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“When you’re picky, you lose out on good food. Like oatmeal. And asparagus.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Yuck.”
“Green vegetables are good for you.”
“I like green food,” he counters and scoops another bite. “Like green popsicles and green M&Ms.”
“That’s not even close to the same thing.”
I smirk at my son and shake my head.
“Is Mom gonna be back in time to take me to school?”
Rina was called out to work with Dr. Asgood at around three in the morning to help with someone who got hurt pretty severely at Rome’s club.
“I don’t think so,” I reply and pass Charlie a napkin. “But we’ve got this. I’ll ride with you and your detail to school today.”
“Okay,” he says, still shoveling in the oatmeal. Of course, I added a shit ton of brown sugar and raisins to make it sweet, but we won’t tell his mom that.
“How is school?” I ask. “Is everyone nice?”
“Sure. And Ms. Carter is nice too. Bryson is my new best friend. He likes Iron Man and LEGOs and video games, like me.”
Bryson’s dad is the bassist in a rock band that has a residency here on the Strip. I did a deep dive on every single kid in Charlie’s class.
“I’m glad you’re making friends, buddy. If anyone is mean to you, I want you to tell me or your mom right away.”
“I will, but so far it’s cool.”
He finishes his breakfast and then hops off the stool.
“I’m ready,” he declares, and I laugh.
“You’re still in your pajamas, your hair is standing straight up, and you need to brush your teeth. Your mother would have my hide if I let you out of here looking like this. And I like my hide right where it is.”
“Ah man.”
“Let’s go, little guy.”
“What’s a hide?” he asks as he climbs the steps.
“It means she’d skin me alive.”
“Ew.” He wrinkles his nose. “Mom wouldn’t do that.”
“It’s an expression,” I say with a chuckle as we reach his room. “Come on, I can’t have you be late when you’re on my watch.”
An hour later, after I’ve dropped Charlie off at school and I’m on my way to the office, I get a call from Julian.
“Did you miss me?” I ask him by way of greeting.
“So bad it hurts.” His voice is as dry as this desert we live in. “We have a situation.”
All the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
“What kind of situation?”
“The kind we need to meet over. I’m calling Rome and Mateo in too.”
