Ash (26 page)

I sat in silence until I was sure Danny would be free. I picked up my phone and dialled his number.

He answered the call in seconds. “Hey, man, I was going to swing by after I get off.”

“You can still do that,” I replied. “Listen, I’m sorry for flying off the handle like that.”

“You don’t need to mention it. I know that bitch has planted some kind of seed in Joe’s head.” I heard him sigh.

“Yeah, apparently I’m not coping.”

“Fuck, this is so wrong.”

I shook my head. “She’s out to destroy me.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” he asked.

“We’ll talk over bacon and eggs,” I replied.

“See you soon.”

The call ended. I picked up my cup, refilled it with coffee, and made my way to the living room. I switched on the television and kept the volume down low, watching the early morning news.

My phone chimed. A text from Sophia.

I ignored her, unwilling to explain the whole sorry mess to her. She had other things on her mind, and introducing her to my shitpile was selfish of me. I rested my head back against the soft cushions of my sofa and closed my eyes.

Just five minutes rest, I thought.

The next thing I knew, Jake was jumping on my lap, demanding my attention.

“Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes,” he shouted repeatedly, his voice thundering through my head.

My eyes fluttered open, and his goofy grin greeted me.

“Enough with the shouting,” I said.

“Daddy, I want banana pancakes and juice,” he replied, holding his plush Mushi Monster up to my face. He was on a mission in getting his own way.

“If you calm down and stop bouncing on me like I’m a trampoline, you just might get those pancakes.” I stared at him.

He pulled a sullen face and scowled at me as his eyes narrowed. “Okay.”

I groaned and sat upright. He was pissed at me. That much was evident from the look on his face.

He pouted his mouth, folded his arms across his chest, and let out a few deep breaths.

“Now, you were saying?” I said.

He ignored me.

“Jake, don’t do this. You know that when Daddy tells you to do something, you have to listen.” I was calm.

He refused to look at me.

“Hey, are we really going to start the day like this?”

He shrugged and kept his eyes on the floor.

“Jake, look at me.” I held him by his shoulders and stared at him. “Is that a smile I see?”

He smirked a little, but still tried to scowl at me.

“Come on, buddy. Don’t be a meanie. I know you want to laugh,” I teased.

Jake was as stubborn as a mule, and reminded me of his mother. She was exactly the same way, but I always got around them both in the end.

“Do I get chocolate syrup on my pancakes?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

He stomped his foot, peeked up at me, and smiled. “Please?”

I couldn’t stay angry with him for long. He was the cutest misery guts on the planet. To be fair, I was the moody prick, and Jake was just doing what all children do.

“Of course, you can,” I replied. “The last one to the kitchen is on clean-up duty.”

I jumped up and winked at Jake, who dropped his teddy and ran straight for the kitchen. Either way, I would be cleaning up, regardless of him getting to the refrigerator before me.

We worked together, me breaking the eggs into the bowl, and Jake stirring. He glanced up at me with his goofy smile, and I patted him on the head.

“Daddy?” he asked.

“Jake,” I said, heating up the frying pan.

“Will I ever have a new mommy?”

Nothing could have ever prepared me for this question. I had never even considered that these kinds of things ran through his head, yet he stood there, staring up at me, waiting for my answer.

“What do you mean? You have a mommy.”

“But she’s not here anymore.”

I cleared my throat. “I know that, Jake. But mommies can’t be replaced.”

“Oh,” he muttered. “But Elijah has a new daddy. So why can’t I get a new mommy?”

“Elijah has a step-daddy, which is something entirely different.”

He stared at me and shrugged. “So I can get a step-mommy?”

I didn’t know how to address his questions. The inquiring mind of a child was a force to be reckoned with.

“Not yet, Jake.”

“Why?”

“Because sometimes, daddy’s need to take their time with these things. And if ever the time comes when I’m ready for a new relationship, I need to make sure she is perfect for both of us.”

Jake scrunched his face and sighed. “Adults are so weird.”

He got that right.

I poured pancake batter into the pan and watched it sizzle.

Jake made sound effects before licking his lips.

“You ready for this one?”

“Yup!” He jumped down and ran to the table.

I flipped the pancake and cooked the other side. I served it with sliced banana and his favourite chocolate sauce. I smiled, watching him devour it. I turned my back and made a few more, knowing Danny would be hungry.

The doorbell chimed. Jake didn’t budge. He continued munching on more of his banana, dipping it into his sauce.

I strolled to the door and let Danny in.

“Something smells good in here,” he said, throwing his jacket on the sofa.

“You hungry?”

“Famished,” he replied, following me to the kitchen and sitting across from Jake. “There’s my dude. High five.” They exchanged their bizarre handshake, and Danny sat back, folding his arms across his chest.

“It’s a good job I know how to cook,” I said, and set a plate of food in front of him.

“You’ll make a great wife one day.”

Jake laughed. “You’re so silly, Danny. Daddy is a boy.”

“Well, you just never know,” Danny responded, and ate a mouthful of bacon.

“What does that mean?” Jake asked.

“It means Danny needs some sleep,” I said. “You finished?”

Jake nodded.

“Then, you can go clean your teeth.”

“And then can I play some Minecraft?”

“Sure.”

“Yes!” he shouted, and ran down to the bathroom.

“He’s such a dude,” Danny remarked in between stuffing his face and slurping on his coffee.

“He’s also asking me lots of questions.” I sat down.

“Like what?”

I ran a hand across the back of my neck. “Like when I’m getting him a new mother.”

