"I was cheerful because the fuckers killed each other. A nice happy ending. Who doesn't love that?"
I stared up at him. "I doubt they loved it."
My head was swimming. It was like there were all these weird puzzle pieces, scrambled around on some giant, dark table. I didn't know how the pieces fit, or what I should do now.
And why was Jake telling me this?
But of course, the answer to that question was obvious. He was telling me because I'd demanded to know. In hindsight, maybe I should've dropped the whole thing.
Silently, I turned to look out over the city. From this far up, the view was undeniably beautiful. But down below, things weren't always so pretty. I'd known that, of course, but Jake's story was a cruel reminder of just how ugly things could be.
I let out a long, weary breath, wondering what else I was missing. Next to me Jake shifted, and soon, I felt his arms wrap tight around my waist, holding me gently from behind.
His voice, softer now, drifted down to me. "Don't think about it. It's not worth it."
Probably, he was right. I leaned back against him, suddenly exhausted with the whole sordid situation. Still, I didn't want to wonder later on, so I forced myself to say, "You might as well tell me the rest."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because if you don't," I admitted, "I'll probably be searching the internet tomorrow."
"Trust me. It's not on the internet."
Somehow, I doubted that. It seemed to me that everything was on the internet these days. "Then just give me the short version," I said. "What happened?" I tried to smile. "Starting when I went on that stupid walk."
He lowered his head, and his mouth grazed my ear. In a voice that was almost a caress, he said, "So you admit it was stupid, huh?"
"Oh, stop rubbing it in," I said. "Just tell me, okay?"
"Alright. Here's the short version. It started to rain. You ran off. They ran after you. Moe intercepted them–"
I whirled to face him. "What do you mean by 'intercepted'?"
"Just what I said. Moe pulled up and had a little talk with them. Told them you were hands-off."
"I don't get it," I said. "Why would he do that?"
"Because he owed me a favor. That's why."
"What kind of favor? Legal? Or illegal?"
Jake made that same waffling gesture that Steve had made earlier. "Eh, could go either way."
Oddly enough, I knew what he meant. Jake did a lot of things that weren't quite illegal, but skirted pretty close to the line. I pushed the distraction aside and said, "So then what happened?"
"So then, they took off."
"Just like that?"
"When he wants to, Moe can be fairly persuasive."
From what I'd seen so far, so could Jake. But I'd known that already, hadn't I?
"So what did they do next?" I asked. "Do you know?"
Jake nodded. "The way it sounds, they got pissed off, hit some drugs, ended up with a bad batch."
"So they overdosed? That's what killed them?"
He was quiet a beat before answering. "No. Something went wrong, probably mixed some things that didn't mesh. One of them flips out, tries to chew the other one's face off–"
I drew back. "What?"
"Happens more than you think. So the one shoots the face-chewer, who, believe it or not, has just enough sense to pull out his own gun and shoot back." He shrugged. "A few more shots, and there you go."
I paused. What on Earth could I say to that? Honestly, I had no idea. I couldn’t even picture it.
Hell, I didn't even want to.
So all I did was lean closer to Jake and say, "Your life is crazy. You know that, right?"
His voice grew warm. "Yeah. That's why I need you."
I pulled back to gaze up at him. "Oh, like I'm supposed to keep you sane?"
"No. What you're supposed to do is enjoy the ride." He leaned his head close to mine and said, "About the other stuff, don't worry. I've got it."
He sounded utterly certain. But as for me, I wasn't so sure. Jake's life was crazy, and I didn't see it calming down any time soon.
There was a time – a time not too long ago – when I would've embraced the craziness and not given it too much thought. But these days, I was dwelling on everything. What did that mean? Was I growing up? Or growing old?
I sure didn't feel old. But I had to admit that life had seemed so much simpler back when I'd been a little less responsible, a little more carefree, and like Jake, a whole lot crazier.
