I’ll stay for now, though. Let Carney think I’m negotiating with his son. Let him underestimate me again.
I nod, wiping at my eyes.
Finn squeezes my shoulder.
“I meant what I said about locking the door.”
He leaves. I want to warn my brother, but I’m afraid if I do, he’ll do something foolish. Benjamin was horrified at what happened to me, and that he couldn’t protect me. But he’s just a kid. There’s nothing he could have done – but he’s still too young to realize that.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to protect him, Jamilah, and all the people at Trinity who are relying on me.
I can’t let James Carney win this time. I won’t survive it.
6
Finn
My father won’t be happy about the petition, but at least I’ll be able to warn him. That’ll show I’m making progress. It’s not ideal, but it could be worse.
It’d been too easy to suss out Sasha’s weaknesses, and I’d be sure to keep putting pressure on them. The fear of not knowing what’s happening to her precious brother might drive her to give up her contact eventually. I haven’t asked her to name everyone involved.
Like I said, every job has its own code of conduct, and that’d push Sasha’s too far. But one person? Surely she’d sacrifice one person to save her baby brother.
It’s easy enough to find her address. She lives off Broadway Street in Everett. The plan is strategic: I decide to go there first to give her more time to think before I see my father —not that I expect her to flip so soon. Not someone of her particular ethics.
The streets have been plowed, so the main streets are down to the asphalt. The side streets still have an inch or so of compressed icy sludge, though, so I can’t drive as fast as I like to.
The sun is out, reflecting off the fresh snow, making the city look cleaner than usual. I pull on a pair of sunglasses to help with the glare as I turn onto Sasha’s street. The houses are mostly two-family with shared driveways, stacked right on top of each other.
They’re in various states of disrepair, and I imagine knocking them down to put up tasteful condos. My Range Rover rolls to a stop in front of number 874.
God, what a dump. It might as well have wheels underneath it.
It’s another two-family house, painted yellow with a dilapidated chain-link fence lining what I imagine is a classy yard chock full of cement gnomes or something else God-awful. The house’s paint is peeling, and several of the windows are cracked and broken.
And is that plastic wrap on the inside of the windows? Depressing.
A teenage boy shovels the walkway. It’s easy to guess who he is.
Stepping out of my SUV, I avoid the worst piles of snow. The kid watches me. When he realizes I’m heading his way, he leans the shovel against a rusted railing that’s pulled out from the stairs. He’s going to be tall when he’s fully grown. Already he’s far outstripped his sister, though he’s not quite six feet yet.
He meets me at the sidewalk. “Can I help you?”
His voice is deep, which surprises me. He wears a silly knit hat with a pom-pom on the top.
“I think so,” I say, smiling my most charming smile. “Are you Sasha Saunders’ brother?”
His body stiffens. “Yes. Is she…” He almost can’t get the words out. He looks like he’s going to vomit.
“She’s hurt, but she’s okay,” I say. “Don’t worry—she just slipped. Nothing worse than that.”
He doesn’t need to know the truth. Sasha would prefer he be protected, I’m sure.
“She slipped?” The kid’s suspicious. I don’t blame him.
Smart, like his sister.
“Outside of my building. I live near her office. She asked me to check in with you because she knew you’d worry.”
“Why didn’t she just text me?” he asks, folding his arms over his chest. Good lord. The boy would fight me if he needed to. It’s adorable.
“Her phone broke when she fell. No offense but it wasn’t exactly sturdy to begin with.” I don’t know that for sure, but I bet anything she spends all of her money on him and barely any on herself.
“I told her to get a new phone.”
He looks guilty. Doesn’t like his sister protecting him. It makes me respect him a little more. Time to switch tactics.
“I thought I could talk to your father? She’s insisting on coming home for you even though she needs medical attention.”
“I can handle our father,” he snaps.
“Thank God,” I say. “Listen. Can I ask you something? Man to man?”
He nods.
Like taking candy from a baby.
“Something bad happened to your sister, right? She wouldn’t say what, but her ankle is busted and she still wants to skip the doctor.”
Busted is not a word I use often. But it helps to match the vernacular to your audience, and everything about this neighborhood is busted.
“Is it that bad?”
“She needs to be off her feet for a bit, but she insisted I drive her home because she wanted to protect you from your dad. And I told her that I have three sisters, and I’d be damned if I let any of them get hurt on my behalf. I thought you’d feel the same way. She said you were only a kid, but you don’t look like a kid to me.”
“I don’t need her to take care of me,” he snaps. “She almost fucking died. If I find out who hurt her, I swear to God I’ll kill them myself. I don’t care if I spend the rest of my life in jail.”
Charming. But embarrassing. I was so much savvier at seventeen.
“She won’t understand,” I say. “But she doesn’t need to. Like I said, I’ve got sisters too, and if anyone hurt them, I’d make them pay.”
He’s grateful to be let into this club with me, and it feels perverse. It’s amusing to think of how Hamish could obliterate this kid, though he wouldn’t. No kids: it’s part of Hamish’s code. Still, P.J. could destroy him. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
He stares at me for a few long seconds. He still isn’t completely sold. His pretty sister doesn’t have strange men showing up at their house too often, then.
“I can’t claim to know your sister very well. But she doesn’t like asking for help. I’d like to get her a new phone and cover her medical bills since she fell outside my place. Will you be okay until tomorrow?”
The wrathful look he gives me is excellent. People who act in anger generally make terrible judgment calls. Like trusting me, for one.
“I’ll be fine. Tell Sasha I’m fine. Just have her text me after you get her the phone. Does she need anything? Clothes and stuff?”
Oh, I would love to meet her father. Get more ammunition.
“That’d be great. Can you show me to her room?”
“Yeah. My dad’s awake, though, so you’ll understand why she’s worried.” He shrugs.
“I’m Finn, by the way,” I say, offering my hand. He shakes it firmly. This kid is ridiculous.
“Benjamin. Come with me.”
He takes me in through a side entrance. The storm door is coming off the hinges and bangs shut with an ungodly noise as we pass through the interior door.