Page 35 of Cold Foot Revenge
“Facetime me, I want to see your stupid face. You sound like you’re telling the truth but I want to make sure.”
“I’m not Facetiming you, you stage five clinger. I’m really in a bar.”
“Quietest bar ever, huh?”
“Well, it’s a slow night here.”
“Where’s your stripper girlfriend? Stripping?”
Dylan clenched his jaw and then tossed the whiskey back and refused to answer.
“Oh shit, is she really stripping? Right now? Dylan, what is happening? You haven’t been to a strip club in forever. Wait. Is this a cry for help? What’s happening? Are you good, man?”
The bottom of the little shot glass tinked onto the wooden table. He didn’t know how to answer that. Was he okay? Hewas drinking more than normal here, and feeling like he was a little lost, and had about a million questions about the Grit-Bron Crew and what they had done to Garret. He hadn’t worked through all of that yet though and wasn’t ready to talk about it. “I’ll be home soon.”
“Liar.”
“I’ll probably be home soon.”
“Still lies! Dylan, what’s happening? What are you into? It’s me, man. You can tell me anything.”
“I just need a few days, okay? My whole life has revolved around you for a long time, you know? I need some space to figure some stuff out.”
Oh, he knew how to maneuver around the truth with Garret.
On the other end of the line, Garret sighed. “What’s her name?”
“Roxy.”
“Is she from where we’re from?” Garret asked.
“Yeah, but you don’t know her.”
“Is she nice to you?” And that was one of the things he loved about his brother. All of his friends he worked with back in Darby would’ve asked, “Is she hot?” And that answer would’ve mattered to them. Not Garret though. He asked if she was nice to Dylan, and that was the answer that would truly matter to his brother.
“She’s got some damage. She doesn’t trust easily, but in the moments she lets her guard down…”
“What? Finish it.”
“She’s fucking beautiful.”
“Whooo,” Garret rumbled. “Been there.”
“With Raynah?”
“Yep. Do you need me?” Garret asked suddenly.
And Dylan thought about it. He thought about the heaviness in the Rabbit Hole, and about what Roxy had told him aboutGarret’s Turn. Dylan knew Garret’s Maker. Kind of. It was a combination of a couple of scumbags named Leech and Grave. His physical Maker was some bear shifter who had made a deal with a lab. That or the lab was experimenting on him and taking the Turn doses from him.
Fuck, he couldn’t explain all this to Garret. Not yet.
“I’m good. I’ve seen Mom and Dad, I’ve seen the guys, I went out with them the other night and I’m supposed to hang with Andrew tonight. Stay with Raynah and Breah. Let me figure myself out for a bit,” Dylan said softly.
“I don’t like this.”
“What don’t you like?”
“You being far away.”
