Page 124 of Frisco

“I don’t need you to watch over me.”

She took a drag from her cigarette before motioning to my phone, exhaling. “I’m thinking you do if you let that ‘friend’ get in your head. She’s wrong, you know. Nothing is no one’s fault. It just happens. I heard enough to gather that you guys came out here for a reason? You force your friends to get in your car?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I started to head back, but she touched my arm, stopping me.

She gestured down the way with her head. “We’re fine down here. Also, some of the girls are going to be arriving. A bunch go to a beauty school not far from here and they will go crazy when they get a load of us being in their place. That’s what they think. I’m hoping to wave some of the guys down here and sneak in the diner behind us for some food when it opens for supper. You in? I’m betting you’re hungry.”

She was right. My stomach growled as if on command. “What do you mean girls?”

“The sweet butts. You know, the girls that sleep with anyone as long as they’re hanging out with the club.”

“There’s actually women who do that?” I knew the term, but hearing it was real was a whole different thing.

“Oh yeah.” She took another drag from her cigarette. “All sorts, but don’t worry. I’ve never heard of the infamous Ghost taking a woman.”

I was still feeling raw from Aly. “Don’t think you know him since he’s not from this charter.”

Shelly laughed, taking a drag again. “You’re right. He’s not and I don’t, but give me a break. Been around enough guys. I can tell. Your guy, he’s a good one. Solid. Loyal. Smart. He’s like my old husband, or I’d like to think so don’t take that away from me. He’s dead after all.”

And I was feeling like a heel. “I’m sorry.”

“No worries. I’m not normal. Life and death doesn’t affect me like it does with others. My husband is gone, on the other side, and I’m here, spending my days out trying to enjoy life as much as I can until I go over and join him. Don’t get me on past lives because that’s a whole other thing with me.” But she took a fourth drag, exhaling, and pointed the cigarette at me. “You know that I have friends who do believe in past lives? They think we’re just energy in these bodies, for this life. Like I have some friends who fully believe they were an Apache in another life. One is convinced she was a horse. And I got another friend who is convinced she was some goddess from Africa. You believe in that stuff?”

I… had absolutely no idea what to say to her. “Why are you telling me this?”

She glanced back to the bar, then to me. “Honestly? One, because I think it’s cool. And two, I’m stalling because the girls all arrived and are inside. Now I’m going to use your phone and give one of the guys down there a call. The owners are opening this diner up behind us in five minutes. Trust me. We want to eat at Mama’s Diner, and not at The Bonfire. They mean well, but their food is shit.”

She nabbed my phone and did as she said.

And me, I was trying not to think about Harper or Justin because if I did, I was going to fall apart.

I hit call on my phone.

He didn’t answer, but I knew he wouldn’t because he didn’t know it was me.

I texted instead.

Me: Dad. My phone got smashed. This is my new number.

39

SHANE

We walked to where Boise was stationed, all of us quiet and dressed in black. We needed to be stealth so the bikes were left on a back road, pulled off so no one would find them. He’d taken point on the nearest hill to where Estrada’s guys were holding up, in a house. Who knew if it was theirs or one they broke into, looking for a rest stop? I had no idea, but I intended to find out.

He shifted aside, giving me the night vision goggles. “There’s three of them, but they already ditched the burned guy. He was making too much noise so they shot him. See that plastic pile behind the house?” I moved the goggles, seeing it set next to their garage. He added, “That’s him.”

“Jesus,” Corvette said quietly behind us.

“That mean there’s two or still three targets?”

“Still three. One in the back that’s been checking on the hostages, and two in the front. From watching, it looks like there’s some problem with the first two. They’re upset about something, one guy keeps pacing. He’s come outside a few times to check for a cell signal.” Boise was grinning as he held up his device. “Don’t know I grabbed this handy dandy cell blocker.”

Corvette whistled low under his breath. “I didn’t think those get good distance. How far are we out?”

“We’re two hundred yards, not that far, but yeah, farther than the normal. I got ambitious last winter, decided to try my hand at inventing shit.”

Boise was being modest. He was a genius when it came to tech and weapons.