously.
“Ah, thank you.”
“Why would he sign off on buying the property if he didn’t know Junior was pushing us out?” Luke asked.
“Because he thought you were selling the place,” he replied. “He was told you were looking for a buyout, and you’d agreed to lease the land from them a few years more while finishing some projects. Then Junior planned on opening a second garage and expanding. Or that’s what he told his father, anyway.”
I shook my head in disgust. “He lied.”
“Through his teeth, yeah,” Adrian’s father admitted. “He would’ve never expanded or opened this place. He would’ve been looking to sell it off the moment you moved out.” He took a long pull of his water. “He’d lose a little money, sure. But the loss would be offset by the extra business, once he got rid of the competition.”
“Motherfucker!” shouted Warren.
“Totally.”
It was insane, getting all this information at once. Adrian looked overwhelmed. Warren was pacing the office like a maniac, and Luke was staring off through one of the windows, lost in thought.
“So what now?” Adrian asked.
“Nothing really,” his father replied. “Old man Payne agreed to keep leasing the space here at your current rent, for as long as you like. He loved Tommy, by the way. He hated to hear that this place might be empty.”
“And there won’t be any trouble?” I asked.
“No,” Adrian’s father laughed. “Not even a little bit. We drank half the night and discussed the specifics. Junior’s going to return every single thing he ever took from your yard, pronto. He’ll start bringing it over immediately, actually.”
At that news, Warren actually stopped pacing. His face lit up.
“It might take a few days though,” Adrian’s father said. “But it’ll get here.”
“Holy shit…” Luke breathed.
“He also said if anything’s missing — and I do mean anything — you’re to call him immediately.” The old man produced a worn white card with a single phone number written on the back in pencil. “That’s his private line. If something doesn’t show up, you call him or I will. But trust me when I say I don’t think you’re gonna have that problem.”
He drained half the bottle while the four of us stood there, completely blown away. In time, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“Wanna know what I think, though?”
I couldn’t imagine what this man would say next. We all just nodded numbly.
“I think you make the move anyway.”
Again, it wasn’t what any of us expected. After all he’d just said and done, the man just kept bringing surprises.
“Seriously?” asked Warren. “You really think so?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”
“Because like you said,