Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
KALANI
“Thank fuck. I forgot how boring prison was,” I said when the door opened, not bothering to turn my head to see who it was.
“Kalani,” Birdie said.
“Birdie!” I shouted and jumped to my feet.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.
“I thought you were missing.”
Birdie’s forehead wrinkled in confusion for a moment. “Oh, because of the phones,” she said knowingly. “Sorry. I guess I got water in that crack on my screen, because my phone is fried. Which wasn’t a big deal until Coochie dropped his phone in standing water.”
I glared at Sugar.
He puckered his lips at me. “Don’t go anywhere.” Then he left the room, leaving Birdie and I separated by iron bars.
I scoffed. “He’s just mad ’cause I stabbed him.”
“Kalani,” Birdie scolded.
I shrugged. “It’s the truth, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be an ass to you, too.”
Birdie cocked her head to the side. “Well, maybe it does.”
Before I could ask what she meant, Coochie came back in with a chair for Birdie. Then, to my surprise, he unlocked the door to the bars separating us. “You can’t leave this room, but you don’t need to stay in there.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Coochie nodded. “Not sure how long it’ll be, but I’ll be back.”
“Thanks, Cooch,” Birdie said.
He smiled and closed the door, locking it behind him.
“Cooch?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.
“No, ma’am,” she said. “You do not get to ask questions first.” Then she pulled me into her arms and hugged me. “Are you really okay? You scared the shit out of me.”
I nodded against her. “I’m sorry I lied to you, and I’m sorry I scared you.”
“But you’re not sorry for killing that man.”
“No,” I admitted. “I’m not.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, sounding hurt.
“I didn’t have a lot of time the first time,” I told her. “But the real reason I didn’t tell you is because I thought you’d try to help and take the fall if we got caught.”
Birdie chuckled. “Yeah, sounds like me.” She kissed the top of my head and stepped back. “We’re gonna have to figure something out. If you keep doing this, you’ll put me in an early grave.”
“I know,” I admitted.
She sighed and took a seat. “Well, I guess we can figure all that out after we get you out of this mess.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.
“Just to make sure I have the facts straight; you came here to kill that man a few weeks ago and ended up stabbing their enforcer. Then, you came back last night and finished the job but got caught by the enforcer you stabbed. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” I said.
She leaned forward and met my eyes. “I’m telling you right here and now, I do not have any more get-out-of-jail-free cards to save your ass.”
“Understood,” I said. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t know you had this one. And I’m dying to know what you did all those years ago.”
“I bet you are,” she laughed, then cleared her throat. “But there’s something I need to tell you first.”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “No thanks. I don’t like your tone.”
“It’s about your father,” she continued.
“See. I knew it wasn’t good news,” I said, pointing my finger at her.
She arched her eyebrow and stared at me.
“Fine, I’ll shut up and be serious.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Now, when I was looking for the patch last night, I came across some of your father’s things—things we haven’t been through yet. Well, I certainly hadn’t, but you might have. Anyway, I found some things about your mother’s death—some very distressing things.”
“Oh.” I knew exactly what she’d found because I’d already found it. “I was planning to burn it in one of our memento bonfires so you would never have to know about it.”
She smiled sadly. “I might have been okay with that. I wish you didn’t know.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I think I’m glad I know. It explains a lot.”
“It does,” she agreed. “I should’ve let Coochie kill Carl when he offered. Maybe those boys wouldn’t have turned out like they did.”
“Birdie,” I said dramatically. “You need to start talking.”
She laughed. “Oh good. It’s my turn to shock the shit out of you for a change.”