Page 32 of Sink or Swim

Maurice says, “No, but you could get a place near the swamp. As for ghosts … no disrespect to your culture, Dwight, but I don’t put much stake in local legends like those.”

“No offense taken. Not many outsiders do. But they’re real. I’ve seen ’em with my own two eyes,” Dwight mumbles.

I sigh and put my face in my hands. “Ghosts, swamps, local legends … this is a lot,” I mumble. “But … then again, up until recently, I didn’t think someone like Oona could exist, either.”

“True,” everyone says in unison.

Oona pulls my hands from my face and smiles down at me. “Nick. I want to go. Please. Come with me.”

My heart softens just from the way Oona stares down at me, like I’m the most precious thing in the world to her. I know she is to me. I look back to Maurice and say, “But what about the Mackenzie Brothers? Aren’t I needed here?”

Maurice grins. “We’d miss you, of course. But … we’ve been doing all right for ourselves in your absence. And to be fair, it’s not like you did much before.”

“Oh, snap,” Reese whispers. “Got you there.”

Everyone laughs except for Oona, and I laugh along with them. I know they’re joking, but there is truth in his statement. I was a glorified gopher. I’m sure they could easily replace me. Shit, they already have. “Fair. Fine. It’s settled. But how am I supposed to get a place out there? Those houses and apartments are definitely above my pay grade.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Maurice says, shaking his head. “We’ll figure it out.”

But how exactly does he plan on “figuring it out?” I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of this.

“Wait,” I say, and stand up with my hands balled into fists at my side. “If you’re going to threaten anyone on my behalf, then I don’t want it. If you’re going to use blood money, then I definitely don’t want it. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us so far, but when I ran from that job three months ago, it wasn’t because I’m a coward. It’s because I have morals, and I intend to stick by them. Oona and I will manage.” I look over at Oona and smile as affection swells in my heart. “We’ll find a place for the two of us. Somewhere we can live in peace. I promise.”

Oona smiles back at me and nods. “Yes,” she says. “We will.”

“Just sayin, there are farmhouses out by the swamp that aren’t expensive. You know, because of the ghosts,” Dwight mutters.

I chuckle as I look over at him and nod. “Okay. I’ll look for a farmhouse near the swamp. Thank you, Dwight.”

Maurice hums low as he leans against the wall, then crosses his arms over his chest. Kyle, Reese, and Dwight mutter to one another.

“Fair,” Maurice says, then looks past me to the others. “We’ve been talking about over the past few weeks. We don’t want to deal in blood money, either, or ruin anyone’s lives.”

I swallow thickly. “Wait, what?”

He nods. “We’re going clean. We’ll stick to what we do best. We own strip clubs and casinos and that’s it for us from now on.”

Reese snickers. “And maybe you’ll think about acquiring that cutie’s bakery, too? The one across from Fletcher and Sons?”

Maurice rolls his eyes. “No, Dwight. For the last fuckin’ time. No. No more acquisitions until we recover our revenue streams from the hit we took last month.”

I raise my eyebrows, but Maurice shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Don’t trouble yourself over it. Just business … which you are now no longer a part of. As of now, your services will no longer me required, Nick Chastain.”

Relief envelopes my entire body like a warm bath, and my heart hammers in my ears. Once upon a time, getting fired would have been a terrifying prospect. Now, all I can think about is how lucky I am to have Oona by my side and my mafia days behind me.

It’s still strange to hear car traffic instead of crickets and other insects at night. Even stranger is that Oona isn’t in bed holding me, soothing me through my nightmares. And I had plenty of those while out in the lagoon. About Luther. About my father leaving. About my mother succumbing to her Stim addiction.

I can hear the guys playing pinball in the rec room down the hallway while the steady beat of the stereo plays. I used to be able to sleep through it without any difficulty, but now I’m not so sure. I roll over onto my side and pull the pillow over my head hoping. It’s not helping. No shit it isn’t. If only I had a decent pair of noise-canceling headphones.

The door to my bedroom cracks open and a sliver of yellow white trickles in. I bolt upright in the bed and wince.

“H-hello?” I call out, startled.

Oona pads into the room, hitting her tail against the dresser as she tries to swiftly close the door behind her. “Just me,” she mutters.

My shoulders drop away from my ears, and I let out a deep sigh. “Oh, hey. You ready for bed?” I ask.

She pads over to my bed and sits down on the edge. “Yes,” she says. But her body language is telling me something else entirely. I look at her with my head tilted, and her bright eyes illuminate the darkness like two little night lights.

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