“I can’t,” Collin said, lifting his eyes to meet mine. “Zevon already had it all started. I just followed his directions to finish it up.”
“How long will he be gone, anyhow?” Dominic asked.
“Shouldn’t be more than an hour, two at the most,” Collin answered. “Had to pick up whatever he won.”
“God, I hope it won’t be some sort of animal.”
“Hey!”
“Dogs and cats just don’t mix,” Dominic shrugged.
“You’re just jealous that he won’t be pining after you,” I winked.
“I love seeing that you’re starting to come alive,” Collin said as he leaned back in his seat.
I gave him a tight smile.
After our late lunch—or early dinner, depending on how you looked at it—I made my way outside to the back of the house. I hadn’t really ventured outside all that much, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a small porch.
I leaned against the solid banister, looking off into the distance. A few trees spotted the land here and there, but otherwise there was only green and brown grass. There were no other houses in site. No road or dirt being blown up from a car.
Nothing but peaceful silence
Maybe it was just being way out here, secluded in a way that made it relaxing. It was more than just the house, but the company, too. I knew that without a doubt. Being here was doing something for me, something I wasn’t sure I wanted to face just yet.
I didn’t have any clue what we were doing. Would we have to stay here, for who knows how long, until Alan came out of hiding? Would I ever really have much of a life after all of this? If I did, what was I going to even do?
“Hey, Blondie,” Wyatt said, walking around the house and finding me. I hadn’t heard any car pull up, but I wasn’t entirely paying attention, either.
“Hey,” I said, forcing my thoughts to take a back burner. “Didn’t hear you pull up.”
“Zevon needed my help, and I followed him here just in case he still needed it.”
“Oh,” I shrugged. “Do I want to know what he got?”
“Probably not. Collin isn’t too pleased, and Dominic…well, as far as I know, he has something to say about everything.”
“That means he hid away and didn’t want to help, right?”
“Pretty much. But, I guess he can be excused. He’s still not himself yet.”
“How long will it be?” I asked. I was still worried about him, even though he said he was fine.
“A day or two. I haven’t had much experience with any of the drugs that have been going around the past year. I’d prefer to stay out of it, but I don’t have many options now.”
I guess he didn’t. I wasn’t sure how Ace found people to do what needed to be done anywhere, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know just yet, either. Some things were better left unknown. And if everyone was part of a mafia family, I think I’d rather stay out of it all as much as possible.
I hadn’t asked anyone if that fact was true. It was one of the few things I was okay with not knowing much about. Some things certainly made sense if they were, in fact, part of a mafia.
The question of how much I would be involved bugged me, but it didn’t matter right this second. It was a worry I’d face later on, if I lived that long.
“What’s on your mind?” Wyatt asked, taking a stand a few inches away from me.
“Life.” More than that, but it summed up everything well enough for now.
“What about it?”
“Just not sure what I’m to do next.”
