Page 10 of Dark Alleys

“Who are you really, Lukas? I have pretty good instincts, and I’m convinced I’m not getting the whole picture.”

“You don’t want to know too much about me, Regan. It’s not safe.”

“I think that’s my decision to make, Lukas.”

Riverside District. Austin.

Fighting the light-headedness, I drove back home to Riverside, my arm aching from using it too much getting in and out of the fuckin’ truck.

Before I crashed, I gave Blacky a call and told him about my arm. “I should be good for a couple of hours tonight, boss.”

“Don’t push yourself, Lukas. You sound tired. How bad is the gash.”

“Deep. A few stitches. I’ll be fine.”

“Take all the time you need. You fool around with the wrong people while you’re wounded and I’m going to lose you for a lot longer than a couple of days. Keep that in mind.”

“Copy that, boss. I’ll take it easy.”

I shook one more pill out of the vial and washed it down with a gulp of water. Out like a light as soon as I laid my head down, and the day was almost gone when I opened my eyes. Checked the time on my phone and noticed a message.

Regan.

“You okay? Yes or no will do.”

“Yes.”

I waited to see if she had her phone handy and saw the dots. She was typing so I lit up a smoke and sat on the side of the bed and waited.

“Sleep well. Talk tomorrow.”

“Good copy.”

I liked her a lot more than I should considering I was in no position to be seeing anybody. Especially somebody as nice as Regan. She couldn’t come here, and she could never know Lukas Weaver.

Why I usually stuck to club girls. Disposable.

Riverside Bar and Grill. Riverside. Austin.

I should’ve stayed home in bed, but I needed a gallon of beer and some food before I slept for another round-the-clock session.

Drove slowly and used my lefty as little as possible. Parked at the back and I was early. The place hadn’t filled up. My booth of choice was empty and as soon as I sat down, the new waitress, Lila, rushed over to see what I wanted. Cute girl, but she was young and seemed too nice to work in a dive bar like this one.

There were only a couple of things on the worn one-page menu that weren’t shit, so I ordered the fish and chips.

“You want a pitcher, Lukas?”

“Yeah. I’ll have Shiners.”

Lila smiled. “Be right back with your beer.” That’s when she noticed the bandage on my arm. I wasn’t wearing the sling like I was supposed to. “Did you get hurt?”

“Just a little cut.”

“Huge bandage for a little cut.”

Without the sling, I should be wearing a jacket to cover the bandage. Never thought of that in my hurry to get over here to the bar. Now I’m like easy prey for the assholes who hang out here.

Trouble breeds trouble.

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