“Keaton, can you get up?” My shaky voice was embarrassing, but I didn’t let it distract me from keeping everyone in sight. I wasn’t about to let these motherfuckers get the jump on us. My heart hiccupped. What if I’d waited a minute longer to set out after Keaton? Hell, even thirty seconds? He might be a fucking corpse. Then who would take care of his little sister?
The dumbass on the ground, who’d been smoking the joint, groaned and sat up. “Man, you’re not getting any of our shit now.”
The robed menace shrieked at him and flapped around his arms. He kicked his buddy, sending him rolling around on the ground again. “Shut up!” He pointed at me. “Take Moose and go. If I ever see him over here again, I’ll shoot that dog his sister loves and put her in a box and ship her to fucking Antarctica or some shit! In pieces.” He kicked grass in our direction, then grabbed his lawn chair and flung it at us, but I smacked it down.
“Come on.” Keaton wobbled as he got to his feet and grabbed my elbow, staggering away. I had let him lead me but only had eyes for the druggie assholes who’d hurt him.
“What are their names?”
“Don’t worry about them,” he said, but there was a spaciness to his voice I didn’t love.
“Men like that aren’t stable. Did you hear what that fucker said? We need to get your sister and leave. You can stay at my place. And you need to get checked out.” I didn’t like the look ofthe goose egg forming on his temple or the way he blinked at the sky as if the sunshine was physically assaulting him—the same as that brick.
“No. No doctors.” He cut his hand through the air in front of himself. “I’ll be fine. Can’t afford that shit.”
I guided his arm over my shoulder, and he leaned heavily against me. He might not be willing to talk about taking help, but if I forced him to do it, he capitulated, and that had the gears in my head spinning faster than they probably should.
“Uh huh. Sure. But I have a pool. I have a big yard for her dog. Why don’t we get you all to my house?” My body began to ache now that my heart was living in my chest instead of my throat. What a way to start the day. Hadn’t these people heard of coffee?
“No. No, we have to stay here.” He pointed at the ground and staggered so much he nearly took both of us down. All my strength was necessary to right us.
“What? No! You would be dead if I wasn’t here. Do you understand? Worms would be eating you.” I cringed. Perhaps this wasn’t the best conversation, all things considered. I stopped so suddenly that he stumbled.
“Nah.” He grabbed me with both hands. “They wouldn’t have killed me.”
All I heard was white noise in my brain for a few seconds. “What? Why would you think that?” I was stunned and ready to lose my mind. I rubbed a hand over his chest. Was that a concussion talking?
“Because they don’t want to get kicked out of the park. Killing me would bring the cops. Against the rules.” He shrugged.
“Only if someone found your corpse in the park,” I said darkly. “Do you hear yourself? We’re leaving.”
“No.” He shook his head, and I realized he wasn’t leading me back to his trailer. He’d veered off into a row with trailers thatlooked nicer than his. I had an excellent memory, but it almost felt as if this place was a maze with all the trailers looking so much the same.
He stopped at a trailer that had some tiger lilies growing on either side of the stoop, walked up the steps, and then pounded on the door.
“Who lives here?” I asked. There was barely enough room for both of us on the stoop, but I wasn’t about to let go so he could take a header.
“Mrs. Carmine.”
Before I could make further inquiries, the door ripped open, and an adorable little girl, with brown curls and brown eyes so rich I could barely see her pupils, blinked up at me. She grinned as a white pit bull the size of a small horse poked its head out andwhuffedbefore licking Keaton’s hand, like it had to inspect us before we could meet with its owner.
“Let’s go, Ginny,” he said gruffly. “Get your bag.”
“Who is he?” She poked me in the stomach, and it actually hurt a bit.
“Zayn.” I offered my hand.
She shook with me so hard that she almost fell over, then rushed back into the trailer. An elderly woman came to the door, and there was such an awful expression of sympathy on her lined face that it left me breathless.
“I didn’t say anything, honey, but the news is flying around the park.” She pursed her lips and patted at her silver curls. “You’re keeping Ginny? If not ....” She glanced back, her face pale and eyes too wide. “She’s such a joy to me. I’d hate to see her go to strangers.”
Keaton flinched. “’Course I’m keeping her.”
Mrs. Carmine’s entire body sagged with relief, and she smiled up at him as she dragged an orange cardigan closer around her body. “You’ll have to stop fighting, then!” Shetouched her own head where the goose egg was already turning purple on his.
He grunted and frowned.
“Ginny! Slow down, sweetheart!” she said, stepping out of the way.
