Page 53 of Monk
Bala nods. “Yeah. I feel you.”
I let out a small breath of relief. If they’re laughing and think this is all a big joke, that means they’re not shooting me. And the longer I can manage to stay alive, the better my chances are for getting out of here.
Cosmo is still looking at me with a smirk on his face, but Jacob is looking right through me. His eyes seem to be fixed on some point in the distance. I must be lying if I say that doesn’t hurt.
“Hey, I heard you guys found a rat with the Bastards. FBI or some shit?” Tarantula notes.
“Yeah, thanks to the kid here,” Cosmo claps him on the shoulder and Jacob looks distinctly uncomfortable.
“I don’t wanna talk out of turn or anythin’ like that, but I hear they tuned him up real good,” Tarantula says.
“Yeah? Hadn’t heard that,” Cosmo says.
“Doubt they’ll find the pieces of that rat fuck anytime soon. Fucker got what he deserved,” Bala says.
Jacob shifts on his feet, that look of discomfort on his face growing. He meets my eyes for a brief moment, but I can’t interpret what I see. Something is bothering him pretty deeply.
“Anyway, let’s do some business,” Cosmo says.
“Sounds good,” Tarantula says.
“Kid, keep an eye on her while we transfer all the goods,” Cosmo instructs.
Jacob nods and leads me to the side of the small parking lot. He stands silently to my right and behind me, sending a cold chill through me. It feels like a shark circling its prey. I watch as large, wrapped bundles are transferred from one van to the other. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s happening.
“Is it meth? Coke?” I ask.
“It’s neither,” he says after a long pause. “It’s weed.”
I look over at him. “You’re running weed?” I ask.
Ne nods. “Yeah. And a few guns on the side as well.”
One of the men in Jacob’s club is carrying a box over to the other vans. Bala opens up the box and pulls out a large handgun. He quickly examines it, sighting down the barrel, and hefts it in his hand as if he’s testing the weight. Finally, he replaces the gun and puts the lid back on. His men load it into their van.
A little closer to where I am, I see Tarantula hand Cosmo a duffel bag. He unzips it far enough that I see the stacks of cash inside. I immediately flash back to Spencer and the bag of cash I stole. It sends a nervous fluttering through me as well as sets a pang of sadness in my heart seeing that Jacob isn’t that much different from Spencer after all.
Cosmo walks over to us and gives me a long look. I guess the novelty of me slapping Jacob has evaporated as thoroughly as his laughter.
“The prospect is gonna take her car back to the clubhouse,” Cosmo says. “She’s gonna ride back in the van with Tony.”
“The hell I am,” I object.
“Afraid you are, Ms. Singer,” Cosmo tells me. “We need to have a talk.”
I glare at Jacob, the fury I feel that he’s done nothing to stop this or help me belatedly rushing in. In case he has noticed, he doesn’t give any sign.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I spit.
Jacob looks at me, his face darkening. “It’s either that or we turn you over to Bala. You’re leaving here with one of us. So, it’s your call.”
I feel like Jacob has just dumped a bucket of cold water on me and at the same time slapped me across the face. I recoil from him, not believing how fucking cold he’s being right now. It’s like last night has never happened and I’m nothing more than a stranger to him. I’m expecting the rage to consume me, but it’s actually hurt and pain that are predominant in me right now.
“Good. Get her loaded up,” Cosmo says, then turns and walks back to Tarantula.
I turn back to Jacob and look into his eyes, searching for something. For some spark of humanity, or some shred of feeling for me. But there’s nothing in those eyes of his. He’s got that thousand-mile stare down again.
Jacob puts his hand on my arm, his touch gentle as he guides me toward the van. He holds the door open for me and knowing I have no other choice, I climb in. I sit in the seat looking down at him, and for the first time, I see a flicker of emotion in his eyes. It’s brief—he has it ruthlessly extinguished in the blink of an eye, but it is there all the same. I see it.
