Zip, Zero, Zilch (The Reed Brothers 6)

Not even close. “I asked you because I fucking meant to ask you. I almost died. That makes you see things a little more clearly. When the semi hit the taxi, you were in my fucking head. Just you. You’re the one I wanted to marry me. Not anybody else.”

“I didn’t think you remembered,” she says quietly.

“Of course I remember.” I brush a lock of hair back from her face and palm her cheek. “I think you need to think about something.”

“What?” she whispers.

“When you thought she was pregnant… I saw your face.”

“So?” She avoids my eyes.

“So I think you need to give some thought as to why that hit you so hard.”

“A helpless child is involved,” she says. She clenches her fists.

“That’s all it was?”

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

She turns and goes back to her room. But at the last moment, she comes back, picks up the crutch I dropped, and sticks it in my hand. “Here,” she says.

I grin. I can’t help it.

She slams the door behind her.

Peck

I close the door behind me—rather forcefully—and lean heavily against it. He wants me to think about it? Seriously? That’s all I do is think about it. I made the biggest mistake ever coming here. He offered asylum, but what I wanted was to get a chance to explore what we have together. And now that we’ve had a chance to explore it, I want to do even more.

I sit down on my bed and flop backward.

My phone rings and jerks me from my wayward thoughts. I grin when I see that it’s Emilio.

“What’s up, Woody?” he says by way of greeting.

“N-nothing much, Melio,” I tell him, using the nickname all us sisters affectionately call him. I can’t erase the smile Emilio always brings to my face. He’s genuinely good and kind, and he’s my dad. My dad by choice, if not by birth, and there’s never been any doubt in my mind that he wanted me to be his daughter. Ever.

“If you tell me that Reed boy is up, I’m going to come over there with my baseball bat.”

What? Then it hits me. “Eww, Melio. That’s disgusting. Don’t bring that stuff up.”

“I should be telling you not to bring it up,” he murmurs, but he’s laughing.

I hear him inhale and bolt upright in the bed. “Are you smoking?” I demand. Marta will kill him.

He chuckles. “No.” He holds his breath for a second and exhales. “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

“You’re going to be in so much trouble.”

He laughs.

But Emilio only smokes when something is really bothering him. “What is it?” I ask.

“Your birth mother came by today. The girls say she went to your apartment too.”

My gut clenches. “Okay,” I say slowly. “Did she say what she wants?”

“She wants money for rehab.” He growls.

If I thought she’d really use it for rehab, I’d give it to her. “No, she doesn’t. She wants to get high.”

“I know.” He heaves a sigh.

“Should I give it to her?” God knows I have enough.

“If I thought she would actually go to rehab, I’d give to her myself.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“She left her contact information.”

“And?”

“And the address she gave me is an apartment building that Bone owns.”

Everyone knows who Bone is. He’s a drug dealer in the neighborhood. He also runs a prostitution ring. And is into all sorts of other criminal activity. “She’s staying with a known drug dealer?”

“Looks like it.”

“Is she working for him?”

“Define working.”

“Turning tricks? Selling?” My heart is beating so fast it might fly out of my chest.

“My guess would be yes on both counts. She’s pretty desperate.”

“I saw her this morning. She looked awful. Does she know where I am?”

“I doubt it. Don’t know how she could.”

I let out a breath of relief. “What should I do?”

“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He waits a beat. “Do you want to see her?” he asks me quietly.

Tears fill my eyes and I blink them back. “I don’t know.”

“She’s not the person you once knew.”

“Well, the one I did know wasn’t very nice to me either.”

“If you want to see her, I’ll set something up.”

It’s nice of him to offer, but I just don’t know. “Let me think about it.”

“Fair enough. How’s it going with Mr. Reed?”

“Fine.”

He chuckles. “That’s all I get? Fine?” He laughs out loud. “Seriously?”

“He made me dinner.”

I can almost hear his smile through the phone. “Well, that was nice.”

“We talked.”

“And?”

“Then his old girlfriend showed up, and we didn’t talk anymore.”

He whistles. “Well, that wasn’t what I expected.” I hear him inhale and exhale. “Where is he now?”

“Watching TV, I think.”

“Let me talk to him.”