“What are you two laughing about?” he asked.
“Just talking about your moonshine,” I answered.
“Ain’t no laughing matter,” he said, smiling. “Moonshine is a serious thing.”
“I’m sure it is. You got some time to talk?”
“Sure. Come on in.” I stepped inside and he smiled at Hartley. “Good to see you again.”
“Same to you,” she answered.
“Come on. I’ll set you two up.”
We followed him to the table again, though this time it was a bit less of a mess. Maybe he had been expecting us to visit again, because it seemed as though he had straightened up a bit. Then again, his version of cleaned up was still a disaster for any other normal human.
We sat down and he grabbed three glasses. He got a bottle of whisky from the cupboard, a bottle with an actual label, and I gave Hartley a grin. She looked relieved as hell. Markus poured three glasses and we toasted.
“So,” he said, “what brings you back to the hills?”
“What have you heard lately?” I asked him, pouring three more drinks.
“Heard some things,” he admitted. “Some rumors floating around. Apparently the Caldwells had a visitor, or maybe got attacked.”
“I heard that too,” I said.
Markus sighed. “Boy, what the fuck are you playing at here?”
I laughed. “Straight to the point then?”
“Just tell me what you want.”
“There’s a storm coming,” I said. “Something bad is going to happen between the Caldwells and the Dixie Mafia.”
“And you two are in the middle of it all,” he said, sipping his drink.
I nodded, sipping mine. Nothing like a good whisky to take the edge off, and there were plenty of damn edges to get taken off right now.
“We are,” Hartley said, “but not because we want to be. We’re just trying to win.”
“I hear it,” Markus said. “Still, not good people to get down with.”
“Hartley is in trouble, Markus. Whatever we’re doing is meant to keep her alive.”
“All right then. So you want the girl alive. Why are you here?”
“I want you to stay alive, too,” I said. “Listen, I don’t know exactly how this is all going to play out, but they might want to hurt me at some point. Which means you’re in danger.”
Markus sighed. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“This is different.”
“Is it? Three years ago when they tried to squash my moonshine business, was that different? Had a gun to my skull, you know. I’m still here.”
“This is bigger than bootlegging.”
“Maybe it is, but I’m a survivor.” Markus sighed. “Your momma and your daddy were survivors too.”
“They’re dead,” I said. “They didn’t do a great job at surviving.”
“They survived this damn place for a long time. So they had vices; we all fucking do. But your parents, they gutted it out for as long as they could.”
“This is bigger than all that,” I said.
“No it ain’t, and you know it. You were born and raised here. You’re a native son. You know we don’t run away.”
“Except for all the other cousins,” I said. “They ran away.”
“Cowards,” Markus said, waving a hand. “Your parents died, but they didn’t run.”
“They should have. Ray should have gotten out, too. I was the only one with enough brains to see it.”
“Yeah, maybe. But look at you now, stuck in the middle of a Knoxville gang war, all these years later. Run as far as you want, boy, but you can’t ever escape from who you are.”
I knocked back my drink, anger rising up inside me. Markus didn’t know me, not anymore. Maybe he knew the kid I was a long time ago, that dumb asshole redneck idiot, but I wasn’t that person anymore, not by a long shot.
I stood up. “We just came to warn you, Markus. Get out of town and stay out for a while, until this all blows over.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, looking away.
“Come on, Hartley.”
She stood. “It was nice seeing you again,” she said to Markus.
“Always a pleasure.”
I turned and left, Hartley close behind.
Damn Markus was as stubborn as they came. That man was going to get killed, or he was going to get everyone else killed. If they came at him, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t make a dumb move just to try to save his life.
Angry and not ready to leave, I cut across the yard and headed toward the woods. Hartley caught up with me and walked by my side but didn’t say a word.
I liked that about her. She knew when she should push and when she should walk along and let things play out. She was damn smart like that, able to read a room or a person. It was an impressive quality.