AMY:OK.
LEWIS:Amazing. I’ll come over when I’m done.
I think for a moment. Considering how late it is and the fact we’ll be hanging in my room, I’m guessing he’s not coming to discuss training, which suits me just fine—I’ve been sex-starved for a whole month now.
AMY:Sounds good. Let me know when you hit the road.
He doesn’t reply, which means he’s back on court. I toss my phone to one side, jerking my head up when I realize Esteban is standing right there behind me. Our eyes lock.
“All the guy has to do is send you a message, and that’s it? You spread your legs—just like that?” He snaps his fingers.
I don’t care if he wants to trash-talk me—Idocare that he was reading over my shoulder.
“Get the fuck away from me and mind your own business,” I snarl.
“What’ve you got going on with that guy?”
“What’s it to you?”
“You gotta be kidding me.” He laughs. “Don’t tell me you fuckinglikehim?”
I bristle. “What’s your problem, Esteban?”
“Since when do you do jocks?”
“What part of ‘mind your own business’ don’t you get?”
He falls silent, and I dart into the back room to check the tire stock before heading for the Buick.
“I’m gonna finish up here alone,” I say. “You can go now.”
He nods. “That makes sense. You wouldn’t want your boyfriend catching me here, right?”
Right.
“We’re done here.” I shrug. “So just leave.”
He’s not budging, and I’m suddenly so tired of the whole world being against me today.
“Please,” I add.
Slowly, he seems to cave. He stoops to gather up his things and turns to the front door, before stopping in his tracks and spinning around to face me.
“You can keep kidding yourself about that Lewis guy, Amy. You can carry on pretending like being here means something.”
He circles the air with his arm, and I know he doesn’t mean RJ’s shop. He can’t stand it, I realize—he actually can’t stand that I left Brooklyn.
“But you’re not fooling me,” he continues. “I knowexactlywho you are, Hitman. And that’ll never change.”
His words cut me to the core. I stay as still as I can.
“One of these days, you’re gonna wake up and realize you don’t belong here.”
“You must miss me real bad,” I say slowly.
“Of course I miss you, baby. But that’s not why I’m telling you all this.” His voice softens. “One day, your world is gonna come crashing down on top of you. And it’s gonna hurt.” He shakes his head. “I’ve seen you hurt too many times, is all.”
My breath is rasping in my chest as I clench my fists. I freeze. Esteban looks me straight in the eye.
