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“Naughty like what?” I continue walking when she looks away to hide the way her face has turned red.
“Like, they sometimes sell pills to people that make them dance faster.”
I frown. “Drugs?”
She shrugs. “My dad never calls them that, but I guess. They also wear guns and stuff…” She hesitates. “But apart from my dad, they’re not the police. So I don’t think they’re supposed to be wearing them.”
“Aren’t the police supposed to stop people from doing drugs and carrying guns? He wears that shiny badge, but he lets people do bad things?”
She flexes her fingers in my hand and hurries to keep up. “I don’t think he’s a very good policeman,” she murmurs. “I don’t think he follows the law like regular people.”
I push the front doors open and glance back toward the club when sunlight floods in and warms my jeans. Nobody comes running for us, so I lead Elizabeth through and close it again at our backs. “So your dad is like a vigilante police? A bit likeWalker, the Texas Ranger?” My voice is hopeful, but it drops again when she shakes her head.
“No. I think he’s bad police. He hurts people when he’s supposed to help them. He arrests people that maybe didn’t do anything wrong. Or,” she leans in a little closer and whispers, “if their skin isn’t the same color as ours. But bad people like Uncle can do bad things, and he doesn’t get in trouble.”
I slow my steps and yank Elizabeth closer until her shoulder touches my chest. “The army guy is bad? What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Her lips quiver. “My daddy will beat me to death if I snitch. It would be especially stupid to snitch about that man when I’m talking to his son.”
“I’m not loyal to him.” I pull her away from the club and toward my car. I don’t have the keys, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to sit inside. Instead, I lead her to the back and slide down so we sit on the hard gravel and lean against the frame. “I don’t know the guy.”
“But you said he’s your dad. You said your mom and him used to be together.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. I’m eleven and a half, and I met him today for the first time ever. That means he ain’t loyal to me or my mom. That means I’m more loyal to you at this point. I promise not to snitch on you. I won’t be the reason your father hurts you.”
She watches me with those dirty green eyes and tries to find my lies. I think she and I live in a world of complete opposites. She’s fed and has nice shoes, but she knows bad people. I never get new shoes, but my mom is special. She’s kind, and doesn’t talk to bad people…
Until now.
“This club belongs to Hayes,” she whispers. “Stella and Zoey’s dad. He’s the boss here, which is why they think they’re special, but Uncle is Hayes’ boss. He’s thebigboss that everyone is scared of. He makes sure everyone is working how he wants them, and I think… well…” She leans around the car to peek back at the club. “They sell drugs and stuff. I don’t know what kind, I don’t know about that stuff. But there was one time I touched this bag of pills Daddy brought home. They were in a sandwich bag, like the kind I take to school sometimes.”
“When?”
She shrugs. “When I was little. Like, year before last? I opened the bag, but I was only looking. I touched the pills.” She looks into my eyes. “They were the size of M&M’s, but not colorful. I wasn’t gonna take one or anything, I’m not stupid, but Daddy walked in and found me touching them, so I got into big trouble. He beat me so bad,” her voice shakes. “He screamed so loud and sent me to my room. Next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital.”
“What?” I shout. “In the hospital?”
Elizabeth jumps and scoots a few inches to her left to create space between us. Her head swings wildly to the left to peek back at the club. “Sheesh! Shut up, or you’ll get us both beat.”
“I’m sorry.” I grab her hand and tug her back. I look around my side of the car, but the club doors remain closed. The windows covered. The Addams Family, undisturbed. “I’m sorry. You surprised me is all. Your own father beat you so bad you passed out and woke in a hospital? And CPS did nothing about it?”
“No, he didn’t beat me that bad,” she huffs. “I mean, he made it so I couldn’t sit very well, but he didn’t put me in the hospital. I didn’t really know what happened. I went to bed and cried about being in trouble. I, uh…” Her cheeks go red. “I used to suck my thumb, okay? It’s a baby thing that I liked to do. So I was sucking my thumb and trying not to cry, because he comes back and smacks me again if I cry too much, then I went to sleep. Woke up in the hospital.”
“I mean… shit.” I blow out a breath. “I don’t understand.”
She swallows and looks down into her lap. “I guess maybe I had drugs on my fingers. They said I’d overdosed, and they had to give me shots to make it all better.”
Holy shit.“You OD’d, and you were only, what, six?”
She lifts her nose in the air the same way the sour-sisters do. “I was seven and a quarter, thank you very much.”
“And CPS didn’t take you away?”
She shakes her head. “Daddy is important at work. He said it was because of a drug bust he’d made, and I accidentally touched his work stuff.” Her eyes sparkle like maybe she wants to cry. “I was told not to touch his stuff. So I was in hospital for a bit and they made me all better. Uncle gotsomad at Daddy,” she whispers. “Like, really,reallymad. He got in trouble from him, and then I got in trouble from Daddy.”
My brows pull closer together. “Where’s your mom?”
She lifts her shoulders until they touch her cheeks, then lets them drop again. “I don’t know. But Daddy says if I keep going the way I am, we’ll be together again soon.”
