Page 23 of Last Chance Love

You would have never known it when you saw him, but Reed was one of the loneliest kids I had ever met. Even I had my siblings and others who understood the life I had to live in my apartment building and block. Reed had always been…by himself. It wasn’t until I was about ten that I learned how to use the bus to visit him because he sure as hell wasn’t coming to me. Before that, it had always been him and whatever parent was home.

“You arereallyin your head today,” he noted, looking me over carefully. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” I told him with a weary sigh, knowing he wouldn’t believe me. “Just a lot going on, is all.”

“This thing with Reno and Elliot getting to you that bad?” he asked, brow furrowing. “I know it was bugging you before, but I was sure you would have found your feet and moved past it.”

I didn’t want to have the conversation, but if there was anyone I could have it with, it was Reed. “I just worry about them. Not a whole lot has changed. Except that Elliot looks more miserable than ever, and Reno still treats everything like they personally offend him.”

“You do realize you can’t fix everyone, right?”

“Yes, Reed, I’m aware. Thank you for that.”

“Snippy,” he said with a smile that said he didn’t mind in the slightest. “Well, it’s only been a couple of weeks, right?”

“Yeah, I hoped something would have changed. Even a little. Just a sign, you know?”

“Hey, you have to learn to take the wins where you can get them. As far as I’ve seen, Elliot isn’t much different than he used to be, except for that first night. And they’ve already beaten the pool.”

“The pool? There’s a fucking betting pool, isn’t there?”

“Yeppers and most of the bets have already been lost. There’s a lot of commissary money due to be shifted around.”

I rubbed my face. “How is it that the guy locked away in the medical building is the one who gets most of the gossip? Isn’t that, like, what the dining hall should be for?”

He snorted. “You’re thinking high school and office jobs. Trust me. People will gossip when being checked over, given shots, or whatever, especially if there’s pain meds involved. And the frequent fliers, the ones who always have to come in for meds? They’re the worst.”

“Great. Just great.”

I should have known. Even if I wasn’t one to get involved with gossip, I knew these guys did it…a lot. I didn’t know if it was a felon thing, a ranch thing, or something else I couldn’t figure out, but these guys were working overtime to disprove the theory that it was old women and teenage girls who were the gossips.

I narrowed my eyes. “And who’s heading this betting pool?”

“Not me,” he said, and I believed him.

“And what did you bet on?”

“Aw, would I do that?”

“Yes, you absolutely the fuck would.”

He grinned. “You’re right. I would, and I totally did.”

Sometimes, it was hard to forget he was once a professional. I could only glare at him. “Seriously?”

“Hey, I saw an opportunity and went for it.”

“Isn’t that against some professional ethics or something?”

“If I was betting on whether someone would survive or if I was in charge of their care, sure. But betting on whether or not they’ll kill each other? That’s within professional ethics.”

“But not personal.”

“That’s morals. And I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t ever kill each other. A bit of maiming? Maybe.”

“Great. So, how much have you lost?”

He smirked, picking up his bag. “Nothing. I’m one of the few people who bet they would manage to not only not kill each other but become actual friendsandmake it to the next tier. The odds were…not great, but hey, why not?”

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