“No need,” Uncle Jakey said. He looked over his shoulder. “Slam, Knox, I want you two outside. Cover the back near the vans. Anything happens I want you to be the eyes of this entire thing. Got that?”
“Eyes of this entire thing?” Knox asked.
“Let’s move,” Uncle Jakey said. “We don’t have time here. King, I want you in here with me. No questions needed. Got that?”
I looked over at Knox and gave a nod. I wasn’t sure what the hell was going to happen. I had no idea what to expect.
Knox and Slam walked to the back door of the building and exited.
Uncle Jakey waved me forward.
I walked to the man in the suit. He looked right at me and grinned.
“Trust me,” Uncle Jakey said, “you two will be best friends before you know it. We just have to get through today.”
“Who the hell are you?” I asked the man in the suit.
“The man who is going to save your life,” he said in a low voice.
I glanced at Uncle Jakey.
Where the fuck was Anderson at?
There were a few uncomfortable moments of silence.
I should have taken those moments as a sign of peace.
Because in just a little bit… I was going to be fighting for my life.
39
(Lindsey) *NOW*
I WAS in an all-too-familiar position as I sat at the kitchen table and Aunt Jane’s house. I didn’t want any more coffee but I let her top me off. She offered me some pot but I politely declined. She even had a special bag that was full of it along with her supplies to smoke it.
“What about names?” she asked me.
“What?”
“Names. For the baby.”
“I’m barely pregnant right now…”
“Hold that for a second,” Aunt Jane said. “There is no such thing as barely pregnant. You’re either pregnant or not. And you’re pregnant. So start dreaming big. Talk to me about nursery designs. Names. Colors. What do you want?”
“You realize I live in a one bedroom apartment, right?” I asked.
“And…?”
“There is no nursery. Unless I sleep on the couch. Which I will totally do for my child.”
“What about King? You two aren’t going to be living together?”
“He has to stay out of prison before anything like that can happen,” I said.
Aunt Jane walked from the counter to the table. She grabbed for her purse - not her pot purse - and put it on the table.
“You need to think positive. It creates good energy. That shit comes back to you.”
“So if I think that I’ll win the lottery then I will?” I asked.
“Smart ass,” Aunt Jane said. “Not in terms of greed, Lindsey. Just in life. Stay happy and you’ll be happy. No matter what. Trust me on that. Now, you need a new place to live it seems.”
“Yeah,” I said. “And a raise.”
“Maybe I can help with that,” Aunt Jane said.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a folder. She opened it and spun it around. She slid it down the table.
“What is this?”
“Employment contract,” Aunt Jane said. “Where I work. We need a few extra nurses. Bev is our Administrator and I know her very well. She casually said something to me about it after I casually said your facility was going to be sold. She put me in charge of finding a few nurses.”
“You’re joking.”
“Hardly,” Aunt Jane said. “Look it over. You can start next month. You’ll work a rotating schedule for a little while. Then you’ll be on days until after the baby comes. Not sure how you feel about the pay…”
I flipped a few pages and saw the number on the line. It was about fifteen grand more a year than what I made right then. I covered my mouth. I looked at Aunt Jane.
“So you sign that,” Aunt Jane said. “You give me a couple names of people you work with. Then you call your boss and politely tell her to pound some salt. Then you get a few weeks off until this job starts.”
“I can’t do this,” I said. “I can’t let you get me a job.” I shut the folder. “No way.”
Aunt Jane stood up. She had that Mom look on her face. Her eyes slightly squinted. She approached me.
“I wouldn’t offer this to you if you couldn’t handle it. This is a real position here. A chance for you to be stable and grow. Plus, if you suck, it’ll make me look bad.”
Aunt Jane opened the folder and pointed to the papers.
I stood up and threw my arms around her, hugging her.
“Don’t thank me,” she said. “You earned this opportunity.”
I looked at her. “And you think you’re not a good mother.”
“I prefer aunt,” she said. “Makes me sound edgier. Cooler.”
“Soon you’ll be grandma.”
“I’m not going down that road again,” Aunt Jane said. “Just sign these damn papers so you can quit that job and be happy. You can go apartment hunting. Or maybe even house hunting. Get a small house for your family. I’m sure King will be excited.”
“You have to stop talking about King,” I said. “He’s in a…”
There was a pounding at the kitchen door.
“Now who the hell is that?” Aunt Jane asked.
“Maybe one of your boy toys,” I teased.
She opened the door and took a step back. “Hello there…” She turned her head to look at me. “I think this boy toy is for you.”
I watched the figure step into the kitchen and froze for a second.
It was Knoxville. Knox. That’s what they all called him.
“Knox,” I said.