We walked slowly, finishing our drinks with nowhere to get to in a hurry as we talked about anything and everything. Plants, music, hobbies, and fears. Kira loved nature but was weirded out by most things with more than four legs — she was learning to appreciate spiders since discovering jumping spider videos.
She already knew I disliked needles — the tattoo of my niece’s initials beneath my bicep was my only exception to facing that fear — but she didn’t know about my passion, outside basketball, of gaming and collecting old records.
“You know, I’m surprised, considering what you do for Antonio, needles are the thing that scares you,” she teased lightly as we discarded our empty cups into a trash can.
“Well, it’s not the only thing. Deep water? No thanks.” I shuddered but moved on. “Anyway, he doesn’t have me doing that many jobs for him. It was mostly the fighting… Still is.”
“I take it that meeting you had last night meant you’d be starting again?”
“Yeah...” I glanced at her and debated how much I should reveal, but my mouth got the better of me, and I let the words flow. I explained the reason we were fighting again — Antonio’s twisted plan to get back at his kids for allegedly burning down his club, The Den — and how the loyal fighters who remained with him were now his eyes and ears.
“At least I don’t have to wear a wire.” The words left my mouth before I could process them. Kira was easy to talk to; she made me feel content, but I had revealed too much. “I wasn’t meant to say that.”
Kira was perplexed as she frowned. “Who’s wearing a wire?”
“Uh—”
“Seb.” She lightly jabbed my rib with her elbow. Her eyes lit with curiosity. “Who?”
“It’s a police thing— You know what, Imma shut my mouth now.”
“It’s Dean, isn’t it. He’s wearing the wire.”
I only looked at her, trying to keep my expression neutral.
“It makes sense. Lily’s dad is a detective, and Dean has access to Antonio. And Antonio’s kids. Dean is the closest source her dad has.”
I ran a hand over my head with a sigh. “No one else is supposed to know about it.”
She gently gripped my arm, smiling reassuringly. “I won’t say anything. I promise. Anyway, I kept Lily’s secret pretty well.”
My eyebrow lifted. “What secret does she have?”
“If it were still a secret, I wouldn’t tell you. But, considering it’s mostly out in the open… It was hiding that she worked at The Den and was seeing Dean.”
I sighed heavily. “You know, for a second, I thought you meant she was pregnant. Because that would be some secret.”
She hummed and looked ahead. “Do you think she’s doing okay?”
“Lily? I mean, I guess. You do live with her, though, so you’d know better than me.”
“I should, but sometimes I get so caught up in moving forward, getting better… I don’t want to leave her behind. And I know she is still healing. We all heal at our own pace, especially after what we’ve been through…” Kira brought her eyes to me. “I was part of the reason she was shot. If I hadn’t texted her that day—”
“Ookay, let's not do that.” I stopped walking and faced her. “You aren’t doing yourself any favors thinking like that. Look at all the work you’ve done for yourself in that group. You don’t need that going to waste… Lily has got her own thing going on, and yes, you do need to communicate with her that you’re concerned, but you also shouldn’t blame yourself for what’s done and past. It’ll drive you crazy.” I offered her a faint smile. “And then I’ll have to be the one defending the crazy girl because she cared too much.”
Kira finally cracked a smile again, and the worried lines between her eyebrows faded. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel better so easily.” A cool breeze spiraled through the gap between us, catching her hair as it went.
“Good upbringing?” I shrugged.
Something wet dripped onto my cheek. And then again, followed by several more wet drops.
I looked up just as more raindrops fell, covering the sidewalk quickly in a glossy sheen.
Kira and I started in a run for shelter, laughing as we did when the rain soaked through our clothes. The few trees planted along the curb provided little cover, so we aimed for the stoop of an apartment.
