I was jittering and fidgeting just a little bit by the time the van came to a final stop; I couldn’t tell how long it had been exactly, but I thought it must have been at least thirty minutes, if not an hour, after we’d left Vagabond. Of course, knowing that didn’t give me much of an idea; everything in South Florida is either thirty minutes away or three hours away, and there’s almost no reason for it. Reggie and the others in the car hopped out as soon as the van shut off, and I hoped against hope that the fucking cops that had put Mary and me out on the limb were somewhere close. Come on now, guys, I thought as Reggie and the other dealer dragged me out of the back of the van. Any time now. For her sake if not for mine. Let me fucking twist in the wind if you have to, but get Mary the hell out of here.
Looking around, I thought we were probably out in the sticks; it was probably one of Big J’s safe houses, assuming that it was Big J that we were actually about to meet. If the cops were in the area, they were really well hidden. I looked over at Mary as the dealers and their women led us towards the little, run-down looking house.
“You okay, babe?”
Mary turned to look at me and I could see that the coke was really starting to take effect. I almost groaned as I realized that Big J probably set Reggie up to give us that little bump; it wasn’t out of the goodness of Reggie’s heart—it was to make us chatty, amped up, ready to say too much and convict ourselves.
“I’m all right,” Mary said quietly. I was surprised at how well she was handling the whole situation—fucking shocked, to be honest. My appreciation for Mary’s ability to hold together in spite of crazy circumstances grew, and I thought that if she and I made it out of the situation alive and more or less in one piece, I would buy her all the flowers I could get my hands on. I would shower that fucking woman with all the treats and treasures she could stand as long as she would stay with me. Dear God, if you exist, get us out of this shit hole alive and I will go clean starting tomorrow morning, I swear. Just let us get out of this. Let Mary get out of this.
Someone inside the house opened the door and I saw Mary cringe as our escorts pushed us through. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I’d been in a dozen houses exactly like this one so many times, I would probably have puked; it smelled like vomit, decay, mildew, and dirt. In the corner of my eye, I was pretty sure I saw an enormous palmetto bug skittering along the wall without a shred of fear of the humans in the room.
“Welcome, North,” Big J said from a dark corner of the room. My eyes adjusted to the gloom and I looked over in the direction I’d heard his voice coming from. Big J was—of course—big. He was an inch or two taller than me, and probably a good hundred and fifty pounds heavier easily; maybe more like two hundred pounds heavier. His skin was a reddish-brown russet color, the result of a mix of ethnicities I had never asked too many questions about and now never would.
“I’m not feeling the love,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Come on, guys. Someone bust in. Someone say something incredibly fucking incriminating; do something. “What’s all this shit about hauling up a civvie for a problem you’ve got with me?” I pointed to Mary. “She’s not part of this.”
“Wrong place at the wrong time,” Big J said with a philosophical shrug. “She your life coach, or your lay?”
“Both,” Mary said. In spite of myself, I snorted at the fact that she didn’t sound the least bit intimidated. “Though I’d prefer girlfriend if we’re going to stand on courtesy with this bullshit.” The whole room went silent; I don’t think anyone was used to someone talking to Big J like that—calm, unhurried. Plenty of junkies had yelled at him, plenty of junkies had cried to him; I didn’t think very many people at all had had the balls to speak calmly and firmly to the man.
“You got something of mine,” Big J said, looking at me. His voice cut through the silence and I heard people starting to move around again.
“Not me,” I said with a shrug. “I only ever had what I paid for, and what I paid for is gone.”
“What kind of bullshit do you think I’m buying, North?” Big J shook his head. “You ought to know better by now.”
“I’m telling the truth,” I said, spreading my ink-marked hands wide. “I don’t have your shit. I never had any more of your shit than what I bought.”
“So, you tell me who does, then,” Big J said. “Or I’m thinking the only fair trade is for me to take something of yours.” He glanced at Mary. Motherfucker, if you even raise a hand to gesture at her I’ll find a way to end you.
“I don’t know who stole from you,” I said. “Could’ve been Little C. Could’ve been Jamie Price. How the fuck am I supposed to know?”
“You were there,” Reggie said from behind me.
“So were you,” I pointed out. “I don’t see you running to tell the boss you know for sure it was me or you saw it.”
“I was counting bills,” Reggie said.
“Yeah, and I was getting ready to find a quiet place to use.”
“So you say.”
“Both of you shut the fuck up. Now.” Big J stood slowly from the chair he was in, gathering up his momentum, and my heart started to pound. “We can settle this. Ladies, I need you to leave the room.” Big J’s gaze fell on Mary. “Not you, though.”