“Goddammit, Coy.” Marshall’s voice carried throughout the bedroom. He faced the bedroom door, worried somebody might be on the other side.

“No, Marshall, you ain’t thinking. Peanut’s not handing you some ladder that’ll get you to the top of the Kudzu Kings. He’s using you. Just like his deddy did ours.”

Marshall shook his head at me like this was the last letdown in a lifetime of letdowns. “I know what I’m getting myself into here and the kinda risk I’m taking. Deddy knew it too. He ain’t in prison right now because Buford double-crossed him. He’s sitting in that cell right now because that’s what they asked of him—”

“You’re right, Marshall. If there’s one thing you and Deddy’ve always done for this family, it’s let us down.”

“Peanut says we’re snatching the money tonight. He’s got some boys the preacher called about helping him move it. If you ain’t coming down to eat with us—then you need to be downstairs when it gets dark. Peanut said to make sure of it.”

Marshall waited to see if I’d argue with that, and when I didn’t, he backed the rest of the way out of the room and shut the bedroom door behind him.

6.

The moon shimmered outside the bedroom window. I’d been sitting in the same spot since Marshall left, but a plan finally started formulating. I knew Peanut would have somebody knocking on the bedroom door if I didn’t head downstairs in the next few minutes, so I opened the bedroom door. Wiley stood in the hallway, ready to knock. My appearance startled him, and he jerked away. He tripped over his overgrown feet and caught himself against the wall.

“You alright there, Wiley?” I said. “Didn’t mean to scare you like that. Just about to head down to meet with Peanut and them.”

“No, sir, you’re all right.” Wiley took his cap off and used the back of his arm to wipe sweat from his brow. “Didn’t expect you to jerk the door open when you did. Peanut says I need to not be so jumpy.”

I still couldn’t believe he worked security for the Bohannons. “Where’s everybody meeting?”

“They’re out here on the back porch. Peanut told me to grab a handful of cold beers on my way out.”

“Sounds good.” I let Wiley lead the way. “I’ll give you a hand with them beers.”

“Thank you, sir.” Wiley led me past the room where Mama stayed. She’d shut the bedroom door, but I could hear the TV’s canned laughter. That meant she was watching old reruns of a sitcom from the Eighties she liked.

I stopped Wiley at the stairs and put my hand out to him. He took it right away, and I gave it my hardest squeeze. His face barely flinched, and I knew he was trying to tough it out. “You ain’t gotta call me sir, Wiley. My name’s Mack.”

“Yessir, Mr. Mack.”

“Well, that’s a start.” I smiled, and he started to take his hand away, but I tightened my grip further, and he let out a groan. I twisted his wrist, and his voice went up in pitch, and I brought him to his knees. I wrenched his arm behind him, knocked him onto his belly, and pulled his shirt up, “What do we have here?”