Page 69 of Dirty

“I don’t give hand jobs for lollipops, detective. Find someone else to fuck with.”

I pulled the choke and pressed the start button. As the sounds from the exhaust echoed against the side of the house, he turned away.

The .45 caliber pistol I used to kill Calle 18’s filth had long since been dismantled and tossed in the ocean, once piece at a time.

As I pulled out of the drive, I hoped like hell that’s where it stayed.

TWENTY

Lex

I felt awkward. Not a lot. Just enough to make me a little apprehensive. I tried to convince myself being in Adam’s house didn’t make me any more vulnerable than being in my mother’s, but my knee didn’t seem to agree.

It bounced up and down like a hyperactive teen’s.

“Coffee, beer, tea, anything?” he asked.

I forced a smile and shrugged. “No. I’m okay.”

“Still not hungry?”

“No. Not yet.”

He sat down beside me and put his arm around me. It felt different. I wanted to be back at home, but, then again, I didn’t.

I hated that things had changed. That the former me had all but vanished, leaving a shell of a woman that was afraid of someone or something that had done nothing to deserve the fear. I pressed my hand against my knee and stopped it from bouncing, making eye contact with Adam at the same time.

“Let’s go outside,” he said.

“Outside?”

He stood. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

He pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “It’s nice out there.”

I stood. “Okay.”

I followed him outside and into the garage. He motioned toward his motorcycle. “Get on.”

“Without you?”

“Get on like you’re going to ride it.”

“I don’t want to tip it over.”

“You won’t. It’s on the stand. Just get on.”

I did as he asked, and got on the motorcycle. His portion of the seat was wider and much more comfortable than where I sat.

I wiggled back and forth in the plush seat. “It feels nice up here.”

“Like riding a marshmallow,” he said. He motioned toward the handlebars. “Grab the handlebars.”

“They’re too high.”

“They look higher than they are. They’re called ape hangers. You’ve got long arms, you’ll reach just fine. Grab ‘em.”