Page 107 of Sinners Reunion

King

Jim pouts in the driver’s seat of his tour bus as I lean forward and mess with the CB buttons. Kenny watches me from his perch—a very expensive branch Jim purchased at a boutique pet store. When I told Jim I could produce the same out of any tree on the side of the road, he turned white as a sheet and said something about pesticides or parasites or . . . I don’t bloody know. I tuned him out when I started thinking about chasing Josie through the desert.

I still can’t believe she agreed to it. She seems excited to try this little fantasy of mine. I can only hope the excitement lasts and doesn’t turn into something harmful.

Her past isn’t lost on me, and I am sensitive to what she’s endured. I also know that the sexual act itself isn’t connected to the lingering trauma. It was the loss of control. The lack of voice. She couldn’t stop it, and she could tell no one of consequence what she’d been forced to endure. When she finally escaped her abusive family, she couldn’t rationalize the lies she’d been fed once she’d tasted the truth of the world.

She also struggled with the realization that escape didn’t mean a better life than the hell she’d risen from. It was a rebirth, but birth is always painful. New men hurt her in new ways. She hurt herself in new ways too. And when she grew too weary, she fell into the sea.

I don’t know that I believe in fate or any such rot, but I do think some greater force had a hand in her rescue that day. She sank near a crab trap as a small group of fishermen were going out to haul it up, and they hauled her up instead.

The thing is . . . she doesn’t remember any of that.

I smirk to myself. Maybe it’s time I let her in on just how she came to be at Jim’s facility—the unredacted version.

“Why do you look so pleased with yourself?” Jim says. “I haven’t agreed to anything.”

“You wanted me to fall for the girl, and I have. I’d think you’d be quite proud of yourself for succeeding once more. Why are you suddenly making it more difficult by denying us access to the secret trail?”

“Probably because I’m scared you’re losing sight of the bigger picture. Have you even read the letters from today?”

I open my mouth, then close it. “I will. We’ll park at the Nevada campground tomorrow, and I’ll read them once Josie falls asleep.”

Jim shakes his head. “It is what it is, I suppose. But don’t forget that you’ll have no happy ending if the Carter children choose to kill you in the end. I love you, King, I truly do, but I won’t stand in the way of their healing. If they opt to take you out as the final target of the trip, I won’t stop them. I will, however, hate you forever if you cause it to come to that.”

With my hands folded in my lap, I sit back in my seat, well and truly chastised.

“Go on and call her up and let her know you have a date, but you’d best not leave those letters sitting longer than you’ve promised me. The moment we land in Nevada and she falls asleep, get them out. We’re too close to the end now.”

“Thank you, Jim. I’m doing my best to bring about the positive ending for everyone. I’m trying.”

“I hope so.” He stands and takes Kenny onto his arm. “I’ve got to put the bird to bed. The coordinates for the secret trail are on the map in the glove compartment. Lock up when you leave.”

Jim shuffles off, and I pull the CB mic from the holster. I flick on the power and wait until I hear his cabin divider slide shut before I depress the button. Then I remember that I still need to grab the coordinates.

I find the numbers in the glove compartment. After comparing the coordinates to the map, I see that the head of the secret trail is hidden by an information sign. Instead of giving Josie a bunch of random numbers she probably won’t know what to do with, I opt to tell her where the sign is.

I’ll give her a head start.

“Air Force Fun to RV There Yet. I want you to head to the information sign. Slip behind it and start running, because as soon as I catch you, I’ll rip off⁠—”

Feedback buzzes, and I pull the mic away. Ice Pick’s voice breaks through.

“Yeah, uh . . . I think you dialed the wrong frequency, Kenneth.” He gives a nervous chuckle. “I think you meant to call up that big-tittied redhead friend of yours. I mean, I’m flattered if you meant me, but King . . . I just don’t know if I’m comfortable letting you strip me down to my tighty-whities.”

I scrub my hand down my face. “Please disregard all of that.”

Before I can fuck this up any further, I hang up the mic and lock up Jim’s RV. Then I make my exit. After all, I can always give Josie a head start from our RV. Just maybe not a very big one.

I’m ready to play in the woods, and I might even decide to keep whatever I catch.

A slight chill nips my skin as I scour the scrub for signs of recent passage. In this section of the campground, there’s far more rock cover and places to hide. The further I move down the trail, the more greenery I begin to see.

With no city lights to compete with, the stars blaze above me in ways I’ve never seen before. Not in all my travels. I’ve seen star-filled skies, but I’ve never seen an Arizona star-filled sky like this. I can’t wait to see it with Josie.

I just have to find her first.

And catch her.