Reno steps out of the door, leaving it open to meet me halfway. “Settle down. She’s at a friend’s.” Her thick, blonde hair is pulled into a messy updo, the piece of fabric clinging to her body beneath her coat resembling a strip of bandage more than a dress.
“Who?” Better not be one of the guys she strings along for the occasional payday.Same as I used to be.
“It doesn’t matter when she’s already there.” Our one-time bunny lifts an eyebrow to coax me into an argument.
I widen my stance and fold my arms instead. “What are you doing here, anyway?” I make a point of dragging my gaze down her attire. “Seems to me like you got somewhere else to be considering you got no place selling your shit here anymore.”
“I’m welcome whenever I want, Fang.” Her jerky movements when she speaks scream of a recent hit. Of what? Who knows? But—like who my daughter is currently with—it apparently doesn’t matter. “I need this signed before Monday.” She shoves a haphazardly folded piece of paper at my chest.
I flip it open, glancing between her and the printed page.Program Enrollment Request.“What the fuck is this?”
“If you read it, you’d know.” She brushes a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, adjusting her dress afterward.
I skim over the page, tipping it toward the light spilling from the house to be sure I’m reading the bullshit I think I am. “You want to send Molly away for winter break?”
“It’s only two weeks.”
“That’s a fuckin’ long time for a six-year-old.” I shake the paper between us. “Why? What’s so goddamn important that you need to be rid of her for that long?”
She raises her eyebrows, chin tucked down while she stares at me as thoughI’mthe one who lost my mind. “Who said Ineedto be rid of her?”
I turn the paper toward Reno and stab a finger at the giant fucking red flag. “Because the program costs three hundred dollars that I’m sure you’re about to ask me for.”
She glances away, jaw hard.
I said I’ve never hit a woman. Didn’t say I’ve never been tempted.
“You only ever show up when you want something from me, don’t you?” I carefully fold the sheet of paper, focusing on the crisp creases as I speak. “Usually money.”
“What else am I supposed to do with her?” Reno exclaims with a toss of her hands. “She’s not allowed here, so what do I do with her, huh? Where do I send her when her own daddy won’t have her?”
As always, she manages to twist the situation around to highlightmyshortcomings as a parent. “You know I don’t have Molly here because it’s better for her. This ain’t a place for a little girl.”
“Says who? Plenty of the old ladies bring their kids by. Nobody else has an issue with it.”
“That’s their choice.” Most can’t see how this place corrupts people. I do. “Where is she now, Reno?”
“What does it matter?”
“Because if she ain’t with someone who can watch her for two weeks over winter break, I want to know she’s with someone who can be trusted.”
She stares me down for a beat before quietly answering. “She’s with Rhonda.”
Reno’s neighbor. Works bar service at The Factory. A good lady.I can work with that.“And she can’t watch her for you?”
“She’s got to work, Fang,” Reno leers. “Not all of us get to lounge around picking fights when we feel like it.”
“You sure about that?”
Her glare is harsh enough that I half-expect to combust spontaneously. “Even if I could, I don’t have two weeks spare, Reno. We’ve got shit going down. It’s too dangerous for her to be here.”
“So sign the form,” she urges.
“No.”
“Why not?” Reno wails, frustrated. “It solves your problem.”
“No,” I snap, pointing a finger her way. “It solves yours.”
