Page 98 of Stay Dangerous

Son?Fredo and I glanced at each other before nodding.

She grinned, revealing bright white teeth. “Tell Nancy that Imelda says hello. You guys should get going while there’s a shift change.”

She turned, her hair flowing with a breeze, before she left, leaving us more bewildered than ever.

But we couldn’t stop. Not when we were racing against time.

Turk and Autumn were outside, and just like the doctor said, there was a sedan parked and running at the end of the parking lot, keys still in the ignition.

We piled in, and thankfully, Fredo got in the driver’s seat.

“We taking you home, and then we gonna take care of the mess we left in the Towers,” I said, making eye contact with Autumn in the rearview mirror.

She nodded and leaned more into Turk. “And will you find Wynter, too?”

A shiver ran through my spine, and I looked away, toward the road.

“Yeah, Haze. We’ll find her, too.”

Through the Looking Glass

Wyn

Somehow,Iwasdeeperinto Rico’s world than I ever thought I would be, and he was nowhere to be found.

There was The Hive, the brothel, where Pooh had his girlsentertaininggentlemen (and ladies).

But then, there was the Hundred Acre Wood. A separate wing of the massive house, a complete four bedroom apartment deep in the back, where he and Pilar slept. Where I was banished to.

Pilar wasn’t as young as I thought she was, but she looked damn good. And was also incredibly bored, since she did notentertainanyone but Pooh, as far as I could tell. Her least scandalous outfits were satin pajamas with the tags still on, that I drowned in, since even though I was taller, she was way more voluptuous.

Every morning she had breakfast for me, up hours earlier than me so she could work out to keep that impossible shape of hers. The first few days she helped me dress my wounds, and did my nails and toes, while she told me her life story.

She had stories for days. Enough to fill the days with me forgetting about the world around us. Pooh must have known this, a smart move on his part. Because for her to be in her early thirties, she’d lived just as many different lives before meeting Pooh and shacking up with him.

“Have you met his sons?” I asked the night of Christmas Eve. We were wrapping presents for his honeybees, hisgirls. Christmas was their day off, and they spent the day opening presents, visiting family, and even having a party that, from the types of gifts I was wrapping with her, turned a little x-rated.

Pilar smiled as she concentrated on folding the wrapping paper just so. “No. They haven’t come around for a long time. There’s a lot of history there with their mother, which I understand.”

“Would you wanna meet them? Aren’t you guys serious?”

Pilar ripped a piece of tape and finished the present, before putting it in a half-filled wagon and grabbing the next sex toy to wrap. Thankfully, she had me wrapping the regular presents, like scarves and True Religion jeans.

“You’re young. Idealistic. You probably think you’re supposed to fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after, but real life isn’t like that, Wynter.” Her smile disappeared as she kept her eyes on her work. “I love Pooh, but he’s not the first man I’ll love. He won’t be the last. I just try to enjoy the time we have now. That helps me not be so disappointed if and when it comes to an end.”

“Not gonna lie, Pilar. That sounds pretty sad,” I sighed, finishing my present. It wasn’t wrapped as nicely as hers, but she didn’t say anything.

She finished her last present and placed it into the wagon. “I didn’t say it wasn’t sad, Wynter Snow. That’s just how I think about things. How about this; I know you’ve met them. You tell me how they are.”

I leaned back on my palms. The fire was going, and it warmed us, since it got entirely too cold out here in the middle of nowhere.

“Well, for one, they lookjust liketheir dad. It’s scary. Rico’s oldest, but Fredo’s the one who would probably warm up to you first. He’s more talkative than Rico, more social. Playful, too. Rico…”

I fought not to curl my lip. Pilar didn’t need to know her boyfriend’s son was lying, cheating, dirty dick scum. So I thought about what I would have said before we broke up.

And then, to my horror, a smile was fighting to spread my lips instead.

“Rico is like, a nice surprise. Once you pass the test. Once Fredo vouches for you, Rico’s personality begins to shine. He’s tough, and I don’t wanna say it’s an act, because it’s not. No, he, more so than Fredo, can be absolutely ruthless in the streets. But that’s only one side of him. Rico is so much more than that. If you’re lucky enough to be a part of his circle, you’ll never want for anything. I guess I see where he gets it from. He’s like… feeling the sun on your face after a long time indoors. Or when you figure out the sample of a song you really like, and then you fall in love with the original song, too.”