Page 27 of Stone’s Cage

I tug at my jeans, swallow again, trying to keep the bile from coming up. "He came for me 'cause I asked some questions."

Saying nothing, Shreve waves another woman over, a girl in shorts so high the pockets spread dirty white against her thighs like two pale tongues. Her thin arms look like bird wings. She passes a lit blunt to him.

"I asked about a kid that got caught in crossfire."

This catches his attention and the tip of the blunt never makes it to his lips.

I plunge ahead. "That student, Sam something. The one from NYU. Crossfire. Must happen a lot."

Just then yelling breaks out by the staircase going up to the bar. Juice and a few other lieutenants break through the crowd and with an arm twist and some more authoritative shouting, the room returns to a more reasonable decibel level.

"It does. Babies shouldn't be out on the street." Now he takes a drag on the blunt and when he exhales is smells like skunk. He speaks slowly. "There was two that month. Sam Watson. Yeah. And Monica Knight two weeks before that."

My chest tightens up and it's hard to breathe. "Monica Knight?"

"Fuck," says Shreve and then checks his phone. "I gotta go to work." He pushes his massive bulk from the table. I'm feeling desperate. I'm so close.

"What about Sam Watson?"

"Why do you care?

When I say nothing, he grins.

"Tell Stone I expect great things from him tonight."

I feel myself blanch. "Tonight?"

"The fight," he says, as if this explains everything.

When I'm back out on the street, the skinny guy, Juice holds me back a moment, shoving his runty hips in my direction as I hit the top stair and launch myself on to the cracked sidewalk. He steps in my way so I have to reroute around him.

"Hey bitch, you better lay off of Shreves, man."

"Get outta my way, asshole." The swear words are not coming any easier. I hitch my jacket tight around me and try to move past him, but he blocks my exit.

"Shreves has your back now. You'll owe him," he breathes in my face and his breath is overwhelming, like gasoline.

"I don't need protection," I duck to the left.

"Oh, cause Stony fucked you? All the girls feel that way about Stone."

As soon as Juice sees I've glanced at him, he wiggles his fingers like a little girl and touches his narrow chest. "Stone loves me." He grins. "He'll throw you to the wolves and Shreves will be the one to pick you up."

I say nothing and feint to the right and make an escape.

"You come to the fight tonight and you'll see Stone fuck it up."

At this I turn around. "And why should he throw a fight?"

"'Cause he sends money to some bitch he knocked up."

I try to act like I might believe him. I swallow hard a third time, and this was going to be really hard, but I've gotten so good at lying. I couldn't help myself. "Do you know who shot Sam?"

For the first time, Juice looks blank.

I continue. "Two years ago. A college kid, Sam Watson. Caught in crossfire."

He lights a cigarette. "Why the fuck do you care?"