AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dip
Do you want to talk about it?
Do I?
No. And yes. I know I should. Normally, I’d talk to the guys, but they’re all in the same boat as me. I have no clue if they went home and fucked their significant others senseless, but I did.
And that’s on me.
I suck in a few deep breaths, giving myself time to compose myself before I look Kennedy in the eyes. When I do sit back, I expect some of the fire from her anger to remain in her dark irises, but there’s nothing there but understanding and compassion.
“I can’t tell you everything,” I remind her.
“I know. Just tell me what you can.”
I nod. “We, uh, implemented the security system early throughout the city. At least with the businesses that agreed,” I clarify. “After Minnie and that fuck she was with at Barlow’s, we figured the sooner the better.”
“He’s still ‘that fuck’?”
“Spark and I have been working hard to figure out who this guy is, but so far, we keep coming up empty.”
“You’ll find him,” she assures me.
“We will, but in the meantime, there are other bad guys that need our attention. And last night, that was made very apparent.”
“What happened?”
“Two guys attacked a group of teenage girls,” I bite out. “I don’t know what the hell their parents were thinking letting them out that late, but they were. We raced like hell to get there, and we caught the guys. But not before…” I clear my throat. “We were too late for one of the girls.”
Kennedy gasps, and tears spring to her eyes.
“How the hell are people supposed to feel safe if we can’t stop this shit from happening?”
She cups my cheeks. “Dip, you can’t stop everything. What you all do is pretty amazing, and I hate it, but the ones you do save, the things you do stop… You have to find a way to be okay with that.”
“We’ll pay for the girl’s funeral. Anonymously, of course. This is eating all of us up. We have a plan, a system, but it’s going to take time for people to realize we’re not fucking around. You mess with Denver, our women and children, you mess with Satan’s Legacy,” I snarl.
“What can I do to help you with this?”
“Fuck, Kennedy, you’re doing it,” I rasp. “I am so sorry I came home like I did. I’m sorry I made you worry. The fact that you’re still here, talking to me… that’s all I ask. Just know that there are things I see, hell, things I do that make me go a little crazy. All I knew was the club was too late, you were mad, a dead girl’s image took up residence in my head, and I needed something good in that moment to make it all disappear.”
“Okay,” she says quietly. “I can do that. I can be here for you. But please, Dip, promise me you’ll try to text me next time. Not because I want to be controlling, but it’ll go a long way to easing some of the worry.”
“I can do that.”
Kennedy slides off my lap to sit next to me. She lifts my hand, stroking the back of mine with her thumb.
“I’ve got an hour before I have to get ready for work,” she says casually.
“Fuck, I forgot you had a shift tonight.”
“I’ll be fine, Dip. I’m going straight to the bar. Little Man will be there, so I’ll make sure he meets me outside and walks me in.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
“Yeah, okay. I’d rather go with you, but I’ve got a few things to take care of here. I’ll meet you at Barlow’s before it closes, though, okay?”
