Page 31 of Refrain

“It’s fine—”

“Here.” She snatches up a wad of napkins without taking her hand from my face.

Her fingers are warm. Too warm. They shake as if it’s taking all of her energy to extend the limb. She seems determined to wipe the blood away though, so I let her.

It’s been a long time since someone else has tried to wipe away my boo-boos. Maybe not since Dante.

And he was never this gentle.

“I’m sure you haveyourtetanus shot up to date?”

So Yellow has jokes. She wads the used napkins into her fist, and when the waitress comes to our table, she quietly requests a glass of water, still eyeing my forehead.

I order stuff off the menu at random. Both Yellow and Domi look like they haven’t had a good meal in a while. When the waitress scurries away to the kitchen, promising to bring a pot of coffee, we wait.

The two women take turns eyeing each other while I tally up all the many ways this little stunt will cost me. I’ll need to refresh my kit sooner than I planned on, thanks to Yellow. That’s at least a hundred. The drugs are easily another two or three. Taking care of Domi will cost me only god knows how much.

“Are you a gymnast?” Yellow doesn’t like silence too much. She’s itching to fill it. “Are you?”

I shake my head. “Unless studying at the school of ‘badassery on the jungle gym’ counts as proper training.”

That cracks a smile out of her. I copy the expression, but her mouth falls flat.

“Doctor. Artist. Acrobat.” She tiredly rattles off the list. “You’re quite the one-man show.”

“More like a shitshow.” God, I need a cigarette. My fingers flex against the table, desperate to light one up.

“Here.” Domi reaches down the front of her dress without giving a damn for whoever might be watching.

The moment I see what she has in her hand, I don’t care if she brought the attention of the whole police department.

“I scored these from a cop on my way out,” she tells me as she lets two limp cigarettes fall onto the table. “Told him that he had a cute face.”

“You beautiful, beautiful girl.” I snatch up one, ignoring the slight dampness, and reach into my pocket for a lighter.

This café’s old school, thank fuck. They even have a complimentary ashtray beside the ketchup bottle. I light up quickly and take a hit.

Yellow’s still watching me, her brow furrowed. With her beside Domi, the similarities between them add up. They both sit hunched over and sneak glances at the door as if waiting for the moment a Russian will come barging through. Strip away the different hair colors, and you’d have the same battered woman.

“How long are we going to stay here?” Domi’s getting anxious, but the moment the question leaves her mouth, the first plate of food arrives. The next second, she’s too busy stuffing eggs and pancakes down to care about leaving.

I let her have the lion’s share. Even Yellow caves and samples a piece of toast. At least one of us can loosen up.

Two hard pulls on my cig don’t ease the ache in the pit of my stomach. Half a cup of coffee doesn’t chase it away, either. I’ll need whiskey tonight. Maybe the rest of the damn bottle. It’s like I’m turning into Arno.

I’m nearly finished with the cig when Domi sets her fork down, having cleared four plates. Yellow copies her, and I fish a fifty from my pocket to cover the meal. When we leave the diner, good old reality comes back with a vengeance. Somehow, I’ve got to get back to Arno’s territory without arousing suspicion or being tailed. That’s hard enough on agoodday.

“You think you can keep her safe?” Yellow speaks against my ear. Her breath smells like blood.

I take another hit of the cig to drown out the stench. “Maybe,” I say, eliciting a skeptical sigh from her. “Look.” I turn around, yanking the rest of the cash from my pocket. I slap most of it into her hand without bothering to count the bills. “I’ll take it from here. Here’s your cut.”

“And then what?” She withstands the contact of my palmagainst hers with the money in between, but she doesn’t try to take it. She eyes me instead before turning to watch Domi over my shoulder. “Let’s say you get her to wherever you plan to. Then what?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

“You think it’s really that easy?”

“I’ve gotten this far.”

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