Page 176 of Unexpected Heroine

“Be nice, guys. Let’s give him a drag,” Aaron husks in his trademark gravelly tone. He could make a nursery rhyme sound menacing when he talks like that.

I pull out the lighter and a cigarette I removed from Kadin’s pockets when I frisked him in the trunk. Turning it around, I put the filter side toward his mouth. “Open up.”

With his face contorted in fear or disdain, he opens his mouth to let me place it between his lips. He squirms when I flick the lighter an inch from his face. Fucking coward.

“Don’t be scared,” I tell him. “We’re not to that part of the night yet.”

As I offer the lighter, he leans his mouth forward, bringing the edge of the cigarette into the flame. He inhales through his mouth a few times to help light it. To expel the smoke, he opens his lips around the cigarette while locking it in place with his teeth. He takes a few drags in this same manner since he doesn’t have use of his hands. We remain quiet, letting him enjoy his smoke before the pain begins.

We aren’t monsters.

Unlike him and his friends.

I remove the cigarette from his mouth. “Here. Let me help you with that, buddy.”

His head sags a little, thumping onto the ground. I give him a minute to breathe before I bring the cancer stick back to give him another drag. When I remove it again, I stare at the bright orange end of the cigarette, studying the ashen tips and embers.

“You know what this reminds me of?” I ask no one in particular. “When I was a kid, my father would smoke these damn things. It made me sick. The smell gets on everything. But that’s not what I hated most about it.”

No one says anything.

I examine the cigarette, rolling it between my thumb and forefinger. “One time, when I was about seven, I was walking by him, and his cigarette got me right in the neck.” I point at what remains of the slight scar. “I wasn’t being careful and walked right into it. Burned like hell.”

Jonesy makes a tsking sound.

I shake my head despondently. “When I look back now, I’m pretty sure my father did it on purpose. He was a sick fucker.”

Aaron shuffles his feet behind me, his pacing ceasing. “Can you imagine someone burning another human on purpose with a lit cigarette? An innocent, helpless person? What kind of monster would do such a thing?”

“That’s disgusting,” Jonesy chimes in. “Anyone who would do such a thing is truly a sick individual.”

“You know, since we’re all sharing. This story reminds me of something from my childhood,” Aaron starts.

“What’s that?” I ask.

Aaron removes the cigarette from my hand and takes a drag. “My abuelita read the bible to me every night. I believe it was in the Book of Exodus where they talked about an eye for an eye.”

Feigning interest, Jonesy responds, “And a tooth for a tooth.”

Pointing his index finger at Jonesy like a gun, Aaron clicks his tongue. “Bingo.”

For the first time, I don’t feel like the most fucked-up person in the room. It’s quite possible these two are as sick as I am.

“Hey, buddy,” Aaron taps me on my shoulder. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you say your girlfriend had some cigarette burns on her recently?”

Although she’s not my girlfriend anymore, I play along. “Yeah. One on each arm.” I darken my glare at Skidmark, my upper lip curling. “You wouldn’t happen to know how they got there, would you?”

Terror licks at the back of his eyes. He shakes his head no.

Filthy liar.

“No?” I purse my lips. “Hmph. That’s funny because she said you would know.”

Jonesy makes a gruff sound as his eyes shift to Kadin. “Are you calling his girl a liar?” Then he brings his large gloved hand around Skidmark’s neck and squeezes.

Gradually, Kadin’s inky eyes turn red with the loss of airflow. He wriggles around and attempts to answer the question. Sadly, all he can do is gurgle and gasp.

Jonesy releases his hold on the fucker’s neck. “I’ll ask again. Are you saying she’s a liar?”

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