Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Was he in trouble? With the boss?
Did I care?
Just a second of introspection said that I kind of did.
I mean, he’d come. He didn’t have to. But he came. And he got me out of there. He got me safe. He waited for me at the hospital. He was sticking with me, even though he was getting the gist of how fucked this situation really was.
He didn’t deserve to be punished for that.
“So, we can’t spare someone to protect him,” Aurelio added. “And it seems like we are going to be busy.”
“This isn’t your war,” I said, looking between them, but landing on August.
“No,” he agreed. “But you’d put up a pretty shitty fucking fight with just one soldier against a whole army.”
“That’s not your problem.”
“Are you always so fucking impossible?” he grumbled, sighing hard.
“Yes,” I said honestly, getting a snort out of Aurelio.
“Can I just… throw out an idea here?” Aurelio asked.
“Sure,” I said, nodding.
“Leave. Come with us back to Navesink Bank. Let this blow over.”
It was August’s turn to snort.
“What?” Aurelio asked.
“She’s the most bull-headed, stubborn-ass woman I’ve ever met. She talks shit to the local drug dealers and pimps for kicks and giggles. She’s not going to run away from this.”
“He’s right,” I agreed.
“I’m sure you’re not…” Aurelio started to say, much more gracious than his cousin.
“I am,” I cut him off. “I am bull-headed and stubborn. I do talk shit all the time. I provoke them for fun. Because I’ve always had protection. I never had to worry about the consequences before. But now… all bets are off. And if all the crews think my dad is dead…” I said, trailing off.
“Even the ones in his pocket might want to… have a word or two with you,” August finished for me.
“Yeah,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself, suddenly cold.
“Hey, that’s not gonna happen,” August said, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to get all ‘hysterical’ on you,” I said, bristling just with the memory of him throwing that word at me.
“Alright,” Aurelio cut in, sensing things about to get out of hand. “So, we don’t want this at the morgue?” he asked, holding up the tracking device. “Where then?”
“The police station?” I suggested. “If he was attacked and recovered, that’s where he would be, plotting to take down who did this, right?”
August and Aurelio looked at each other and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll take it there,” Aurelio said. “Stick it somewhere it won’t get disturbed. Then I think everyone needs some sleep,” he said, a little pointedly looking in my direction. “We can come up with steps in the morning.”
With that, he was striding out the door, leaving the two of us standing in the living room with nothing but the droning sound of the local meteorologist talking about a heatwave coming. Like we weren’t already in one.
“What’d they—“ August started even as I spoke.
“Can I ask—“
“Yeah,” he said, nodding.
“Do you think I should call my mom about my father?” I asked. “I, ah, I don’t have as much experience with complicated family feelings as you probably do.”
“Figure things didn’t end well?”
“He fucked a twenty-year-old on their bed. Several twenty-year-olds, actually,” I said, watching August’s brows go up.
“Did she move on?”
“I mean… she moved away. As soon as I was old enough to live on my own. My dad hired lawyers to make it so she was stuck here until I was eighteen and he didn’t get visitation anymore. But, ah, no. She’s… pretty bitter about all of mankind actually.”
“Then I think maybe leave it be for now. Hopefully, he recovers. Then you can talk it out. If the worst happens, then I think she would want to know.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right,” I agreed. I probably only wanted to tell her because it would give me someone to talk to, to dissect my messy feelings about it. But I knew exactly what she would say.
Why are you so worried about him after he blew up our family?
“Why don’t you try to sleep?” August suggested, waving toward the one and only bedroom. “Aurelio and I will be fine out here.”
“Yeah. I, ah, yeah,” I agreed.
I wasn’t going to sleep.
But I did want a couple of minutes away from an audience to get myself together. Or fall apart, if that was how this was going to go.
“Hey, Traveler?” he called as I was in the doorway.
“Yeah?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
“We’ll figure this out.”
We had to.
Or my life was pretty much over.
CHAPTER FIVE
August
“Fuck,” I hissed, dropping down on the couch across from Aurelio.
“Yeah,” he agreed, nodding.
“We’ve got, what? Potentially a dozen criminal organizations to look at for this?” he asked, raising the scotch I’d gotten for us. It was the kind of night that called for it.
“I’m hoping that when Traveler accesses her cameras, that we get some faces. That will make shit easier. Especially since she seems to know all the players in this town.”