Now, I didn't know where things were heading. About long-term plans, he'd hinted. I'd hinted. We'd jokingly talked about life as an old married couple someday, with a bunch of kids and maybe a few dogs, too.
But when I closed my eyes, I just couldn't see it. Jake was a bad-ass, a flaming comet that burned hot and fast. What would someone like him want with a nice, normal life?
I turned away and gazed out over the urban landscape. In the distance, I heard police sirens and the low rumble of distant thunder – unrelated, obviously. But it sure fit my mood.
Next to me, Jake said, "Don't."
I turned to him and asked, "Don't what?"
"Don't throw yourself off."
I don't know why, but it made me laugh. A nervous reflex? Maybe. "I wasn't planning on it," I told him.
"Good." His tone grew teasing. "It's a long way down."
I glanced past the balcony rails. It was a long way down. Or, if I wanted to look on the bright side, we were a long way up.
Glass half full, right?
"And," Jake continued, wrapping his arms around me once again. "If you went? I'd have to throw myself after you."
"Oh stop it," I teased. "You wouldn't."
"Good thing is, we're not gonna find out." He squeezed me tighter and said, "Tomorrow, we're gonna wake up, put all this stuff behind us."
There were other things I wanted to talk about – especially the thing with my car. I needed to know who, exactly, had paid for it. But if I brought that up now, I'd have to bring up Rango, and suddenly, I just didn't have the energy.
I sagged against him, deciding I'd leave that, at least, for tomorrow. We could ponder it then, under the start of a fresh new day.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. A fresh start, with no fights and no drama. It all sounded so nice.
And it would've been nice – except, as I should've anticipated, it didn’t exactly happen that way.
Chapter 35
I woke to the sounds of tapping. Still half-asleep, I rolled over in bed and felt for Jake.
I paused. He wasn't there.
I opened my eyes and sat up, naked and confused. Pale moonlight filtered in through the partially open window blinds, making me squint in confusion.
I heard another series of taps and looked around. The tapping was coming from the closed bedroom door. When the tapping stopped, I heard my sister's voice, just above a whisper. "Hey Luna? You awake in there?"
I rubbed at my eyes. My sister spent half of her time ten hours South in Alabama, and the other half two hours North in our hometown.
What was she doing here? And more to the point, what was she doing here in the middle of the night?
Instantly, I was wide awake. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was past five o'clock, less than an hour before sunrise. Okay, so it wasn't exactly the middle of the night. But it wasn't quite morning yet either.
"Hang on," I called, jumping out of bed and flicking on the lights. I threw on the same clothes that I'd been wearing the previous night and flung open the bedroom door.
And there Selena was, looking surprisingly awake, even if slightly disheveled.
Her long, dark hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and her clothes – casual shorts and a yellow tank top – were definitely on the rumpled side.
"Is everything okay?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"
She glanced down the hallway, toward the condo's main living area. "I came along for the rid
e."
It was then that I noticed it, the muffled sounds of male voices. The way it sounded, Jake was talking with Bishop, one of his brothers, who happened to be my sister's fiancé.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the conversation didn't sound terribly friendly. No surprise there. From what I'd seen so far, Jake and Bishop didn't exactly get along.
I looked back to my sister and asked, "Are they arguing?"
Selena sighed. "Probably."
"Why? What happened?" I paused. "And what are you doing here now? Why didn't you call?"
She gave a small laugh. "What? You're not happy to see me?"
"Oh come on. You know what I mean. This isn't exactly normal."
"Tell me about it." She moved forward and quietly shut the bedroom door behind her. "And just so you know, I did call. You didn't answer. I left a message around midnight. Didn't you get it?"
I shook my head. "Actually, I can't find my phone."
"You lost it?"
"Nah," I said. "I had it here last night. I just kind of lost track of it, that's all."
Just before bed, I'd made a half-hearted attempt to find it. I'd even asked Jake to call my number, hoping to locate the phone that way. Unfortunately, I'd had zero luck, probably because I'd turned off the ringer to avoid Rango's calls.
