The Hard Bounce - страница 73

“Dumbass. You want to switch off?”

I looked at Cassie. The kid we’d played poker with, who giggled when I blew a raspberry on her hand, was gone. Fury at my rejection burned through her eyes. She smirked. “Why don’t we do that, Boo? Why don’t you let your friend have a turn?” She let the blanket slip from one shoulder, falling below her breast.

No way in hell was I going to subject Junior to this. “All good, buddy.”

Cassie curled a lip and picked up my pack of smokes, popped one into her mouth. I shouldn’t have been surprised that she smoked, too. “Change your mind?” she whispered, leaning back, letting the blanket slide lower.

I picked her clothes up off the floor, tossed them roughly into her face. “No, I haven’t… kid. Put your clothes on and stop embarrassing yourself.”

“Fuck you,” she said. But she pulled the shirt over her head. “What’s your use for me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You said Derek used me. You think my father doesn’t use me? You think he has any other purpose for me in his life than to be his pretty little photo-op? Everybody uses me. What’s your use? I don’t think I’m going to serve your political career; you don’t want to use my pussy-”

“Stop it.”

“What is it, Boo? How are you using me?”

I didn’t reply, just snatched my smokes away from her and lit my own. She sat in the corner of the couch and glared at me. I sat on the recliner and glared back. I won out. Her eyelids sagged and her head drooped before she even finished the cigarette. I plucked the cigarette from her hands as she nodded off, and ground it out in the ashtray.

“Sorry. Mm… sorry,” she murmured as she leaned over into sleep. One tear ran from her eye, tracked over her nose. I pulled the blanket over her again.

I didn’t sleep any more that night.

“Wow, Boo. Rough night?” Kelly showed up early with a bag of bagels and spreads.

“Just long,” I mumbled. I’d taken a quick shower before Kelly showed and still had bags under my eyes that looked like five pounds of shit stuffed into a two-pound sack. Adding to my confusion was the return of Cassandra the fourteen-year-old. When Junior finally woke, she gave him a spritely kiss on the cheek, then giggled the morning away while he showed her how to make a proper cup of coffee. She didn’t look at or talk to me all that much.

We ate quietly while waiting for Donnelly to arrive. And, as Cassie happily munched on her sesame bagel, I tried to find the crack in this personality. One of them-the happy kid or the head-case young woman-had to be a façade. But for the life of me, they both felt like the same kid. The right kid. Even the wrong Cassie felt like the right kid.

When the black sedan pulled up in front of the house, I was tired. It was hot, I was feeling beat into dust, and I was ready to get this experience wrapped up.

The car sat there for a minute, engine running. The three of us watched from the window. What now? Was I supposed to walk her out and just drop her in the back seat?

Fuck you, I thought. Come in and get her.

Barnes finally got out of the driver’s side and opened the back door. I felt bad for my standoffish behavior when I got a good look at Donnelly. It had only been days since I’d last seen him at his condo, but it could have been years. The man looked as tired as I did, worse even. The strain of Cassandra’s absence had taken a far greater toll on him than he’d let on.

“Daddy,” Cassandra said softly, crying. With a bolt, she was out the door, running to him. His expression when he saw her made my throat lump up. I walked to the doorway and watched the most feared lawman in Boston standing with his daughter in his arms, showering the top of her head with kisses.

Barnes walked over, face set like marble. His eyes were unreadable under his mirrored sunglasses. He held out a thin envelope-too thin to contain both the money and the information that was hinted at. Completely without expression, he said, “Nice job.”

I put my fingers around the envelope, but he held on to it for a second longer.

“For a piece of shit bouncer.” Barnes took back the envelope and tossed it into my chest. It fluttered to my feet.