Page 96 of Mother Parker
“I’m thankful for my friends,” I said.
It wasn’t a lie. Parker was a friend. Maybe a bit more than a friend, but a friend nonetheless.
I was surrounded by friends. Good, kindhearted people that gave openly and beautifully.
“Yeah. Friends,” I repeated and ended the stream without much fanfare.
I locked my phone screen, and as I turned to put it in my back pocket, I caught a shadow outside and almost jumped out of my skin.
The shadow moved.
Who was that?
I stuck my hand and face to the window and tried to catch any features as the person moved away from the deck and off to the parking lot.
When he reached it, he glanced around. He’d also stepped into a sliver of light, and I caught sight of a tall blond figure.
Where did I know him from?
I kept watching until he realized I could see him, and he turned his back to me, running away.
He was so lanky and ghostly. I knew I’d seen that face before.
“Beer, anyone?” Wyatt said from behind the bar, and it finally clicked.
I walked toward Wyatt, who had started pouring lagers, ales, and beer galore, and leaned over the bar.
“Wyatt, did you have a weird guy come in and talk to you about protecting the neighborhood and all the businesses and stuff?” I asked.
Wyatt stopped and turned to me with confusion knitted all over his bushy eyebrows and hardened face.
“What? I don’t need security. We are security,” he said.
“Oh yeah, I know. I just saw this guy outside. He came a few weeks ago, after that broken door, and told me he could protect me if it happened again and some bullshit. I thought maybe he’d tried his luck on you too. As if anyone would be stupid enough to pay—”
“What did you say?” Parker asked behind me.
I turned around. His smile had disappeared, a mirror image of Wyatt, sans the wrinkles.
“As if anyone would pay a scraggy little man to ‘protect’ them from anything. He doesn’t even look strong enough—”
“Back up, Hwan. From the top. Did you say someone came in selling you protection?” Wyatt asked.
I nodded and shrunk away from the multiple pairs of eyes staring at me.
“Why didn’t you say something? When did that happen?” Parker asked.
“Like, the day I met you. Why would I say anything? I’m not stupid enough to fall for the scam,” I said.
Halmeoni sighed and slapped her forehead with her palm.
“What?” I asked. “What did I do?”
“The question isn’t what you did. It’s what they did?” Maddox told me.
“Who?”
TWENTY
