I look at the ground, concealing a smile. ‘We’ve been hangin’ out some.’
She grins a wild grin. ‘Is that who you were with last night?’
Goddamn it, I can feel my cheeks burnin’ up. I clear my throat. ‘Ma, I’m gonna be late for work.’
‘Sure, honey. You go. It’s good to see you.’
‘You talk to Noah?’
Her eyes glisten. ‘Armando bought me a burner phone. I talked to him two days ago. Rita says he’s doin’ real good. Stayin’ outta trouble.’
I put down my helmet, wrap my arms around her. She holds onto me tight. ‘I’ll stop by soon, okay?’
‘I’d like that.’
I say goodbye and head up to my room.
At a quarter after twelve, I take a break from the auto shop and head inside Scotch & Smoke. After a bite to eat, I’m shooting pool on my own when Chase saunters in.
‘S’up with you?’ he says, without so much as a hello.
I take a shot and miss. ‘Nothing,’ I say.
He reaches for a cue stick leaning up against the wall. ‘Need somebody to show you how it’s done?’
My next shot hits the target. I straighten. ‘I’m good.’
‘You hear about Tyler Rosen?’ he asks and racks up all the balls to start over. I got no interest in getting beat right now, but I’m too riled about other shit to complain.
‘I heard,’ I say.
‘Idiot got busted last night. Had to call his momma from his jail cell.Boo hoo, them Flood bros tried to get me to steal ’em a motherfucking Tesla.’
I shake my head. ‘Thirteen years old. What a waste.’
‘Probably shoulda tried slipping through their fingers, just like Noah did.’
He gives me a look. He’s still pissed at me for not telling him what happened to my sibling. ‘Noah skipped town. Prolly went to find Logan. Figure he’ll tell me one day.’
Chase leans over the table and breaks. He pockets two solids in the process.
‘Jesus Christ,’ I say as my shoulders drop.
‘Ain’t never been beat, man,’ Chase crows, looking pleased with himself, then leans over and pockets another solid. I shoulda gone back to work when I had the chance.
Chase takes his aim. ‘So, what do you say? Wanna go fuck up some trash Floods, or what?’
I glance over at the bar, in case Echo’s anywhere close by. ‘You mean… head on over to Temptation Heights?’
‘Sure, why not? The east side is our fucking territory. Those jokers need a gentle reminder that things need to stay that way. That they should stop using Rapture kids to do their dirty work for ’em.’
‘Maybe a smarter idea would be to give all the Rapture kids a lesson in sayingget the fuck away from me.’
Chase screws up his face. ‘I’d rather go after the Floods. Give ’em a beat down they won’t forget in a hurry. Jeez. When did you get all…sensible?’
I think about Hollie. A while back, I hadn’t given much thought to the future. I was getting by. Living day to day. She’s made me think about what I want, and chasing down criminal Flood brothers ain’t it.
I lean on my stick, give a shrug. ‘Echo thinks we should steer clear is all.’
