Page 36 of Blood We Steal

He chuckled, and patted the size medium uniform top. I’d missed the outline of the thick rectangle but saw it now.

Who’d ever guess fifty-two little pieces of plastic could cause so much trouble?

“Dead folks or not, still gotta pass the time somehow.”

I huffed but then stared at Aaron until he looked at me. “Are you really okay?” I whispered.

He’d been in this place for over two years, and I’d worried about him every single day. If Rubin ever found out…

Aaron pulled me in for another hug, the easy smile on his face making me jealous. “Girl, you know I always land on my feet. But what are you doing here?” He shifted and leaned close, whispering to me, his eyes roaming the room to make sure that no one else was watching us.

“Rubin.” My voice was flat, but no inflection was necessary.

“Yeah. I figured he had to have something to do with it.” Aaron chuckled. “Well, I guess it could have been worse. He just brought you here instead of taking you to the upper room.”

I laughed, Aaron’s gallows humor one of the things I’d always appreciated about him and a lot of the source of my own humor. “Yeah. Well, you always did manage to look on the bright side.”

Aaron smiled but then went serious. “Baby girl, be careful,” he said, his voice going low.

“What’s going on, Aaron? Has someone threatened you?”

“Naw, I’m just saying these boys have never been nothing to play with. And now all bets are off. Gotta watch your back, Moni.”

“Aaron, you know I can take care of myself too,” I said, though it was funny. Years ago, I had told him the same thing, gently suggesting that perhaps getting into business with the Albanian mob was not the right move. But then again, having seen what had happened inside, I didn’t want to imagine where Aaron and I would be right now if we weren’t here.

Nana always said that everything happened for a reason. I hadn’t always believed her, but maybe she had a point. “Any idea what’s going on with the rest of the prison?”

“Yeah, it’s a mess on the other blocks. I’m glad I ended up here, all things considered,” he said. His expression turned dark.

“What is it?”

“Those COs… They were coming at everybody. Didn’t matter whether they was one of those things or not. If I hadn’t been with Marku’s crew, who knows what would have happened? They goin’ be a problem,” Aaron said. He glanced toward one of the four doors in the cafeteria, which led to D block. Most of the screams had come from that direction, but I hadn’t been brave or stupid or both enough to try to figure out why.

“Everything’s always a problem, but Rubin will handle it,” I said.

Rubin. It only occurred to me that I was standing up for him after a moment.

Aaron nodded his agreement. “Yeah. I don’t doubt his talents. I’m just saying this is about making sure we’re okay. And that’s what I’m gonna do,” he said.

I looked over my shoulder and risked giving him a hug. He hugged me back briefly, but then dropped his arms suddenly. I felt Aaron pull back and a split second later, felt the weight I immediately knew the source of. Felt that dirty flame of desire too. I didn’t have to look back to know why Aaron had let go or why my sex clenched, but when I did, I found Rubin watching, all the more menacing for the patient coolness in his eyes. He held my gaze for a few seconds longer than was polite and then walked away.

Aaron didn’t say anything until Rubin was gone to the opposite corner, apparently bored of us, but then he shook his head. “Don’t worry, baby girl. He pissed off at you, but you still got sway.”

“What does that mean, Aaron?” I asked.

“It means if you were anybody else you would have been welded into a barrel alive and thrown into the ocean. But you’re not, because you’re smart. Stay that way and play your cards right, and we might make it out of this alive.” His expression was grim, but lifted for a split second before his gaze darted over my shoulder.

Welded into a barrel. One of Rubin’s nicer punishments, far nicer than he’d ever grant me. But I didn’t say that to Aaron. There was no reason to worry him. And there was no reason to worry myself either. Right now, I was in a semi-clean cafeteria without zombies attacking me and the only man I’d call family at my side.

Whatever might happen in the future would have to take care of itself.

I followed the path of Aaron’s gaze and settled on the group across the room. Besnik, Lorik, Arben, a few of the others gathered around Rubin. He wasn’t looking at me, but Damian was.

Damian didn’t look at me like he hated me. He looked at me like I was a hurdle to jump, a forest that needed to be cleared for his highway. And then he looked at Aaron and I saw the same determination in his eyes I’d always seen in his brother’s.

Aaron was right. I was smart. But that might not be enough.

SEVENTEEN