Page 49 of Huge Dynamite
“Dynamite! Make sure she’s safe, but don’t do anything crazy.” It’s Nick’s voice.
Yeah. Sure. Don’t do anything crazy. You might as well tell a freaking wolf not to howl at the moon.
***
My heart is pounding so loud, it’s making almost as much noise as I am as I bang on the door of the old building in Greenville. I drove so fast to get here, what should have been a forty-five-minute ride took me just under twenty minutes.
“Holly? Holly!”
Where the hell is she? Glancing around the neighborhood, I don’t see any Dogs, so I let go of the breath I’ve been holding. It’s evening, but the street is pretty well lit so I can see just about everyone and everything that’s happening.
“Come on, Holly,” I mutter to myself.
Pounding on the door again, there’s still no reply. Planning to try the side windows, I jump down the few front steps and come toe-to-toe with some kid in a tank top and jeans. He doesn’t look much more than fourteen or fifteen.
“You the one who’s been shoutin’ for Ms. Holls?” The kid walks closer and looks me in the eyes.
“Ms. Holls? You mean Dr. Boling?” I don’t have time for this little punk and his questions.
“That’s right.”
He raises his chin, and when I move right, he steps to his left, blocking me.
“Listen, punk, I don’t have time for this shit.”
“I ain’t no punk.” He slaps himself on the chest.
“No?”
“No, man. I’m Dr. Holly’s assistant. I handle whatever she needs—and I do meanwhatever.” He looks me up and down.
That’s it. Grabbing the kid by his tank top, I lift him and push him back against the building. He lands with a thud. “Don’t you ever,” I snarl at the stupid kid, “ever say something like that about her ever again. Do you understand me, you little punk ass—”
“Seth?”
Whipping my head around, I see Holly standing there. She looks like a vision in an army green jacket and old jeans, holding a bag of groceries in one hand and a half-eaten apple in the other.
“What the hell are you doing with Julius?” Tossing the apple into her bag, she steps closer to us.
Not letting go of the punk, I keep looking at her over my shoulder. “Teaching him some manners. Little punk seems to think he can say things about you that he shouldn’t.”
She cocks her head and frowns. “Good grief, Seth, let him go. He’s just a kid.”
Turning back to face Julius, I lock eyes with him, and with a quick jerking motion, I push him back against the wall one more time just so he remembers who’s boss around here. She may think he’s all innocent, but I remember all too well what fifteen-year-old boys are capable of. Dropping the kid, I turn around and face Holly. I know she’s going to be pissed that I just roughed up some kid, but she’s already mad at me, so all I can do is to face it like a man. Standing up tall, I make eye contact with her.
She glares at me, and then turns to the damned punk. “Julius? You okay?” She uses a younger, sweeter voice with him—the same voice I heard at the hospital.
“Yeah.” Standing up straight, he fixes his stretched-out tank top. “He didn’t do nothin’ to me.”
Nodding, she smiles. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow? I have some boxes that need to be moved.”
“Boxes?” Stepping up to her, I look her in the eyes. “What do you mean boxes?”
“One second, Seth.”
Turning to the kid, she says bye and he walks off, glaring at me as he goes. Once he’s down the street, she faces me. Her eyes light up for a moment and then dull again. She sighs.
“What are you doing here, Seth?”
