I held my hands in the air. “I’ve got nothing on me,” I said.
He grunted and pointed for me to come stand beside him. “Hands on the fence,” he barked. I leaned against it, palms flat. “Spread your legs.” He patted me down roughly and thoroughly before whipping me back around to face him and nodded. “You’re clean. Go inside. They’re waiting for you.”
I turned my gaze to the doorway. Such an innocent little house. I wondered if anyone knew what kind of a sick fuck was lingering inside. With my wife. My child’s mother. I swallowed the hard knot of anger building in my throat.
I crossed the yard, took the two steps onto the porch, and paused just outside the door. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I raised a hand and knocked.
“Come in,” came James’s voice.
I twisted the doorknob and entered. My heart quickened the second I stepped into the room. Carmen sat at the table with her back to me. She turned and looked at me over her shoulder. “Carmen, you—” I started to say, but she cut me off.
“No. You’re a liar, Ben. Don’t ever say my name again.” Her eyes were fiery and enraged. She looked like she was surprised to see me but that she was ready to slice my throat if given the chance.
What was she talking about? When had I lied? I looked around the room, bewildered. It was empty except for the three of us. I turned to stare at James. He pointed at the empty seat between the two of them.
“Come, Ben. Take a seat.”
Cautiously, I stepped over and settled down. My whole body was tensed like a coiled spring, ready to explode at any minute. James noticed.
“Relax,” he said soothingly. “No one is going to hurt you. We are family, aren’t we?” He smiled as he looked back and forth between Carmen and me.
I unclenched my fists, but stayed tense. I didn’t trust the bastard as far as I could throw him. He folded his hands in his lap and leaned back to get a good look at me before he began talking.
“Now, Ben, my dear son-in-law, there are a few things we need to discuss. Let’s start with the oldest business, shall we? You took quite a bit of money from me.”
I didn’t blink as I stared back at him. While we locked eyes, I tried to take in as much of the room as I could in my peripheral vision. I didn’t see any armed guards, nor did it look like James was holding any weapons. Maybe I could just strangle him with my bare hands. He was a big motherfucker, but I had enough adrenaline coursing through my veins to fight a goddamn whale. He would be no match for my anger.
“Well?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Are you not even going to own up to what you did?”
“You don’t even know if that was us,” I said.
He chortled. “Ben, come on. Do you think I’m an idiot? I’ve been in this business for a very long time. It was a sloppy theft. I knew it was you the day after it happened. I’ll admit, you took me by surprise, but you got away with it because I let you.”
“Why?”
With a shrug, he said, “It was better to let you think you had the upper hand for a while. It kept you complacent. Feed a rat a bite of cracker and he stops hunting so hard for the real cheese, if you follow what I’m saying.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t give a damn if you believe me or not,” he said curtly. “I’m telling you the facts. I knew it was you; I let it go. For that, you are welcome. But, things have changed a bit.”
“Stop talking bullshit, James. Tell me what you want.”
“I’m getting there. In due time, young buck, in due time. You don’t need to be in such a rush everywhere you go. Some things are done better with patience.”
I flexed my fists. “I ought to kill you right here and now,” I said.
“Just like you killed my mother?” Carmen blurted.
I whirled to face her. My jaw hung open. “Just like what?” I exclaimed.
“You heard me,” she said. Her whole face was lit up with hatred, directed straight at me.
“Carmen, what are you talking about?”
“She spoke very directly, Ben,” James admonished. “I think you understood her perfectly.”
“Carmen, baby—”
“Shut up,” she interrupted. “Don’t ever call me that again.”
“Carmen, I didn’t kill your mother. Are you insane? What has he been telling you?”
“You’re a liar, Ben. You killed her and you took me just to mock my family. Wasn’t killing my mom enough? You had to ruin my life, too?” Her eyes were filled with hot tears, but it wasn’t the willowy crying of someone ready to admit defeat. It was pure flame. She really wanted to stab me, to make me bleed.