Sarah called me on a Tuesday afternoon.
I almost didn’t answer. The number was unknown. I was fixing the carb on my Pan and my hands were black with grease. But something made me pick up.
“Mack? It’s Sarah. Travis’s wife.”
Her voice was so small I had to step outside to hear her.
“Sarah? Are you okay?”
“I need to tell you something about Jesse.”
I sat down on the bench by my front door. I felt the world tilt.
“What about Jesse?”
She started crying. Quiet, choked crying like she was scared someone would hear.
“He didn’t have a heart attack, Mack. He didn’t.”
I waited. I couldn’t speak.
“Travis killed him. He hit him. They were arguing about Caleb. Jesse said he was going to call CPS. Jesse said he was going to take Caleb away from us. And Travis… Travis hit him with the wrench. Right in the chest. Right in the heart. And Jesse just dropped, Mack. He just dropped.”
I closed my eyes. My ears were ringing.
“Why are you telling me this now, Sarah?”
“Because Caleb weighs thirty-one pounds. Because Travis has been locking him in the basement. Because I think he’s going to kill him too. Because I can’t get away. Because I’m scared. And because Jesse’s last words were… were…”
She was sobbing now.
“What were his last words, Sarah?”
“He looked at me while he was dying on the garage floor. And he grabbed my hand. And he said, ‘Tell Mack. Tell Mack to come get the boy.'”
I sat on that bench for a long time after I hung up. The sun was going down. My hands were still black with grease. I didn’t move.
Then I went inside, put on my cut, and rode to the clubhouse.
I told Pike everything. He didn’t say a word until I was done.
Then he stood up and said, “Brothers ride at dawn.”
