Page 63 of Domino
“Four-wheel jeep, yeah.”
“That’s good. The rise is large enough to hide it,” I say.
“Once we do what we came here for, we can take off through the desert. We’ve got a switch car stashed in a town not too far from here. By the time they figure it out, we should be long gone.”
“Knock on wood.”
He nods and I continue scoping the land, looking for a better vantage point. Doesn’t look like there is one, though, and I wonder if that’s why they picked this spot to do their business, the remoteness of the location and the fact that there aren’t many decent offensive positions. Or maybe it was just random dumb luck. Who knows?
“This is the spot,” I say. “It’s not going to get any better than this.”
“The way you say that inspires such confidence.”
“Also, there’s no ‘we’ here. I’ll do the job. I don’t want you out here risking your ass needlessly.”
“Forget about it. You need somebody watching your six out here. You’re not coming out here alone,” Cosmo says.
“I don’t need anybody watching my back. I got this.”
He shakes his head. “When you were over in the shit, you always had a spotter with you, yeah?”
I see where he’s going with this and don’t want to encourage his argument, so I remain silent.
“Right. That’s what I thought,” he says. “So, here’s the deal… I’m acting as your spotter tomorrow.”
I turn to him. “Seriously, man. I don’t want you putting your ass on the line out here. The MC needs leadership. I’m expendable. It’s no different than how we ran things overseas.”
“You’re not expendable. That’s some bullshit, and you need to get that thought out of your head right now. You got me? You’re every bit as important to this MC as I am or Prophet.”
That’s not exactly true, but I don’t want to further this argument. It’s just going to go in circles. But if this all goes to shit, I would rather Cosmo not be within two zip codes of it.
“You’ve got a family, man. I don’t want you out here,” I tell him.
“And you’re my family, too. So, don’t think for a second I’m letting you come out here by yourself.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair, a small grin quirking my lip upward. “No chance of talking you out of this, huh?”
“None.”
I survey the land around us once more, and then nod. Seeing that he’s won the argument, Cosmo claps me on the back.
“Don’t worry, brother,” he says. “We got this.”
“Thanks for having my back.”
“Always. We’re family, and that means somethin’ to me.”
“Me, too.”
***
“What’s wrong?”
Ashley sits down on the couch next to me and nuzzles close. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her tight, relishing the feel of her body pressed to mine. She’s so warm and solid, and I find it reassuring. With so much in flux and the possibility that I might not be here tomorrow night hanging above my head like the Sword of Damocles, I’m trying to savor every moment I have with her.
But the thought of the coming fight, of which tomorrow is only the opening salvo, is weighing heavily on my mind, and I can’t seem to banish it entirely. I look over at Ashley and frown, trying to avoid letting it ruin our night.
“I’m still trying to digest that movie we watched. A singing fish?” I ask, trying to sound light but failing. At least to my own ears.
