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I smile. “It’s okay. Do you want me to go back inside?”
He swipes a hand over the back of his neck. “No, it’s okay.”
“Did Carlos go with Rafael?”
Lucas shakes his head. “No, the boss made him stay here. He’s pissed. He’s not used to staying in the expensive houses, you know? He prefers the streets.”
I nod. “He feels out of place.”
Lucas shrugs one shoulder. “Yeah. We were raised poor. Sometimes you almost feel guilty for having more. Especially when you earn your money doing this.” He kicks at the grass beneath his feet.
I glance out over the desert again. “We all do what we have to in order to survive, Lucas. There’s no shame in that.” Lucas, Carlos, Rafael…they’re not good men, but they aren’t bad men either. They’re just taking the only opportunities handed to them.
“Thanks.” I glance at him, at the wide gawky grin on his face. A bang splits the air, and it sounds almost like the cracking of a whip. The smile falls from Lucas’ face, and he glances down. I follow his gaze to his stomach where a red spot is slowly spreading, getting bigger and bigger.
“Lucas!” He drops to the ground, landing on his back on the grass. His mouth opens and closes like he’s trying to speak but can’t. “Lucas!” Shot. He’s been shot. I press my hands over his stomach where warm blood pools between my fingers. Through my tear-blurred vision, I glance at his ghostly-pale face. Where the hell are the other guards? I glance around, but I can’t see anyone. In a panic, I pat Lucas’ pocket and find his phone. With trembling fingers, I manage to dial Carlos’ number and put it on speakerphone so I can press both hands over Lucas’ stomach.
“Little bro,” Carlos says.
“Carlos,” I sob. “He’s been shot. I can’t…there’s so much blood.”
“Where are you?”
“The –”
Something covers my mouth, and I thrash wildly as a horrible chemical smell makes my eyes water. My vision blurs, my mind swirls, and the last thing I see before everything goes black is Lucas’ bleeding form lying in the grass.
