Jackson Stiles, Road to Redemption (Road to Redemption #1)(57)

“STILES.”

“What?”

“Check it out.” She nods toward a group of people hanging out by the street corner. It’s not hard to spot the lanky kid, wearing a hoodie, among them. He’s trying to blend in, only at his height that’s kinda f*cking impossible.

My entire body relaxes, and I let out a long, quiet sigh of relief that Stix is okay.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because I knew you wouldn't believe it was that easy. You’d probably write Ken’s skills off as a hunch and wouldn’t want to waste your time following the lead of a guy you’ve never met and don’t trust.”

Huh.

I shrug. “Fair enough.”

I head over to give old Jimmy a piece of my mind.

“Kid.”

My pace quickens just in case he plans on running. Lucky for him, he doesn’t. Lucky for me too because, honestly, I’m tired as shit right now.

He meets me halfway. “Jackson. Man, am I glad to see you. How’d you find me?” He starts to pat himself down. “Did you put a tracking device on me or something?”

Right. Because I’m goddamn MacGyver.

“Not important. You wanna fill me in on what the f*ck happened at my place tonight, and why you’re not there?”

“I─”

“I mean I did say not to leave the apartment right?”

Right?

“Well—”

“And to call me in case of a f*cking emergency?”

“I had to bail, Jackson.” He blurts it out like he’s gonna lose his shit any minute now. “Those guys were—”

He hesitates, confirming my gut feeling earlier. “So you did see them.”

“Yeah, I saw ’em, and I wasn’t sticking around for them to come after me.”

“How’d you know they were there for you? Coulda just been some random murder. It happens, ya know.”

He shakes his head. “After you left, I was checking the window like every five minutes. I saw the girl first. She was literally pacing around, glancing up to your apartment every once in a while. She looked like she was biting her nails a lot. And talking to herself.”

I want to be amused. Lilah was always doing that shit. Even when I first met her. But it’s not funny anymore. She’s dead. Coincidentally, because of yours truly.

“What’s the matter?” Stix pulls me back to the conversation at hand.

“Nothing, then what?”

“The next time I checked the parking lot, this black sedan was there, and the girl was arguing with them. I kept watching because I couldn’t look away. They tried to dismiss her at first, but she wouldn’t let up. That’s when the one guy, he…”

I know the rest. He doesn’t have to finish.

“Police?”

Stix is quiet now. “He didn’t have a uniform on. I don’t know.”

Doesn’t rule Jim Galley out. But doesn’t mean it was him either.

“Then what?”

“I think I screamed or something, I guess, because something made him look up at your apartment. I hid but it was too late. He started for the stairs.”

He swallows and turns about as pale as the tighty-whities my mom used to make me wear in kindergarten.

“You get a look at him?”

Regret fills me up as I ask the ritual of questions I’ve become accustomed to use over the years. Lilah mighta been a little kooky. Maybe even a lot. But she never hurt anyone. Certainly not me. She didn’t deserve that shit. She also didn’t stand a chance.

Stix’s eyes go distant for a minute.

Man, I know that look.

“Go the f*ck home, Mikey.

“Why can’t you just—”

“Go the f*ck home!”

Memories of watching someone else I once knew die before my very f*cking eyes flood in. I shake it off before it can carry me down a river of bad shit.

This is more important.

“Kid?”

He doesn’t answer. He’s getting swept away as we speak.

“Kid.” I snap my fingers in front of his face to bring him back. His head jerks up, and he searches me for some assistance.

“Was he big? Small? Stocky? Walked with a limp? Anything you can give me.”

“I didn’t stick around long enough to pay attention, honestly, Jackson. He was more like a big shadow than anything.”

“Okay.”

So, basically nothing to f*cking go on.

Story of my life.

“I know I shoulda helped her or something, but I freaked out.” The familiar look in his eyes is too much for me right now.

“You did the right thing. How’d you leave without them seeing you?”

“I went out that window. The one your cat jumps in and out of.”

OK, that’s one good thing. There’s no way they followed him. That window leads to a fire escape that leads to an alley, which comes out way down by the street on the other side of my building.

We’re good. For now.

I meet Jimmy’s look of worry. “There’s nothing you coulda done, kid. And you might be dead right now, too, if you had tried. So…”

“Did you know her?”

I nod. “Yeah, I knew her.”