Page 121 of Nuts

He looked at me. “You won’t regret this. All a man has is his word, I gave you mine. It’s all I’ve got.”

“Listen, motherfucker,” I said. “I don’t want to swap spit, make s’mores, or sing kumbaya. You’re being freed because she believes you. If it was up to me, I’d be shoving veggies up your ass until you were 64 years old. I’ll be back tomorrow, and if you spill that cup, you’ll be walking to Temecula a pretty thirsty man.”

I turned to Joey. “You ready?”

She gave a nod.

We walked out of the trailer, and closed the door. As I locked it, she looked at me and laughed.

“What?” I asked.

“Tarantulas? Tabasco? Cucumbers? Now I know why they named you P-Nut.”

I doubted she did, but I entertained her anyway.

“Oh yeah? Why?”

“P for Percy, and Nut because you’re crazy.”

“But you love me anyway?”

“With all my heart,” she said.

We strapped on our helmets, hopped on the bike, and rode toward the sunset. In a matter of minutes, it was pitch black. The clear sky was filled with stars. In the distance, I noticed one shoot across the sky and flicker out.

And, while the ATF agent undoubtedly thanked his lucky stars that Joey made an appearance in his life, I did the same.

Chapter Forty-Three

Joey

Albert called me in for a meeting. Certain my managerial duties were coming to an end, I walked to his office and knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

I pushed the door open.

“Close the door behind you, please.”

Crap.

I pulled the door closed.

“Have a seat.”

I sat down.

“I’ve decided to cut the six-month thing short. There’s not much sense in continuing.”

“I thought I’d been doing a good job. I’ve increased profit by 11%, reduced Blane’s hours by 10 per week, and in turn, decreased payroll by 6%. I’m sure in time it will get--”

He raised his index finger, and cut me off. “I’m cutting it short because I’m giving you the job.”

Holy cow.

“Oh. Wow. Permanently?”

“That is correct.”