Page 85 of I Am Sin

He’s gone.

Well, what did I expect? He was ready to leave this morning. I merely waylaid him.

A wave of sadness settles over me as I gaze around the room. Then?—

His backpack. His duffel bag.

They’re still here.

I smile despite myself.

Dragon will be back.

I have no idea what to expect when he gets here, but he will be back.

And though I hate to admit it, I feel kind of giddy about that.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Dragon

I like walking.

I always have. Helps me clear my head.

I need to find some work.

I don’t have much cash on me, as I gave most of it to that hooker last night. The rest is in a checking account that I access from a debit card. I also have a credit card, but it’s linked to my Snow Creek address, so that’s where the bill would go.

Jesse was lecturing me all about how I should just download a mobile banking app and pay all my bills online, but I don’t trust the tech companies with all that info. I mean, I’m sure they have it already, but they sure as hell are not going to get it from me. Plus, I feel like I’m a little more responsible with my money when I actually have to write a physical check every month to pay my bills.

I mostly deal in cash anyway. My last job—other than odd jobs and drumming for Dragonlock—was at a dispensary in Barrel Oaks.

Marijuana is legal in Colorado—has been for a while. But Donny Steel, Diana’s older brother and the city attorney for our small western slope town of Snow Creek, has made it his goal in life to keep the dispensaries out. Well, it’s not actually Donny. His mother, Jade Steel, was the city attorney for decades before she retired. I don’t think Donny cares one way or another, but keeping Snow Creek pot-free means something to his mother, so he hasn’t let any dispensaries in.

The city attorney of Barrel Oaks, however, had no qualms about selling weed. “Tax the hell out of it and funnel that money to our schools,” she famously declared when the state first passed the constitutional amendment to legalize.

Working at a dispensary meant that I was paid in cash. Because marijuana is still federally illegal, most banks won’t touch the businesses, so they operate on a solely cash basis. Sometimes I took my payment in some of their primo weed.

But those days are over. This time I’ve got to stay sober. And this time, I’m determined to stay away from all of it.

Other than that, I did odd jobs around town when people needed help. It was great because I was able to keep flexible hours. When you’re part of a struggling band, you have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice to go play at some dive bar where you might catch a big break.

And that’s exactly what happened. Dragonlock got its big break at a little bar in a small Utah town. Two members of Emerald Phoenix just happened to be in the audience and heard us play.

We each received ten grand as a signing bonus. The most money I’ve ever seen at one time. It was that way for all of us in the band.

Jesse and Rory may have married into the Steel fortune, but at the time we got that gig, the two of them really needed the money. A fire destroyed their family’s vineyards, which was their livelihood. Most of their bonuses went to help out at home.

Most of mine went to pay for rehab, other than a couple grand I socked away into my savings for emergencies. What I couldn’t afford, Jesse and Brianna made up, and I’m determined to pay them back.

I’m determined to pay Diana back for all the rent as well for as long as I stay there.

But before I can do any of that, I’ve got to get some money comingin.

Not only do I need the cash, but I need something to do. What am I supposed to do while Diana is at work? Just lie around her penthouse and eat bonbons like a kept man?

The thought actually makes me smile a bit. Wouldn’t be such a bad life. Being Diana Steel’s boy toy.

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