Chapter 78
Flynn
It was over a decade ago, but not so long that I couldn’t remember exactly how it went down.
In the jailhouse interview room, the guy in the slick business suit said, "Do you know who I am?"
He was short and soft with thick gray hair and sharp beady eyes. But he had clout, and plenty of it. Suit or no suit, I could tell by the way he'd just swaggered in like he owned the place.
Yeah, well, if he wanted to own the county jail, the guy was more messed up than I was.
As far as his question, allIknew was that he'd arrived out of the blue with my so-called lawyer, the useless jackass who stood a few feet away scrolling through his cell phone.
I'd been arrested hours ago, and the guy had been no help.Thanks for the service, buddy.
Now I stared up at the stranger, who was making a point to loom over me while I sat in the same wooden chair that I'd been occupying all day. I'd always been a smart-ass and saw no reason to stop now. I mean, I was fucked already.What was a little more?
I gave him my favorite shit-eating grin. "No. Do you know whoIam?"
His eyes narrowed. "Yeah. You're John Archer, the guy who was messing withmydaughter."
I kept grinning, but inside, all I could think was,shit, I should've known.
Putting two and two together, I recalled the guy's name, Gordon Burke.Bad luck for me.He owned the gas station where I worked. Rumor had it, he owned half the town. Maybe I should've recognized him right off, but hey, it's not like his picture was hanging on the gas station wall.
When I said nothing, he loomed closer to announce, "And you're in big trouble."
He was right. I was, which sucked balls, because for once in my life, I hadn't done a damn thing to deserve it. In fact, I'd spent the last two years going for a turnaround, with better grades and not so much time in detention.
The way it looked, I shouldn't've bothered.
I said, "You forgot to say 'Mister.'"
He frowned. "What?"
Doing my best TV dad impression, I said, "You're in big trouble,mister." With a scoff, I added, "If you're gonna say it, you should say it right,dipshit."
His fists clenched, and his nostrils flared. He looked ready to haul back and smack me. If so, I was ready.Bring it on, fuckwad.
But he didn't. Instead, he stepped back and smiled. "You know, you don't stink half as bad as she said."
I stiffened.She.Hehadto mean his precious daughter. I recalled the sight of Anna Burke last night, hunkered down beside the road. There'd been a moment when the breeze had hit me just right and I'd caught her scent. It was flowery and nice. Clean, too.
I gave a silent scoff. Yeah well, she could afford to smell nice, since she didn't have this thing called a job.
Little rich girl.Probably, she'd never work a day in her life, not with daddy's money and her nose so far in the air, it was a miracle she didn't drown when it rained.
As for myself, yeah, I sometimes stunk of gas.But so what?I thought of my jacket, the one I'd loaned to Anna just last night. She'd been nice enough when I'd given it to her.But not for long, huh?It was easy to guess why. She hadn't wanted to be tainted by the jacket's smell or the guy who'd been wearing it.
Still, I forced another grin. "And howislittle Anna Fucking Burke?"
The guy's face reddened. "Hey, that's my daughter you're talking about."
From somewhere the near the door, the sound of throat clearing made us look. The lawyer stepped forward and said, "Maybe we should turn the conversation to something more productive?"
Productive, my ass.
Together, they offered me a deal. I'd simply plead guilty to selling alcohol to a minor, and in return, I'd be given a slap on the wrist and sent on my merry way. AllIhad to do was promise to have nothing to do with Anna Burke ever again.
