Page 54 of Warped

I nodded. “What about your head? Shouldn’t you get it looked at?”

“Fuck my head. It’s fine. If I can handle getting stabbed by you, I can handle a little bump to the skull.”

He pulled me back out onto the street, checking for anything suspicious as we went. We both tried to keep our heads down as we hurried back toward where the car was parked. X had blood spattered down his clothing—something that would draw attention—though he’d wiped the worst of it from his face with his sleeve. I assumed it was Johnny’s blood rather than his, and wondered what sort of mess the other man was in.

I expected gunfire to shatter around us at any moment, and I flinched from every car that drove by, thinking the window would roll down and I’d be staring into the muzzle of a gun. I didn’t think my father would take the easy route of shooting me in the street—that would be more like Tony’s way of dealing with me. My father would take his time. He was cocky, and knew his own power. He wouldn’t want this to be over as quickly as simply shooting me. He would want to punish me.

We reached the car without event. “Where are we going?” I asked.

“To the train station so I can get to my locker. Then I guess we need to pay our friend Tony the Hound a little visit.”

I nodded. I still remembered Tony’s fingers around my throat, the marks on my skin still visible. I needed to warn Nickie that our father was being released and the trial wouldn’t happen, but I also needed to let Tony know exactly how I felt about him putting his hands on me.

I pulled the car door shut with a slam.

“Okay, let’s go.”

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