“Hey, Darryl. It’s good to see you, too.” He claps me on the shoulder. I’m not expecting it and my knees almost buckle. “This is my buddy. Alex.”
Alex?
Darryl has a laugh that reminds me of Santa Claus, all “ho ho ho” and holly jolly. I already call bullshit. “So you finally found some sucker to take you up on your fool’s errand? Good on ya, Brooks.”
“That’s right. We’re on our way to New York, just like we talked about last time I was in town. So while it was great to see you again, you’ll understand that we’ve got to be on our way.”
I hold my breath, hoping like hell that’ll work.
“What’s the rush?” asks Darryl, and my heart sinks. “You’re not gonna deny me the chance to show ya a little hospitality? Come on. Head into town with me.”
“I’ll go. Alex, you stay here. I won’t be gone long.”
Looking down, I see it when Darryl’s big, scuffed boot kicks at the dirt. “Bring ‘em with you.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary?—”
“Yeah? Well, I do.”
At his side, Maverick flexes his fingers. “Darryl?—”
“Formalities is formalities, Brooks. Rules is rules. I told you I’m offering my hospitality. If you want to make it through our territory, you’re gonna follow our rules. You understand me?”
I think I understand. Just like how there’s no refusing this guy, I get the idea that he’s not saying we have to go back the waywe came in order to avoid passing through his territory without permission.
Oh, no. He’s not letting us off it in one piece, either.
And Maverick knows it.
“Yeah. I do.”
An oak tree lying on its side marks the outer boundary to East Jersey. It’s easy to tell because of the char marks on the other side of it, the piles upon piles of ashes that haven’t blown away since the last flaming. One thing’s for sure: this settlement can certainly take out its lurkers.
The moment we each climb over it, Darryl stops, his shadow changing course as he swings around to face me. I jump back, startled, but that doesn’t stop Darryl from grabbing Maverick’s cap right from my head. Disheveled blonde hair tumbles down and settles on my shoulders like a smoking gun.
I know I’m caught. From Maverick’s barely stifled groan, he knows it, too.
Okay. I’m a woman. No hiding it now, and since the truth is out, I look up at him defiantly.
That… might’ve been a mistake.
Darryl fits every image of an ex-con I’ve ever had. He’s got at least a head on Maverick, and he’s about twice as wide as me. His grey hair is long and unruly, flowing past his shoulders, ending in a tangle of knots. He’s got tattoos covering every inch of skin I can see, except for his face, and I can only guess what the rest of his weathered skin holds; the only reason why his face is clear of the tattoos is because of his bushy, dingy beard. Stuffed inside his clothes like a sausage, his belly jiggles with each heavybreath. I’m pretty sure his overalls have been tailored out of an old prison jumpsuit.
Who else would own a pair that hadEJSPimprinted on the leg?
My first impression of his laugh sounding like Santa Claus isn’t too far off, either. Take the Christmas icon, stuff him in a jail cell for a decade or two, and you’d end up with something like this Darryl.
“Alex?” There’s a twinkle in Darryl’s mud brown eyes.
I stick out my chin in a display of foolish disdain. “Xandra.”
Darryl raises his eyebrow. “Oh?”
Maverick grabs my arm and gives it a jerk, pulling me aside and taking my place in front of Darryl. “Alexandra,” he says, a compromise. “Sorry, Darryl. I was trying to keep her to myself. She’s mine.”
I start to sputter in response to that claim, but stop when Maverick’s grip on my arm tightens.
“She might’ve been, and I’m sorry for your loss, boy. But if you didn’t think I could sniff a girlie out, you’re fooling both of us. I was in the pen for thirty-three years. One whiff’s all it takes and I knew exactly what your Alex was. And I’m sure ya know whatthatmeans. Seein’ as how you agreed to come onto my territory.”
