Page 97 of The Kings of Kearny

He pulled something else from his pocket and slid it over to me. It was a thumb drive. “All the photos you need are on there. You might not get to take Redding out, but once the Jokers see him with me, they’ll pull out of Magnolia.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll figure out some way to get it to them.”

He grinned. “I’m sure your boyfriend’s father will know how.”

Goddamn it. Everyone knew everything but me. Why the fuck had I even gotten involved?

Nick’s smile slipped. My stupid, expressive face must have given me away.

“Don’t take it personally, Skywalker. We’ve all been watching each other for years. It’s our business to know every move the other player makes.” He eyed me for a second before continuing. “Once everything cools down, you might want to take a step back and give yourself some space to think about whether or not you really want to be involved in this world. You’re not in so deep that you can’t get out.”

Theyetat the end of that sentence was heavily implied. The longer I stuck around, the more complicit I would become, the more shit I would see, and the harder it would be to break free. Nick made a good point. Everything had happened so fast this week. It was like that movieSpeed, and Jakob and I were Keanu and Sandra. We’d been thrown together under duress. The dangerous circumstances had forced us to form a quick bond, working toward a mutual goal, with disaster dogging our steps. I knew from my time in the military how strongly these situations could bond people. Add in our chemistry, and I had fallen for him hard and fast. Once the threat of imminent destruction passed, what was left? And did I even want to stick around and find out if anything was?

“Think about it,” Nick said, rising from his seat to leave.

I nodded, staring out the window, looking back on the madness of the past few days. The stress of it all had wreaked havoc on my body. Everything hurt, not just my leg. My brain felt foggy. I didn’t know up from down anymore, and a strange sort of detachment was settling into my psyche. Anticipatory fear lingered in the back of my mind. What would happen next? Who else had I underestimated? Would I leave this café only to learn that Jakob had been working with his father all along? Or that Daniel hadn’t gone to Georgia but stuck around to start World War III? If I’d learned anything since getting involved in all of this, it was that I was god-awful at anticipating the next swerve in the road.

Nick paused beside me, hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”

I shook my head. “No, but you know me. I’ll be fine.”

He squeezed me once and let me go. Then he was gone.

I should leave too. I didn’t want to be here when the café workers filed back in, wondering what the fuck had happened after Nick ordered them to leave. I was so out of it that I might blurt the truth.

I shoved my chair back and stood. The heat slapped me in the face when I stepped outside, and my whole body instantly broke out in sweat. I needed to call Jakob.

He answered on the first ring. “What happened? Are you okay?”

The fact that he was even asking meant that he must still care about me at least a little bit. It might have given me hope if I wasn’t so fucked up about everything. Did I want there to be hope? Or was it better if I simply walked away? God, I didn’t want to walk away, but I felt like I might need to, at least for a little while, if I had any chance of clearing my head.

“I’m okay,” I said.

His harsh exhale was audible over the phone. Yes, he cared. Maybe more than he should.

“You were right about Nick keeping things from me,” I told him. “I got back, and the café was empty. He arrested Redding.”

“What?” Jakob bit out.

I filled him in as I walked back to my car, starting with Dr. Perez being conscious and working my way backward. I had to yank the phone away from my ear when I got to the part where Nick showed me Redding’s victims.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FIT HIS PROFILE?”

“Would you stop yelling? You’re going to make my ear bleed.”

He dropped his voice. “Where are they holding him?”

I shivered despite the heat. Maybe him yelling was better than the terrifying calm he’d descended into. It was like we were back at the police station when he’d casually mentioned assaulting a government facility to get to me. He couldn’t find out where Redding was. He’d get himself killed.

“I don’t know where they’re holding him, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Call Nick. Find out.”

“No, psycho. I’m not going to aid you in your suicide attempt.”

His voice dropped into a low, amused rumble. “You need to stop underestimating what I’m capable of.”

I nearly slapped myself in the forehead. Good Lord, hadn’t Ijustsaid the same thing to myself?

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