Page 3 of Fly's Path

Like I want Little Timmy to get involved in my business. If he does, his wife is sure to involve the ladies in town. I want that like I want a hole in my head. I wouldn’t take anything from them even if I was starving…even when I was starving…That was a long time ago. “I’m not going to give you any problems.”

“Can you get…” His eyes wander around the porch. “…all your stuff moved out by tomorrow afternoon?”

Tomorrow, before I hop on a private plane, I’m going to be homeless. The cognitive dissonance of the thought makes my head hurt. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Thanks for not making this hard for us.”

You’re welcomeseems wrong when I’m about to be homeless again. But I can’t expect someone else to provide for me. In thisworld, you have one person you can rely on, and that person lives in your skin.

“If you need any help packing up your stuff…Tracy Jo would be happy to come by this afternoon. We’ve got some boxes—”

Boxes? My life doesn’t fit in boxes. Boxes are for people who know where they’re going. My life works just fine stuffed into trash bags in the back of my car. Sad but true. “No thanks. Don’t need them. I’ll be out by tomorrow.”

Jimbo nods. “Thank you. Tracy Jo asked me to tell you she loved your latest book. Your aliens—what were they called?”

“Therans.”

“Yeah, that was it. She said that they were the best. I’m thinking about reading them, but you know how it is.” Jimbo shrugs.

If that man has read more than the back of a cereal box in the last ten years, I’d be shocked. “Thank you.”

“Could she get an autographed copy? She wants to add it to her book wall. That is, if you have one lying around.”

Of course, I have some lying around. Don’t all authors have dozens of copies of their books everywhere in case a rabid fan walks up to their shack in the woods? “I might have one.” There might have been a copy or two left over from the last time I did a signing event on my website. “Let me go check.”

Finding anything in a single room should be easy, but my place is as chaotic as my mind most days of the week. There might be a few left over in a box by the corner…

Oh, that’s where I left those towels. They need to be washed. A laundromat run has to happen before I leave.

There! Found it. The last book at the bottom of the box. Taking it out feels like closing the chapter on a good part of my life…

Here’s hoping the next one is better.

Stupid Boy

Fly

I’m going to kill that kid. Seriously, kill him.

That is, if he doesn’t get himself killed first.

“Rogue, welcome back, brother. I never got a chance to say that in all the chaos of the last few days.” I stop in the hallway as he walks up to me. “Heard the news. Congrats.”

“Thanks. It’s probably the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but also the best. Did you hear about the serial killers we found out about right before Havoc’s woman got kidnapped?”

“Vaguely. My focus has been on the drug dealers. And keeping our three brothers alive.”

Rogue’s brow wrinkles even as he grins. “What are they doing now?”

Giving me gray hairs. “Ryot is selling drugs, while Vandal is making friends with a few dealers, and Torque is doing a perfect rendition of a drunk frat boy. Did you hear that computer whiz kid gave us access to their phones so we could listen to them at all times?” It’s a great safety feature…if I have to listen to one of my brothers burp or fart in stereo ever again…

“No. That’s awesome. Who’s monitoring them?”

I am listening to one of them at all times. “We’ve set up a team to monitor them as well as a rapid response team if they get in over their heads.”

“Great. If you need someone to help monitor, I have some free time.”

Really? I’ve never heard of a newlywed having free time.