Still, I wasn't worried. The phone would turn up. It always did, usually within a few minutes of doing whatever around the condo.
Inside the bedroom, Selena sank onto a nearby armchair and stretched out her bare legs. "Would you believe we've been driving all night?"
Well, that explained the rumpled clothes.
"From Alabama?" I said. "Wait, I thought you were spending the summer in Michigan."
"I am," she said, "but I had to run down South for something. It was supposed to be for a few days." She sank deeper into the chair. "Wanna know how long I was there?"
"How long?" I asked.
"A few minutes." She gave a weak laugh. "We'd barely pulled into the driveway when Bishop gets this phone call." She shrugged. "So here we are."
"Who was the call from? Jake?" I felt myself frown. "Funny he didn't mention it."
She shook her head. "It wasn't from Jake. It was from Joel."
"Their brother?"
"Yup, that's the one."
Joel was their youngest brother. Whenever I pictured him, I thought of the quiet kid he used to be, way back in our hometown. But these days, he wasn't a kid anymore.
Now, he was in his early twenties, and from what I'd recently discovered, a bit of a bad-ass – not surprising, considering he was a Bishop.
I sat on the edge of the bed and said, "You know, I saw Joel just a few weeks ago."
She looked surprised. "Really? Where?"
"Here in Detroit. Get this," I said. "This bigtime sports agent…" I paused. "Vince Hammond. You ever hear of him?"
Selena nodded. "You worked for him, right?"
"Yeah, for like five whole minutes. I’m surprised you remember."
"It wasn't just that," she said. "Bishop mentioned him on the drive."
"He did? Why?"
"First, finish your story," she said. "I'll tell mine after."
"Alright. Well, anyway, a few weeks ago, Vince Hammond was trying to sign Joel, you know as a client."
Selena rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I heard."
"From who?"
"From Bishop, who heard it from Joel, in a roundabout way."
I leaned forward. "Well, I didn't have to hear about it. I was there."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding. But only for a few minutes, because I wasn't invited. Basically, Jake and I crashed the meeting, hoping to stop Joel from signing. And do you want to know why?"
"Lemme guess," she said. "Because Vince is a crooked snake, who's gonna ruin Joel's life?"
"Uh, yeah. Pretty much. How'd you know?"
"Like I said, Bishop mentioned him."
"Oh, right. So anyway," I continued, "we show up at the restaurant where they're meeting, and Joel's not listening to anything we're saying. He basically tells me and Jake to shove it." At the memory of what happened next, I couldn't help but smile. "But then, Vince starts talking about getting Joel modeling and acting gigs."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah." At the memory, I had to laugh. "You should've seen it. They're sitting around this table, and Vince is talking about modeling and stuff. And suddenly, Joel flips out, knocks over the table, and storms off, leaving Vince covered in his own lunch."
In my mind, I could still see it. "It was like curly noodles and stuff. The guy looked like a total idiot."
Selena was nodding. "Well, that explains a few things."
"Like what?"
Her gaze shifted toward the center of the condo, where Jake and Bishop were still talking. From here, we couldn't see them, but the muffled sounds of their voices were growing louder with every minute.
Selena looked to me and said, "The way I hear it, Joel's changed his mind. He's got a meeting with Vince." She winced. "Today."
"Today? When?"
"We don't know. Sometime this afternoon, maybe?"
"Is that why you're in town? To stop him or something?"
"That's why Bishop's here. As for me, I came to see you." Suddenly, she smiled. "Before I forget, what do you think of turquoise?"
"Turquoise what?"
Her eyes were practically sparkling now. "Bridesmaid dresses."
I couldn’t help but smile, too. She and Bishop were getting married next April. To me, it seemed like a long time away. But my sister was one of those planning types, so I guess it fit her personality. Plus, they were building this amazing beach house on the Saginaw Bay, and had timed the wedding for when their home would be fully completed.
Yup, she was a planner, alright. Probably, I could learn a few things from her.
