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“I looked into her… Tilly St. Clair… She…. She wasn’t… She’s dead…”
Star’s knife drops to the ground and a sound leaves her throat that I hope I never hear again. “No. You can’t… You can’t know that…”
“Look lady, I’m sorry and all… like I said, I’m just the—” He doesn’t get to finish because I punch him in the face this time. A couple of teeth go flying out of his mouth.
I wrap my arms around Star. She’s struggling, I can see it in her eyes and in her demeanor; her shoulders slumping as she grasps his words.
“It’s gonna be okay. He’s lyin’.”
“She was the first to go.” He laughs. He actually laughs. “Pretty little blonde-haired baby. Sold for a pretty penny. They fucked her up…”
No. He can’t be…
“How… How do you know?” Tears stream down Star’s face and Dave grins. His bloody, smiling face has my blood boiling.
“You don’t know shit!” I yell at him. “Star, baby…”
She collapses in my arms as I hold her up.
“I told you,” he grunts. “If you go pokin’ around in business that doesn't concern you, you’ll wind up bein’ the one who gets hurt. Had me a nice piece of ass…”
“Let her finish this,” I say, looking up at Tag and Harlem as they approach Dave. I shake my head once to stop them. “He’s a lyin’ asshole who knows he’s already dead, he’ll say anythin’.”
I tilt her face so her eyes meet mine. I caress her cheek and she kisses me chastely. Then she turns, picks up the knife and she plunges it straight into his heart.
Estelle
I didn’t break down. I felt like I could, easily, but Nevada’s comfort talked me off the ledge. I may be tough on the outside, but I’m only human.
I’m encased in Nevada’s arms and I don’t know how I ever thought I could go the rest of my life without him by my side. I killed a man today, but none of it matters. That asshole deserved it and I’d do it all over again just for the satisfaction of wiping out one less scumbag to wreak havoc on society.
Nevada keeps saying that Dave was full of shit. I told him my sister’s name at the office when I handed out my card. He was just saying that to hurt me. But now I’m second guessing everything. Tilly could be dead. And I’ve just been fucking around this whole time, looking for answers when I should’ve been facing the reality that it could be true.
My baby sister could be gone, but that’s a reality I won’t allow myself. I can’t.
Nevada keeps ignoring his ringing phone, and I don’t know if it’s that same number he keeps ignoring, or the boys. He took me back to the motel to clean up. Nothing like blood splatter on your clothing to give away something bad just happened. The truth is, I don’t feel bad about it. Maybe I should. But after what he said, and what he did to Meg? That just isn’t right.
“You okay?” I’m lying with my back to his front as he holds me. I haven’t cried. I don’t feel anything for assholes who take women’s liberty away, but Nevada is acting like I may break.
“I just needed a minute,” I say. “And I had that afterward, so now I’m good.”
“Estelle, you killed a man today, that has to mean somethin’. It can be traumatic?——”
“Except when it isn’t?”
“You just bein’ tough, or do you mean that?”
I turn to look at him. “Should I feel bad?”
He shakes his head. “You don’t have to feel anythin’, Sugar, but if you do,, that's okay too. Takin’ a life isn’t a small thing, even for pond scum like Dave.”
“Maybe I’m made differently?”
“Let me ask you somethin’?” I fold down into his chest where it’s warm and safe, waiting for what comes next. “Did you take up kick boxin’ because of your ex?”
“Is your next question gonna be why didn’t I use it on him?”
He kisses my head. “Nope.”
