Page 97 of Cruel Lies

Right?

Right.

Friday came and went, and soon enough, I was facing down Big John for my paycheck on the second Friday I’d spent away from—alone and—well, fuck. It was the two-week mark since I’d come back and reclaimed my alter ego’s life.

And paydays were hell around here, mainly because Tony spent an hour lamenting about how few jobs he got compared to those of us who actually worked hard.

Today was no different.

There he was, leaning over the hood of a nice-ass restored GTO, his paycheck out for anyone to see, as he gesticulated wildly in conversation with Big John and Sport.

"John, listen. I come here every day and work.I might not be the most senior person here, but I think it’s time to start talking about a raise."

Big John’s laughter echoed across the bays and made me crack a smile. "Tony, when you can pull and rebuild an engine in two days, we’ll talk about your raise."

The absolute affront on his face would have been comical if he hadn’t ruined the effect by turning to me and sneering. "Well, we can’t all be little Miss Perfect. IfIabandoned my job for weeks with no excuse or word on when I’d be back, I wouldn’t have a job to come back to."

The whole garage fell silent as I pulled back from the Mustang I had been touching up, smearing grease across my forehead. I pinned him with a glare that could melt steel.

"If you’ve got something to say, Tony, just come out and say it."

The fear in his eyes was apparent, on display for anyone to see, but he tried valiantly not to let it show. "I’m saying I don’t think it’s fair that you get special treatment. Just because you’re agirl?—"

"Now, Tony, I warned you," John started, but he didn’t need to say a word. He already knew Tony had crossed a line, as did everyone in this place. And if Tony thought anyone would step in to save him from me right now, he was dead wrong.

My feet made muffledthumpsof rage as I marched across the floor and threw my grease towel between us, staring him down with all the hatred our years working together had built up. "If you’re insinuating I’m getting unfair treatment because I’m awoman,I’d like to know what sort of treatment youthinkI should be getting." I gestured to Big John, waiting for him to step in and say something. "If Big John treated me preferentially, it’s because I earned it, not because I’m a woman."

"Earned it on yourknees,maybe?—"

I saw red so fast I just snapped. My hand flew out, balled intoa fist, and I cold-cocked Tony so hard, so fast, he didn’t have time to blink. When he hit the floor, I felt no sympathy. No regret. I just picked up the discarded grease towel, wiped off my knuckles as if touching him had dirtied me, and threw the towel in his lap.

"You ever make the mistake of talking to me again, Antonio, and I will put my old tire iron to use on your skull."

Luckily, he didn’t make the mistake of speaking in retaliation.

Big John helped him off the floor, frog-marching him into the office, likely for a heart-to-heart between men. When we closed up shop later that night, John singled me out, his face long and drawn, clearly from a lifetime of stress.

"Hey, Flagg, can we talk?"

Here we go."If you’re going to fire me, just get it over with."

His chuckle was old and deep and familiar, yet somehow foreign at the same time. "Nah, I’d have to be a special kind of stupid to fire my best mechanic." He patted his pockets and pulled out another check, handing it over to me with a smile. "You missed your last payday, so I held on to this for you. Figured you’d be back for it." His eyes crinkled at the edges when I accepted the check.

"So, about Tony?—"

"Listen, he’s trouble, and he is on his last leg with me. For now, though, I was thinking maybe I could have you come in after lunch and work late with Sport. Kind of like a night shift. I’ll even pay you extra."

"Pay me extra so I don't have to deal with Tony for the first half of the day? Say less." I wasn’t worried about the dangers of walking home at night. If I was making more money, I could just take a cab. Maybe even carpool with Sport. He seemed nice enough. "When do I start?"

John’s smile fell a bit at the edges as he hesitantly peered at me sideways. "Tonight?"

I patted the sides of my jumper and tucked the extra check away for later. "Good thing I don’t have a social life, eh?"

FORTY-ONE

NASH

"See y’all later.Oh, and Flagg, don’t forget to lock up when you leave. I’ve got a spare key for open shift tomorrow."

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