“You don’t want to leave me, Roxie. You know you don’t, you always came back.”
“I’ve been trying to leave you for three years, Bil y. You’ve just been too fucking stupid to figure it out.” His voice changed, got quiet, went low. “Don’t cal me stupid.”
“Bil y, we’re over. O… v… e… r.”
“We’re not over, Roxie.”
“Yes we are.”
He went silent.
I waited.
Then he said, “Fuck him, Roxie. Fuck him good tonight.
Give him a piece of your fine ass he’l never forget. Go down on him, you’re good at that. I remember your mouth, so fuckin’ sweet.”
I swal owed and glanced at Hank. His face was like stone, his body completely stil , the fury was coming off him like a physical thing and charging the air.
I realized then that Hank was listening. How he was, I didn’t know, but he was listening.
Good God.
“Bil y. You’ve got to –”
Bil y cut me off. “‘Cause tomorrow, you’l be with me.
Tomorrow, he’l be lyin’ in bed wondering where your sweet mouth is. And you and me… I’l make you forget him, Roxie.
We’l be gone and you’l forget and it’l only be you and me.”
“I’l never go with you,” I said but I said it to nothing, he’d disconnected.
I flipped my phone shut, tossed it on the nightstand and looked at Hank.
Hank was staring at me but he talked into the phone.
“You get him?” he paused. “Yeah. Keep me informed.” Then he snapped his phone shut, threw his on the nightstand too and said, “He’s in Colorado Springs.” I stood across the room from Hank and my parents, trembling and watching Hank, wondering what he was thinking, wondering if now, after hearing what he heard, he’d not only let me go, but ask me to go.
“Colorado Springs?” Mom asked. “What’s he doing there?”
“On the run. He knows Harper’s boys are after him and he’s not stayin’ anywhere long,” Hank told Mom then looked at me. “Vance is in C Springs, fol owed him down there.
You kept him on the line long enough, they got a lock on his position. Vance is headin’ there now.”
I nodded.
“Thank the Sweet Lord Jesus,” Mom said.
“Atta girl, Roxie,” Dad said.
I ignored Mom and Dad.
“Were you listening?” I asked Hank.
“Yeah. When I found out about the cal this afternoon, I told Lee and the boys have been monitoring your phone.
They put it on speaker. You okay?” Hank asked me.
“No,” I said.
No, no, real y just no. He’d heard it and he wasn’t coming to me. I was standing across the room in nothing but a nightie, scared and trembling, and he made no move to me.
I knew this would happen. He didn’t even want to be near me.
Hank looked angry, he looked so angry, he looked about ready to commit murder. He looked like he was expending every effort not to lose control. If he’d let go and started ripping the room apart, I wouldn’t have been surprised “Are you okay?” I asked Hank.
He didn’t answer for a beat.
Then he spoke. “I’m gonna kil that motherfucker,” his voice was so low, an edge sliced through it.
My head jerked at his words and I winced. I’d heard them many a time before but the way Hank said them made me believe him.
“Whisky –”
“Get over here,” he ordered.
I blinked. “What?” I asked.
“Get over here,” he repeated.
I stared at him.
Then I skirted the bed and walked to him.
The minute I got within arm’s reach, he snatched me to his body and his arms went around me so tight, for the first time in days, my ribs hurt.
“Whisky, my ribs,” I breathed.
His arms didn’t loosen.
“He isn’t gonna touch you,” Hank said to the top of my head.
“Okay… um, Hank… my ribs.”
“He isn’t gonna get near you.”
I realized what was happening.
He had been making every effort to stay in control. So much so, he’d been physical y unable to move.
At my realization, I melted into him, my arms went around him and I held tight too.
I leaned back in his arms and looked up at him. “Whisky, we’re going to be al right.”
He didn’t say anything but he let me go just a fraction, the tension started to ebb from his body and we stayed there, just hanging on.
“Welp! See you got this under control, son. We’l see you in the morning,” Dad announced behind my back.
“Nightie night,” Mom said.
The door closed.
Hank and I just held on.
Shamus sat down and leaned into our legs.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” I said quietly.
“Lee plays by different rules than me,” Hank replied and I became confused at the sudden change of subject.
I leaned back and looked at him again. “Yes?”
“He recruits men who play by those rules.” I nodded, having no clue whatsoever what he was on about but deciding things were sensitive enough, I should just go with it.
“They work for money, their lines are blurred. Mostly, they do right, but other times, they do what they’re paid to do and don’t ask questions.”
I put my hand to the side of his face and let it drift down to his jaw.