Page 38 of Death Match

He was quiet again for a long moment as he debated his next words. “It’s just dope,” he said. “None of the hard stuff. And I get to keep part of the profit.”

“People have been shot for less,” she bit back through a clenched jaw.

“Jade, what do you want me to say?” His tone suddenly turned sad. “We need the money. I overheard my parents talking about the store not doing as well this year. They’re afraid we’ll have to close and declare bankruptcy. I can’t let that happen. My dad’s put his entire life into this place. I make more money hustling in a day than I do in a week here or at Charlie’s.”

“That’s not saying much because your dad doesn’t pay you at all.”

By how living-Jade’s shoulder dropped, it was clear that the bit about his family possibly losing the store was news to her. Sympathy clashed with the disappointment on her expression, as if she understood his reasons for joining but still didn’t approve. But if she was anything like me—and she was—she wasn’t going to let him get away with it that easily.

She rolled her eyes. “And what are you going to say to Ricardo when you come home with a wad of dough? That Charlie’s is suddenly paying their dishwashers a CEO’s wage?”

From the context clues here, it looked like Charlie’s was a restaurant and Ricky’s second place of employment.

“I…I told him I was promoted to server.” Ricky crossed the cellar to stand in front of her again, eager to get the conversation off him and back onto her. “Let me help you, Jade. You can use the money, too. We can be in it together. Look out for each other, like we do now but with more muscle behind us.”

“What do you think the Knights are? Like the Boy Scouts? That they’ll just let us go in, make money, and leave when we want?” She scoffed. “You are a lot of things, Ricky. I just didn’t think stupid was one of those things.”

Jade—I—was right. His family might be in a jam right now, but was selling his soul to a gang and a life in crime worth it? I wasn’t so sure.

“No one gets out of a gang unless they’re arrested or dead. And even then, it’s iffy,” she continued, cutting off Ricky’s intended reply. “There’s no way I’m going to start selling drugs or my body on street corners for any amount of money. No. Way.”

“Don’t you want to get out of this shithole?” Ricky’s sudden harshness made me flinch. “Isn’t that what you’re always saying? That one day you’ll be out of here? How do you think you’re going to do that working here for pennies?”

“Hey, I babysit, too,” she tried to come back with, but even I had to admit her reply sounded pretty pathetic.

“Mostly your sister. And what does that bring in, huh? Nothing. Just like me working here.”

“Look.” Her voice sharpened, and her gaze narrowed on him. “I know what drugs and gang banging can do, okay? It ruins lives, and not just yours. Your family’s, too. You may be willing to take the chance, but I’m not about to risk what little I have left for the Scarlet Knights. Or anyone else for that matter.”

Jade looked away, her body curling in. The weight of her words coupled with her body language told me this wasn’t just some bull she was saying. It was personal. “I don’t care if I have to work two more jobs and never sleep again to get me and my sister, Tina, out of the Heights, but I’ll do it. I’ll figure things out for myself. I always do.”

Yeah, girl. You tell him.

Although…the mention of a sister made my head spin. Of course it was a possibility—why not? But even still, I’d never considered having a sibling in my life before. Even in my daydreams. I was so used to being alone, that’s how I always pictured myself.

The thought of having a sister, maybe even a family, caused excitement to stir awake inside me. Would I be able to meet them? Where they still alive? It was a good chance they were, since I was still newly dead. That made me wonder why Kay hadn’t been able to find anything on me on the internet or obituaries about me when she checked. My name still was Jade here, but that didn’t mean my last name was the same while I was alive. But maybe I could find my family after this. I had my sister’s name, Tina, so far and that was a start—

I forced my rapid-fire thoughts to slow down before I spontaneously combusted. It was difficult to calm myself, especially after just learning such a thing, but I’d worry about it later. After the Trials. Then I’d search for Tina and the rest of my family in the living world.

Defeated, Ricky walked over to the spilled milk and started gathering the empty plastic gallon containers. He held one up at a time like he was a basketball star and chucked them in the nearby trash bin on his free throw. It didn’t take long for Jade to find a mop and help him by sopping up the spill. They worked in a stiff silence. Despite the frustration that radiated off both of them in palpable waves, it was obvious they still cared for each other.

After a few minutes of working together, the mess was all clean.

Then, Ricky turned to Jade and said, “Dad’s not going to let you work with your jacket on all day. You know that, right?”

She wrung out the rest of the milk from the mop over the drain at the center of the floor. “I can’t take it off,” she murmured.

Spinning on his heel, Ricky bolted back up the stairs. A few seconds later, he came back down, holding a stained, white long-sleeved shirt in his hand. He held it out for her.

“I use it for when I’m cleaning out the fridge. Despite the stains, it’s clean,” he said.

Leaning the mop against the wall, Jade smiled and accepted the shirt like it was some kind of olive branch. “Thanks.”

After pulling off her apron, she turned around and peeled off the jacket. Even facing away from me and Ricky, the deep purple and green bruises covering her arms and across her back were clear.

My hand flew to my mouth in horror. It looked as if someone had beaten her with a bat. Rage pushed forward. Who would do such a thing to her? Tome?

With quick, jerky movements, she tugged on the long-sleeved shirt, grunting from the pain. Within seconds, her secret was covered up again.

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