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“I don’t like it,” she grumbled, “but I’ll stay out of it. For now.”
And with that threat, I decided it was time to get off the phone and destress. “I have a few things to do before I go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Code for, you’ve interfered too much and it’s time to get off the phone.”
“I still love you.”
“You have a funny way of showing it,” she chuckled. “Talk later.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Sighing, I tossed the phone on the table and took one last peek outside at my neighbor. Thank God my mom wasn’t around to see him. All those tats on his arms would freak her out, and then she’d drag me away by my hair. After locking all the doors and turning off the lights, it was time to unwind for the day.
Undressing, I slipped into the bath and grabbed my wine glass. Taking a long sip, I pictured my happy place, somewhere far away from here where I wouldn’t have to worry about violence on a daily basis. Maybe I could find a small town to disappear from the chaos. Some place Parker could grow up with friends who would play ball with him after school and he could ride his bike around town without worrying about gang violence.
I would make it happen sooner rather than later. I almost had enough money saved from working my side job as an EMT. Before I was in nursing school, I trained as an EMT, getting my license so I could put myself through school. I still take shifts twice a week to help pay the bills and save up for my escape. Most of the time, Gina watches Parker for me. She knows my situation, and was there the night I met Rico. She wants me to get out just as much as I do.
If I have to put in a little extra time now so my kid is safe in the long run, I’ll do it. Even if that means wearing myself thin from the long hours or meeting some of the worst of humanity when we get called to the prison. That place gives me the creeps. It’s one of the most dangerous prisons in the United States and?—
I sat upright, nearly sloshing my wine over the side of the glass in my haste. My heart slowly pounded faster and faster in my chest as I realized where I’d seen the man next door before. He was on my gurney a few months back. We’d been called to the Beaumont for a prisoner who had been injured. That was him. He looked different now—not banged up like he was then. But I was sure of it. The question was, what was he in prison for and were we safe next door to him?
6
JACK
“What are you doing?”
I turned at the sound of the tiny male voice over my shoulder. Of all the people I expected to talk to me in this neighborhood, I hadn’t expected this kid to be one of them.
“Fixing my bike.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Everything,” I grunted.
“If everything’s wrong with it, why don’t you buy a new one?”
Dropping my tool, I got off the bucket I was using for a seat and snatched the rag off the seat of the bike. Wiping my hands, I stared down at the kid who couldn’t be more than five years old. With a mop of brown hair on the top of his head and blue eyes that matched his mama’s, it was hard to see how he was related to Rico at all. He didn’t look a thing like him, which was probably for the best.
“Where’s your mama?”
“In the house,” he said, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. “She’s mad because she didn’t hear her alarm go off. She said she’s late and her boss is going to yell at her a lot.”
“Yeah? What does she do?”
“She’s a nurse at the hospital.”
This kid had to be older than I thought. The way he spoke—it didn’t sound like any five-year-old I knew. Not that I knew many of them. “How old are you?”
“Four!” he beamed, holding out four fingers proudly. “I’ll be five in two months!”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. This kid was only four? He spoke clearly, with not even a hint of uncertainty about what he was saying.
“Why don’t you buy a new bike?”
“Because I don’t want a new bike.”
“But a new bike would be prettier.”
