Anders holds out a fist, which Ant bumps, proud of himself. “I set his nose, but it’s still a little crooked. I say leave it.”
I laugh. “Fair enough.” Looking at Anders, I lift my chin. “Shoot me up with the good stuff. Ant and I are about to go on a road trip.”
3
ANT
Giving notice to Justin and Nacho was both easier and harder than I thought it’d be. Both had already guessed it was coming, but I wasn’t prepared for how much it would ache to leave behind a great thing for the right thing.
I would have happily worked for them for the rest of my life. Justin and Jason hired some of the folks we’d rescued from trafficking rings, and the work Nacho and I’ve been doing to help them develop their skills is one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done.
But I’m meant to save the good people and make the bad people pay. Not dispassionately like Erik said, but with the full weight of every human who’s ever been harmed by another.
It’s my last day, and Nacho insists we go to our favorite coffee shop, even though it’s nowhere near our first client. Willow is run by some of my favorite people and clearly puts an addictive stimulant in the coffee. Zoya, with whom I had a prickly exchange the first time we met, has become a good friend.
I walk in with my usual greeting. “Hey, Z, what’s crackin’?”
She laughs and lifts her chin to the reserved room beside the coffee bar. I walk over and poke my head in the door.
“Surprise!”
My hands immediately go to my face. It’s my family. Old and new. Javier, Charlie, Erik, Anja, Georg, Bram, Levy, Justin, Jason, Sheriff Patrick, and even Señora Rivera, Nacho’s mom. I walk in a little farther, and…
“Gaelcito! Yaya!” I say, racing over to my cousin and aunt.
Gael and I are related, but we’d also been best friends before I was sold off. One of the happiest surprises is how easily we’ve resumed the closeness we had as kids, almost as if no time has passed.
We have a serious, ongoingMario Kartbattle, plus Erik brings him and Yaya up every few weeks to hang out. Wimberley’s working on dual citizenship for both of them—I’m told the details aren’t important, which means they are.
We’re also back to sharing secrets like we once did. Gael’s confided in me that he does not want to take up the family business the way our grandparents hope he will. He’s been secretly apprenticing with a shoemaker and wants to focus on soft, upscale leather shoes.
He’s worried about disappointing our grandparents, but having seen his early designs, I can’t imagine they’ll want to hold him back from his dreams.
Gael bowls me over with one of his over-the-top hugs, bringing me back to the present. Yaya’s hug is gentler but no less full of love. I haven’t shared the full details of my new employment with her, but she understands it has to do with operations like the one that saved my life.
I make time to say hi to everyone, and the number of hugs and well wishes makes me emotional. Fuck, I’m a lucky guy.
Yaya chats up the shy Señora Rivera while Gael drags me to a table full of goodies.
“So…what the hell happened to Erik’s eye?” Gael asks in Spanish, dunking one of Mrs. Castlebridge’s cookies—score—in Zoya’s Mexican cocoa.
“He didn’t tell you?”
Gael shakes his head. “He never talks when he’s flying. Like, ever.”
“Oh. Well, he and I got into a disagreement. I won,” I say, buffing my nails on my shoulder.
“I’ve seen you spar with Bram and Levy. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of that.” He takes a bite and then talks while chewing. “Wait…how’s it gonna work for you two to go on this extended trip together?”
Only a handful of people have been told that this particular op is focused on the worst men, the ones with the most money and power to hurt others. Still, I’m sure no one would be surprised to learn that I’ve shared everything with Gael. He knows more than they do, like which ones I’m looking forward to killing and which I’m nervous about.
I wrinkle my nose. “We live together now. And hell, he and Charlie saved my life. I just had to establish some boundaries.”
“You mean he might actually treat you like an adult now?”
“Yep. Or I’ll break his nose again.”
“Don’t worry. I can learn a lesson,” Erik says, strolling by us with a bear claw in his huge mitt.
