“Okay,” I say, crawling into bed, “but I’m tired and likely won’t appreciate your efforts.”
“You say that now. Then in twenty minutes you’ll break the headboard. I’m on to your bullshit.”
Giggling as his lips suck at my throat, I still want to bail on the trip to see my mom. I’ve lived years without facing this fear, and I’m in no hurry to do anything about it now. With Dino at my side, I’ll likely ace the test. I’m just unsure if he’ll find me quite so intoxicating when he realizes the shithole I crawled out of years ago.
29
Dino
Let’s Go Already!
Minka sits across from me at the local Waffle House. She’s edgy about visiting her mother. I want to be sympathetic, but I’m sick of White Horse and these hotels. We need to face the grifter in Salem before we return to Houston.
“I was waitressing at a strip club when I did my first job,” Minka says softly. “The target was the husband of one of the strippers, and he was always beating on her. She constantly came in crying because he’d yell at her or slap her before work. I asked why she didn’t leave, and she said he wouldn’t let her.”
“You are such a do-gooder.”
Minka leans her head back against the wall and smiles at me. “It looked like a suicide. He blew his brains out while drunk. Not so different than our deputy friends.”
“A tried and true method.”
“She cried when he died. I don’t know why I expected her to be happy. I guess because I would have been, but she cried and cried. She ended up getting fired for always crying. I only worked there a few more months before I was recruited by a guy who hung out at the club. I thought he was just a loser like most customers, but he was an operator.”
Minka takes a sip of her hot coffee and looks a little sad remembering. “His name was Corey, and he somehow figured out what I’d done. He liked how I didn’t freak out afterward or look guilty. Corey was recruiting since he claimed to be too old to take assignments. I thought he was full of shit, but he was the real deal. I ended up flying to Miami for my first job. Soon I was traveling all over the world, and I eventually met Troy, and we partnered up. Later, we met Rafael at an airport, and the dots all connected. Now I’m here with you.”
“A happy ending if I ever heard of one.”
Minka smiles at my comment, but the past is still bugging her. “I went back to the club years later. At first, I wasn’t sure why, but I guess I wanted to know what happened to that girl. Before I’d left, she’d gotten her job back. I’m sure there were some favors given, but she returned and promised only to cry during her off hours.”
“When you visited, was she still crying?”
“Yes, but because her new boyfriend beats her.”
“Bad habits die hard.”
“I wondered then if people could ever really change.”
“If they want to, I’m sure they can.”
“What about us?” Minka asks, looking tired. “Do you think we can do the marriage and kid routine after so long of doing other things?”
I lean forward and reach for her hand. “That was my job, not me. When I felt it becoming me, I walked away. You retired because you wanted to fall in love and have a family. We wanted to change, so we changed. We’re not the crying girl.”
“I hope you’re right. I’d hate to build something with you only to destroy it.”
“Not going to happen,” I say, patting her hand before sitting back. “You’re not self-destructive. Neither am I.”
Minka smiles slightly, and I realize she can’t truly be free to move on until she faces her greatest fear.
The Reapers aren’t nearly as scary as Minka’s mom. Not to me anyway. They do look fucking grumpy as if they didn’t sleep well.
“You should be happy, boys,” Minka says as we walk outside the Waffle House to meet them. “You won.”
“That we did,” Vaughn mutters. “Are you leaving town?”
“Today,” I announce. “Do you have this situation handled?”
“Yeah. Already got a new sheriff lined up. Operations should be back up in a few weeks.”
“And Black?” I ask.
Judd smirks. “He’ll go away on his own until one day someone makes him go away permanently. He’s made too many enemies to live a long, healthy life.”
“Sorry if the Arizona thing upset you,” Minka tells Vaughn. “I hadn’t realized Rafael considered you guys his friends. Or that you were such sensitive weenies in need of that much hand holding.”
“You’re a natural peacemaker.”
“You’re too kind, but my man doesn’t like when other men compliment me.”
The three bikers look at me, and I shake my head.
“What about the Hickory Creek bikers?” Minka asks.
“They know their place for now. Eventually, they’ll want us out of their state, but today ain’t that day.”
Nodding, I wrap an arm around Minka’s shoulders. “It’s been fun, but we want to get the hell out of here.”