Page 39 of Swamp Princess

“Did I hear you correctly?” Loyal asks.

“Yes. Listen, it’s not ideal, but he may have an idea of who Brinley is with and who has the type of power to put the monster in the cage again. We could use the information.”

“Makes sense,” Rem says. “May work on our fathers as well.”

I open my phone and bring up the school directory and message Felicity. It doesn’t take her long to tell me Blaise is on the field running laps.

“Got him, let's go.” We walk to the field, and I see Blaise running basic football exercises. “Blaise.” I shout loudly enough for him to hear and stop. His face shows just how unhappy he is to see me.

I watch him jog over, fighting my instinct to insult the fucker, like I’m sure he is doing the same.

“What do you fucks want?”

“Just to talk.” I hold my hands up and motion to the bleachers. “We need to. It’s about Brinley.” That gets his attention. He walks over and before all of them are seated, he asks.

“What about her?” She blocked me, so I don’t know anything.”

“Yeah, she blocked me too.” She hadn’t blocked Rem and Loyal yet because they haven’t tried, but I was desperate enough to try.

“Well?”

“Well, my father informed me that Brinley will be out for possibly two weeks, and with the monster my father is, that would have been enough to get her expelled. But someone leashed him quic,k and I need to know who has that much power over that fucker. I need to know who Brinley knows like that.”

“Fuck. I don’t know. The kings of South Warren would hold pretty damn big power. Hold on.” Blaise pulls out his phone and I watch him scroll through his contacts. “Yo, man, what up? Look, I don’t have time to talk, but I need to know if Brinley is with you.” He listens intently and after a while, I see him frown before looking at me. “What about Vince? I know I just wanted to check. Thanks, bro.”

He hangs up the phone and looks at me. “Damien dropped her off at a free women’s health clinic and she said she would walk back to her trailer, which he said she never showed up too. She wouldn’t go entertain Vince or her situation would be worse.”

“So, who?” Loyal asks.

“First, I want to know why Brinley went to the clinic.” Blaise looks at me and I refuse to answer him.

“Does she know Amir or Thiago?”

Blaise glares at me, knowing I purposefully changed the subject, but fuck him. He is literally with my ex-fiancé.

“No one knows but a select few.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“No, not really. Which scares me.” Blaise is honest and we all silently still for a moment.

“Where is the women’s health clinic?” I have an idea forming in my head.

Blaise eyes me. “It’s on the far south side of South Warren. The one nice part of South Warren we have.”

“Good, lets go.” I stand and Loyal and Rem follow. “You, too, Blaise.” I don’t want him to but anyone talking to us in South Warren is a joke.

Surprise crosses his face but he stands and follows us. “Okay.’

“Where do I go?”

“Take the main road between our sides and hit the four right before Danny’s buffet. Once you hit the four, take it straight through for about fifteen-minutes and the clinic will be on your left.”

“How do you know where it is, exactly?” Rem asks as I start speeding.

He coughs and looks out the window. “I used to take Brin.” I want to yell at him. Even I felt the love for him when I took advantage of her. How I would have killed to feel an ounce of the love she felt for him directed at me.

“You’re a piece of shit.”

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