“Fuck!”

“Exactly.”

“No one prepares you for this shit.”

“It seems you’re having a tough time of it at the moment.” He set the cutlery on the plate. “So, what went down with Joe?”

My stomach knotted at the sheer thought of having to mention the confrontation with Marcy.

“I’ve been taken off duty. Apparently, I’m not coping very well, and Marcy thought it her responsibility to speak to Joe.”

Danny shook his head. “That fucking bitch!”

“To put it lightly.” I got up from the chair and refilled our cups with coffee. “And do you know what the worst part is?”

“Go on,” he said.

“Marcy is actually getting to me. She’s fucking winning, and I can’t believe I’ve allowed her this power.”

“Then, you know you have to take her down before she destroys your life.”

Danny meant well, and in some ways, he was right. Unless I planned on going out and killing the bitch, I had to be clever. I didn’t want to end up behind bars for acting impulsively, no matter how much I hated her.

“I’m thinking of taking a clean break, far from here,” I announced.

He stared at me with his mouth open.

“Don’t look at me like that, Danny.”

“So you’re just going to run from the problem instead of facing it head on?”

“What do you want me to do? She’s never going to leave me alone.” I sighed. “She’s proven her point by coming into my place of employment. Hell, she called me a ton of times last night and left me messages, warning me that she would get her way.”

“Then, you fucking kick her ass.”

“Seriously? This coming from the man who almost married the psycho.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? The woman destroyed me. There’s nothing she won’t do to get her way. We both know that.”

“So, you’re telling me to fight her? How do I do that without actually breaking her neck?”

“You get strategic.”

“Meaning?”

“Come on, Ash. You are a clever man.” He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve connections.”

And there it was. The one path I didn’t want to go down, but there was no other way.

Andrés took a seat next to me, and had a refill of whiskey. “You are the last person I expected to hear from.”

“Desperate times.” I didn’t look at him.

“You’re looking good, slick,” he remarked.

With Andrés, you never knew what to expect with him. He had a way of unnerving the hardiest of men, and I wasn’t in a position to be a cocky prick.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I replied.

He sniggered and took a sip of his liquor. “You need something, huh?”

I took a deep breath and nodded.

“Let’s take this into my office,” he said, and got off the stool.

I followed him to a small room at the back of the bar.

Two of his henchmen stayed outside.

This was the one thing I wanted to avoid. Some things in life needed a little rough handling, however. Andrés was the man for the job.

“Take a seat,” he said.

I sat down at the small table, eyeing the heavily tattooed man in front of me. He hadn’t changed much and was still in good condition. This was another factor I had to be wary of.

“So, what’s the problem?” he asked, lighting a cigarette and taking a long puff. He blew the smoke into my face.

“There’s a person who is trying to destroy my life,” I replied.

“And you want me to take him out?” He laughed.

“It’s a ‘she,’ and she’s intent on taking my kid away from me.”

He chuckled and took another drag. “An angry ex, yeah?”

“No, this is a complex matter.”

“Then, I think you better fill me on all the complexities.”

We spoke for a good hour. I covered all the details I thought he needed to know.

He never once said a word and listened, nodding, smoking, and sipping on his whiskey.

Andrés waited until I was done talking. “I see your predicament,” he said. “And you want me to help you deal with this Marcy woman?”

“I need to do something,” I replied.

“Why should I do anything for you, Ash?”

His glassy eyes bored into mine, the same cold glare I remembered from when I was a boy.

“Because you’re the only one I know who can handle something like this and walk away with his hands clean.”

He sniggered and seemed to like the compliment.

I, on the other hand, was sick to my stomach.

“I like you, Ash. I always did. You’ve done good getting away from this life. You were destined for greatness, even though your choices didn’t go down too well with me.” He paused. His eyebrows furrowed and he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “So, you don’t want me to pop a bullet into her head?”

“Fuck, no!”

“You sure?”

I expected this line of questioning with Andrés. He wasn’t afraid of being up front. Killing in cold blood was something he did very well.

“I am sure.”

“Just checking.” He smirked. “So, all you have to do is give me an address.”

“I don’t want your guys going heavy on her. Okay?”

He shook his head. “No. I will make sure it looks like a robbery gone wrong. She will just happen to get in the way.”

“I mean it. I don’t want blood on my hands.”

He laughed, baring his gold teeth. “Don’t worry, Ash. This one shall be blood free.”

“And what do you want from me in return?” I asked, the nerves swarming in my stomach.

Andrés popped another cigarette between his lips and lit it. “Oh, this one is easy. You just need to burn a warehouse for me. Make it look like an accident.”

Some things in life never got old. Andrés’ demand went against everything I stood for. I was torn, completely at odds with myself. The moment I agreed to his terms, I would be making a deal with the devil, and there would be no coming back from that.

“Can’t I pay you? I have savings,” I said in desperation.

He shook his head. “Afraid not, my young compadre. This one requires an equal measure of trust and little bit of your soul.”

I sat in silence, weighing my options. I didn’t want to step back inside Andrés’ seedy world, yet I sat there, on the verge of agreeing to doing something that would cost me more than my life, my pride.

“Okay.” I nodded.

Andrés sat back, smiled, and poured two glasses of whiskey. “See? This is how real men make deals, Ash. I do something for you, and you repay me. It’s simple, and nobody needs to get hurt.”

“But this will be the only thing I do, Andrés. I’ve a child that needs me. I can’t be getting mixed up in all this again.”