He smelled like cigarettes and booze. “You work here?”
“No, but these are my friends.”
He snorted. “Sure.”
My blood felt chilled. Still, I smiled, holding out my hand in the short space between us. “Sam.”
The man stared at my hand for a moment. Then he took it. His handshake was limp.
Behind him, Mirabelle’s eyes were wide. She shook her head at me, almost imperceptibly.
“James.” The guy said. Then he spat off the concrete floor into the sand and sauntered off toward his tent.
“You okay?” I asked when he’d gone.
“Yes,” Mirabelle said in that soft voice. She didn’t look okay. Her hands were shaking as she closed the registration book.
Another engine sounded then, and a moment later, Ulli came striding in.
“Hey!” he called. But the big wide grin he wore dropped as he looked at both of us.
He went immediately to Mirabelle, taking her off to the side. He held her by the shoulders and spoke quietly, too low for me to hear. She spoke back, her eyes welling. Ulli stiffened, looking in the direction of where the man had gone, then at me.
He said something else, then Mirabelle nodded, slipping into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Do you know that guy?”
“Yeah,” Ulli said.
“Who is he?”
Ulli looked me in the eye and said, “You don’t want to know.”
CHAPTER 27
I’ve Got You
SAM
It took me only a few minutes to find Tommy. He was standing in a quiet part of the river walkway, not too far away from where the bus had dropped him off.
Relief cascaded over me in waves. I knew I’d find him, but some small part of me still feared the worst. Whatever that might be.
I slowed from my jog. My hip had started hurting just as I’d seen him. It didn’t usually hurt anymore thanks to the bi-weekly PT. But sprinting around everywhere without considering how I was moving hadn’t done me any favors.
“Hey,” I said.
Tommy jerked his head up. He’d been leaning on the railing, his hands gripping the metal handrail. Now he stood stiff, his arms at his side, flexing his fingers.
“Get lost, Sam.”
“Nah.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You think that’s funny?”
“No. Sorry. I’m still new at this. But I did mean what I said when I told you I wouldn’t leave you.”
“Man, fuckoff.Nobody wants you around anyway.”
