of the trailer. Lowell waves off a curious neighbor while Anders rides in a circle around the trailer to keep everyone’s focus off me.
“Do you know who I am?” I ask Kenny as I hold him in place.
“No, sir.”
After pulling him forward, I slam him harder than the first time. His blue eyes fly open as if shocked by the pain. I can’t figure out what Lana ever saw in this turd. I assume she was desperate to get out of the house, and he was the only option. He sure isn’t much to look at. Though I guess if I were a teenage girl and he was ten years younger, I might see something vaguely attractive about his doughy face. He owns a bland boy band expression when he’s scared.
“Let’s try this again. Do you know who I am?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can you figure out why I’m here?”
“You want me to stay away from Maude and Desi.”
“No, fuck-face,” I say, yanking him forward and shoving him back again. “Your kid doesn’t want you dead.”
“Desi loves her daddy.”
There’s a part of me that wants to wrap my hands around his pencil neck and just apply pressure until he’s out of that sweet child’s life forever. She literally fucking clapped this morning when I said I picked up donuts after an early meeting. Desi deserves a father that feeds her joy rather than steals it.
But I don’t kill Kenny. Desi still sees her fun daddy rather than the man he really is. She’ll smarten up. But it takes time for a child to cut loose a bad parent. Sidonie wanted her shithead mom’s attention up until Lana entered her life. Kids are dumb. I know I was.
“You will keep up your visits with your daughter. Do you understand?”
Kenny frowns a little and nods.
“But you will not say a single negative fucking thing during those visits. If you stub your fucking toe, I want you to grin and give her a thumbs-up. Do you understand?”
Kenny doesn’t understand. His confusion is written all over his stupid fucking face.
“You told her she wasn’t pretty, asshole,” I say, shaking him around like a rag doll. “You said her mother loves the baby more. Do you understand why I’m here now?”
“I didn’t say that,” he lies, looking as if I knocked something loose in his already barely-functioning brain.
“Are you calling Desi a liar?” I ask and sink my fist in his gut.
Backing up a little, I let him cough through his pain. I glance back at Lowell, who only smiles. He said just the other day how we never got to beat on normal targets anymore. It’s always shooting wars with motorcycle clubs or scaring senior citizens who won’t get out of our clubhouse. Never anything in between. I’m grateful to give him a taste of the good old days.
“Now, Kenny, I want to make sure you understand what happens next,” I say, yanking him upright after he finishes acting as if he might upchuck. “You’ll visit with Desi on schedule, and you’ll watch every word you say. If you don’t, I’ll track you down and string you up by your intestines. Do you understand?”
Kenny looks ready to cry. He’s a harmless fucker, cruel in quiet ways, but he’s got no bite behind his bark. I bet he steals old lady’s checks and money from charities. Never from anyone capable of fighting back.
“Yes, sir.”
“If you tell Desi that I threatened you, I’ll tell her that you’re lying. She won’t be sure who to believe. Then you’ll be dead, and she won’t have to worry about it. Get how things work now, Kenny?”
“If I’m so bad, how come you don’t just be her dad?” he whines like a bitch.
“Desi deserves everything she wants. Right now, she wants you to be a decent father. If you won’t give her that, she’ll smile through her grief over your death. How shit turns out is up to you, Kenny.”
Though I know he gets my point, I still punch him in the stomach again. This man had Lana in his bed for a decade, treated her like the help, and now lashes out at his sweet child. Even if he behaves, I’ll always want to end him.
I shove Kenny into his trailer and shut the door. Looking around this dump, I hate to imagine Lana and Desi ever living in poverty. I also feel the old dirtiness from my childhood rising up on my skin. That sense of never getting clean, no matter