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“Mm.” He nodded with a dip of his chin and took a drag.
“He better get used to it.” I scratched my jaw. Over on the horizon, the sun had a few more minutes before it would appear. “I’ll prepare the truck later today. We’ll sleep there instead.”
“Sounds good.” He yawned and rolled his shoulders. “I’mma step out for coffee. You want anythin’ else?”
It wasn’t a matter of what I wanted… “We gotta eat better. Buy some food.”
We’d passed a fairly busy gas station on the way, and it was open twenty-four seven. I assumed he’d go there.
“All right. I’ll be back in a bit.” He started walking toward the other car, but he slowed down and gestured at the truck. “Is the bed cleared? You might wanna get some rest before the sun comes up.”
Not a bad idea. It was gonna be blazing hot today.
“I’ll carry out the mattresses,” I replied. “Go to the bathroom while you’re at the gas station.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Daddy.”
I mustered a faint smirk, though it faded quickly. My brother used it as a joke when I got fussy, but it was a term of endearment I usually heard from Shay. Jesus Christ, my heart couldn’t take being away from him for much longer.
Hadn’t he suffered enough? He wasn’t even thirty yet, and he’d already lost most of his family—in a house fire. His ma, his old man, his baby sister. He had two younger brothers left, and they needed Shay to come back home too.
* * *
The next few hours fucked with my head. I was in and out of sleep, rousing when I heard River or Luiz, dreaming about Shay, chasing the shadows in the bed of the truck as the sun climbed higher, and then Emerson and Danny invaded my dreams, causing me to wake up with a jolt.
I sat up and squinted, immediately noticing the black canvas ceiling above me—and a small but powerful fan at my feet. What the fuck? I scrubbed my hands over my face, then checked my watch.
Goddamn, it was past noon.
By the look of things, River had run my errands too.
I scooted out of the new sleeping quarters, and I landed barefoot on the ground. How tired had I been if River had been able to take off my boots without my noticing?
Since he’d brought all our gear back to the truck, I changed into a pair of jeans, a new tee, and River’s blue All-Stars.
River was in the barn with Luiz. I heard my brother’s quiet voice and Luiz’s anger.
“…and that’s probably because you’re a coward,” River was saying. “We killed every guard before you even reached for your gun. You’re not a fighter. You’re the one who hides behind the bigger guys.”
I walked into the barn, more accurately into one of the stalls, and took a piss down the nearest drain.
It didn’t escape my notice that River had bought lawn chairs somewhere. Two of them. And a cooler. I bet he was inspired by the electric one Ryan had bought in Italy for him and Crew.
Bunch of grocery bags sat next to the cooler.
The smell in here wasn’t that bad. As I zipped up my jeans, I noticed Riv had opened the door on the other side of the barn too, creating a cross-breeze.
“He talkin’ any?” I walked over to River and sat down on the other side of the cooler.
Psychological warfare at its finest. Cold drinks and food for us, not a damn thing for Luiz, who had to watch us eat.
“Not much.” Riv handed me a bag from a bakery, but I went for a bottle of water first. Then I hauled my tee over my head and uncapped the bottle. I leaned away from the bags and made quick work of emptying the water over myself, washing off my hands in the process, and got a speedy cooldown in triple-digit heat. It sure felt like triple digits, at least.
Luiz swallowed hard. I bet he was parched.
“Fuck, that felt good.” I pushed back my hair and wiped water off my face.
Now for the bakery bag…
