Page 64 of Pocketful of Shame

"Can you hear yourself right now?" I gaped at him. "Did you smoke, snort, or shoot something back in that convenience store in Albuquerque? Because you sound like a fucking loon."

"In case it slipped your attention, the monsters arereal, Holden," Presley growled, cracking open a soda from one of the bags. "The world we're presently drowning in is full of degenerates and criminals." He took a swig before continuing, "Now, you might be okay with being shot at, but I prefer to fight fire with fire. Lucky Casarazzi is our best bet."

"Maybe he has a point," Romi offered, climbing onto the bed next to Pres and reaching for the first-aid pack. Pulling out a band-aid, she carefully covered a nasty looking graze on her elbow. "We need help, Sketch," she added, looking across the room at me. "It can't hurt."

"Except that we don’t know this man, Ro," I bit out, beyond flustered. "How do we know he's not one of the bad guys? He could be a complete psychopath."

"Oh, I have no doubt he is," Presley agreed. "But maybe we need a psychopath on our side."

"And heisPresley's cousin," Romi offered with a shrug. "Uh, well, sort of."

"Cousin's half-brother," Pres interjected.

"Yes." Nodding eagerly, Romi smiled. "Practically family."

"And he's beautiful," Pres told her, giving her this meaningful look. "We're talking Charlie Hunnam kind of hot."

"Whoa," Romi breathed, eyes wide as saucers. "For real?"

"Ohyeah," he drawled, waggling his brows.

"Sorry to interrupt your little gossip session, but I can't be the only person to think this is fucking madness," I growled, throwing my hands up in frustration. "This is a very bad, verydangerousidea."

"Got any better ideas?" Presley countered, leveling me with a look that said he knew I didn’t. "So, we're in agreement?" he continued. "If we make it to Colorado, we look him up?"

"No, but I'm clearly outnumbered," I said in resignation. "But just remember thatIwas the voice of reason when it all goes to hell in a handbasket."

"News flash, Sketch, we're already in hell," Pres replied, dumping the contents of his bookbag on the bed. "And without Chris's journal, we're sitting ducks." His brown eyes flicked to Romi and I could see the wheels in his head moving and plotting, trying to figure out how to extract more information, more damn secrets, without spooking her into a panic attack.

"I think we should get a gun," Romi blurted, causing Presley's mouth to fall open. "We need to be able to protect ourselves if Catochi and his men find us," she explained, cheeks reddening. "We can't do that unarmed."

"True, but I wouldn’t know what to do with a gun," Presley said, looking appalled. "My family is very anti-guns."

"Well, Sketch knows how to shoot," she replied, and both pairs of eyes flicked to me. "He and Chris spent years going to the shooting range with their dad, right?"

I shifted in discomfort. "Yeah, but that was just target practice."

"Ya'll used to go on hunting trips, too, right?" she added. "You're good." She turned to Presley and said, "He's more than good. I remember overhearing our fathers talking about how Sketch could hit a moving target from a hundred yards out, without breaking a sweat."

"I wasn't huntingpeople, Ro," I muttered, rubbing my jaw. "It's a lot different."

"Is it?" she pressed, turning her attention back to me.

"I’m not shooting anyone," I warned, bristling at the thought.

"That's okay. I'm not asking you to," Romi replied. "I'll do it myself."

"You." I cocked a disbelieving brow. "The same girl who can't shoot a straight line with a water pistol?"

"Those men arehuntingus, Sketch," she choked out, trembling now. "Treating us like animals. Like frickingprey! Why shouldn't we return the favor? Why shouldn’t we protect ourselves?"

"Because when you aim a gun, you better be damned ready to pull the trigger," I told her, frowning. "And we're notkillers."

"You didn’t see what they did to your brother," she whispered, shuddering. "If you had, you wouldn't be so quick to say that."

"Question –" Presley held a hand up. "Where do you propose we find a gun?"

"Hell if I know," Romi replied, keeping her eyes on me. "But we need one."

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