Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Abe enjoys ordering me around. I don’t mind it because if he didn’t like me, I wouldn’t be here building an addition to his home that I will be living in. Niki came over to help me out a couple of days ago. He said he’d be back next week to help me raise the walls. Abe says manual labor builds character.
“By the time I’m done here, I could build my own house.” I set down the level and start the concrete pour.
“That’s the idea, son.” I freeze at the “S” word, but Abe continues on like he hasn’t said anything earth-shattering. “You ever want to do something other than chase people around the city, this is an option.”
I nod because I’m not in a place to open my mouth lest I start blubbering like a baby. The hot sun bakes into my bare back and dries up the moisture in my eyes. Josie saunters out with an iced tea in her hand.
“Looks good out here.” She shades her eyes with a hand and surveys the flat dirt with the six posts poking out of the ground.
“The walls will be going up next week,” Abe informs her.
“That soon?”
“Niki’s coming over to help me put them up. I could be bunking in there in a couple of weeks.”
“Love that.” Josie glows. I sneak a quick look over at Abe, who signs and casts his gaze skyward while I steal a quick kiss.
Abe’s invitation, or order actually, for me to move in was on the condition that I’d be sleeping in a different part of the house than Josie. He knows that we are having sex, but he doesn’t want it under his roof. I respect that and his rules.
“I’ve got to run over to the laundromat for about thirty,” I tell them. “I’ll pick up tacos on my way back.”
“You have some jobs to do?” Josie takes my now empty glass.
“Nah, that kid from the Patton farm called. Clark wants me there when he shows up.”
“I’ll have steak tacos,” she says.
“I know. With pico, medium sauce, and extra limes. Abe, you want your regular order?”
“Shredded pork with guac, yeah.”
“I’m on it.” I wash myself with the outside hose and then pull a T-shirt over my still damp body. As I’m crossing the lawn, I catch Josie’s lusty eyes locked on my abs. The cotton is sticking to my chest. I hesitate, but Abe’s here, so I mouth later and haul my ass away before I do something dumb like throwing her on the ground and fucking her into the dirt in front of her dad.
At the laundromat, Niki greets me with a dap and a half hug.
“Diner tonight?” I suggest. “I’m getting tacos.”
“Sure.” He rears back. “Fuck, you stink.”
I sniff my shirt. “I rinsed myself with a hose.”
“Not good enough.”
“Shit. Anyone got some deodorant?” I look around the laundromat at all the hopeful recruits. All of them shake their heads. We are not the type to carry around supplies in our backpacks.
“You could use some detergent.” A recruit holds up one small trial packet.
I don’t laugh him off, but before I can stick my head in a washing machine, Clark’s bodyguard waves me over. Inside the inner sanctum where Emile, the money man, sits in the corner, is my guy from the Patton property. I give him a head nod. Clark wrinkles his nose but only straightens his school blazer before sitting down behind his ugly metal desk.
“You vouch for this guy?”
I look over the boy, who has an old scar across his gaunt cheek. He’s lanky and tall, probably a couple inches taller than me. His hands are big enough to palm a basketball or slap you into next week. His eyes are cold and hungry.
“Hell, no,” I laugh. “I don’t know even know his name.”
Clark frowns. “He says you sent him here.”
“I did.”
“But you won’t vouch for him?” Clark repeats.
Vouching for this stranger means his fuckups are mine. I don’t know if he’s trustworthy or competent. All I know is that he had enough willpower to survive in that cellar for weeks. He was the only one who could climb out on his own. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t need a brotherhood.
I make a snap decision. “I’ll vouch for him.”
So slightly that I almost miss it, some of the tension in the boy leaks out. Clark hands over a piece of paper. “A few chores, then. To test him.”
I hand the paper to the boy. “Memorize the names and addresses. We don’t leave any evidence around.”
He nods and stares at the slip.
“I’m Bam, by the way. You?”
“Teddy.” He hesitates like he’s about to reveal a secret. “Short for Theodore.”
Teddy. Not Todd. “Got it. Let’s go. I’ve got dinner plans.”
Chapter Forty
JOSIE
“How are you feeling?” I ask my dad, dropping down on the couch. He’s in the recliner.