The girl’s gray eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she swiped them away. “Me too. If Dragon hadn’t found me, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“He’s been like a father to you,” I said, a sudden appreciation for Dragon coming over me. He may be an odd man, but he obviously had a good side to him.
“No.” Glitter stood up straighter. “Not a father. Just a guardian.”
Helen gave her shoulder another squeeze, and they shared a look that I didn’t get.
The older woman turned her gaze on me, and here eyes were like laser beams, burning into mine. I got the feeling she was trying to tell me something without saying it out loud. What, I didn’t know. About Dragon? Maybe.
“Is Glitter your real name?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t, but hoping to ease the pain surrounding us.
“No.” Glitter laughed and her body relaxed. “I picked it out, and even though Dragon tried to talk me out of it, he let it go. Sometimes when memories come back to me, they’re shiny. Sparkly almost. The first few months with Dragon that was pretty much all I could focus on, so it seemed like an obvious name for me. I’m glad I picked it, though. It makes me feel like there’s a glimmer of hope.”
The crowd roared, and I turned away from the girl in front of me to find that not only had the fight already started, but had come to an end. In the ring, Donaghy was splattered with black blood, his shoulders heaving with pent up rage and energy. He had his hands clenched at his sides as he stared down at the bodies, but a second later he looked up, and when his gaze met mine, his muscles slowly began to relax. Even from this far away, the air between us crackled with energy.
“He likes you,” Helen said.
“But so does the Regulator’s son,” Glitter whispered, her tone oddly foreboding.
I turned to face them. “Donaghy and I just met. We hardly know each other.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Helen said knowingly. “When you meet the right person, you just know.”
Glitter was frowning toward the ring. “The first time I met you, I thought you were with the Regulator’s son.”
“No. It’s never been like that with us.”
“I flirted with him.” Glitter turned to look at me. “I thought you were together, so I flirted with him. I wanted you to catch him so you’d know what he was like.”
“Who?” I shook my head. “Jackson?”
Helen grabbed Glitter’s arm and gave a tiny shake of her head when the younger girl looked at her.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Why the hell did it always feel like people were hiding things from me these days? “Do you know Jackson?”
“He’s the Regulator’s son.” Helen waved dismissively as she snubbed out her cigarette. “That’s all. People get nervous around him. Besides, Donaghy likes you.”
“And he’s hot,” Glitter piped in, only this time, she wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“Life rarely hands you happiness,” Helen said as she pulled a new cigarette out from under the bar. She lit it, her blue eyes on me as she slowly inhaled. When she blew the smoke out, she pointed the cigarette at me as if to emphasize her words. “Be sure you don’t pass it up when it comes your way.”
I had a hard time believing that a convict who fought zombies was my ticket to happiness, but I let the older woman have her sage moment without argument.
The bar began to clear out, and I started to worry that my crew was going to head out too, but when the crowd thinned, I spotted them sitting at a table. I wasn’t sure whether or not they were waiting for me, but I did know that I needed to head over before they decided to go to a strip club or something.
“I need to talk to them.” I said nodding toward the three guys. “I think they know something about my dad’s disappearance.”
Helen’s eyebrows shot up, but when I tried to catch her eye, she looked away.
“We’ll cover for you,” Glitter said, drawing my attention to her.
“Thanks.” I ventured a look at Helen as I poured four glasses of moonshine, but she had moved to the end of the bar where she was saying something to Dragon.
I tensed, waiting for the bar owner to charge over and fire me for giving away free drinks, but he just nodded and looked toward the three guys waiting for me.
More secrets. What the hell was going on around here?
Donaghy was nowhere in sight when I made my way across the bar, but I had to assume he’d gone to clean himself up. I missed the fight, but the blood in the ring seemed particularly thick tonight. He was probably more covered than usual.
When I reached the table, I slid into the empty seat and set the four glasses down. “I think it’s about time we got to know each other,” I said with a smile.
“Thanks,” the three guys replied almost in unison.
I raised my glass, urging them to drink up. I needed loose tongues tonight.
The youngest of the three, who didn’t seem to realize that I had a face, called himself Ticker. At first I wasn’t sure if it was his real name, but after less than ten minutes of sitting with him I decide it couldn’t be. His right shoulder jerked up every minute or so, like a tick he couldn’t control and probably wasn’t even aware of. Most likely someone had given him the nickname when he was younger and he hadn’t been able to shake it. Ticker was thin and wiry, but muscular from a life of manual labor, and his brown, beady eyes made him look slightly unhinged. Luckily, the thick mop of hair on his head helped shadow them, otherwise he’d probably scare the shit out of most people.
The older guy, Matt, was laid back and charming. His deep set blue eyes were intelligent and focused on my face the entire time we talked. He was the type of guy who walked around with a constant five o’clock shadow, giving off the impression that he’d just spent a couple days in the wilderness where he didn’t have access to a razor. He wasn’t only the best looking of the group, but the tallest, tannest, and most muscular. The last two I attributed to being on the maintenance crew the longest. It was strange, because there was a stigma associated with the guys who worked the crew. They were the dumbest people in the settlement. The people who had the least to contribute to society. Talking to Matt, though, I could see that wasn’t always the case.
