“I know. Your dad does.”
I sat still as a statue and not because I was tied to a chair.
But my eyelids moved.
They did this to do a slow blink.
“Sorry?” I whispered when I could get my mouth working.
“Your dad?” he asked, but it was an answer. “Dirk. Dirk Gardiner. Not sure how it went for him. If Mick told him or if he figured it out on his own. However it went, he knew what you had so he tossed your apartment to find it. He jacked your trunk too.”
“Oh my God,” Hattie whispered.
But I didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
This couldn’t be true.
My dad was a loser, sometimes a lovable one, most of the time an annoying one.
But he wouldn’t do that.
Not to me.
Not to me.
“So, I think, if I had a kid,” creepy guy continued, “which I don’t, but if I did, I’d probably give a shit about that kid. And if I had something I shouldn’t, and someone wanted it back bad enough to take that kid and do not-nice things to her, and bonus,” he threw his hand out, “to her friends, and do this until I got it back, I’d think about handing over what wasn’t mine.”
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered.
“You should,” he replied.
“My dad doesn’t have that gun,” I said.
“Yes, he does,” he returned.
“How do you know he has it?” I asked.
“Since he told me.”
What?
And again…
WHAT?
I…
Could not.
Believe this!
Ryn’s fingers curled stronger around mine.
Creepy guy, who I now knew for sure was Cisco, kept talking.
“He also told me he wanted five million dollars and he’d give it back. Now, I work hard, Evan. I mean,” another one of those creepy grins, “there’s time to have fun. Gotta carve out time to have some fun. But to get ahead in life, you gotta hustle. I’ve been hustling. Doing it a long time. I’m not gonna hand over money I worked hard for to some lowlife, pot dealer, rock star wannabe player.”
His expression changed.
And at that change, my throat decided to conduct vomit and I had to struggle to keep it down.
And when he spoke again, it wasn’t conversationally.
It was sinisterly.
“You think I’m gonna give my hard-earned money to some lowlife wannabe, Evan?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been giving my hard-earned money to a lowlife wannabe for years and it doesn’t feel all that great. So, no, I don’t think you are, and more, I’d advise against it. It leaves you feeling shitty.”
Surprised at my response, he extended his neck and his eyebrows went up.
But I was feeling a lot less terrified.
This was because I was processing.
Processing the latest load of shit my family had landed on me.
It was my father who did that to my apartment.
It was my father who figured out what Mick had in that bag with those drugs and he’d frantically ripped apart everything I owned to get his hands on it.
My father.
“So, my brother put me here and my father kept me here,” I stated.
“Not sure you should turn up at Thanksgiving,” Cisco suggested.
I’d already made that decision.
“It’s my understanding Dad’s been telling people to leave me alone,” I noted.
Cisco shrugged. “Sure. He is a dad. He just ain’t a real great one.”
He could say that again.
But I made a decision.
“Untie me and give me my phone,” I demanded.
Cisco shot me another creepy smile and replied, “I’m feelin’ some of the time we’ll share together I don’t want you tied, but I ain’t givin’ you your phone.”
“Okay, give me yours.”
He stared at me.
“Listen,” I said. “I can handle all of this for you in about five minutes. I’ll get you that gun and you can let us go.”
“Evie,” Ryn hissed.
I ignored her. “I assume you have my dad’s number programmed in your phone. And actually, that’ll work out better. My call coming from your phone. So I’ll use that.”
Cisco studied me but said nothing.
“Though, I want my phone too, so I can call Mag and tell him not to rescue us,” I continued. “You see, I think you’re getting an inkling that my family life isn’t all that great. But my life life is. I have a new boyfriend. He’s awesome. He’s sweet. He thinks I’m the shit and he tells me that all the time. No one has ever told me that, until he entered my life.”
Cisco’s expression changed again, and weirdly, it changed like he was pissed on my behalf.
I couldn’t give that my time.
I was busy finessing.
“We’re moving in together. And I have a feeling he’s going to give in on where we store the spices. I’ve also realized I have good friends, the best kind of friends you can have. I’m gonna go back to school. Finally, after a lot of crap, I’ve got things to look forward to. I have a life worth leading. And I’m gonna lead it. And I don’t care what I have to do to make that happen without anyone getting hurt.”