I hate that name. So much of the last year has been spent hearing the name Jennings, and it’s never good. As far as the town knows, Darren Jennings was a victim of a vicious attack that may or may not have been in response to his father’s supposed gambling problem. His parents disappeared some months back, which has only strengthened the gambling rumors. According to the town’s rumor mill, on top of everything Darren’s suffered, he’s also developed a drug problem, even going so far as to having drugs smuggled into the hospital. He overdosed last month and landed himself in the psych ward. Mom says it was such a shame since he’d been about to be released after nearly a year recovering from his injuries and subsequent coma.
The truth about Darren Jennings is far darker and more disturbing than anything the newspaper will ever print. I’ve known him for years now, though not well. His parents are members of the same church as my parents, but that’s not why his name makes my skin crawl. Darren Jennings is the reason Nic has those star tattoos on her body—one for each time he raped and beat her. He’s also the reason . . .
“Why are you bringing that fucker up?” Jeremy asks in a gruff tone.
I didn’t even realize that Ruby walked away some time ago until her boots clack against the concrete floor and she comes to stand beside me. She places a hand on my back and leans in, speaking quietly. “You okay?”
I try to answer them both. No, I’m not okay. I can’t . . .
Panic swells in my chest, unsettling my stomach and forcing the breath from my lungs. There’s got to be a good reason for Ian getting a call like this. No way in hell Ian would take part in anything that would keep Darren Jennings safe. Not ever. The phone rings in my hand, startling me. I answer it immediately but don’t say anything when I bring it to my ear.
“Banks? We need to move. Are we clear or not?”
I end the call and force myself to work through the panic. Banks? Who the hell is Banks? I use my free hand to pat down my pockets and find what I thought I might—Ian’s phone. Pulling it out, I stare at Ian’s phone in one hand and its twin in the other. Ruby and Jeremy are practically on top of me now, both staring at me with faces full of worry.
“This isn’t Ian’s phone.” I hand Ian’s real mobile over to Ruby and try to poke through the mystery phone that Jeremy mistook for Ian’s. It has a password lock on it, so I can’t get in, but there are several text message notifications showing on the lock screen. They all come from the same phone number with a four-one-five area code.
“Everybody else’s phones are accounted for,” Ruby says. Her attention is fixed on the tables full of guns, knives, and cell phones.
“Who is Banks?” I ask.
Ruby’s eyes dart to mine, her mouth parts, and she stares at me blankly. The memory comes to me slowly but surely when I think back to the scene at the end of the hall as Fish and Torque argued about Torque’s trying to check Fish for another phone.
“Solomon Banks. That’s the only Banks I know,” Ruby says and then clarifies. “Fish.”
“The second phone,” Jeremy says with his eyes narrowed.
“That was a man calling Fish’s phone to tell him he’s got Jennings but needs Fish to signal him to get him out safely. When he called back, he used the name Banks and said he has to move and needs Fish to give the all clear.”
“The rat is Fish,” Jeremy says to Ruby. “He’s working with some asshole to get Jennings to safety?”
Darren Jennings is the reason I was raped. I put two and two together well before Holly ever told me anything. Darren raped Nic years ago, then tried to do it again when she was pregnant with Robin. The club took care of Darren, and then randomly, some months later, I’m raped by two men who keep calling me Nic. I wasn’t even out of the hospital yet when Darren’s parents disappeared from town. I thought I might be paranoid at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it just fit.
“Looks like it,” Ruby says. Her face is hard with anger, but she seems to be keeping herself in check. “After Church, before anybody heads out, I’ll talk to Jim.”
I don’t want to speak up, and especially don’t want to argue with her, but that seems like an awful idea. Whoever Fish is working with is waiting on his response. They won’t be waiting forever, and if we don’t do something now, they might get away. I have to do something.
“What if they get away because we’re waiting?”
“Bean’s got a point, Aunt Ruby,” Jeremy says softly. “I’m sure Pres will understand the interruption.”
“Fuck,” she says and grabs one of Ryan’s guns from the table. I only know it’s his because his is the pile with the most weapons and that damn firework he threatened to shove up Jeremy’s backside. Ruby shoves the gun into the waistband at the back of her jeans and stomps off down the hallway toward the chapel. I stare after her in panic, terrified of what’s about to happen.
Chapter 21