Page 15 of Hostile Saint

“Nah. Nah. Nothing to apologize for. That man only has a couple Achilles heels, and you have managed to tap both of them today.” He chuckled. “That may be a saving grace for you. He’s a powerful ally to have on your side. And, kid? He’s on your side. Trust me. I can read that man’s thoughts.”

I was yet to have the capability to understand what a profound statement had just been made. My thoughts were full of one only. “Have you heard any more about Lacey?”

“We’re being told the doc that found her at Serenity is invested. It seems you both have found guardian angels. So, no need to save food or meds for her. She’s covered. But we will need your and Lacey’s full names so we can see if there’re any missing person reports filed.”

All the food in my stomach suddenly soured. “W-Why? Are you going to send us back? I won’t go back. I won’t take Lacey—”

“Breathe, kid. Breathe. We’re not sending ya back.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Police are involved, kid. That complicates things.”

I swayed on my feet. “Tell me how to uncomplicate it.”

He grabbed an arm. “Easy, Nine Lives. We’ve already discussed there ain’t no ten.” He pulled me toward the table. “You need to sit before you hit the ground.”

Barely registering that I was sitting again, I asked, “Will the police take her from me?”

“No. It, uh, it’s more like they will keep an eye on her, so… we just have to get creative.”

Just the thought of losing her was making it hard to breathe. “Creative?”

“As Prez said, we don’t exactly follow the laws the Po-Po try to enforce. So, we get creative and work around them.”

It’s wild to think about it but, my brothers trying to end my life actually gave me a brand new one. On Sunday, when my body should’ve started its decaying process in some woods, it was healing fast and now in a car headed for a rental house.

Lynx wouldn’t tell me how much my “vet” bill was, or the sweatpants and T-shirt I was wearing, but I got him to agree to start a tab that I could pay off once I had a job.

Technically, Lynx and Dagger were strangers to me, but it didn’t feel that way. You could say we clicked. It was nice being around men who didn’t want to hurt me. Being on guard all the time was exhausting.

Lynx and Dagger kept teasing me for being a Bulldog, but it was truly them who were the dogs ready to attack. In a car driving down the road, they sat in the front, both with scowls, watching our surroundings like hawks.

I was in the backseat staring out the passenger window. “Where the fuck am I?” There were tall mountains off in the distance. I didn’t recognize the terrain one bit. I had lived where everything was flat.

Dagger, from the passenger’s seat, said, “He’s been so worried about Lacey that he’s just now asking.”

Prez turned the steering wheel. “Crazy ass Pup, you’re in Colorado.”

“What? Damn.”

“Where you from?” asked VP.

“Kansas. Hey, can I see the picture again?”

VP tossed his cellphone over his shoulder. “Sure thing, Nine Lives.”

In his photos, there she was. A Prospect had managed a picture of Lacey sleeping in a hospital bed. My eyes welled seeing her safe. I could see past all the scrapes the dirt road caused her ivory skin. My finger grazed his phone. “My Pretty Girl.”

Stopping at a red light, Lynx told me, “They don’t know who she is. She didn’t have an ID on her.”

“She wouldn’t,” I replied. “Her mama never took her to get her learning permit.”

In dismay, he peered over his shoulder. “She’s got a mama? You told me there was no one to call to help her.”

Since starting to see my own mother in a different light, I couldn’t help but recognize the similarities between the two moms. I never met the woman, but she never took Lacey to the doctor or anything. Shouldn’t she have done more to care for her daughter? Her suspicious injuries? Or was it truly just that her mom was always working her two jobs and was unaware of what was happening under her roof. Either way, her mom missed or ignored some serious signs.

Wishing neither were true, I exhaled. “And I didn’t lie.” I stared out the window again. “I’m all she’s got.”

“Not no more, you hear me?” Lynx was getting fired up again.

I could feel my shoulders caving when they should’ve been straightening. “I hear ya, but be patient with me. The rule ‘too good to be true’ keeps rolling around in my head. Right now, hope feels like a double-edged razor.”