Among the Echoes(69)

"Maybe, but being alone made her even more vulnerable. They think she means something to me. Which she does—now. They would have tortured her just to draw me out. At least if we’re together, I could always give up myself if we got into trouble."

"Jesus Christ. So how the hell is this going to be over? Get to that part. I don’t want to hear the rest of this bullshit."

"So some serious shit has been going down, and it appears the last remaining Wilkes brother, Lucas, is f*cking shit up for Rodriguez again. An official hit was just issued on his head. Lucas is the low man on the totem pole these days, but his ego is anything but. If Rodriguez manages to take him down, he will absorb all his men and we could finally be nobodies again. With Wilkes gone, we would be free of all of this once and for all."

"So, what? We just wait for Rodriguez to take out Wilkes?"

"Yep. And pray the cops don’t get to Wilkes before Rodriguez has a chance to do it."

"How long are we talking here?"

"An hour…or ten years. I have no clue. But what's important is, for the first time ever, there’s an end in sight. All we have to do is lay low and let the *s extinguish each other."

"Do you really think this will work? I mean, won’t Wilkes’s men try to start something up on their own if he goes down?"

"Not unless they are f*cking idiots. The Rodriguez family has only gotten bigger and more powerful over the years. Wilkes is the only one stupid enough to f*ck with them. Once he is gone, all the small-time thugs and dealers will jump ship to where the money is."

"Rodriguez," I whisper.

"Yep," he confirms, finally stopping to face me. "We just have stay off Wilkes’s radar until it’s done."

"So are we telling Erica this?" I ask.

"Your call. But I don’t want to get her hopes up."

"I’ll tell her. She deserves to know."





"Shut up!" Erica squeals as I explain the situation to her.

Leo was right. Her hopes aren’t just up—they are bursting through the roof.

"It’s just a theory, beautiful. There are still a lot of factors that would have to happen to make it a reality."

"Slate, it could be over," she says as her eyes flood with tears. "OhmyGod, OhmyGod, Oh. My. God," she hurries out before jumping to her feet and running from the room. "Leo!" she shouts, rushing into his room.

"I see he told you." He laughs as she hurls herself into his arms.

"Seriously. This could really happen? Like really really happen?" she questions as he puts her down and takes a step away.

"It’s a possibility, babe. Don’t start applying for jobs yet, but it’s a definite possibly."

"I want some wine. No, champagne!" She turns to me as I lean against the doorjamb.

I can’t help but smile and enjoy her excitement. It’s rare to see this giddy side of Erica, but that only makes it more beautiful when it happens.

"I could do a beer," Leo says from behind her.

"Let’s do it." I pull her against my chest and head for the kitchen.

Three glasses of champagne later, Erica is still celebrating. She’s talking a mile a minute and just all-around having fun. My heart tightens when I realize that I could possibly spend the rest of my life with this amazing woman. I’m not talking the frightened woman who is always looking over her shoulder, but rather this light and carefree version I see before me now.

"Let’s go to bed," she says, straddling my lap.

I glance up at Leo, who is smiling, but he looks away when she starts kissing up my neck.

"Hey. Why don’t you go out? Hit the city. I can hold down the fort tonight," I say to him as Erica’s hands slide under my shirt. She begins to drunkenly giggle as I tease the edge of her shirt as well.

Leo shakes his head at her but finally nods to me. "Yeah. I think I’ll do that. I’ll take one of the boys with me. Cool?"

"Works for me." I stand, lifting Erica right along with me. She immediately locks her legs around my hips but turns to look at Leo.

"You’ll be careful, right?"

"Of course, babe. Now go to bed. Your head is going to be killing you in the morning."

"Have a good night. Wear a condom. Do I need to give you the STD talk I used to give the kids who came into the hospital?" She laughs, making Leo groan and roll his eyes.