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PROLOGUE
SAM
Red and blue lights flash in my rearview, and I let out a long, irritated, pissed off grunt.
“Fuuuuuck, man!” My cousin Josh slurs from the passenger seat, and it takes everything inside my body to not reach over and knock him upside the head. “Pigs! Floor it!”
I glance over at him as I coast to the side of the road, and he cackles.
The fucker actually cackles.
“I swear to God, Josh, if you have shit on you…”
My brain goes to the worst of places as I remember the bag slung on his shoulder as he got into my car. I check the backseat and see it’s spilled all over the place now—God fucking forbid he take two seconds to zip it up. Junkie. He’s lucky I still give a shit about him.
“Oh, shit.”
Josh sobers up, and it’s damn near like a lightbulb goes off above his head.
“Josh…” My hackles rise as he visibly starts to lose his shit.
“Shit, shit, shit!” he whisper-yells, his eyes growing wide. “Sam…fuck,” Josh panics, his voice raising a few octaves. “Courtney’s pregnant, dude. I can’t go to jail.”
“Of course you have shit,” I yell at him. “Of fucking course.” I hit the steering wheel as he reaches toward the backseat but stops short when a knock sounds on my window.
I turn my attention toward the officer and roll down the window. A bright flashlight is pointed in my face, temporarily blinding me until the focal point moves toward Josh. It’s then that I see it’s Lyle, my buddy from high school.
“Sam Blackwell,” Lyle smiles. “Dude…you do know you have a taillight out right?” he says as he reaches out his hand to shake mine. “Long time no see, buddy. Why haven’t you been down to Ma’s?”
He references his grandmother’s restaurant that’s been a staple in this small-town for as long as I can remember.
“Nice to see you, too, man,” I say with a shrug. “Just been busy.”
He doesn’t need to know what I’ve been working on.
“Busy keeping your shithead cousin out of jail, I see.” His eyes move over to Josh, who gracefully flips him off.
“Knock it the fuck off, Josh,” I grit out as I turn back to Lyle. “Sorry about the taillight, man. I had no idea. I’ll take care of it first thing in the morning.”
Lyle nods but flashes his light in the backseat, just like I was afraid he would.
My eyes stay on his as his face visibly falls.
And I know.
I fucking know.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, Josh,” Lyle says, moving the flashlight from the spilled bag to Josh. “Thought you were gonna stay out of trouble after the judge gave you a break last time.”
I let my head fall against the seat as I clench my eyes shut.
I could let this happen.
I could let my cousin go to prison.
The judge let him off last time under one condition—he got sober, completed a narcotics class and went to a halfway house while recovering. Josh did. To save his own ass. But he never stopped dealing and as far as I know he’s never stopped using either. I just can’t quit on him like everyone else has. I don’t have it in me.
But it looks like that’s going to be my biggest fucking mistake yet…
