Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Goddamn, it was past noon.
By the look of things, River had run my errands too.
I scooted out of the new sleeping quarters, and I landed barefoot on the ground. How tired had I been if River had been able to take off my boots without my noticing?
Since he’d brought all our gear back to the truck, I changed into a pair of jeans, a new tee, and River’s blue All-Stars.
River was in the barn with Luiz. I heard my brother’s quiet voice and Luiz’s anger.
“…and that’s probably because you’re a coward,” River was saying. “We killed every guard before you even reached for your gun. You’re not a fighter. You’re the one who hides behind the bigger guys.”
I walked into the barn, more accurately into one of the stalls, and took a piss down the nearest drain.
It didn’t escape my notice that River had bought lawn chairs somewhere. Two of them. And a cooler. I bet he was inspired by the electric one Ryan had bought in Italy for him and Crew.
Bunch of grocery bags sat next to the cooler.
The smell in here wasn’t that bad. As I zipped up my jeans, I noticed Riv had opened the door on the other side of the barn too, creating a cross-breeze.
“He talkin’ any?” I walked over to River and sat down on the other side of the cooler.
Psychological warfare at its finest. Cold drinks and food for us, not a damn thing for Luiz, who had to watch us eat.
“Not much.” Riv handed me a bag from a bakery, but I went for a bottle of water first. Then I hauled my tee over my head and uncapped the bottle. I leaned away from the bags and made quick work of emptying the water over myself, washing off my hands in the process, and got a speedy cooldown in triple-digit heat. It sure felt like triple digits, at least.
Luiz swallowed hard. I bet he was parched.
“Fuck, that felt good.” I pushed back my hair and wiped water off my face.
Now for the bakery bag…
Couple baguettes and fresh rolls.
Flipping the lid of the cooler revealed cream cheese, cold cuts, plenty of water and soda, and…okay, he’d bought a lot. And I knew it was mostly for show, to make Luiz suffer more, but this was good. My stomach even tightened with approval.
Christ, River had bought coffee too. And poured it into a thermos. I filled a plastic mug and took a sip. It wasn’t as good as the coffee Shay made, but it still brought me back to life a little.
I didn’t remember the year, but when River and I had been around eighteen or nineteen, he’d stepped out to buy a shit-ton of Christmas stuff for us. It’d been just him and me. One of my fondest memories. He was like that. All or nothing. He couldn’t cook worth a damn, but he could put together a feast in his own way.
“You need to keep me alive,” Luiz blurted out. “Give me some water, at least.”
River refocused on him while I made us a couple sandwiches. “Why? Before I fell asleep this morning, you said you didn’t know anything.”
“I know people,” he spat out.
I chuckled under my breath. “Hear that, Riv? He knows people.”
“That’s nice.” River took a swig of his own coffee and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his legs.
“I can’t feel my hands,” Luiz said. “I have pain shooting up and down my arms, man.”
My condolences.
“It’s just your radial nerve,” my brother responded. “You don’t need it anymore.”
“You’ll die of thirst a lot sooner than nerve damage, I promise,” I added.
“Let me make a phone call,” Luiz grated out. “I can find out where your brother is.”
Our brother? Bless.
I handed River his sandwich and bit into my own.
Flakes of the baguette fell down my chest, and I leaned back and got comfortable.
I had to admit, the food tasted good. We needed this.
“You think we just barged into your house and kidnapped you,” River stated quietly.
Now was a good time to explain to Luiz how my brother functioned.
I took another bite of my sandwich and spoke with my mouth full. “You’re gonna have to be patient with River,” I said. “You say one thing, and he deduces something else on a whole other subject. Now, for instance—by you saying you can call someone who might know something, he reads between the lines and assumes you don’t think we’ve been paying attention. But the truth is, we’ve been following you for a week, Luiz. We know your day-to-day routine, where you drive, which cars you use, the people you talk to, that you visit your mother every other day, and that your favorite low-man is actually your nineteen-year-old cousin, and who knows, maybe we’ll kill him.”
I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.