Carl snorted. “Wants me to take her to the opera for our fortieth anniversary,” he groused. “Says I need to wear a monkey suit and everything.”
I chuckled. “Better do it,” I suggested. “Forty’s a big deal.”
“Thirty-nine years of dinner at the Olive Garden suddenly ain’t fancy enough for her anymore,” the older man muttered. “Damn woman.”
I patted the man on the shoulder. “Don’t forget to get her flowers and act like you’re picking her up for your date,” I said with a smile before going to the first seat and dropping down into it. Carl grumbled something before swinging the door closed and getting the bus moving.
A chill swept over my body as the warmth of the bus clashed with my wet clothes. Not a good day to have forgotten my jacket, which would have at least offered a bit of protection from the weather. For as late as it was in spring, Mother Nature didn’t seem willing to completely let go of winter just yet.
Exhaustion settled into my limbs as the gentle motion of the bus had me seeking out the corner of the seat. I let my head loll against the window as I watched the scenery roll by. Rush hour was starting to pick up so the bus moved at a snail’s pace, giving the warmth from the heater a chance to settle over me. Before I knew it and against my wishes, my eyes rolled shut and I was dropped right back into the same nightmare I’d been re-living for the last seven years.
Seven yearsearlier
“Levi, you got that?”
Before I even had a chance to nod, Ricky’s open hand slapped the side of my head.
“Stop that fucking daydreaming, you little shit!” Ricky snapped.
I managed to dodge his next slap, which only served to enrage my brother more and he shifted his whole body so he could lean over the car’s front bench seat into the back and grab me by the hair.
“You fuck this up for me…” he warned.
“I won’t!” I cried out as tears stung my eyes. “I promise, Ricky.”
I held perfectly still as he studied me. It was pitch dark in the car, but it still felt like he could see everything in my eyes. Hell, if he’d been hanging onto my arm, he would have felt how cold I was, as well as the tremors that were violently wracking my body.
Ricky shoved me away and I quickly slunk to the corner of the backseat so I was just behind the driver’s seat. It wouldn’t stop Ricky from getting to me if he really wanted to, but the farther away I was from him, the easier it would be to get ahold of myself.
I wanted to laugh at that.
Who the fuck was I kidding?
I was about to commit so many crimes, I’d easily spend the rest of my life in prison. The idea actually appealed to me for the briefest of moments because it meant getting away from Ricky and my father. But with my luck, they’d stick Ricky in the same cell with me.
The car started moving again and I clenched my fingers around the gloves and black ski mask in my hand. Light from the overhead street lamps illuminated the car every dozen feet or so, giving me a partial view of the man driving. Ricky had only introduced him as Jed. I guessed him to be a few years older than Ricky, which put him in his mid-twenties. The guy hadn’t spoken to me at all, which was fine by me since he scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Whereas Ricky ran hot and lashed out when he was pissed off, I got the impression Jed was the opposite.
Quiet, cold, lethal.
I turned my head so I could watch out the window. I hadn’t paid much attention to where we were going when Ricky had forced me into the car after telling me I was helping him with a job. Since I knew what kind of “jobs” Ricky did, I’d tried to tell him no, but all that had done was earn me a punch to the side of the head that had left my ears ringing. It wasn’t until we’d stopped in a gas station’s abandoned parking lot a few minutes ago that Ricky had explained my role in what he’d said would be a simple burglary if I could just keep my shit together. Apparently, the guy we were going to rob was loaded and we had just one goal when we got to the man’s house.
Find the wall safe where he kept loads of cash.
Ricky had gotten excited when he’d explained about that part and he’d looked to Jed for reassurance, which had me guessing this whole thing was likelyJed’s doing. Which made sense as we drove past one huge house after another. No way Ricky would have known anyone in this kind of neighborhood.
Hell, Ricky and I weren’t even good enough to mow these peoples’ lawns or wash their fancy cars.
I didn’t have time to dwell on how I’d gotten into this mess because the car suddenly slowed and I watched Jed flick off the headlights as he pulled over to the curb. Houses surrounded us on both sides so I had no idea which one was our target.
“Here,” Ricky snapped as he thrust something over the seat at me. I swallowed hard as I realized what it was.
A gun.
“No, Ricky,” I said and automatically covered my head when he lunged at me.
“Take the fucking gun, Levi.”
I knew that voice. It was his ‘I’m done fucking around’ voice.
