AllFreeNovel
Share Us
REESE
My game plan is a long shot, but a wise man once said that you miss all the shots you don’t take.
I know I can’t go to the police. Too many questions. Too much shit I got wrapped up with Elliot and his P.I. and too much to explain when I could rally my own troops with less hassle and less fallout.
I just gotta make sure my troops are on board. Hey D. Where are you and Marcus at?
I’m already on the highway, headed to Marcus’s. There’s a good chance they’re there.
It takes a minute, but I get a response.
DANTE: w/ marcus.
DANTE: what you want?
I grimace and text back. Need a favor. Can say no if you need to but hear me out. Please.
DANTE: …
DANTE: a please coming from THE reese dalton? color me fuckin surprised.
DANTE: sure. swing by. we need a laugh.
Despite the obvious “go fuck yourself” vibe in the replies, I book it even harder. Traffic cams go off like fireworks as I blaze through one stoplight after the next, but I don’t give a shit. Money comes and goes. Friends? Partners? Babies? That shit is here to stay.
At least, I hope.
I peel into Marcus’ driveway, not even bothering to close the door to my car all the way as I leap out and charge up to the front. I pound the hell out of it with one fist while I jam the doorbell again and again with the other.
Finally, the door flies open. Dante and Marcus are there. Their faces contort in irritation. “For fuck’s sake, dude, we hear you.”
Before they can say any more shit, I push my way past them. They’re not getting out of hearing me say my piece.
Marcus rears back. “The fuck are you?—”
“I said I needed a favor,” I cut in. “I know that shit hasn’t been the best between us and I get that. I’ve been a dick, absorbed in my own shit for the last… shit, the last forever. So I get it. Hate me. Never talk to me again. I deserve that. But Olivia is in trouble and I can’t turn to anyone else to help me get her out of it.”
Dante and Marcus glance at each other. “What do you mean, ‘Olivia’s in trouble’?”
I explain everything. That night at the restaurant, that damn devil’s deal I made with Holly. And then the bomb drop: that I don’t even think Violet is hers despite all the science that says she is. That she’s got Olivia trapped in some fucking hellhole and I can’t rely on the cops to help me out.
“I need my friends,” I conclude, after spilling all the guts I have to spill. “I need your help to help Olivia. After, you can say fuck me and leave me hanging out to dry. I've been a shit friend, so that’s more than fair. But Olivia doesn’t deserve this because I got caught up in some bullshit of my own making. You both know that.”
“Olivia don’t deserve your ass fucking up her life in general, dude,” Dante says. He looks perplexed, like he can’t believe anything I’ve said to him.
I don’t blame him. If we switched roles, I’d probably be assuming he got checked in the head too hard. “You’re not wrong.”
“I never am. Listen, dipshit, why are we just now hearing about this?”
I tilt my head. “What?”
Marcus folds his arms over his chest. I feel like I’m about to get the scolding of my life. “You’re fuckin’ dumb, Dalton. You should have come to us as soon as this psycho did her weird little ‘give me your life and I’ll hand over the girl’ song and dance.”
“Yeah. You’re the one in the doghouse, not Olivia. Honestly, when this shit with Holly came out, I figured this was just proof you’re a trash can.”
Marcus snorts. “Nah. He’s still a trash can.”
“Bet.”
