Page 91 of Tenderfoot

Man, we’d never done an interrogation before, but so far, she seemed really good at it.

“You’re wasting valuable time,” Kevin warned.

“Explain,” Raye returned.

Kevin turned to Willow. “I was only doing that until I could land a real gig. You know, like a job.”

“She knows, like, what a job is, asshole,” Shanti said. “Since she has two of them and more than once she worked them covering your ass.”

“Butt out of this, Shanti,” Kevin hurled. “It’s none of your business, and newsflash, it never was.”

“Newsflash, motherfucker,” Shanti returned, “a mister screws over a sister, it’s always the sister’s business.”

“Mm-hmm,” Luna backed her up.

“She’s got that right,” I stated.

“For freakin’ sure,” Jessie underlined it.

“We’re not focused,” Raye bit out, then got in Kevin’s face. “What are you into?”

“Fuck you,” he spat.

She caught him by his collar and shook him. “What are you into!”

Kevin seemed to be making a move to push Raye off, but all the girls shifted, and not incidentally, Tex shifted too, so he stopped making that move.

“Kevin,” Willow said quietly, and the room stilled at her tone, though before Raye did, she let Kev go and stepped away. “Trevor’s dead and Harlow’s space was violated. What did you bring into our lives?”

“I didn’t do it, babe,” Kevin said.

“Do what?” Willow asked.

“It’s gonna get sorted,” he lied.

“How will it do that if you are what you obviously are, intent to run away?” Willow returned.

“I just need time,” Kevin declared.

“Time for what?” Willow kept at him.

“Time to get some shit straight,” Kevin said, still avoiding responding to a direct question with a direct friggin’ answer.

“What shit?” Willow asked.

Kevin suddenly shot to his feet, Tex closed in, Raye closed in, the rest of us closed ranks in front of Willow, and Kevin shouted, “I just need time!”

Everyone was silent.

Raye let this go on for a few beats before she asked calmly, “Time for what, Kevin?”

Kevin shook his head in frustration, but said, “It was Trevor’s idea.”

Raye expelled an impatient breath that this guy was being such a pain, and I was right there with her.

“And Trevor’s a lunatic,” Kevin added, though that didn’t give us anything. He looked toward Willow. “You know that, Will.”

Willow nodded. “I know that. And I know that you’re a user. And a loser. I know that I wasted years on you. Years. And I know that me,”—she threw a hand out—“and all my girls need bodyguards now because of something you brought into our lives.”

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