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“Not a lot, so far. They work at night. I’m just setting up, trying to get a feel for the place.”
“You mean, you’ve been trying to get clean,” Johnny muttered.
I surged to my feet, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him up against the nearest wall. “Do we have a fucking problem?”
“You mean, other than the fact that you’ve become a junkie to help Rafe?”
“I did what I had to do,” I snapped. “I got the job done. I did what was asked of me.”
“At what cost?” he asked, shoving me off him.
Rae whistled loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “Hey, enough!We’re here to do a job. It doesn’t help to drag up shit from the past. Jack did what he had to do. Now, let’s finish the job and get the hell out of here.”
I turned away, seething the longer I had Johnny in the house with me. I didn’t need his unnecessary observations about how I chose to do the job. I did what I had to do and that was the end of it. His being here only made the urge to shoot up that much stronger.
“Look,” Johnny sighed. “I’m not…I just want this to be over so you can come home.”
“I know.” I rubbed the prickle of unease from the back of my neck. With the three of them here, it would be harder to do the job, knowing my every move was under scrutiny.
“Have you had contact with Baz?” Jason asked.
“Once. He showed up last week, but it’s not looking good so far. His interest is only in keeping his son on the straight and narrow.”
“What about everyone else in this neighborhood?” Rae asked. “Has anyone shown any interest?”
“Only to the point that they watch me. I’ve got cameras in my house, but so far, no one’s come near when I’m not around. Rico’s been around twice. One time to ask me to keep an eye on his ex and the other to break into her house.”
“Whoa, his ex lives here?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah, next door,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s got a kid with him.”
“Who the hell would procreate with him?” Rae said in disgust.
“I don’t think it was consensual.”
“You mean he raped her and then forced her to live here?” Jason snapped.
That might be stretching it. “When I say it wasn’t consensual, I mean, I don’t think she knew anything about him. Maybe it was a one-night stand or a fling. I don’t know, but she’s definitely not the type to hang onto a guy like him.”
“In what way?” Rae asked.
“She’s got a job,” I said with a huff of laughter. “She works her ass off as a nurse and a medic. In fact, I remember her from prison. I was taken to the hospital and she was the EMT that arrived on the scene.”
“When the fuck were you taken to the hospital?” Johnny spat.
“Would you calm the fuck down?” Rae snapped at him. “Jesus, you’re worse than a woman on her rag.” She turned back to me, taking a deep breath. “Give me everything you know about her. I’ll do some digging and find out everything I can.”
“In the meantime, you should use her,” Jason added.
“I’m not using her. She’s got a kid.”
“And that’s how you get to her. You have to make friends with her.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Do you even hear yourself? She’s got her own shit going on. Making friends with her will only drag her in further.”
“I’m not suggesting that you hang out with her, but talk to her on occasion. Maybe offer to cut her grass,” Jason suggested.
Rae laughed. “Yeah, cut her grass, Jack.”
