“Is it over?” she asks quietly.
“Yes.”
A moment of silence passes between us. “The bastards voted against you staying in Shreveport.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“Not really.” Tears sting my eyes.
“Where are you, Starlet? Let me come get you. I have enough money saved to set you up somewhere else. You can pay me back over time.”
Though I appreciate her offer more than anything… I can’t do it. “Running away isn’t the answer.”
“Going back to that hell hole isn’t the answer, either.”
“I called Silver.”
“What?”
“Checkers gave me forty-eight hours to get back to Alabama or else.”
“Or else, what?”
“I don’t know, the conversation never went that far. But I’m sure it involved a serious beat down.” The less she knows, the better. I want Juanita to have a happy life—a safe one.
“Jesus Christ,” she growls. “I’m sick of this—devastated that I’m going to lose you after only having you around for a few weeks. I had big plans for us.”
I swipe the tears off my face. The hole in my heart just got wider and deeper. “I know.”
“Turns out Joe has a hot cousin.”
I laugh so hard I start coughing. “Now you tell me.”
“He owns a restaurant in New Orleans. Thirty-six, no kids, never married… The kind of man I want you to be with. You had the courage to walk away from the compound before. Find the strength to never go back. Please.”
I start pacing then, up and down the porch stairs, across the lawn, and back again. What if I did blow everyone off and relocate to the big city? I could spend a lifetime getting lost in New Orleans with all the architecture and history. The tourists are starting to come back—I could make money reading cards. And the coast… Waking up every day to the smell of salt water and the mournful call of seagulls. It reminds me of back home in Holly Beach.
She clears her throat. “Seriously, Starlet. Let me help you.”
I’m so tempted. The beach always made me happy. Watching families enjoy the sunshine and build sandcastles made me smile. And the food… “There’s no way I’d let you get involved with the Crusaders again. Silver is unpredictable. Not sure what he’s capable of if anyone gets in his way. I’m a trophy. That’s been made clear.” I find a spot on the steps and sit, staring off in the darkness—watching the cloud of bugs that are just beyond the reach of the porch light. “Not sure what I did to deserve any of this. I wanted everything, though. Everything normal people have. At least a chance at getting it.”
I think about the day I left—the happiness I felt driving away from Alabama. Nothing compares to it. Maybe the moment Juanita showed me my office in her shop. I had a place in the world, though small and insignificant, it was really mine. I draw a heavy breath.
“What is it?” my best friend asks.
“Scattered thoughts, really. Appreciation for what I almost pulled off.”
“Let me call the police, Starlet. Please.”
Every muscle in my body goes rigid. If the police show up, we’re both dead. “Snitches get stitches,” I remind her.
There’s another long pause.
“I don’t care,” she cries into the phone. “I don’t want Silver to win. I don’t want the Devil’s Crusaders to destroy your life. We’re sisters, Starlet.”
I cross my index finger over my middle finger, something we always did when we both lived at the compound and wanted to remind each other how tight we really were. No brother, beat down, or other situation ever divided us. And this separation won’t break us, either. A shadow falls over my heart thinking about where I’m going to end up. Back at the compound with double the security detail. No freedom, no rights, no friends… “Thank you, Juanita.”
