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Chapter 16
Fox
The entry bell chimes as I walk into Fawn’s Pawn again, but I can barely hear it over a man shouting somewhere in the back corner. I hold the door open for a woman as she quickly slips past me, obviously eager to not get involved.
“What do you mean it’s worthless? This is an antique!”
“It’s a hunk of garbage, dude,” Caleb says with a scoff. “You’d make more selling it for scrap metal.”
I step forward, listening closely as I walk toward the back counter. Caleb’s face comes into view and I almost smile at the familiar, annoyed expression weighing on her eyelids. I study the man — but it doesn’t take more than one glance to figure him out.
“Just…” He lets out an exasperated sigh. “A hundred bucks.”
“No,” she says.
“Seventy-five.”
“No.”
“Fifty.”
She glowers. “Seriously?”
He rolls a fist by his side. I take an extra step closer. “Lady, why are you being such a bitch?”
“Because I don’t buy from tweaked-out druggies looking for quick cash. It’s called standards.”
I smirk. Caleb’s never been afraid to say exactly what pops into her head at any moment. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the biggest thing I miss about my deployment.
Hell, it’s the only thing I miss about my deployment.
The man reaches behind his back and I exhale. Caleb is more than capable of handling this herself, but I’m in a hurry here.
“Hey, buddy,” I say.
He twists his head around and glares at me.
I gesture at his hand to be sure he knows I noticed. “I wouldn’t.”
“Mind your own fucking business, pal,” he spits at me.
As he turns back toward Caleb, she reaches out and digs a taser into his chest with her willing finger lying along the trigger. “You heard the man,” she says.
He stiffens and slowly raises his hands. “Okay…”
“Piss off, please.”
“All right.”
He grabs the object off the counter — some metal contraption that I don’t get a good look at — and bolts past me to get out as quickly as possible.
Caleb taps the trigger twice and the taser comes alive with sparks. “Damn,” she says with a sigh. “I was really looking forward to finally using this…”
I walk up to the counter. “Charming as always, Caleb.”
She points it at me. “Are you volunteering?”
“Maybe some other time.”
