Tully scoffed, then sneered, “It’s good to see you, too.”
“Where the hell is Sophie?”
“We’ll get to that, but first, there are things to discuss.”
“I’m not here to play games, Tully. Tell me where she is, or there will be hell to pay.”
“You’re in no position to make threats—not if you ever wanna see your girl again.” You could hear the legs of a chair drag against the concrete floor as Tully said, “Now, sit down.”
There was another shuffling sound, and then I heard Jagger ask, “Okay, Tully. What exactly do you want to discuss?”
“Why don’t we start with you? How are things on the outside?”
“Are you being serious right now?” Jagger spat. “I got no interest in shooting the shit with you, Tully. I just want to know where Sophie is.”
“This isn’t about what you want!” Tully barked back. “This is about me and what I fucking want! I want you to sit there and listen to what I gotta say.”
“I’m all ears, Tul. Just waiting on you to spit out whatever the hell you gotta say.”
“You’ve always been a smug piece of shit. I should’ve known you’d stab me in the fucking back.”
“I never stabbed you in the fucking back.”
“The hell you didn’t! You dug the knife in the second you walked out of here. You just left and took your protection with you.” I could hear the anger seeping from his words as Tully roared, “I had to face my enemies alone, and if that wasn’t enough, I had to face yours, too!”
“Mine?”
“All those assholes you had run-ins with were itching for vengeance but couldn’t get it with your big, bad Ruthless Sinners’ protection. Once that was gone ... once you were gone, they came for me!” The guy sounded like he was about to lose it as he shouted, “They made me their bitch. You got any idea what that’s like? What it does to a man? To be beaten and fucked with day after day while you’re out there living the fucking high-life?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Of course, you didn’t know! You never gave a shit enough to know. You wouldn’t even return my fucking calls! You just left and never looked back.”
For a split second, I honestly felt a little sorry for Tully. We all knew how cruel prison life could be. It had to be rough not having Jagger and his protection any longer. But at the same time, Jagger didn’t owe Tully any further protection.
They weren’t brothers.
They were cellmates.
But clearly, Tully thought that meant more than it did.
Eager to get answers, Jagger pushed, “What does any of this have to do with Sophie? Tell me where she is!”
“I will tell you when I’m good and ready! For now, you’re gonna listen to what I’ve gotta say!” Tully pouted. “Something you should’ve done before and none of this would’ve happened. But no! You never gave a second fucking thought to what was going on with me.”
“What did you expect?”
“I expected you to give a damn! We spent four years in that cell together.”
“I spent four years saving your ass and didn’t ask for a damn thing in return.”
“Oh? And what about Rossi? I took care of that asshole for you, or did you forget about that?” The entire room stilled the second Rossi’s name came through the speaker.
Lorenzo Rossi was a member of the Italian Mafia.
He killed Aubrey’s folks and was out to kill her as well, but his plans were derailed when she escaped and landed under protective custody with my grandparents. They put her up in her own place, gave her a job, and watched over her for months—until Rossi and his men found her.
My grandfather was a wise man. He knew there was a chance Aubrey might be found, so he lined her up with a car, money, and clothes and left her a note with instructions to come to Tennessee and find us. He knew the club would look out for her, and we did.
With a good deal of help from Billy, our club’s cleaner, Menace was able to help her shake Rossi and provide the evidence against him during his first-degree murder trial. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Rossi was found not guilty and set free.
But seconds after he walked out of the courthouse, he was shot and killed.
We’d all thought Menace had something to do with his murder, but clearly, we were mistaken. I wasn’t surprised that Jagger was involved. He and Menace had always been close, and after hearing that Aubrey was Menace’s ol’ lady, he felt inclined to help.
Tully’s words were still hanging in the air, weighing on everyone in the room, when Tully added, “You were supposed to get your club to protect me! You were supposed to get your girl to help me get a fucking parole hearing!” Tully sounded delusional as he explained, “I did my part. I hired her to do her fucking anger management bullshit.”