Page 110 of Savannah Royals
“And you? Did you deserve to get shot? Was that the price you were willing to pay?”
“Better me than you or one of the other guys.”
“Sogallant,” I mock.
“We’ve always had a code of honor, Kat. It’s what makes us different from the other gangs. We look out for each other, no matter what. I’d take another bullet for any one of you. I’d take three, one each, if I had to.”
I sigh, frustrated he can’t see what I see. It’s so simple. “Nobody has to take bullets for anyone anymore. Why don’t you get that? We’ve made our money, enough for a lifetime. Enough fortwolifetimes. We’ve done what we set out to do—made the splash we wanted, received the respect we were after. Now it’s time to get out. There’s nowhere to go from the top except down.”
“We don’t have to go anywhere. We can stay where we are. I’m handling it.”
“Do you know how you win at gambling, Paul? By knowing when it’s time to walk away.”
He stares at me.
I wish I could get through to him, but I don’t know how. I don’t know how to reel him in this time. I look at the drugs on the floor between us and sigh again.
“I think you should stop this. I think this is a mistake,” I whisper. “I’m asking you to stop.”
He swallows as he considers me.
“Why do you feel like you need this?” I ask, searching deep in his dark eyes.
“Because, Kat, if I don’t have this, what do I have? Not you, not anymore. What’s been the point of all these years if I let it go now, with nothing to show for it?”
“You have plenty to show for it. And you still have me and Abe and Tony.”
“I don’t have you the way I want you.”
I have no answer for that, so I bend over and scoop up the drugs. I put them in my pocket and pull my jacket on. Slowly. “You got any more drugs in that bag?”
“No.”
“Let me see.” I take it from him. “Fool me once Paul, shame on you. Fool me twice…”
I pull out a second bag and dangle it in front of him. He smiles at my use of his catchphrase.
“Nobody fools me, right? I’m taking these. You’re not selling them.”
He shrugs as I pocket the second bag. When I’m confident there’s no more, I hand his satchel back.
“Satisfied, commandant?” He arches an eyebrow.
“For now. Will you at least think about what I said? Thefts and heists are one thing, Paul, but the drug trade is a dog fight. Don’t drag your wolves into it.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Irunonangerand adrenaline all the way to the streetcar. When I sit down, however, I slowly deflate. By the time I’m unlocking the door to the loft, I’m exhausted. I emptied the drugs down a sewer drain before going up, and I feel like I aged ten years.
“Abe?” I call out.
“Yeah?” His voice sounds from his bedroom.
I rap my knuckles on the doorframe before entering.
“Hey, Kat.” He picks up a joint from his desk, thumbing his lighter.
“Put that down and do not light it,” I tell him firmly.
