Page 76 of Kings Fear No One
“You follow me from the other day? Who d’you work for, you piece of shit?” Logan asks the man. He punches him in the face when he doesn’t answer, then grabs him by the front of his shirt.
The man’s eyes hang halfway open, his lips moving soundlessly. His bullet wound resembles a bloodied crater in his chest. He’s seconds away from dying.
“Useless fucking garbage.” Logan digs around in the man’s pocket, retrieving his phone and wallet to check his identification. Then he’s turning toward me to pull me onto my feet. “You alright?”
I’m dazed, my blinks quick and fluttery. “Yes… I’m okay… I think…”
“Your elbow’s banged up.”
“It’s okay… really…”
“We’ll get it checked out.”
The cavalry arrives a minute later. The bookstore goes from a hazy scene riddled with shattered glass and a man bleeding out on the floor to being flooded with police and paramedics.
I put my hands up, dreading the long aftermath to come.
The sky’s lit up in hues of orange and gold by the time we make it home.
We spent hours being questioned and interviewed by the Pulsboro PD. Afterward, Logan insisted on taking me to the urgent care. We step through the door, grateful for the day to be over.
Neither of us have eaten anything. We haven’t had a moment to rest.
…or process that we were shot at today.
On the drive home, Logan swung us through the Beef & Bunz drive-thru. Their bacon cheeseburgers and garlic fries were obviously not healthy, but neither is being shot at by some stranger in a bookstore.
We kick off our shoes and amble over to the kitchen to unpack the greasy fast food bags.
We’ve hardly spoken a word to each other, but the silence isn’t combative. It’s more commiserate, like we’re aware of how hard today was and we know the other needs the silence. Logan’s halfway through his burger when he juts his chin at me.
“How’s your elbow?”
“Sore. But the doctor said it should go away in the next couple days.”
“I’m surprised the police station released us so easily. From what Mace told me, it sounds like the whole PD has a vendetta against the Kings after what happened with Cash and Korine’s ex-husband.”
“You were defending yourself! That… that man opened fire at us… and the store clerk!”
“We gave our statements. All we can do now is hope they don’t fuck with us.”
“But who was he?” I ask. “The man that opened fire?—”
“His ID says Juan Cabello. Today wasn’t the first time I’ve seen him before.”
“But when? From where?”
“I was at his house… by mistake. His address was the address Xavier gave up when we interrogated him.”
I frown. “So, is he connected to the Saints?”
“We’ve got a guy inside the PD. He’ll run the guy’s record. Whoever he was, he probably wasn’t acting alone.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning he was operating on orders. Somebody told him to do what he did.”
The fry I’m holding slips through my fingers. “Abraham?!”
