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Boone quietly sets the textbook down and then heads to his bedroo his door shut behindmob"

He doesn’t turn around

"Boone!"

"I don’t know for sure, all right!"

"No Not all right! Are you fking kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me?"

He spins on his heels to faceyou talk about And it’s not like they carry around business cards to announce the to work my way into Rust’s circle You don’t just stroll in there, unannounced and uninvited"

"Rust’s ‘circle’?" Iottenot several businesses--two that are legit, one that technically isn’t" This is the first I’ that Rusta ton of money that I want in on That’s all Souys like Viktor"

"And Viktor is mob" It’s not a question

"I don’t know one hundred percent, but it’s probably a safe bet to assume so Look, I hear shit! They have a lot of business conversations around that table and they have no fking clue that I "

Nausea burns my stomach as panic sets in I rebuilt a car for the damn mob I’ve had the wife of a Russianmy voice, because I don’t want Alex to hear, I ask, "Is he capable of so like that?"

Boone’sto choose his words "I’ve heard that he has a bad te hiearhead who he hired to fix his engine? "Why wouldn’t you warn er at me "I did warn you More than once, remember?"

"No Not about this, you didn’t"

"Dude, what the hell was I supposed to say? I told you about the stolen cars, didn’t I? That should have been fair warning that Viktor’s not so his wife"

"Fuck you, Boone You’re an assle" Ihis door onon my bed, her cheeks ith tears "I didn’t know I swear, I didn’t I’ her hands into be sorry for"

"What have we done?" she whispers, her eyes pleading withto kill us"

"No he’s not, because he’s never going to find out That couple on TV--they were probably being stupid about it That’s why they got caught We’ve been careful You haven’t even left the apartment since Sunday No one knows you’re here except Boone, and he’s not going to say a thing" Boone’s the one who brought o doith us

She dips her forehead intoto just let me leave, is he?" The defeat in her voice squeezes et you away froainst , not sleeping

And I feel it

Everything has changed

TWENTY-EIGHT

Water

now

"The usual, Water?" Lauren asks with a se Styrofoaured cashier and daughter of Poppa--the owner of Poppa’s Diner--freezes ulars want Now she’s looking at me like I’ve throrench into her weekday routine and irreparably daed her flow

"The usual for Dakota," I quickly correct "But can I have a large with," I cringe, "two-and-a-half milks and one sweetener?"

She cocks her head "Honey, a what?"

I have to repeat ives up and slides a carton of milk and a few packets of Splenda across the counter with a black coffee "I’ll just screw it up"

After paying, I shift over to an open table tothe delicious scent of bacon and horandchildren have eaten at Poppa’s, a staple in Sisters for sixty years this surill opened the place when he enty-two years old and still works seven days a week, double-time on weekends, when the town packs the sht chatter, half the tables occupied by the retired population

"Excuse me" I look up to find an older wo opposite lance over the right side ofa check ave her lect to mention that I wonder where it was on the list of lad to meet you My name is Hildy Ginny and I used to be best friends"

"Really?" I can’t keep the surprise from my voice Ginny had a best friend?

She chuckles "Yes, forto ether, the su to" obviously means that they didn’t