Page 83 of Privilege

“But I don’t wanna spend the night—”

Renzo barely caught himself from sighing out loud. He didn’t want to upset Diego any more than he already was, and it wasn’t the kid’s fault that he didn’t understand what was going on. All he knew was that for the next couple of days, Renzo wouldn’t be around, and Diego wouldn’t be sleeping in his own bed. Nothing else mattered to the kid—not the whys, like the fact Renzo had the chance to do a quick job for somebody that included boosting five specifically requested vehicles, and shredding them down in a matter of a couple of days.

The pay, though?

Ten-K.

Ten thousand for a couple of days’ worth of work.

How could he pass that up?

Truth be told, Renzo didn’t pick up these kinds of jobs very often. Sure, his name was passed around between a few guys who ran chop shops if they needed an extra pair of hands, and shit worked out on Renzo’s side of things—like Diego—so that he could take the job. But mostly, he didn’t take them because he couldn’t.

But this one?

He’d be stupid to overlook it.

“I don’t wanna, Ren!”

Diego’s voice had raised a couple of octaves which told Renzo his little brother was about three seconds away from a goddamn meltdown. They really didn’t have time for this today, even if he did understand what the problem was for Diego. Thing was … Renzo being available to do the job was contingent on the fact he made sure Diego was handled for the day. Then, the chick that watched him during the evening hours would pick him up later that day, keep him for the night, watch him all day tomorrow, and Renzo would be back before bedtime to grab him.

Simple.

Diego didn’t like that idea at all.

“Ren!”

Stopping their walk on the side of the street, Renzo bent down to rest on one knee so that he could be face to face with his little brother. Diego looked like three and a half feet of angry four-year-old in those seconds. He’d come to learn that kids could really be dramatic when they wanted to be. It could be something small they didn’t like, but it might feel like their whole life was burning down around them because of it. Renzo didn’t want to diminish how his brother felt, but this wasn’t something he could bend on, either.

Everybody had to make sacrifices to make shit work.

That’s how life was.

And if all else failed, Renzo knew bribery was a good trick when it came to kids. That was probably a big no-no, but frankly, he just needed to get the goddamn job done, and he would deal with his brother later.

“Hey,” Renzo said, cupping his brother’s little face in his, “you look at me, Diego.”

Watery brown eyes drifted to his, but Diego was still scowling in that way of his that said he was not ready to give up this fight just yet. Already, Renzo knew they were getting down to the last few minutes when he would be able to get Diego a spot in at the shelter daycare, and if they wasted any more time, he was going to miss his chance. Then, all his plans would be fucked. There was no way he could take his brother with him for this kind of work.

No fucking way.

“It’s a night and a day,” Renzo told Diego, shrugging to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. But it was—he knew it was. While he didn’t want to pass this up, he also didn’t want to trust someone else to keep an eye on his brother while he was gone, too. What choice did he have? “I will be back before you know it. And then we’ll go do whatever you want, yeah? Trampoline park—movies. Whatever, Diego. But I need you to be good, and not fight me on this anymore.”

Diego’s lips twitched as he whispered, “Ma leaves all the time, too. She’s back right now, but she’ll go again, too.”

Was that what it was, then? Unfortunately, their mother had shown back up a couple of nights ago. Renzo had a good mind to keep the bitch right out in the cold—even if it was the end of August—where she belonged, but then he looked at Diego … he let Carmen in for his brother, gave her a place to sleep, and kept his money and drugs well hidden until she was gone again.

Because that was the thing.

She would go again.

She always fucking did.

Renzo sighed. “I’m not like Ma, you know that.”

“But—”

“I won’t ever be like Ma.”