Page 40 of Live for Me

“Don’t do it,” Memphis said again. “Won’t help.”

I blew out all the fucking air in my body.

“Does your Judge make you crazy?” I asked Montana. “Because I was gifted a second one against my will and I’m about to blow a gasket because of it. They’re both about to be fired.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m having a great time,” Indy chimed in.

Montana was done waiting. He lunged back at me with the knife after I still hadn’t offered a realistic answer to who I was. I was usually pretty decent in high-pressure scenarios, but something about dodging knife blades put me a little more on edge than usual.

I wasn’t here to kill him. I wasn’t even here to hurt him. I was supposed to be convincing him that we needed to be on the same side. But men usually had a really hard fucking time accepting that someone else was right after that someone else kicked their ass.

Having to worry about avoiding his knife was distracting enough that I wasn’t sure how to continue the previous conversation anyway. I couldn’t focus on staying alive, ignoring the two voices in my ear,andconvincing this kid that the President murdered his parents all at the same time.

“I’m going to do my damndest to get that knife away from you without hurting you, Montana,” I said quickly while I ducked another swing and stepped around him. “But if I end up knocking your ass out, just know now that it isn’t personal. We’ll still take you when Richmond figures it out.”

“I’m going to knockyourass out just to make you stop talking,” Montana hissed.

Indy chuckled in my ear. “I kind of can’t wait to add him to the misfit corn crew.”

“Really?” Memphis asked. “That sounded like something Jersey would say. I don’t think any of us would survive two of him.”

“This is most definitely the worst day of my fucking life,” I mumbled.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

memphis

“We probably owe him an apology,” I said to Indy as soon as Utah was in his truck and had ripped the radio out of his ear without so much as agoodbye.

“How much do you want to bet that he’s already tossed that earpiece out the window?” Indy asked as he laughed.

“You don’t feel bad?”

“Feel bad?” Indy repeated. “He’s fine. I told you he can’t die. He probably would have said something if Montana had actually stabbed him at any point in that little exchange.”

“He’ssomad at us.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. He’s in love with you, so you’re safe. And experience tells me that even when he’s mad at me, he gets over it quickly, because he already knows he can’t live without my charm and quick wit.”

“Make sure you keep an eye on that chatroom,” I said to Indy before I closed my laptop. “It’s only a matter of time before Richmond reaches out.”

“You have plans?” he asked.

“You don’t have to sound so shocked when you say things like that,” I said and laughed. “But no. Not really. I just need a minute.”

He was laughing by the time I made it to the door. “Tell him I’mnotsorry. We’ll call it payback for all those times he’s hung up on me, cut me out of conversations, and just outright kept secrets.”

I waved at Kyle while I walked by the open overhead doors of Jersey’s detached garage. He came out to start Persephone and Hades every couple of days to let them run for a little while to make sure they stayed ready in case Jersey were to magically reappear here at any given moment. Just listening to both cars idle squeezed something in my heart.

“Need something?” Kyle asked as he came out of the garage with Dandy right on his heels.

I shook my head. “Just going to walk for a bit.”

He panicked a little every single time he asked if I needed something. He was never anything short of terrified that I might say yes one of these days after the emotional roller coaster that Trista and I rode straight through this property over the last several months.

I was never much of an animal person, but Dandy had effortlessly grown on me in our time here. She circled my legs and beat me to death with her tail while I tried to pet her the entire way.

“Take her with you,” Kyle said.

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