Page 45 of Genesis

“He’s not going to murder you.” Danny laughs, and I don’t know what the hell is so funny.

“Let the fucking window down,” the cop says.

“You good?” he asks me.

“Yes,” I reply, feeling the burn in my cheeks.

Danny opens the car door. “Officer Radcliff,” he greets, stepping out.

“Oh, fucking hell. Danny O’Brien.”

Danny shuts the door behind him. I watch through the tinted window, trying to listen.

“What the hell are you doing in the back seat of the car, parked on the side of the road?” he asks.

“Now that would be none of your concern,” Danny replies, coolly sliding his hands into his hoodie.

“Who you got in there? A whore? I could lock you up for that, you know?”

“Don’t be bitter ’cause the wifey ain’t giving you none back home.”

“Watch it, Danny.” The cop points at him. “By the way, Warren Callie sends his regards. Says he doesn’t appreciate you beating up on his men outside of convenience stores.”

“Fuck him and you, crooked ass pig.”

“You fucking sorry thug. Get the hell off my streets.”

Danny laughs. “I think you know these ain’t your streets.” He yanks open the driver door and gets inside. The cop steps back, mean mugging Danny. Danny puts the car in drive and steps on the gas.

“Fucking pigs,” he mutters.

“Danny, what the hell just happened?” I say from the back seat. He looks in the rearview mirror. “Come up here.”

I reach up and climb over the seat. “How can you talk to a cop like that?”

“He isn’t a good guy, Bexley.”

“And you are?” I ask. “Who’s Warren?”

He exhales. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about it. We were just… well, you know what we were doing.”

“What were we doing?” he interrupts me, smirking.

“Stop,” I say. “This is serious.”

He rolls his eyes. “It’s not serious. It’s just another dirty cop. Forget about it.”

But I can’t forget about it. How deep is he into this world? This is scary stuff. I look out the window as we head back to my house, picking at the skin on the side of my thumb. I don’t really know what to think about all of this.

Danny told me who he was, and like a naïve girl standing on the inside of her front door, I invited the vampire in, and now what’s done is done.

“Look, I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says. “But you’re not stupid, Bexley. You know the world can be a cruel place. Most people just don’t see it, is all.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “Most people don’t.”

He grips the top of the wheel, resting back in the seat as we drive, and before long we’re pulling up in my driveway.

---