“He got me under hisprotection, right? And he didn’t have to do a thing. I went with him like a lost sheep and all it cost him was a fake fight. Which he enjoyed.” I shrugged. “So that’s the story, right? I was a mess when I found out. A drag queen named Cherry Malicious told me later that’s how the old dudes play the fish. I didn’t want to believe her, but I confronted ’Nando. He laughed at me.”
“That sucks.”
That old wound had never really stopped hurting. “We didn’t speak for a month, even though I still had to be his boy and do whatever he said. So instead of a guy with some luck, I felt like a joke. It took a long time to work that out between us.”
“But you did?”
I nodded. “Things are different inside. That’s just the way it is.”
He moved so his head hung over the side of the bed. “But that’s still awful. Once you find out someone lies you can never trust them again.”
“You can’t trust anyone anyway. Not really. That’s what you learn real quick if you don’t want to end up as everyone’s dog. All those things we wish we could rely on: truth, justice, the American way? All that’s a crock of shit. Nobody’s balancing the scales and nobody cares.”
“You lost your faith.” He made the words a sad, quiet statement.
“If I ever had any, yeah. It’s way gone.”
“Me too.”
I stared up at the ceiling. “Sorry.”
Maisy’s head came up again, and this time, she rumbled a low, ominous growl.
Light bobbed along outside the side window and then a tap came on the door.
“Shit.” Rock dropped his legs over the side of the bed with a groan. “That’s Elena, probably. Looking for me.”
