Page 76 of Never His Girl
When it comes to her, there’s a viciousness that breaks through theI-don’t-give-a-shitthing he has going otherwise. He makes it seem like he’s one-hundred percent down for her, but something’s never quite added up for me. It’s the fact that, if that were completely true, they’d be together, and it’s this thought that keeps me from letting him get too deep under my skin.
“You want her safe and so do I,” I reason with him. “That’s why I’m here. I need info, and you seem to have that.”
He eyes me again, but only for a second.
“All I know is I don’t seeanybodygoing in and out of my Uncle Paul’s office as much as I see your shady-ass daddy.”
I’m confused. Mostly because I have no clue who he’s talking about. The name Paul hasn’t come up before now.
“What’s that got to do with Blue? Her family?”
Ricky shoots me an incredulous look, like I’m naïve as shit for not knowing what’s going on.
“Used to be that Hunter sat in on a lot of those meetings. Then, when he’d come out, he was always real tight-lipped about shit. Next thing I know, Hunter’s locked up.”
“You think my dad had something to do with that?”
His brow quirks. “Just sayin’, anything that man touches turns to shit. Hunter’s life included. He’d never snitch, and he holds whatever he knows close to the cuff, but I know there’s a whole lot more to that fucking story.”
“Your uncle doesn’t talk about shit like that?” I ask.
“Nope, and I learned a long time ago not to ask that man too many questions. Some things you just don’t want answers to. And at this point, I wouldn’t even risk bringing it up,” he says. “He’d question why I’m asking, and with shit heating up out here, I’m just trying to keep my ass out the flames.”
Ricky’s distant for a moment, and I practically hear the wheels in his head turning.
“I promised Hunter I’d look after his sisters while he’s away. Can’t do that from inside a jail cell,” he reasons, and then glances around, like he’s watching his back. “Speaking of, I shouldn’t even be out here talking to you. We done here or what?”
My gut’s telling me to leave the conversation right where it is, but I know I won’t have another chance like this anytime soon. It’s a miracle he even met me heretoday.A second time would be out of the question.
“Fuck,” I grumble to myself, hoping I don’t regret this. “I need to ask you something.”
“Make it quick.” He checks the time on an expensive-ass-watch after that.
“Blue asked you about that pic the other night because I found it on my dad’s phone. She seems adamant that you had nothing to do with it getting out, so I need to know how that happened.”
There’s a furious scowl set on his face now.
“I knew she was hiding something,” is all he says before going quiet.
“Do you know anything about it?” I repeat.
“Nah, but I’ll figure that shit out.”
“If she’s in danger, I need to know about it,” I remind him.
Judging by his expression, I can tell he doesn’t like this any more than I do, but the bottom line is we’re both in Southside’s life and we might need to work together on this.
“I’ll hit you up if I think you need to know something,” is all he says, and likely the best answer I’ll get out of him.
“Yeah. Same.”
He heads back to his car after that, but all this conversation has cleared up for me is that my father’s not at all who I think he is. And seeing as how I didn’t think all that highly of himbefore,I sure as shit don’t trust his ass now.
Chapter 26
BLUE
The three-hour drive here gave me plenty of time to think. Mostly I second-guessed this decision, but then I remembered how many unanswered questions I have. It helped me settle on a conversation with Hunter being my best chance of getting answers.