The third guy barely said a word. His age was hard to determine because he was big and bulky, but had a baby face that was nearly hidden by wisps of pale, blond hair. It took some time to learn his name since he didn’t even try to get a word in—plus Ticker seemed to like hearing himself talk—but I finally discovered that it was Jimmy. True to the stereotype of the maintenance crew, Jimmy seemed to be a few cards short of a full deck, but he was gentle and had a friendly smile.
“How long have you worked here?” Ticker asked, his shoulder jerking as he took a drink, and his constantly blinking eyes never leaving my cleavage.
“Just this week.”
Matt lifted his eyebrows. “Do you have a death wish? You get a job on the maintenance crew one week, and a job in this dump the next. Aren’t there enough ways to get killed these days?”
“You have to do what you can to survive,” I said.
“Can’t argue with that,” Matt mumbled into his drink.
I tapped my toe on the floor while Ticker rattled off some story he’d heard about a zombie attack that supposedly happened outside Dayton last week. This wasn’t what I wanted to talk to them about, but now that they were in front of me, I was having a hard time figuring out how to broach the subject of my dad and his untimely—and suspicious—disappearance. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I just needed to be upfront about what I wanted. If I wasn’t, I may never find a good opportunity.
“What do you know about my dad?” I blurted out, cutting Ticker off mid-sentence.
The words died on the guy’s lips but he didn’t shut his mouth. It hung open as he looked back and forth between Matt and me. Jimmy stared at his hands.
Matt didn’t look at the other two guys as he leaned forward, his gaze holdi
ng mine. “You keep running around asking questions like that and you’re probably not going to like what happens.”
I slammed my mouth shut as Matt’s warning rang in my ears. What the hell was going on? First Mom started having a mental breakdown, then Al freaked out when I showed him that note, now this. Had the whole world gone insane?
“What do you know?” I said again, not caring if the whole bar heard me at this point. People around here knew something, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Matt exhaled and shook his head, but he leaned closer. “You sure you want to go down this road?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Point taken.” He leaned back a little, taking a look around before turning his gaze back to me. “I don’t know a whole lot, but I know the story they’re throwing around is bullshit. Never happened.”
“What?”
That didn’t make sense. Dad went out with a group and they were overrun. He was cut off from the others and they never found him. It happened sometimes. It wasn’t that farfetched.
“There was no run that day,” Ticker spit out.
“No run?” I blinked and looked between the three men.
Jimmy’s eyes were still down, but the other two were staring at me, waiting to see my reaction. Only, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it all. It just didn’t make sense or seem real. Why would they lie unless they needed to cover up what had happened to Dad?
“Here’s what I know,” Matt said, drawing my gaze back to his. “Your dad was second in command of the enforcers. He’d been in the city from almost the beginning, was a good shot, and people trusted him. Knew him. They don’t send guys like that out on guard duty. It would be a waste.” He paused, letting that little bit of information sink in before saying, “Plus, no groups left the city that day. None.”
“How do you know?” I whispered.
Matt leaned closer to me again. “Because I was working and I remember hearing about your dad the next day and wondering how the hell he disappeared on a run when there were no runs.”
The air in the room grew thicker and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to wrap my brain around the whole thing. If there were no runs like Matt claimed, then there was no way Dad disappeared outside the walls. Which meant he never left the city. Which meant he could very well still be in New Atlanta. Alive.
“What the hell is going on?” I muttered, my eyes still closed.
I opened them to find all three guys staring at me. They were strangers. Until today, I’d only seen them at work in passing. Had never even spoken to them. Could I trust what they were saying?
Normally, I probably wouldn’t, but right now the evidence mounting up around me was too damning. Between the note and what Donaghy had overheard at Jackson’s, as well as this little morsel, it all pointed to one thing: Someone was trying to cover up something big.
“That’s all?” I asked when no one spoke.
“If there’s more information out there, I don’t have it.” Matt shrugged. “I’m not going to pretend I’m more important than I am, I just know that when they started spreading around the story that Axl James disappeared on a run, it was a lie.”
Silence settled over us that wasn’t just heavy, but disturbing.
We were still quiet when Donaghy came out of the back room. His gaze moved across the bar, not stopping until he found me, and as he headed my way, his eyes stayed locked on mine.
“Everything okay?” he asked when he stopped in front of us.
“Yeah.” Matt let out a deep sigh. “Nice fight by the way, man.”
Donaghy glanced the other man’s way, his icy eyes raking over him like he was seeing him for the first time even though technically they’d met earlier. Well, not met exactly. Ran from the dead together was more like it.
“Thanks.” When the fighter finally spoke, it didn’t sound the least bit sincere.
“Sit down,” I said, nodding toward the empty chair at my side.
Donaghy complied, not saying a word. His body was stiff when he lowered himself into the chair across from Matt. With him here, we were squeezed in so tightly that the fighter’s leg was touching mine. The small table wasn’t big enough for five people, but with Donaghy practically pressed up against me, I couldn’t complain.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Ticker asked me, his shoulder jerking up like it was punctuation the words.
