Page 92 of Rough

Tegan turned toward me. “She’s nice.”

“She’s nicer than that,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“You see. In time. Nobody’s going to be too nice to you today, because they don’t know if you’ll be around for long. They don’t want to try and buddy up to you, and then never see you again.”

“Oh.” She made a pouty face. “Am I going to be around for long?”

She wasn’t going anywhere unless she wanted to, but convincing her seemed impossible. “If I got any say in it, yes.”

“Who else has a say?”

“You.”

“Anybody else?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She grinned. “Okay.”

“If you need to use the bathroom, you better do it now.”

“I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“We won’t be stopping.”

“Even if I have to pee?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Even if you have to pee.”

“Let me see what I can do, then.”

“Far left side of the shop,” I said. “In the back.”

“Be back in a minute.”

Within a few seconds of her walking away, Crip emerged. “That’s her, huh?”

“That’s her.”

“Cute little bitch.”

I nodded. “She ain’t bad.”

“How old is she?”

“Same as Peyton,” I said.

He crossed his arms. “She up for this ride?”

“It’s two fucking hours, Crip. We ain’t going to Canada. She’ll be fine.”

“So, what’s this about?” he asked. “Is this revenge for the bike, or something else?”