Johnny Cain was the neighborhood hitman. People used him when they were under threat from anyone else—death squads or otherwise. Johnny was the only one in town to fight the squad and win.
Well, so goes the rumor. But the truth is, they would have faced each other at some point, and Johnny still isn’t dead.
“Excuse me?” Kit asks, his cultured voice no doubt grating on Johnny’s ear.
“I seen ya and yer fancy kind. Drinkin’ in my bar. Whatcha doin’ here?”
Finally, I get the darts back into the box and run across to the table, putting myself between Cain and Kit.
“Johnny!” I say loudly, waving my arms. “It’s me, Lexa!”
“Lexa? Naw. Y’aint. She was skinny with long hair.”
“I grew up a bit, Cain.”
He squints, but I know the light is too dim. And he’s way too drunk to confirm my identity.
“I dunno,” he rumbles. “I still think ya outta git out. Makin’ me uncomfortable. Don’t like your kind.”
“Of course,” I say, stepping back.
“Do you know who I am?” Kit asks suddenly.
I turn around, glaring at him furiously.Did you have to?I mentally tell him.
He shrugs as if to say,What?
“No, I don’t!” Cain yells. “And I don’t much care. Git out!”
“You can’t speak to me like that,” Kit mutters, getting up.
I hurl myself at him, slamming our bodies together so he stumbles back a few steps. I laugh loudly, way over the top, as I catch Kit and start dragging him towards the door.
“Don’t mind us!” I yell back at Cain cheerfully. “Just a bit too drunk. We’re leaving now!”
“Good riddance,” Cain grumbles.
I get Kit outside, and the crisp air hits me in the face, clearing my head. From the way Kit is stumbling, it hasn’t had the same effect on him.
“Hey,” he says. “Where are we? I was gonna—”
“Nothing,” I cut him off. “You’re doing nothing. I’m taking you back to the car, and I’m driving us home.”
“It’s my truck!” he protests.
“I’ll do you a deal. You find the keys, and you can drive.”
Kit starts patting himself down, looking confused. “I know I had them on me.”
He has no idea I slipped them out of his pocket when I jumped between him and Johnny.
“Too bad,” I snap. “You lost. I’m driving.”
We make it back to the truck, and Kit dozes on the way home, snoring softly. I’m worried about getting him inside by myself, but when we pull up in the driveway, Kit opens his eyes, and they look clear and focused.
“Wow,” he mutters. “I was really out of it.”
“There’s no way the alcohol is completely out of your system,” I reply. “You should take it easy.”
