Page 37 of Ready Or Not

“Like people?” Riley holds up another metal piece.

“Exactly.” I narrow my eyes.

“People are snakes.” Riley nods as if we’re in a perfectly agreeable conversation.

“No, snakes are way better than people,” I snap. I always know why a snake does what they do. Plus, their bones are prettier. I have a few in my collection, and they’re some of my most prized pieces. I have to be incredibly careful with them, as the bones are extremely delicate.

Riley lifts an eyebrow. Other than the eyebrow, her face is blank. Then she smirks again. “You’re something, aren’t you?”

I try to react to that the way she’d expect me to. The problem is, I’m not sure how she wants me to take that.

Riley throws another tracker on the floor. “Where there’s one, there’s bound to be another. And another. It’s the oldest trick in the book. Stick with me, Rachel, and I’ll teach you some things.”

“How are we going to get groceries with a bike?”

Riley hands me a helmet. It has a bunch of sharp, white teeth painted along the front in a creepy smile. “Saddlebags, babe. We’ll only get a few. Put it on.”

I look at the helmet. “There’s only one.”

Riley throws me a smile and winks. “Gotta protect my precious cargo.” She throws on a pair of sunglasses, tucks the gun into the front of her waistband, and says, “Now get on, bambi. We got places to be.”

16

Better With - Friday Pilots Club

“It’s about Riley,” Seb’s voice demands into the phone. Seb is my right-hand man. I go to him for most of the day-to-day stuff I don’t want to do. The stuff that used to be my job. Until I took over when my dad was killed.

My tone remains even, but immediately, I’m on alert. “What about her?” I roll myself out of bed. I slept off the acid, and Seb’s call woke me up.

“I have something to show you.”

He’s never mentioned Riley. I thought I’d made it very clear she was off limits. To everyone. Why did he feel the need to call me? With Riley, anything could have popped up. I’ve tried to keep Riley out of trouble, but maybe I missed something. She’s been getting more and more out of hand.

Seb rambles on about something, and I grip the phone until it digs little grooves into my fingers. I drop my head while my voice lowers, “If you don’t tell me right now what’s wrong with Riley, I’ll hang up the phone, ride to your place, and put a bullet in your head. I’ll replace you with Jeremy. I’m sure he’d love your spot.”

“It’s one of the rental properties.” Seb sputters out an address. Riley’s address. “Someone approved the eviction of the last tenants.”

Yes, I did. Riley forged the papers to look like my family’s business name. When they came through the office, I handled them, and then I handled the complaint they filed.

They must have filed another.

“And?” I ask, my voice low.

“And that was part of the Henson family. This has Riley all over it. She’s out of control, and now the Hensons are pissed and coming after us.”

The Hensons are small potatoes, and I couldn’t care less. If Seb had any balls, he wouldn’t either. He’s clearly not cut out for this.

“I also have collections up my ass.”

I frown. I was taking care of the bills. What the hell did Riley charge to our business? And why does Seb care?

Seb’s voice lowers. “She’s distracting you. I don’t like to see you distracted.”

Tick. Tick. Tick. The muscle in my jaw does a little dance.

“I’ll handle it,” I say.

“Manson, you know I care. I think she’s just…you’d be better off without her dragging you down.”

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