“Nothing lasts forever.” She gestured at his weapon. “Still, every day is a blessing around here. More than sixty people wake up lucky every day. Lucky to breathe, lucky to walk, lucky to spend time with their loved ones.”
“Not when their loved ones leave town.”
“Small price to pay,” she said. “Beats gambling our lives on some cryptic offer.”
“Wouldn’t be so cryptic if you let Ashlee finish talking to Snare.”
“She’ll say anything to get her hand back.”
“I haven’t lied,” Ashlee said. “Not once.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Candace snapped. “You just threatened to expose everyone. That’s reckless and inconsiderate. My people are human beings, not casino chips. Keep arguing, Ash, and your father will get the full punishment. Right now, he’s facing a partial.”
“Please, Candy—”
“Don’t call me that.” Candace glared at him without mercy in her eyes. She grabbed his gun by the barrel. With a single tug, it left his grasp. “You’ll serve a twenty-four-hour sentence. If you have patrol duty tomorrow, call off.”
“Why him?” Ashlee said. “I’m the one who threatened the Traders. Take it out on me.”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Candace turned to her. “Since you don’t have any traded parts, you’ll have to live with the fact that your father will serve the sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Candace faced Karl. With unblinking eyes, she said, “He’ll spend the next twenty-four hours at an unspecified location several miles away.”
“Several miles?” Ashlee said. “But he’ll… You can’t!”
“I’ll be fine, Ashlee.” Karl knew he wouldn’t, but he needed her to stay calm. “We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“That’s only if Ash cooperates,” Candace said. “If she or anyone else tampers with my cameras or visits this creek, you’re taking a trip outside the zone, Karl.”
He swallowed hard. The thought of his knees vanishing from his legs put a sick twist in his gut.
“You can’t…” Ashlee shook her head. “That’s insane.”
“Nothing insane about keeping order around here.”
“But he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’ve got reason to believe he’s been helping you all day. Want me to lay out my case?”
“Go for it.”
“Ashlee.” Karl forced a smile. “Settle down, okay? No need to make this any worse.”
“But, Dad…”
“Ashlee.” Karl pleaded with his eyes. She must’ve gotten the message because she stopped arguing. It was for the best. Once Candace announced a punishment, there was no going back.
And if Ashlee pushed any harder, he’d be back in a wheelchair.
42
Ash climbed into the van and slammed her fist against the steering wheel. The horn moaned under her blows. Futile, useless blows. In the passenger seat, Cheeto anxiously lit a cig. He hadn’t said a word since they left the clearing. Whether he was dazed by Snare or petrified by Candace, Ash couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she dreaded what might happen to her father.
What scared her even more was the thought of Dad continuing to live in this hellhole. With Candace calling the shots, there was no telling when he would lose his knees over some stupid-ass disagreement. For the first time, she could honestly say to herself that completing Snare was about more than getting a new hand.
It was about so much more.
She checked the dashboard clock. They had nineteen hours till sundown, but it felt like nineteen minutes. Somehow she had to march five people to the bend while avoiding any situation that could endanger Dad’s health. Keeping him safe was critical. This whole creek deal wouldn’t be worth shit if Dad’s legs turned to rubber.
She looked at Cheeto. He tapped his cig out the window without a word. Though there were many times she’d wished he came with a mute button, now wasn’t one of them.
“Cheets?”
He flicked his cig outside. “Yeah?”
She told him everything.
By the time she finished spilling details, Cheeto had burned through the last of his smokes and was now flicking his lighter anxiously. They stared up the street at Candace’s house, awaiting the bitch’s return. No telling where Candace had taken Dad or why no one had returned yet. Earlier, Ash had considered tailing them, but getting caught would cost Dad his knees.
“Should we be here?” Cheeto asked, itching his scruff. “I mean, if Candace sees us, she might think we’re ambushing her.”
“From five houses down? We’re not snipers.”
“Just saying… Candace seems pretty high-strung.”
“Yeah, but what else can I do? Sit at home?” She squeezed the steering wheel in a chokehold. “There’s gotta be a way to finish Snare without putting Dad in danger.”
Cheeto frowned. “You sure this is all worth it?”
“Hell yeah. It’s a golden opportunity.”
“You said that about the club we played in Akron. The one where Kane got his gear stolen.”
“This is different.”
Cheeto shrugged. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Are you blitzed? Look at me.” She rolled her sleeve to reveal her empty cast. “I’m not me. Not without my hand. If I can’t play guitar, what good am I?”
“I could teach you to sing.” He grinned stupidly. When she glared back, he frowned. “Look, for what it’s worth, I don’t think of you as a guitarist. To me, you’re Ash Hudson.”
She scrunched her brow. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Hand or no hand, you’re you. And that works for me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You and your low standards.”
“Nah, they’re sky high.” Cheeto drummed his fingers along the dash, pausing only when a pair of headlights turned onto Peak Ave. Tension spread through the van as they both leaned forward, anticipating Candace. But it wasn’t her vehicle, and they sank back into their seats. Cheeto yawned. “Getting late. Wanna call it a night?”
“I don’t even have a plan yet.”
“So sleep on it.”
“That won’t help.”
“You’d be surprised. Last month I listened to this podcast on how sleep affects the mind. They said REM sleep helps your brain with creativity. Who knows? Maybe you’ll wake up with an idea.”
Much as her aching body needed a snooze, she knew sleep wasn’t happening tonight. Not until she solved this. It was like when she stayed up late tinkering with a new guitar solo: no shuteye till she nailed the right sequence of notes. With Dad and her hand at stake, she couldn’t afford to sleep. She’d be an idiot to sleep. That would waste time, and there was only so much left.
She killed the motor and zipped her coat.
“Where you going?”
“Candace’s.”
“She’s not home, though.”