Page 103 of Roaming Holiday

I survey her ripped jeans and flowy shirt. I chuckle, rising to my feet with my hands on my hips. “And what would you do?”

Maia rolls her eyes and reaches into her back pocket. She flicks open a switchblade at least six inches long. “Slice and dice, duh.”

I choke out a laugh, shoving her shoulder to walk out the door with me. “You’d be proud of me. I treated some dude’s head like a baseball with a metal pipe.”

Despite my repulsed shiver, I don’t regret hitting Maximo. He would have killed Wesley.

Maia blanches. “Holy shit.”

“He was a big guy!” I argue.

“How big?” she asks, seemingly unconvinced.

“Twice the size of Wesley.”

She winces. “Damn.”

My heart thunders. I don’t understand how people can deal with these high-stress situations on a regular basis. After the past few days, I’m ready to sleep for a week.

I sit with Jack in the van, watching Wesley head into the partially burned-down building. I’m grateful it didn’t entirely collapse. As awful as these people are, I don’t truly want to hurt anyone.

I resist bouncing my knee as I hold the headphones to my ear, listening to Wesley’s breaths through the microphone.

“I underestimated you,” Arlo says. “I admit I thought the stories were bogus.”

“Nobody’s perfect,” Wesley says with a sniff.

“Name one reason I shouldn’t submit this contract.”

“Jose Rivera.”

“What about him?” Arlo asks.

“I’ll take him out for you and we call it even.”

I lift my head. What?

He laughs. “Just like that, huh? The man lives in a fortress.”

My stomach caves. I look at Jack, hoping that he’s panicked, too, but he listens intently, his head lowered and brow furrowed.

“What is he doing?” I ask.

“Making a deal.”

“I thought he was giving Arlo what he wanted,” I say. Why would Wesley offer to kill someone for him? My panic deepens as they list further details of the deal. “If he does this, how do we know Arlo won’t hold it over his head and ask for more?”

“It’s a business deal.” Jack’s reply is curt, as if I’m bothering him.

“Will it make Arlo stronger?”

Jack doesn’t answer. Fury simmers under my skin. Wesley wants to get out of that world—and Arlo Serrano is dragging him back under. When I become queen, I want Wesley at my side, and Arlo will figure out a way to hold proof of this over his head in exchange for more jobs—more killings.

We were supposed to do this together. Instead, Wesley lied to me and took a completely different route.

I shove Jack’s shoulder, my hands shaking with anxiety and anger. “Hey! Will this make his business stronger?”

“Yes!”

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