Chapter 41
Valeria called him. Of course she called him. Uncle Ted always cleaned things up for her. Made things better. It was part of the deal. They had made the deal when she’d been thirteen. Uncle Ted took care of things for her, and she took care of things for him.
That was the price she’d had to pay. There was always a price. Always.
“You can’t have him. Julian…Julian is supposed to be mine. I deserve him. You don’t. You aren’t good enough, Hagan. You just aren’t good enough.”
Valeria looked at Hagan. She wasn’t so pretty now. Except…the red was always such a pretty color.
Their uniforms eleven years ago had been blood red. That red right there.
With black trim and white letters and numbers on the jersey.
She had been number thirteen. Harper had been number forty-four. They had gotten to pick their numbers. Thirteen had been special to her.
That was how old she had been when she’d first made her team. When she had first played softball. Thirteen.
She almost turned to Hagan and hit her with the bat. Thirteen more times. But…she needed to make this go away, for that she needed Uncle Ted.
She really needed him now.
“Uncle Ted, please. I need your help. This is the last time I’ll ask. Please.”
“I am coming, honey. I am on my way.”
Uncle Ted would make it better. He always had before.