“The busy part of the night is over. It’s not like Dragon is paying me by the hour.” I glanced over my shoulder to find Helen and Glitter talking with the few men still sitting at the bar. Less than ten of them. Nothing they couldn’t handle without me.
“So what’s your next move?” Matt asked when I turned back to face him.
Next to me, Donaghy stiffened, and suddenly his leg was pressed more firmly against mine under the table. I didn’t know why, but again I couldn’t complain.
“I don’t know.” I exhaled. “I need more information, but no one seems to have anything but theories.”
“I’m going to be useless,” Donaghy said, and when I turned to face him, the intense expression in his eyes made me shiver. “Jackson revoked his invitation. I’ve been sentenced to a cot in the back room.”
“There goes the only edge we had,” I said.
“Maybe you should try to make up with him…” He stretched out the sentence in a way that made me turn on him with narrowed eyes.
“What exactly do mean make up with him?” Was he telling me to sleep with Jackson? If so, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Nothing like that,” Donaghy said. “I just overheard him last night. He was pissed about something that happened between you two.”
“Who’s this?” Matt asked before I could respond.
I looked up to find him watching me. Ticker’s eyes were glued to my chest, and Jimmy was back to staring at his hands.
“The Regulator’s son,” Donaghy said, once again speaking before I could utter a word. I was starting to feel like I didn’t need to be here.
“Shit.” Matt whistled between his teeth. “Are you telling me you pissed off the Regulator’s son, but were shocked when you got sent outside?”
“It’s not like that,” I said, sitting up straighter, which only pressed my leg more firmly against Donaghy’s. “Jackson and I have been best friends since we were kids. We had a fight. That doesn’t mean he wants to have me killed.”
“You’re fooling yourself.” Ticker tore his eyes away from my chest long enough to meet my gaze, pointing his glass at me to emphasize his point. “That dude is nuts. Ticker knows him from school.” His eyes went back to my chest the second he was done talking.
“School?” I asked, shaking my head.
Ticker tore his gaze from my cleavage once again, and his beady little eyes focused on my face. “Yeah.” The guy’s shoulder jerked as he nodded. “School. The regulator’s son tortured Stevie. Beat the shit out of him.” He kept nodding as he tried to take a drink, but the alcohol sloshed out of his glass.
“Stevie?” Even though it didn’t make sense, I had a feeling he was referring to himself.
Ticker just nodded in response.
“Jackson Star,” Matt said slowly, “is the very definition of a sociopath. If you think otherwise, you’re fooling yourself. Or he’s been fooling you. Not sure which.” Matt jerked his thumb toward Ticker, who was back to staring at my chest, his shoulder twitching more than ever. “Ticker isn’t the only person that asshole tortured, although I’d say he’s the worst case—that we know of. Head injury.” Matt tapped his finger on the side of his own head. “He spent a month in the hospital, almost died. After that his mom wouldn’t let him go back to school. He’s never been the same.”
“Ticker…” I mumbled, trying to place him. He was probably about the same age as Jackson and me, but I didn’t remember him, which was nuts because, there weren’t a lot of kids in school when we were growing up. I should have some recollection of this kid if he’d been around. “I don’
t remember any of this and I’ve known Jackson forever.”
“Stevie.” Ticker rocked, his shoulder jerking harder. “Stevie Jones.”
“Stevie Jones?” My mouth fell open as a memory clawed its way to the forefront of my brain.
I remembered him now, only I didn’t remember anything like that ever happening. He’d been in our class one week and gone the next. I’d honestly had no idea what had happened to him, but that was also around the time that Margot died, so it made sense. I’d had other things to worry about.
“I didn’t know…”
I shook my head, totally dumbfounded. How could Jackson have done something like this, and how had I not known? It made me think of all the comments Dad had made about Jackson wearing a mask. Hiding who he was. Especially from me. But why? Why go to so much trouble?
“I’m sorry, Stevie,” I said, feeling like I was somehow responsible even though I’d played no part in it.
“Ticker.” He shook his head. “Not Stevie. Ticker. Jackson killed Stevie. Did it after school in a dark alley. With a bat. Stevie is dead. I’m Ticker now.”
“Holy fuck,” Donaghy muttered at my side.
Matt’s jaw clenched as he nodded. “Yeah.”
Jackson had been my friend for years and I’d always trusted him, but this… This made me see him in a whole new light. All the excuses I’d made for him. All the times I’d convinced myself that Jackson was just misunderstood. That he was better than his father. That I was the only one who saw the real Jackson Star. Had I been kidding myself all this time? Was he really no better than his father? It seemed that way.
There was no denying the fact that if the Regulator had his way, he’d rule the country for the rest of his life and we would never again be a democracy. But was Jackson a part of all that? Was he planning on following in his father’s footsteps as some kind of dictator of this new zombie world?
Had he been playing me for a fool?
I looked at Ticker, whose shoulder hadn’t stopped jerking. It was hard to deny the truth when it was staring you in the face.
Jackson was a monster.
Twisted World Series Box Set | Books 1-3 & Novella Page 17