“No,” he says, releasing a forceful breath. “I write her letters, but I’ve only sent a couple of them. I don’t want to make this hard on her if she’s trying to move on.” He lifts his arm and motions around the room. “Not much I can fucking do about it in here.”
“You’re almost done. Six more months and you’ll have your parole hearing and they’ll let you out.”
He shrugs again. “Maybe.”
I glance back at the clock on the wall. I’m running out of time and I have so much left to say. For some reason this visit feels urgent, like I may never get the chance to tell him after I leave.
“I need you to do something for me.”
He laughs, folding his arms across his chest. “Well, I’m limited in what I’m capable of, but I’ll try.”
I take a breath. “If something happens to me, I want you to look after Tess. I know you would anyway, but it’ll give me a peace of mind if I hear you say it.”
Perry leans forward, lowering his voice. “Don’t talk like that. It’s bad enough that I’m stuck in here where I can’t protect you. I don’t need to worry about that shit too.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, swallowing hard. “But I need to know that she’ll be okay.”
The muscle in his jaw starts to tick when he sits back upright. His eyes harden. “You know I would, but that’s not going to be necessary. You’re going to get the fuck out and stay out. When I get home, everything will be the way it should’ve been all along. No more shady shit, no more fucking secrets.”
I nod. “I agree.”
Perry looks over my shoulder and sighs. “My time’s up.” He reaches over and pats me on the arm. “Let me know how it goes. If you need anything, I have some new contacts that may be able to help you.”
I smile. “I’ll be fine. Everything’s golden, right?”
Perry chuckles. “Something like that.”
When I make it back to the shop, Tess is hunched over the computer with her eyebrows knitted together. I take off my jacket and walk up behind her and kiss the side of her head.
“Something wrong, babe?”
Her big blue eyes are clouded with worry. “I was trying to do the deposit for the week but the numbers aren’t coming out right.” She motions to the screen. “There’s like ten thousand extra dollars I can’t account for.”
My stomach drops. I’m usually the one who takes care of this. I’ll need to talk fast to keep her from figuring it out before I get the chance to come clean.
“I did that full back piece earlier this week,” I say casually.
She raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, but did you charge him ten grand for it?”
I start walking toward the stairs so she can’t see my face. “No, I don’t remember how much it was.”
“Walker.” Her voice is a warning that I’ve heard too many times to count. She sees through my lies, but doesn’t always call me out on them. I’m starting to get the impression her patience with me is wearing pretty thin.
I turn back around, flashing her a smile in an attempt to warm her over. “Come upstairs with me, we’ll figure it out later.”
She pushes forcefully up from her stool. “No, we’ll talk about it now.” She walks over and gets inches from my face. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
I feel like all the air has been forced out of my lungs. If she leaves me, I’ll lose the one person in this world I can’t live without.
I shake my head, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Tess, I swear I’m done. I just have to make one last deal and I can walk away.”
Her eyes flare in anger and she tries to pull away from me. I catch her and tug her back by her arm. “Babe, I’m serious.” Her eyes are already filling with tears and it literally rips me apart. I hug her to me so tight it almost has to be painful—but I can’t help it. I’m losing her and I feel powerless to stop it.
“Please,” I beg. “I know I don’t have the right to ask you to trust me, but I really need you to right now.”
She tenses in my arms before pushing herself away. She steps around me and shoots me a glare before walking up the stairs. “You’re right, I don’t trust you.” She sighs, and then mutters under her breath, “You never give me a reason to.”
When her footsteps disappear at the top of the stairs, I reach for my jacket again. I have to end this now before it’s too late. I’m terrified to come home one day and find her gone. I could never live with that and it would be all my fault.
I wait nervously at the drop off point across town. I’m early so Robby shouldn’t be here for at least ten more minutes. I lean against the side of my jeep and pull my phone out of my pocket. My fingers scroll to Tess’s number and I hit send. I hold my breath as it rings and let out a string of profanities when it goes to voicemail. She must really be mad because she always answers. I close my eyes when I hear the beep to leave a message.
“Hey, babe. I know you’re upset but I just wanted to let you know I’ll be home soon. I promise things will be better now. I know I have a lot to prove to you, but you’re my everything. I should have put you first and I didn’t, and I’m sorry. I’m going to make it up to you.” I sigh and then add, “I love you.”
I end the call and shove my phone back in my pocket. Hopefully she listens to message and decides I’m worthy of another chance. I’m not sure how many I get until I run out of them.
Headlights flash in front of me, blinding me for a moment. I shield my eyes with my forearm, when an unfamiliar vehicle pulls up and comes to a stop. The lights flick off, but the ignition stays running. When a guy steps out, my pulse begins to quicken. My fingers itch to reach for the gun secured in my back pocket, but I hold off.
He strolls toward me causally, dressed in a black hoodie and dark jeans. When he gets beside me, he nods. “I’m here for Robby. He had a prior engagement that needed his attention.”
Fully alert, I look back to the vehicle and then to him. “I’ve never seen you before.”
He grins, popping a cigarette into his mouth. “I’m new.”
I watch as he lights it and takes a slow drag, eyeing me the entire time. Alarm bells are going off in my head. This doesn’t seem right.
“I need to hear that from him.”
He shrugs, and then leans against the side of my jeep. “Call him. I’ll wait.”
With another skeptical look, I reach for my phone. I’m momentarily distracted by the fact that I have no missed calls or texts. I scroll to his number and hit send, keeping my eye on the guy leaning on my ride. When it goes to voicemail, I hang up without leaving a message.
“He’s not answering,” I say, shoving my phone back in my pocket. “We’ll have to set this up for another time.”
He nods like it’s no big deal before pushing off the side of my jeep. “All right then.” He takes a step, but then turns back to me. “Oh, one more thing.”
I laugh once. “What’s that?”
He flicks his cigarette to the ground, his mouth curling into a smile. Before I can react, I hear a click from behind me and the cold metal of a barrel presses firmly to the side of my head.