Page 50 of Blood We Steal

“Did Rubin order you to look after me?” I asked. I’d seen Rubin and Aaron talking. He hadn’t tried to hide it, and I hadn’t had the nerve to ask him what he and Aaron had to talk about.

He scoffed. “Didn’t have to.”

“Thank you.” I looked out and saw that the rest of the block was empty. “Where is everyone else?”

“Around. You know Rubin doesn’t like idle hands. Him and Mama would have got along.”

I laughed. “I doubt it.”

He laughed but then turned serious. “I’m glad you’re sticking with him. Keep doing just that.”

“I wouldn’t say…” I trailed off, not sure what to say.

“I’m not asking questions, Simone. You’re grown and you’re smart, and that man is the only thing standing between us and the grave, so stay on his good side.”

“Practical as always, Aaron,” I said through my tight smile before I looked down at my cards.

“Yup, always,” he said as he played his cards.

We played a few hands, but then I put my cards down abruptly. “How are we gonna get through this, Aaron?”

He smiled, then reached for my hand. “This is light work, Moni. You made it a whole summer with no lights in Georgia. You’ll be fine. Now go find Rubin.”

“Aaron…”

But he’d stood and his back was to me. He was looking at five others who’d come into the rec room. “I’m warmed up now. Who ready to get this ass whupping?”

I stood, knowing I may as well have been invisible now that Aaron was in his game. I paused for a moment and looked toward one of the doors in the rec room. The one that led to the hallway where Veronica and Kane had come from. It was embarrassing, but it freaked me the fuck out, and I’d told Aaron to be careful around it. The wiring looked sketchy.

I tried to shake off the foreboding as I walked down the hall and back toward the warden’s office. The floor was pristine as always, but the hallway was hotter than the rec room, another of Merrick’s games. He’d turn the AC off just long enough to make us feel like we were cooking, then turn it back on to give the briefest relief.

At least I was well-rested. One of my gifts had been the ability to get a good night’s sleep at all times. I hoped it lasted.

I started to knock on the warden’s office door, but then decided to just open it instead. I found Rubin standing there barechested and doing his morning prayer. His back was to me, but I could see his profile, his eyes closed, the Albanian words flowing out of his lips with hypnotic meticulousness.

“Besnik is rubbing off on you,” I said when he finished.

He shrugged. “Maybe. I think the whole thing is just a fairy tale for children, but my day doesn’t quite go right if I don’t pray in the morning.”

I huffed. “Keeping your morning routine even in the apocalypse.”

He shrugged. “Something has to stay constant. Now go and have your cold shower and hurry up. We have things to do.”

I moved toward the bathroom without protest and spotted the white prison uniform with black letters stenciled on the back folded neatly on top of the toilet seat. Rubin had done it. I couldn’t help but think of the clothes at a place I’d never see again, sweaters folded so sloppily I couldn’t stack two in a drawer. Rubin would have a field day there, and Aaron was definitely right about the OCD.

Apparently Rubin had tired of me spending hours washing clothes that never got clean and made the call about the prison uniform for me. The water in the shower came out cold as always. Cold showers were still fucking awful, but at least they gave me a break from the heat. The warden’s bathroom had been tidy, and I’d worked hard to keep it so. Did a pretty good job too, though the pink-red ring around the drain told me Atlanta’s hard water was notching a few victories. I showered quickly and then pulled on the uniform. It looked absolutely ridiculous. I stuffed my feet into my shoes—God they had been an excellent buy—and found Rubin waiting for me.

“What are we about to do?” I asked.

“Inventory.”

I met Rubin’s eye and pumped my fist in the air. “Yippee!”

Rubin actually smiled.

TWENTY-THREE

Simone