Page 39 of Accidentally Mine

Brent

R ecalculating…recalculating scrolled across the GPS screen.

Fuck. Where the hell was I?

I had never been in this area of Boston. It was a rundown area, some of the houses boarded up. I wasn’t a snob, I just had no reason to visit this type of neighborhood. Now, I was regretting not getting to know South Boston as well as I knew the rest of the city.

I hung a left, taking a quick detour down a narrow street to head back the way I’d come, and found myself in an alley behind a slow-moving garbage truck.

I went to back out but found myself boxed in by a group of kids on bicycles. They goggled at my car, a few waving, and a boy who looked about ten said, “Hey, you lost?”

“Yeah,” I said as the GPS-lady started spitting out directions to turn around when possible. “Looks that way.”

He wheeled up to me and leaned his hand on my doorjamb. Sitting on his bike, he peeked inside. “Sweet car. What is it?”

“MGB, 1975,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I’m in a little rush. My girl’s in trouble. You know the area?”

The kid nodded, and his friends gathered around him. “Sure thing.”

“Can you tell me where the newest strip mall in the area is being built?”

He shrugged and looked at his friends. A kid who looked like he should’ve had his driver’s license by now spoke up. “I think I know what you’re talking about. My grandma heard they’re putting in a Bed Bath & Beyond there. She’s super stoked. What kind of trouble your girlfriend in, anyway?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. Can you tell me how to get to where the bath place is going in? It’s kind of an emergency.”

By then, the garbage truck had moved on, but I’d noticed the first kid’s shoes.

They were worn through, his toes poking out the ends.

They might’ve been his favorite shoes, but I didn’t think so, because one of the other kids had a couple holes in his shirt, another looked like he’d missed more than a few meals, and one who hung at the back of the group sported a black eye.

This was a group of kids who had known hardship, and it wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair that I could own this car and a Caddy, and so much more, and they had to get by on so little.

The kid whose grandma liked household item stores gave me directions.

Pulling out my wallet, I took out all the cash I had—five-hundred dollars—and stuffed it in his hand, waving at the kids and said, “Thanks, man. One for each of you. Buy your grandma something nice.” His mouth dropped open as I gunned it out of the alley, smiling at the whoops that were even louder than the car’s engine.

Following the kid’s directions, I knew I was circling in on the site.

I’d been all around it, for sure. As I stopped at a red light, to my right was a large, empty dirt lot, surrounded by a chain-link fence.

There was a big white trailer outside the fence by the gate.

And a sign that said, Coming Soon – Red Line Village – Retail Spaces Available.

There were two black Mercedes SUVs parked outside. And two bulky men in dark suits and sunglasses standing outside the door.

That didn’t look good at all.

I pressed on the gas and cruised past, then pulled into a side street. Reaching down, I grabbed my phone and called Kyle.

“Listen closely,” I said when he answered, crouching down in my seat and pulling off my sunglasses to get a better look. “I need your help.”

“Where are you?” Kyle asked.

The two men guarding the door were huge, massive arms crossed over broad chests. Might as well have screamed to the world that they were up to no good. “I’m in Southie.”

He let out a disappointed breath. “Man. Hell. Do you ever listen to me? What did I tell you about getting involved?”

“Listen. I’m at the office for the new strip mall in Southie. There are two SUVs parked out in front, and two men…big dudes in suits.”

“Brent, get your ass out of there. You do not want to be messing with these people. Let us handle it.”

I studied the situation shaping up in front of me, wishing I could get a closer look. “But what if Roselynn’s in there? I need to make sure she’s all right.”

“Man. Don’t go in there. Seriously. Back away.”

A seagull screeched overhead. I looked up and down the street, shielding my eyes from the sunlight bouncing off nearby Dorchester Bay. “Can you send anyone?”

“Yeah. I already let the precinct down there know. They should be on their way.”

“All right. Thanks.”

“Now, listen to me. I—”

I ended the call and watched as the men took turns looking in the window, then scanned the area around the trailer. Definitely shifty. As I watched, a hunched old woman with a handcart walked past them on the sidewalk. Two teenagers, faces buried in their cell phones did too.

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. There was nothing that said I couldn’t casually walk past the trailer. Those thugs didn’t own the sidewalk. And it was broad daylight, with plenty of people around, so I doubted they’d shoot me on a city street like this, even if I did look suspicious.

Stepping out of the car, I cringed because I knew my dad would probably kill me for leaving his convertible unprotected. As I moved closer, I noticed a baby blue BMW that looked familiar.

It was the same make and model of my sister’s car.

A sour feeling began to grow in my stomach. Was Claudia here? After her making a big deal at dinner about how I should run in the other direction from Roselynn and her mafia ties? That didn’t make sense.

Then I remembered what Roselynn had gone to her father’s trailer for.

She was going through her father’s financials.

Claudia lived for that kind of thing. She couldn’t get enough of it.

In fact, she actively sought chances like that out.

And I wouldn’t put it past her to call Roselynn, wanting to help.

The hair rose on the back of my neck. I dialed in a call to Kyle again. “My sister’s here too, I think.”

Kyle didn’t often raise his voice, but it was raised now. “Man, I don’t believe this. Are you out of the car now? Are you listening to the words that are coming out of my mouth, or am I just speaking into a void?”

“Claudia’s in there, so I’m not just going to turn tail.”

“Get your ass back in your car!” he demanded. “Now!”

One of the men peered in through the window and perked up, motioning the other to look too. The second man grinned as I heard a voice yelling from inside.

This was my chance.

I cut off the call again as I came close to the front of the trailer on the sidewalk.

Acting quickly, I skirted around to the back of the trailer, pressing myself up against the chain-link fence, hoping I could get a better look from the back.

There was another set of stairs leading up to a platform, and another door with a window.

Splinters dug into my hands as I raised myself up onto the wobbly platform, crawling across it on my knees, inching toward the window.

I peered between narrow horizontal blinds to see Roselynn standing against the wall nearest me. A man in a black suit was pressing the barrel of a gun to her forehead.

My muscles tensed so tight it hurt.

The man was about my age, good-looking, and had a superior sneer on his face. A look that was intent on payback. I had no doubt that this was Anthony, the ex-boyfriend she’d mentioned. He’d found her, like she always knew he would. Fucker.

And now he was going to kill her.

My chest tightened as my mind whirred through possibilities as I searched the room for Claudia.

All of the scenarios I came up with would probably get us all killed.

But instinct pushed me to barge in there.

I raked my hands through my hair, trying to pull together some sane thought as I scanned the street that I could see for the police.

They weren’t here. And that meant I’d have to take things into my own hands.

Only one solution came to me. I couldn’t just stand by and let him have his way with her. If only to buy Roselynn some time, I’d have to go in there, make myself a target.

As I backed away from the window, I caught sight of something else, half-buried beneath one of the desks. Something that made my blood turn to solid ice.

A body lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood.