Page 71 of Ten

Alejandro considered his options. “I’ll stay.”

Ten climbed out of the SUV and walked toward the convenience store without a backward glance. If Alejandro was there when he got back? Fine. If he fled? Also fine.

After taking a leak and grabbing two bottles of water and two protein bars, he walked up to the counter to pay. The old man behind the counter had rheumy eyes but a friendly smile. “You having a good day, hoss?”

“Not really.” Ten almost wished he had taken up smoking as a kid so he would have some way of soothing his nerves.

“You want a lottery ticket? Drawing tonight is a big ‘un.” The old man pointed to the sign behind him. “Maybe your luck is gonna change, son.”

“Yeah. Sure. Why not?” Ten handed over the cash.

“You win, you come back and see me!” The old man called out as Ten walked to the double doors with his purchases.

“If I win, I’m coming back here to tell you it’s time to retire,” Ten promised and tucked his ticket into the back pocket of his jeans.

“I’ll be waitin’ for ya!” The old man’s laughter morphed into a hacking cough.

Alejandro seemed surprised when Ten tossed him a bottle of water and a protein bar. “Gracias.”

Ten waved him off and slipped on his seatbelt. Before working for Vivian, he had never bothered with one, but she had ingrained the safety measure into him. He felt naked not wearing it now.

As he pulled onto the road alongside the gas station, Ten said, “Tell me about your daughter.”

Alejandro lowered his water bottle. “Why?”

“You’re risking everything to avenge her. I want to know what she was like.” Ten suspected few people ever asked Alejandro about JoJo. People didn’t want to make things awkward or uncomfortable. It was easier not to ask than to risk upsetting the parent of a dead child, but that meant those parents never had a chance to talk about all the good memories. “Look, we have a forty-five-minute drive in front of us. We can sit in silence or—.”

“She loved manga.Sailor Moon, Peach Girl, One Piece, Sgt. Frog, Naruto, Bleach.” Alejandro paused. “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventurewas her favorite. Have you ever read it?”

“No. I’ve never—I’m not really a manga reader.”

“I wasn’t either. Not until she...” He cleared his throat. “And then it was too late to share it with her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” Alejandro tore into his protein bar. “She wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to help kids like her. She loved music, and she was fascinated by Texas high school football games and cheerleaders and marching bands. She was so excited to go to her first homecoming. My mother had been working on one of those big, fluffy mums, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Ten had been fascinated by the strange pageantry of Texas high schools. The giant mums bigger than most teenage girls’ heads with ribbons and bells and charms looked ridiculous to him, but they were an important part of the high school experience here.

“She never got to wear it.”

Ten’s stomach twisted.

“It’s still hanging in JoJo’s bedroom in my mother’s house. She dusts it every single day. Just ribbon by ribbon, petal by petal. Some days I think we should have buried JoJo with it. I think she would have liked that.”

Christ, Ten thought sadly. How much pain had Kiki caused for these families?

“Do you have kids?”

“No.” Ten decided not to let his mind wander on that subject. It wouldn’t do him any good to get distracted by what-ifs.

“Do you want kids?”

“Yes.” With Nisha. As many as she wanted. Four? Five? Ten? He’d make it happen.

“Be smarter than I was.”

Ten glanced at Alejandro who wore the saddest, most regretful expression. The pain carved into that man’s face was gut-wrenching. “I will.”

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