Chapter Two-Hundred and Sixty

Chapter Two-Hundred and Sixty
London looked up at Boots and admitted, “That was the day I began to hate my dad. But my mom loved him, you know? She must have found something in the man that I couldn’t see. Then he snitched on her and got her killed? Well, that was the last straw for me. I only stayed to watch over Chris. I began my own investigation and I found out even more of what happened behind the scenes. I was disgusted. My dad, the mayor, Hal, and the DEA agent? They all fully deserve what they got coming. I can only hope Ronnie and his guys get what they got coming as well.”

Boots nodded. “Thanks to you, the Rogues and the Merans know some of their plans and hopefully, we can stop it and save Hondo as well.” Shaking his head, he admitted, “I hate cartels but no one deserves to be betrayed like that. Life is precious and shouldn’t be wasted.”

London agreed with him, “Yeah it is, but some people just don’t see that.”

“So, I have been wondering about Chris,” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Was he born deaf?” 

London’s gaze swung over to her brother and she shook her head. “He shouldn’t have been. My mom was about six months pregnant with him and my dad got mad at her. His temper was always running hot and he hit her. I rushed to her defense and he started hitting me. Mom tried to intervene and he just lost it. He shoved her down a flight of steps. She damn near lost the baby and her own life. He got scared and ran away rather than get her help. I called the ambulance and when they got her to the hospital, they asked me what happened. I told them the truth. They were about to arrest my dad when they got the news he’d hurt the baby. They wouldn’t find out until after the baby was born that the beating had damaged his hearing. Why she stayed with him is something I’ll never know but she did. But I think she never forgave him for what happened. So when he got hooked up with Ronnie and his group she finally saw a way out. But all that did was get her killed.”

“Has Chris ever been checked out by a specialist?” Boots asked.

“No…” She sat up straighter. “You think he can be helped?”

“Maybe…” Boots nodded. “After this is over, we need to take him in to see if there could be help for him.”

“Wow…” She shook her head.

Boots patted her hand. “There’s no guarantee, but it’s worth trying. Your father never suggested that I take it?”

“No!” She scoffed. “He caused it and he doesn’t care. Why would he try to help his kids? He can go to hell the hard way. I can take care of Chris and he can go to prison, where he should have been all this damned time. He’s gonna find the old saying don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time rings very true. I hope the cops nail everyone involved because I don’t feel sorry for any of them. They knew full well what they were doing and making drugs is still illegal. Besides, murder, assault and a list of other crimes that they have seemingly gotten away with. Trying to kill my baby brother was just about the worst of it too. Knocking a little deaf kid out and dumping him in a dangerous cavern to die…alone in the dark.” She clenched her fists as she swore, “The fuckers need to die for that.” She spat angrily. “Fucking hang them all.”

Boots didn’t say anything. After all, she was right, making and distributing drugs was illegal and that was one reason why the MC didn’t do it, but this was her dad they were talking about. Even if he wasn’t much of a man, he was still her dad. “What does Chris think of your dad?” he finally asked her.

London looked disgusted. “He’s afraid of him. When dad is drinking, he’s a mean man and that’s all Chris knows. Mom would protect Chris from his wrath but since she’s gone, he’s gotten the worst of it. He usually just goes to his room and sits in the corner, praying Dad doesn’t find him. But he won’t have to do that anymore. When this is over, I’ll find a new place for us to live and he’ll be safe.”

Boots nodded as he stared at her. He found she was staring back and he thought her eyes held a bit of interest in them as well. Interest, he might add, that he was feeling too. “I suppose I better let you get some sleep. Things are gonna happen tomorrow and we have to be ready for it.” 

London shrugged and looked away. “I guess but I find you easy to talk to and I’ll miss that. Talking to someone, I guess. Mostly at home, it's just me and Chris and as you know he doesn’t talk much. And it's hard to talk at work because you have to watch everything you say. You don’t want to trip up and say something you shouldn’t to the wrong person.” Shaking her head she admitted, “I will be so glad when this is finally over.”

“You know Mark Carter and Allen Lemmer wouldn’t have let it get this bad if they knew about it, right?” Boots shook his head. “I can’t believe they haven’t figured this out yet.”

London shrugged her shoulders. “I think they have an inkling but they aren’t sure just how deep this goes. I’ve seen Mark Carter. The expression on his face told me that he would like to ask questions but he just didn’t know who he could trust.”

Boots nodded. “Yeah. He’s the kind of guy that just sits back and figures things out on his own. But he’s a good man.”

London turned around to sit with her back at the head of the bed. “Yeah, but I didn’t know if I could trust him.”

Boots pushed himself back and slipped off his boots then joined her at the head of the bed. “Yeah, I figured that.”

Staring at him, she said, “Those boots…”

He paused to look at her. “Yeah, what about them?”

“Is that why they call you Boots?” she asked curiously.

He paused, then he chuckled. “In a way, I guess. You see, that was the family business. Bootmaking. My father had his own shop and so did his father before him.” His smile faded a bit as he explained, “I wanted something different. I wasn’t interested in making boots. I told my dad this before I left for college and he was disappointed, but he finally accepted it. I have many pairs that my father made in my size and I wear each one till they are too old to wear anymore.” He met her gaze. “It’s my way of honoring him, I guess? I got the name in the service because when I was off duty, I always wore those boots.”