“Herrin never meant for us to find Liza, but it’s likely that he planned to return her,” I tell him.
He gives me a tight smile. “I know.”
“No one expects you to deal with this. You decide how we play this.”
He cracks his neck to the side before answering. “She just played me. She was willing to watch me go to my death at that factory, which might have happened if we’d taken the bait. She was willing to put all those girls at risk just because Herrin asked it. I think it’s only fair I return the favor and play her for all she’s worth. Then we’ll take a vote on what to do. This is Drex’s show. He loves a good vote.”
He cracks a smile, though I can tell how weighted it is.
As he opens the door to leave, I turn and walk back into the bedroom, curious if Maya overheard all that. The second I’m inside the room, I see her on the bed, her eyes trained on me.
“Sledge is only thirty-five?” she asks, her brow pinched in confusion. “Not that he looks older or anything, but I thought he raised Rush. And Rush is in his twenties.”
“That’s what you ask?” I swear I’ll never figure her out or see her zigs and zags before they come.
She shrugs. “Seriously. Only thirty-five? Or is my math wrong? Liza was fifteen when she joined, and she’s been with the club for twenty-five years, so that’s forty, minus five—their age gap—and that makes him thirty-five,” she says so earnestly.
“You’re really fucking hard to predict,” I grumble.
“Thank you,” she states as though she truly finds that to be a compliment.
Rolling my eyes, I answer, “Sledge just turned thirty-six last month, same day Rush turned twenty-two. Rush was fourteen when Sledge found him on the streets. He took him in like a big brother, but turned into more of a paternal figure when he realized Rush needed that. He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight and wise beyond his years.”
“This is going to sound absolutely terrible that I don’t know, but how old are you?” she asks.
My lips twitch. I honestly think that’s the first time a girl has asked my age. “Twenty-seven and nowhere nearly as wise as Sledge was by my age.”
She glances down at her hands, idly picking at the hem of a skirt she’s wearing—a red one that has the same flowy bottom as the last one. But there are leggings on underneath it. Or tights. Hell, I don’t know the difference.
“He seemed so okay with all of that. But I thought he and Liza had been together for fifteen years.” As the words leave her mouth, they almost sound sad.
“I’m not sure exactly how long they’ve been together, but it’s been more off than on over the years. Liza didn’t want to be tied down, and Sledge was the only one to give her the freedom she wanted.”
I study her expression, wondering why she looks a little upset.
“This is good, Maya. Means I don’t have to bust up a friend to keep him from wanting to bust you up.”
She peers up at me, nodding absently.
“It is good,” she agrees. “Just didn’t realize how hard you had to be on the ground floor. Makes me wonder if they ever even cared about each other. I mean, truly cared. My father would have never believed something like that about my mother, even if he’d seen it with his own eyes.”
She stands and joins me.
“Are we still going outside?” she asks abruptly.
How hard you had to be on the ground floor? What does that mean? I’m tempted to remind her she had her ex tortured and executed for siding with the wrong people when her Family was attacked. But it seems a little cold to throw in her face like that.
Instead of saying anything and prolonging this unexplainable awkward tension that’s settled between us, I nod and put my hand on the small of her back, guiding her out. We walk out to join the others who have a fire burning as Drex writes in the sand with a stick.
It’s rare they light up a joint, but tonight…well, hell. It’s been a shitty time of things lately.
I wave it off as a blunt is offered to me by Drake, and opt to simply drink beer.
Maya joins Colleen, who I’m surprised to see, and she leans against the back of a SUV to talk to her.
One day, I’ll fucking figure out what’s going on in her head, but apparently that’s not today.
Just as I take a seat by Drake, who is obnoxiously spilling out his own conspiracy theories about what went down today, I hear what Maya said earlier. I really hear it. As though it’s just now sinking in.
The words echo in my head like a distant memory instead of something that happened moments ago.