Page 7 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Arek raised a shoulder and let it drop. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to do as much until she gets used to this lifestyle and understands that I’ll be fine.” Arek swirled the drink, not meeting his gaze.
“You do realize that is never going to happen?”
“Renee is a lot more accepting than you’re giving her credit for.”
“Would you like me to get her an award?” Trev bit out sarcastically. “This is not a good time for you to be backing away. The Righteous is not going to like it, not when we are so close to taking down our assigned goal.”
Arek sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Besides, if you’d ever let me speak, you’d know that the Streetlore’s want to hire me to feed them information. I mean, we couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
“Damn, that is good news. Look, I’m not saying that I won’t do what I signed up for, but I’m going to be a dad, like a real father, and I’d like to see my kid born.” He placed a hand over his heart, and the gesture touched Trev more than words could have. “I am the last person on this earth that deserved to have a second chance like this, but I want it. Renee makes me feel like I’m not a monster.”
Trev sipped his drink as they lapsed into silence. His brother had not really asked for anything in a very long time. It was time he dusted off his boots anyway. He could play both sides for a few months. Arek was right, he’d earned the opportunity to see his son or daughter born, and Trev wanted nothing more than to see that smile on his brother’s face when it happened. It was something he’d dreamt about for himself, but fate had other ideas.
“Alright, I’ll cut you back to as little as possible for now.”
“Thanks, Trev. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Me, a fucking father, can you even picture that?”
“No, I can honestly say I never saw that one coming,” He smiled as Arek laughed. Arek lit up as he talked about decorating the nursery in camo and buying little fatigues. Yes, he needed to protect this. He’d do what he had to, to keep his brother safe.
Was it possible to be a ghost and keep breathing? Cody couldn’t answer the question, but it certainly felt like it. He shouldn’t complain. He was a free man, had his sister back, and was building a relationship with J.J., which he’d always been too scared to do while he belonged to Tyson. So why was he feeling so dejected?
He kicked a little pebble along the sidewalk, not really paying attention to where he was headed. It was already hot out, but he loved it and turned his face up to the sun and sucked in a deep breath as he tried to calibrate his emotions in a more positive direction.
“What the fuck are you doing on this side of the tracks?”
Cody jerked out of his internal struggle, his fist clenching automatically. He spun toward the voice and relaxed, not able to keep the smile off his face. His eyes landed on Ray sitting on the front steps of his apartment building.
“Hey, man,” he said as he met Ray and gave the guy a brief hug. He’d known Ray his entire life, they met in the playground one day and hit it off immediately and had been tight since. Ray had always been top-shelf, just dealt a crap hand. “Shit, I thought you were still inside the big house.”
“I was just released the other day. My lawyer was pretty incredible. None of the charges stuck, got time served.”
Ray let out a low whistle. He was one of the few that knew all the dirty details of what he’d done during his time with the Vipers, but Ray was no snitch. He had lips like a vault. “Damn, I need that guy on retainer,” Ray joked. Ray was more of a dabbler. He worked a regular nine to five and tried to keep his nose clean, but his little sister required special meds so he would pick up the odd bit of work as a runner.
“Trust me. You can’t afford this guy. I couldn’t afford this guy, but I had a connection.” Cody leaned against the rusted rod iron fence that surrounded the small front lawn of the building.
“You always got a connection, man. What is the famous Ice Man going to do now that you’re free? Nasty bit of shit that went down with Ty.” Ray visibly shivered. “Did you hear what happened to him?”
“Not all of it, but I got the run-down. I was kinda busy with the whole being shot and then arrested thing. Although, I’m sure everyone thinks I did it and that’s fine if it keeps them from comin’ lookin’ for me.” Cody looked down at his feet. He hated Tyson. He wanted to be the one to put a bullet between his eyes, but having your cock and balls cut off was next-level shit. He wouldn’t be quick to admit it, but Arek fucking scared him a little. “As far as what I’m going to do now, I’m weighing my options.”
“You gonna take the reins for the Crimson Vipers? Those left alive is looking for a new leader.” Ray lit up a smoke and offered him a drag. He shook his head no as Ray leaned back on the steps like he was sitting on a fucking Lazy Boy.
“Naw, man. I’m thinking of staying out of the game. I have a chance to go back to school, maybe get out of this neighborhood for good.”
“Too good for us now?” Ray teased.
“Fuck you. You know my heart will always be here no matter where I go. Besides, if I end up with a sexy ass job, maybe I can hook your stupid ass up. No one else would want your sorry ass.”
“Watch your mouth with that shit. I’ll hold you to it.” Ray looked down the street, and Cody followed his stare. A black and white was slowly driving toward them, and Cody tensed, his body ready to run if they stopped even though he no longer had anything to hide. Old habits died hard, and he had never had a great relationship with the popo. “Man, to not have to worry about money, being shot at, arrested, or dead is almost too much to dream about.” Ray’s eyes followed the car as it continued on, the occupants only giving them a glance over.
“How’s Little Spice?” Cody asked, and Ray laughed.
“She loves that stupid nickname, refuses to go by her own name now. So thanks for that.” Ray smirked, his eyes speaking for him how much his sister meant to him. He finished the smoke, crushing the butt under his heel. “You know she fucking loves you, man. She is already planning your wedding, but if you ever touch my sister, I will fuck that pretty face up.”
Cody laughed hard. “Dude, first, you know your sister is not my type, but even if she was, jailbait is not my thing. Anything still in pigtails is simply fucked up shit.”
“Good to know. She’s fine.” Ray lifted a shoulder and then looked around. “The meds are going to break me, though. I had to do three runs last week to pay for two weeks' worth.” Ray rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t get caught. If I did….” The sentence trailed off, but Cody knew Ray meant that his sister would die, and he couldn’t live with that.
