“Think of the payday. We can go legit soon, or you can sell all your assets to me and you’ll never have to work again.”
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” I dwell on his words. I love what we do. I love outsmarting the police and using their hypocrisy against them. I also love how Dax is hidden in plain sight while I get to be the face of the business. These people have no idea who Dax is, despite his presence in the community.
Chapter 17
Eden
Instead of one rose, there are a dozen today. They’re not in a vase. Just twelve random roses strewn at my door. In various shades of reds and pinks. I pick them up and quickly put them in water. Inhaling their heady scent, I admit they are too beautiful to ignore.
After making sure the roses are put away, I walk to the main house. It’s loud, and I almost trip over my nephew. Unfortunately, my sister is still here.
“Your breakfast is in the oven,” my mom says. “Don’t let your father have any bacon,” she yells to my retreating back.
The kitchen’s a bit of a mess, and my niece is at the table eating fruit with her bare hands. I kiss the top of her head and go in search of my food. “Don’t forget you’re spending the night here with me and the kids,” Mom reminds me.
I smile at Eva, join her at the table, and refrain from cursing under my breath. I love my niece and nephews, but they are a handful. I never liked to babysit as a kid, and I still don’t, but Ido love them and want to spend time with them now that I’m home. Besides, I’m doing this as a favor to my mom.
“If you can pull yourself away,” Sylvie says from behind me.
I shove a forkful of omelet in my mouth to keep me from responding.
Sylvie cleans Eva’s face and hands with a wet paper towel and tells her to go play. She hugs me before running out of the kitchen. I ignore my sister and pick up my phone to text my girls.
Me:Cori, can you pick me up in an hour? I have a delivery.
Seconds later, I get a thumbs-up from both Selene and Cori.
Selene:Pick me up too. I’Il be the getaway driver
She sends a GIF of someone backing out of a driveway.
Sylvie cranes her long neck to look at my phone, so I turn it upside down. Not bothering to look at her, I continue eating and hope she’ll leave. Unfortunately, she doesn’t. She clears the table and counter.
“Levar is taking me away for a night,” Sylvie says. She has her back to me while she loads the dishwasher.
“Great,” I say, uncaring.
Her back tenses. She sure seems stressed for someone going away with her husband, but I don’t say that.
“I hate to leave the kids, but he insists.”
“Whatever Levar wants,” I say with a mouthful.
I didn’t mean for Sylvie to hear it, but she does. She slams the dishwasher shut and faces me.
“Do you have a problem with my husband?”
“Why would I?” I ask. “He’s your husband, not mine.” I don’t like Levar, but I’m not married to him. I didn’t have aproblem with Sylvie either. When she decided she didn’t want to attend a four-year university and opted for a local community college instead, I didn’t offer an opinion. I thought she was crazy for not wanting to leave this town, but I was fourteen and focused on starting high school.
Instead of going to college and dental school like she’s always wanted, she became a dental hygienist. By the time she was twenty-one, she was engaged, and by twenty-two, she was married. She had Eva at twenty-three and never went back to work. She got pregnant a year after having Eva, but miscarried. Then she had Tim, and now she has a baby.
The few times I’ve recently been around her and Levar, he seems only to tolerate her, and raising the kids falls on her. She always looks tired and stressed.
“You always thought you were better than everybody,” she says. That’s a regular refrain from my sister, and I’ve learned to ignore it over the years.
“Yeah? How?” I ask. I don’t yell or get angry. I keep my voice calm. “How?” I ask again when she doesn’t answer.
She eyes me up and down. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. You’re back home. I guess you couldn’t handle it out there.” She scoffs and looks away.
