Page 51 of Pretty Nightmare

“So how do we get a hold of him? Is he in Pearl Springs?”

“I couldn’t tell you. But I have to go.”

“What the fuck do you mean you have to go, Donovan? Indie is missing. She just…” And I have to pause here and ask myself, Do I want Donovan to know that Nathan is alive? I quickly decide no. “She just killed Nathan, Donovan.”

“She tried to kill us too, McKay. And you don’t need to be a genius to see that she is done. This shit is over. Move on. Let her go. Maybe she’ll never come back. That’s the best-case scenario. But I have a life and I’ve worked damn hard for it. I’m not going to throw it all away over some crazy little girl I took a fucking interest in back when I was fifteen. Not anymore. I’m out.”

“What do you mean, out? There is no out.”

“There is. And if you were smart, you’d be out too, McKay. It’s over.”

He doesn’t hang up on me. I can hear the sound of his car on the highway in the background. But he doesn’t say anything else after that.

He leaves that final decision up to me.

So eventually it just… ends.

CHAPTER NINE - ADAM

I just stare at McKay as the last of his story fades away.

“Say something, Adam.”

We’re still standing on the skinny lake dock. The sun is beating down on my bare shoulders. Has been this entire time. And I can feel my skin starting to burn.

“Fucking say something.”

“I don’t know what to say.” It’s true. He got me. I knew McKay was keeping something from me, but I really fucking thought he killed that little fuck. Was counting on it, actually.

“This is why I came outside to talk to you.”

“This?” I ask. “Meaning Nathan?”

“Mmm… no. Not Nathan.”

“Oh.” I say it softly. “You’re running people, McKay?”

He nods.

“Ever since Indie hit me?”

He nods again.

“How many?”

“Well.” He sighs. “None anymore. They all died.” He shakes his head. “Obviously they are not all dead.”

“Shit.” I sit back down on the dock and McKay joins me. We are much too big for this. When we were boys it was a much better fit. Though this was always my spot the few times we came out here together. Was my spot long before McKay came to live with me. “Why do you think he’s calling you?” I look over at McKay, search his blue eyes. Smile at him a little because he’s frowning. “I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re thinking. I don’t care if you were running people. In fact, it would be a relief if you still had teams out there. Because someone is running people, McKay. And even if you were doing some shitty, dirty things with those men, I’d feel better knowing it was you.”

“It’s not me, Adam. They were dead a long time ago.”

“And Nathan?”

“I was under the impression he died with my two best men. Beck and Moore.”

“Beck and Moore, huh?”

“You know them?”