“Gonna preface this by saying, the war on drugs is bullshit,and we both know why.”
We sure did.
What I didn’t know was what he had to preface by sayingthat.
“Alcohol can fuck a family up.Chocolate and trans-fat canfuck a body up.The weight loss industry is making billions by fucking withpeople’s heads.No one’s locking anyone up for pushing that shit.”
“Agreed,” I said slowly.
“This is not to say I condone breaking the law.Condonedoing the shit you gotta do to live that life.”
I turned to him and started, “Tony—”
“What I can say is, my wife, my daughter, I’d do anythingnot only to keep them covered, but to give them more.To give them a leg up inlife.To zero out the needs list and keep the want list low, so they know theirman and their daddy worked his ass off to give them a good life.”
Oh God.
My heart started hammering in my chest.
“Leon Jackson, he’s an Ike,” he announced.
Leon Jackson, Shirleen’s husband, Darius’s uncle.
“An Ike?”I whispered.
“As in Ike and Tina.”
My stomach sunk.
“Oh God.”I said it out loud this time.
“Darius Tucker is serious business.Leon, he’s the kingpin,but even he’s piss-scared of his nephew.I don’t think it stops it for Leon’swife, but I know he doesn’t put her in the hospital anymore.”
I closed my eyes and dropped my head.
Yes, even in whatever he was involved in, Darius was Darius.
Protector.
Champion.
Good guy.
“Leon doesn’t know about you and Liam.”
I opened my eyes and looked back to him.
“If he did, he’d have something to use to control Darius.”
Darius had said this same thing.
“But it’s more,” Tony went on.“You two would be targets ifhe let it be known you were who you are.I know it’s been a while since hebroke things off with you.”
It had been a while.
Over two years.
“But I understand why he does it,” he continued.“And Tonidoesn’t agree, but I think you should know what there is to know so you canmaybe find your way to understand it too.”