I gave a slow nod. "Turquoise? It's a good color. I like it."
"Good, because—" A crashing sound made her stop in mid-sentence.
In unison, we both turned to look. The sound had come from somewhere near the center of the condo, where Jake and Bishop were still talking, now even louder than before.
Their conversation, if you could call it that, continued as if nothing had happened.
In front of me, Selena gave a worried frown. "Hopefully that wasn't anything of yours."
"Don't worry." I looked around. "Practically nothing in here is mine."
It was true, and now that I thought about it, it was actually kind of depressing.
With a sigh, Selena pushed herself up from the chair. "I guess we should go see." She gave a weak laugh. "We can't let them kill each other, right?"
Chapter 36
Standing near the balcony doors, Jake and Bishop were squared off, facing each other. Neither one of them looked happy. Like that was a surprise.
Bishop was telling Jake, "You were supposed to take care of it."
"I did," Jake said. "So don't worry about it, alright?"
Near their feet, I saw a white ceramic lamp, lying on its side. It was broken into at least a dozen pieces, and missing its lampshade. I paused. Nope. There the shade was, lying near the sofa.
That was the good news. In the bad-news category, the lamp itself was a goner. I was pretty sure this was somehow my fault. I had the worst luck with lamps. Unfortunately, that luck seemed to be rubbing off on Jake.
Next to me, Selena called out to Bishop. "We didn't break that, did we?"
We? Meaning her and Bishop? That was just like my sister, taking responsibility for something she had nothing to do with. If things weren't so tense, I might've smiled.
Near the balcony, Jake and Bishop turned to look – not at the lamp, at us.
It was Jake who asked, "Break what?"
I moved forward and pointed. "The lamp."
"Screw the lamp," Jake said. "Bishop's leaving."
I felt myself frown. I hadn't seen my sister in weeks. And seriously, weren't they done fighting already?<
br />
On impulse, I said, "He can't leave. We haven't had breakfast."
Jake's gaze shifted to the balcony. "It's still dark out."
"But it won't be for long." I pointed past the balcony doors. "Look, there's the sun, reflecting off that building."
Jake's voice was flat. "That's from the chicken place next door."
He was right, of course. They had this killer neon sign that lit up the whole block. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. "So?" I summoned up a smile. "It'll be light out eventually, right?"
In truth, I wasn't all that hungry. But I was tired of them arguing all the time. Selena and Bishop were going to be married. Soon, we'd all be family, in a loose sort of way.
The thought of the two brothers brawling over Christmas dinner wasn't sounding all that festive.
I gave Bishop a quick glance. Speaking of things that weren't festive, he eyed Jake with cold disdain. "You want me to leave?" Bishop told him. "Then take care of it, so I don't have to."
Ignoring Bishop, Jake turned to me and said, "You want breakfast? Fine. I'll take you out."
I smiled. "Great." I turned to Selena and said, "What are you two in the mood for?" Before Jake could object, I added, "There's this great twenty-four-hour breakfast place a few blocks from here. They have killer pancakes." I looked to Bishop and said, "Trust me. You're gonna love 'em."
From the look on his face, he highly doubted it.
I looked to Jake. For someone who definitely loved pancakes, he wasn't looking too thrilled either.
I looked to Selena. At least she looked happy.
Twenty minutes later, we were all settled in a booth near the restaurant's window, with me and Jake on one side, and Selena and Bishop on the other. The guys weren't talking, and the tension was thicker than the scent of bacon, but not nearly as pleasant.
Selena and I kept the conversation going, and tried like crazy to include them, but so far, they weren't having any of it. They sat, grim and silent, eyeing each other across the booth's table, and speaking only when the waitress came to take their orders.
After about fifteen minutes, Selena set down her coffee cup and said, "Oh for God's sake." She gestured toward the nearby window. Outside, dawn was finally breaking over the city street. "You guys wanna fight? There's the parking lot. Go ahead."
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