"It's probably a good idea to watch," Deborah said, shaking her head. "The men there, they're no good. Drugs, I think. A lot of people go in and out of the house."
"Trigg said you moved here a couple months ago," I said. Deborah gestured toward the table and chairs, and I sat while she busied herself in the kitchen, getting glasses and a pitcher of water.
"The hospital bills cleaned us out," she said.
"It happened a year ago, though," I said, shaking my head. "I thought the hospital bills were all taken care of. Johnny had insurance."
"All of the hospital bills were taken care of, the ones from what happened at the fight," Deborah said. "But, months later, he was hiding the problems with dizziness. He was still having - what do they call it? - Vertigo. He couldn't operate heavy machinery, and then he lost his job as the equipment operator at the plant a couple months ago. Everything started going downhill."
"I'm sorry, Deb," I said. "I left and - I didn't know. I'd have sent more, if I could."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Please, Silas," she said. "You've already done so much. After what happened with you..."
"I was lucky," I said, changing the subject. I didn't want a pity party. "What is Johnny doing? Is he okay now?"
Deborah shrugged. "We'll make it," she said. "He's bagging groceries, picking up odd jobs here and there. He still has the dizziness, and migraines. We just needed to downsize a bit. We'll be fine. Tell me about you. How are you doing? Are you back in town to stay? Johnny will be real happy to see you. He's working late today, though."
I shook my head. "I’m just popping in," I said. "I had a fight the other night."
Deborah's face paled. "You're back with Coker?"
"No, no, of course not," I said. "Abel called me to be in his corner for a fight, but he ended up in the hospital, so I took his place."
Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. "Is he okay? Was it Coker?"
I shook my head. "No, no," I lied, throwing a look at Trigg. Deborah didn't need anything else to worry about. "He was in a car accident. It was completely random. He's fine - just bruised up, nothing serious. I'll tell him you asked about him."
"You already did the fight, then?" she asked, her voice shaky.
I reached for her palm, covered her hand with mine. "Yeah," I said. "And I'm fine, too. I kicked the guy's ass."
Deborah patted the back of my hand. "Please watch yourself, Silas," she said. "You were smart to leave when you did. I worry about you and the other fighters."
"I'm good," I said. "We brought you something. The purse from the fight – minus some money I owed someone. Hopefully it'll help."
Trigg took the envelope of cash from inside his jacket and slid it across the table. "It should be enough to get by for a little while. It's not permanent, but..."
Deborah inhaled sharply, bringing her hand to her mouth. "No," she said. "I couldn't possibly accept something like that. Silas, that's yours. You need the money."
"I won't take no as an answer, Deb," I said. "You've been like a mom to me, more than my own mother, and I can't think about you and Johnny struggling like this. It's not right."
"I can't accept your charity, Silas," she said, her voice adamant. "I've got a job, cleaning for this rich guy, and I told him the same when he offered to help. We're not a charity case. We'll figure it out."
"This isn't charity, Deb," I insisted. "It's payback for all the shit you and Johnny have done for me, bailing me out of trouble when I first came out here to Vegas. Or don't you remember cleaning my ass up, getting me back on track?"
"You don't owe us anything, Silas," she said, shaking her head. But I could see her eyes welling up, her resolve weakening.
"Yeah, sure, I don't owe you anything," I said. "Just my life. I don't care what you say, the money stays here. If you don't want to take it, then you can put it away for Cara." I knew that the mention of her daughter's name would make Deborah cave.
She looked at me for a long time before she finally nodded. "Thank you, Silas," she said. "You too, Trigg."
Trigg smiled. "Don't look at me," he said. "This is all Silas' doing."
***
CHAPTER SIX
TEMPEST
"I'm glad it's daylight," I said. We hadn't even reached our destination, and the neighborhood was becoming increasingly dangerous-looking.
Iver was distracted, his gaze focused on our surroundings. "Yes," he said absently. "We'd probably get shot here at night."