Ollie's grin fell away.“I can’t say for certain.But what I do know is they’re well aware of everything movin’ through their territory.”
Cassie rubbed at her temples, an ache building behind her eyes.She didn’t know what to do with any of this—Ollie’s accusations, what Connor had gotten tangled up in, what the Kings might’ve become without Maverick at the helm.
Tap, tap.Tap, tap.
Cassie turned to the window.Two young women stood just outside, hollow-eyed and shifting from foot to foot.Their hair was greasy, their clothes dirty and wrong for the heat—one in a knitted beanie and threadbare hoodie, the other in torn jeans and several oversized flannels buttoned crooked.
“Prime examples of what half the county looks like,” Ollie muttered, already pushing up from the table.“Gimme a sec.”
Cassie turned in her seat, watching as he stepped outside, the women rushing to meet him halfway.
“Need a top-off, Cas?”
Violet had returned with the coffee pot.Following Cassie’s gaze to the window, where Ollie lingered with the two women, she let out a knowing hum.“Lotta that these days.Do yourself a favor and don’t be wanderin’ after dark.Folks like that, they ain’t bad—just real desperate.The Rooster’s been broken into a few times.”
Cassie didn’t answer.Her eyes stayed locked on the window, on their hollowed-out faces.Then came the image of her brother, unrecognizable in the morgue, rising sharp and fast until she could barely draw breath.
“Um, thanks for the coffee,” she mumbled, rising from her seat.
“Okay, well, maybe stop back and see me if you like…” Violet called after her.“It was…really great seein’ you…”
Cassie gave a vague wave, already pushing through the door.Outside, Ollie had pulled out his wallet, slipping bills into the women’s waiting hands.Turning away, she was practically jogging down the walk, because if she stopped, or slowed, even for a second, it would all come spilling out in front of whoever happened to be looking.
“Hey, Cas—wait up!”Ollie’s footfalls pounded the pavement behind her.
Cursing under her breath, she reluctantly slowed; Ollie reached her side, a little winded.“You okay?”
“Just a headache,” she muttered, not looking at him, nails biting into her palm.
“All right, well…lemme walk you to your car."
“You know they’ve got a display up at the school now,” he continued casually.“Trophy case an’ all.Con’s pictures are in it—football mostly, but a couple from Pee Wee too.I was thinkin’ some of those might be good for…you know…for the funeral.”
Her steps faltered.Funeral.She blinked fast, but the blur rose up anyway.A goddamn casket.A pointless sermon.The last of her family lowered into the ground and covered with dirt, never to be seen again.She forced her nails deeper into her palm, anything to keep the tears from breaking loose.
“I…” She cleared her throat, words sticking.“That’s—yeah.That’s a good idea.Just…not right now.”
“Sure, yeah—’course not,” he rushed to say, tripping over his own voice.“Just let me know if I can help…with anything.”
She nodded blindly, tears welling despite her refusal to let them fall.“Thanks, Ollie,” she gritted out softly.
By the time they reached her car, Cassie’s hands shook as she dug through her bag, the keys slipping once, twice, before she clawed them free.
“You sure you’re all right to drive?”he asked quietly.
“I’m fine.”It came out a ragged whisper, as she yanked the door open and slid behind the wheel with a slam.Ignition.Gas.The tires squealed as she flew down the street, pushing well over the speed limit.
Only when she cleared the edge of town did she swing hard into a narrow pull-off and throw the car into park.Gripping the wheel with both hands, she dropped her forehead against it.The first tear fell before she could stop it, and then there was no stopping anything—
She saw her daddy’s strong, broad body turning gray and concave, every breath a wet rattle.And then her mama’s soft humming fading away, her glittering green eyes gone blank, cigarette after cigarette burning down to ash between shaking fingers.And now Connor—
Cassie’s hands slipped from the wheel, falling limp to her lap.
Connor’s wide grin rose in her mind only to warp, twisting the blue-tinged lips she’d seen on the morgue table, his skin stretched tight over bone, blurred with the twitching, hollow-eyed women outside the diner—begging and desperate.Wasting away in plain sight.
She was the last Berry on the mountain now.
Chapter Seven
