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“Yep.”

“Unbelievable,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“So that’s the deal, Reaper. I go if you come with me.” Mum was not backing down. “Remember, you want to set a good example for the kids,” she mockingly added, using Dad’s words against him.

“I have shit I need to do today! I have men riding in this week! All who are meant to be riding my drugs across the border. Drugs that still need to be packed. I have a gun shipment due and I’m taking Hannah to her doctor’s appointment. You want me to drop all of this to scare your students?”

“I don’t need anyone to take me to my doctor’s appointment,” Hannah quickly interrupted, piping up and sounding slightly panicked. “I can take myself.”

Had Hannah forgotten an important fact? I looked at her as she did her best to convince everyone she was going to take herself. “You can’t drive, Nice.” I pointed out what everyone was thinking.

“It’s a sunny day and a walk won’t kill me,” she said confidently.

“See, Abby. Now you’ve got Hannah walking!” Dad snapped at Mum. We all knew Hannah didn’t exercise and walking was her least favorite thing to do. She would complain and complain about walking up our stairs and nearly had Dad at the point of putting in an elevator just for her.

“Tyson can take her.” Mum settled the argument and I grinned. That got me out of school.

“He has school.” Dad wanted to remind Mum of this fact. Bloody school; a place where I was forced to be bored to death.

“The appointment is at nine, so Tyson will be at school by ten. One hour off won’t kill him. As for your drugs and guns, it can wait. Unless you are backing down on the whole ‘I can’t quit’ thing.”

Dad swore under his breath and pushed the chair back. “Fine, I’ll just cancel my day!” It did sound like Dad had plans today, plans he now had to cancel. I glanced at Mum. Yep, she was deadly serious on this one. She wasn’t backing down.

“Good. I want you to be in a foul mood because that will scare them more.” Mum smiled smugly at him, like her purpose was to piss him off.

Dad’s eyes narrowed at her, and some would say he was glaring, but if you knew Dad you would know he can’t glare at mum. But he was trying right now. “Well, mission fucking accomplished.” He walked around the table and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Mum said to his back.

“To change into a fucking t-shirt!” he yelled back at her before slamming the door closed behind him.

Mum was grinning. “And that, kids, is how you get your father to do anything.”

The girls grinned. If Mum was giving lessons, she had just given a great example to the girls on how to get Dad to drop his day.

***

I watched Hannah exit the doctor’s clinic. Why did she look so worried? She wouldn’t even tell me what the appointment was for. I thought it had just been an excuse to get her out of school. But as I saw her expression on her worried face, I knew that wasn’t the case.

She pulled open the car door and got in.

“So, how was it?” I asked, lighting up a cigarette and not acting like I had seen her face before she wiped it clean of an expression.

She didn’t answer.

“What’s that?” I asked, trying to get a look at the piece of paper in her hands. She folded it up and slid it up the sleeve of her hoodie. Again, she was dressed like she was freezing when it was a nice sunny day.

“Nothing. Can we go to school?”

“You’re going to school?” I didn’t believe her. I just assumed she was having the day off.

“Yep.”

“What about having the day off? You shouldn’t go to school if you are sick.”

“It’s just a cold. I’m fine and I have advanced math. Don’t want to miss it.” Hannah was always too smart for her own good.

I looked at her harder; I couldn’t work out if she was lying or telling the truth.

“Stop looking at me and head for the school already.” She buckled in and glanced at me. “Seriously, I’m fine.”

I nodded my head and started the car up. She would tell me if something was wrong. She always did.

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