Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(61)

If there was a next time.

Max propped him by the tub, then sat on the toilet and waited. He could see Pete’s body beginning to react, twitching, then he jerked awake. He looked around the room, panting hard, his eyes frantic and dilated. Max grinned at him.

“What the fuck, Mad Dog?” Pete leaned his head against the broken tile behind him. “You ruined a perfectly good high.”

“Yeah? Well, you better park that horse. I gotta talk to you.”

“No, fuck you.” Pete tried to rise, but his legs weren’t cooperating.

Max kicked him back against the wall. “Hey, I was being nice, putting you in here. I coulda strung you up over a cliff.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m hearing rumors a war’s coming here. It ain’t your war; it ain’t your fight. Tell your boys to clear out. King’s going down. Nothing they can do about it.”

Pete sighed. “It ain’t my men you gotta worry about. King’s bringing his own fighters in. Some of them were our guys; most I don’t know. It’s like they don’t know us anymore. They’re different.”

“And you didn’t see fit to tell me about this?” Max snarled.

“I’m telling you now.”

“So get your guys out. Quietly. A couple at a time. Don’t tell the newcomers what’s happening. Tell your crew to stay far, far away for like a month. After we take King down, Feds are going to be all over this place for a long while. Leave King’s dope. The Feds are going to find it—let that fall on King’s head, not yours.”

“Doesn’t sound good.”

“It ain’t…for King. Won’t be here or there for you and your boys if you do what I say.”

“It’s cool,” Pete said. “You did us good with the smallpox. Heard how it went through the Friends. That coulda been us. So we’ll do it.” Pete narrowed his eyes. “We do still have a deal, right?”

“Yeah, we do.” Their deal was for Max to take Pete out fast, or at least give him enough heads-up that he could OD before the Feds—or King—took him. The WKB club prez was deathly afraid of dying in an acid bath. Max grinned. Maybe that would be a fitting end for King. He hoped Owen gave him the chance to make it happen.





19





Addy called Selena the next morning, after breakfast and getting Troy started with Zavi in class.

“Hi, Selena? I need to go out today.”

“Where are you going? I’ll need to clear it with Kit.”

“I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Are you sick?”

“No.” Addy felt embarrassed saying it. Best just spit it out. “I want to be checked for STDs. In all the testing that was done on me, I don’t think they ever tested me for those.”

“Oh. Sure. What time and where?”

“It’s this afternoon. Two o’clock. At the clinic in town. I already made the appointment.”

“Copy that. I’ll make it happen.”

“I’d rather no one else knew why I’m going to the doctor’s.”

“No worries. That’s need to know only.”

When the time came to head to the doctor’s, Addy was glad that Selena didn’t ask any questions. Addy filled out the extensive paperwork, feeling more and more freakish as she did. She didn’t know anything about her family history. Those were the sorts of things she might have learned had she had a normal relationship with her parents.

A few minutes later, the nurse called her back. She stood. Selena didn’t.

“Want me to go with you?” Selena asked.

Addy nodded, but the nurse said. “Just the patient at this time.”

Selena stood. “I’m her bodyguard. If I don’t go with her, she doesn’t go.”

The nurse asked, “That okay with you, Ms. Jacobs?”

“Yes,” Addy replied.

After the standard check-in, Addy and Selena were taken to a small exam room. Selena waited outside until the doctor came in. She gave Addy a quick glance, introduced herself, then sat on a stool by a computer. “Ms. Jacobs, I understand you’re here for an STD exam.”

“Yes.”

“All right. I have some questions that I need to ask.” She flashed a glance at Selena. “They’re of a personal nature. Maybe your friend would like to step outside?”

“I’m not shy. And there’s nothing I have to hide,” Addy said.

“Okay. Let me just take a moment to read over your questionnaire.”

Addy felt her nerves tightening up. Selena was going to learn things Addy hadn’t even told Owen.

“All righty then. I have a standard list of questions I ask of all my patients prior to doing STD tests. I want you to be comfortable and as forthcoming as possible. If you’re ready, we’ll get started.”

Addy nodded. Her hands were clasped tightly together. She drew a couple of long, slow breaths.

“These are standard questions. There are no right or wrong answers. No one’s judging you. I just need to make an assessment of what type of tests we’ll be doing. Are you in a relationship now?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”