Ducky stood from his chair and gently grabbed my arm. “I think that’s enough. Sir?” The cop looked at him. “I’ve already told you everything. And unless you plan to press charges, I think it’s best?—”
“The lighter is mine.” The two men shot their eyes at me.
“Kash—”
“No, Ducky. You know it is. You’ve seen me use it many times.” I turned to look back at the cop. “And you’ve seen me lend it to Motley.” I pressed my hands against the desk and leaned forward as I picked up the lighter. “This lighter ismine.”
The cop mirrored my stance with a stone cold look. “Then why didn’t I find any other fingerprints on it?”
The corner of my mouth curled up, and I flicked the lighter open. The flame burned between us, and the tension grew with it. I watched the flame dance from our breaths before my eyes returned to his. “I guess you’re just not that great at your job.” I snapped the lighter shut and tossed it back to him before I stepped away. Ducky did a double take before he followed me to the office door. “Motley had nothing to do with this. And I suggest you leave him alone.”
As I opened the door, the cop spoke. “You may be walking away free tonight, Kash. But I’m not going anywhere. I know that criminal, ex-gang member, drummer of yours had something to do with this murder. You can try to protect him, but it’s no use. I’m coming for him. The only question is, are you going to let me do my job? Or are you going to go down with him? The choice is yours.”
I tried not to laugh. “The fact that you think I’d ever help you tear apart my family proves that you know nothing, pig.” I flashed him a dead smile.
He didn’t seem to like my response. The man shot around the desk and closed in on me with angry eyes. “I will be back. And the next time you see me, I’m going to be slapping a pair of handcuffs on someone.” So much anger flowed through my veins that I wasn’t even mad. I was numb.
I took a step closer to the old cop and stared straight into his dead soul. “I fucking dare you.” His face twisted and shook, and I knew I had hit a nerve. Good.
The man shoved past me and bolted from the office, shouting over his shoulder while he rushed down the hall. “I’ll be back for him!”
I went to shout down the hall and back at the cop, but Ducky pulled me back into the office. “You better shut your mouthbefore you say something we’ll both regret!” He slammed the door shut and locked it. “Now, Kash, I’ve known you a long time. And we both know that ain’t your lighter.” My body plopped down in the metal chair. My head fell back, and I exhaled loudly. “I asked you the other day to be real with me, and it’s pretty clear you just fed me a whole bunch of bullshit. That cop out there isn’t playing, son! You better tell me what the hell is going on!” My head rotated, and I stared up at him with an annoyed look. “Kash!”
“Alright!” I rubbed my face and groaned. “I’ll fucking tell you everything.” My body hunched forward, and my knee began to bounce with anticipation. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Everything?” Ducky raised a brow.
I reluctantly nodded. “Everything.”
“There you are.”Twila hugged her sweater tightly around her frame as she walked to my side. “Motley has been looking everywhere for you. You know, you really worried him by not going back to the motel room.” She sat on the bench next to me while I smoked my cigarette. I could feel her quietly watching me.
A cloud of smoke exhaled from my mouth and into the cool night. “You don’t have to do that with me, Twila.”
“Do what?”
I scoffed with a smile before I looked over at her. “Come running after me. I’m not your problem anymore.” My head turned as I took another hit.
Twila shifted along the bench and sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. But I still love you. And Motley loves you. And I’ll be damned if you throw that away. He’s a good man, Kash. Don’t make the same mistakes with him that you did with me.” Twila took the cigarette from my fingers and raised it to her lips.
I brushed my hair from my face and leaned back on the bench. “And what mistakes are you referring to? Don’t you know I’m perfect?” We both laughed.
Twila choked on the cigarette smoke. “Fuck! Perfect, my ass!” She laughed and coughed. “Oh hell, Kash. You’re too much sometimes.” She coughed some more. “But you struggle with opening up to people. After all that time of us dating, I don’t think you ever fully opened up to me. Even now, I still feel like you’re hiding shit.” I am. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but don’t run from Motley. Not like you ran from me.” She sat there and smoked the cigarette some more.
I sighed and held her free hand. “I don’t know what to do, Twila.”
She handed me back the cigarette. “You can start by telling me why Ducky pulled you aside earlier tonight.” I shook my head. “You know you can trust me. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me, baby.”
“Fuck.” She was right. And right now, I needed someone to talk to. Someone I knew I could trust. So, I told her everything.
Twila had finished the cigarette and remained there dead silent while she processed everything I had told her about Guy, Motley, the cop, the lighter, all of it. I expected her to freak out and take off, but she just sat there quietly. It kind of scared me.
“Twila?” She stared straight ahead and didn’t answer. “Fuck. I knew I shouldn’t have told you. Look, I?—”
She suddenly interrupted me. “What did Ducky say?” I had to blink. “After you told him everything, what did he say?”
How is she so calm?
“He told me to keep my mouth shut and let him handle it. He also told me that hiding who I really am to protect the band was selfish.” Twila snorted. “What’s so funny about that?”
