“No shit! Whatcha doing?”
“Working at a mechanic shop. They prefer people pay in cash, so there isn’t a lot of formal paperwork to get hired there. Means my name won’t pop up on anything in the employment records.”
“Sounds like the best deal for now,” he said. “They legit? Not secretly running drugs or anything like that?”
“Nah, nothing like that. The owner’s old and doesn’t like fooling around with shit. You’d like him. Nothing’s sugar-coated, and I get to accept tips. Got the best prices in town too. He’s always busy from morning until the time they close.”
“Great, you have a job. Now you need to make a friend or two.”
“I’m not making friends.”
“The owner of the shop sounds like a start,” he said.
“I’m not his friend. The man’s halfway to the grave.”
“The place got a manager? Or some guy you work alongside? That’s your next mission.”
“I’m not a fucking operative any longer.”
“If you wanna wrap all this shit up, you are,” he said.
I sighed as I walked into the bathroom. I put him on speakerphone and started cleaning myself up. I needed to leave for work soon.
“I’ll find someone to talk to every now and then,” I said.
“That’s a start,” Daniel said.
“It’ll have to be good enough,” I said.
“We’ll work on it. Don’t worry. In the meantime, keep your head down. Don’t do your job too well or too shitty.”
“Do it enough to blend in with the rest of the crowd. I know. Fuck,” I said.
“When’s your first day?”
“Already been working a couple of days, but my first full-time shift is in a few minutes.”
“Better get to work then. Being late doesn't look good.”
“Believe it or not, I’ve held a job before,” I said.
“I’m gonna get off here before your sarcasm comes back to slap you in the face. Have a good first shift. Let me know how it goes.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Later, shnookums.”
I shook my head and splashed some water on my face for the last time. I looked at myself in the mirror and took myself in. The close-cropped beard that hid my dimples, the brown hair on my head I’d allowed to grow out a bit longer than I used to, the dead stare in my blue eyes. I used to see the reflection of my eyes in Cary’s, every time I looked down at her and cradled her in my grasp. I planted my hands on the side of the sink and watched my muscles flex. She had always loved my arms. I’d kept them up just for her, kept them more chiseled than the rest of my body.
I pushed myself away from the sink and buried her memory as I grabbed my phone.
I locked up my house and hopped into my truck. It was time to go to work and try to do this assimilation bullshit. I cranked up my truck, pulled out of my garage, and backed out onto the road. I whipped my car into drive and pressed down the gas, trying to get away from the house as quickly as possible. Every time I remembered my family, I remembered that night when everything was taken away from me.
And sometimes, I couldn’t deal with the reality of it all.
End of Sneak Peek. Would you like to know how this continues?
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