Page 112 of Pretty Nightmare

Two quarters slide down into the belly of it and I press the contact number from memory.

It rings, a low, throaty kinda buzzing that is both comforting and familiar.

He picks up on the fifth ring. “Yeah.”

“So listen,” I say, turning as much as the short phone cord will allow to study the people around me, automatically scanning for creepy little girls with golden hair and blue eyes. “I got what I needed and we’re out of here tonight.”

“There’s been a change of plans.”

“No, Nick. There hasn’t. We’re done. We did our time, we did our jobs, and we’re taking the fucking paycheck and getting the hell out before it’s too late.”

“I found another nest.”

My stomach falls. That feeling when you’re at the top of one of those dead-drop amusement park rides. “No. You’re fucking lying. I took care of them. All of them.”

“This one’s new.”

“How is that possible?”

“I just discovered it. And you’re not that far away. I need you to—”

“No. No, fuck that. I’m not doing it. Get someone else.”

“There is no one else. You, and Beck, and Moore are the only team working on this. You know that.”

“Fuck you, Nick. This wasn’t part of our deal. I’ve got one of them after me right now and—”

“This is my whole point. You didn’t finish the job.”

“She’s not one of them. She’s different.”

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it fucking matters. You know damn well the only reason I agreed to work for you was because I was trying to save Indie.”

“You don’t think you owe Wendy anything?”

“According to her, I don’t. Since she just gave me the documents for free.”

Nick is silent at this revelation. Then he whispers, “Did she ask about me?”

“No. Beck and Moore said it was a quick exchange and she just gave us the payment back.”

He pauses again and I sigh. Nick and I are friends because we understand each other. We have a connection. A shared experience that binds us. “She had to have said something.”

Jesus Christ. It’s like he’s not even hearing me. “All I know is that Wendy gave them a message to pass along to me. I owe her now, I guess. It’s not even true, but we can work that out later.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. I swear to God. I would tell you if there was anything else. You know I would.”

Nick sighs on the other end of the line. It’s a sad sigh. One I’m also familiar with. I’ve heard Adam and McKay use that same sigh with Indie over the years. Hell, I’ve used that same sigh with Indie over the years.

“This nest I found? They’re all her, Nathan.”

“Bullshit.” I shake my head, refusing to believe it.

“Same genetics, same—”