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“No. I’m taking lunch to Hank.”

“You’re missing the good part.”

He huffed a laugh.

“We’ll record everything,” Jesse said.

“When do you go home?” I asked.

“I’m staying another week,” Xavier said, looking at his watch.

“Okay. We’ll get together for dinner before you leave.”

I said bye to Z. When I got back in the car, Mike was sleeping against the door with his mouth open and my dog on his lap. He was drooling on himself and Jesse was taking a picture.

“Damn, they fucked him up,” Jesse said, sitting back in his seat.

“I forgot how bad that surgery is,” I said, putting my seat belt on. “How many did they take out?”

“Three. How much anesthesia do you think they needed to knock his big ass out?”

“A lot.”

Mike was a large guy. Six three to my five ten, and buff. He was a personal trainer.

“They probably hit him with an elephant tranquilizer,” Jesse said. “Hey, Mike!” he shouted.

Mike bolted up, looking confused.

“You ready for the marathon?” Jesse asked him.

Mike squinted around. “What?”

“The marathon. You signed up months ago. We’re running in twenty minutes.”

“We’re running a… I don’t have my earbuths.”

“You’re gonna have to do it without them,” Jesse said. “The orphans are counting on you.”

“Orpanths?”

“The orphans!” Jesse yelled. “All the proceeds go to the orphanage! Get it together!”

I was trying not to laugh.

My cell phone pinged as I was starting the engine. It was Larissa.

How’s Mike?

The last message from her was Thanks after I’d given her my streaming password. Her mom asked for it. It was kind of weird.

I keyed in a reply.

Me: Fine. Asking about you.

Larissa: He won’t let me come over

Me: He’s pretty messed up. We’ll take care of him.