Veering deeper into the yard, we crossed the lawns connecting one house to the next.
“We should have brought a bottle of bourbon,” Josie muttered.
When things got hard or made Josie nervous, she relied on Jim Beam to help her through. Not the best therapy choice but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than a therapist.
“How would that help exactly?” I asked.
“It would make me a hell of a lot less jumpy,” she justified.
My cousin had a lot to be high-strung about. Her life had been anything but peaches and cream. Now might not be the right time to talk about personal family problems, but I realized I’d been so self-absorbed these last weeks that I hadn’t given much thought to the mess Josie had left behind at home.
“Have you heard from Angie?” I inquired.
Despite Angie being a shitty mother who was also a drunk, I knew the situation was hard on Josie because a part of her still loved the woman who’d raised her.
Josie shook her head, her fingers fumbling with the ring on her thumb. “No, not for a while now.”
Chewing on the side of my cheek, I broached another subject that was attached to a string of painful memories for all of us, but more so Kenna and Josie. “And what about Carter?”
She snorted. “The asshole still sends me letters, begging me to come see him.”
I shook my head, glancing at Kenna’s back and wondering if he was writing those same letters to her. Some evil, even when locked away, was never truly vanquished. It was hard enough that both my cousins had to live with the memories, but to get little reminders, like a letter or an email, when the memories were slowly fading took them right back, erasing any progress they’d made.
That shit pissed me off. Enough that I contemplated visiting the jail to tell Carter to leave my family alone.
“Even in jail, he still has balls. Was it too much to hope someone would have cut them off by now?” I half joked, hoping to lighten the mood.
Josie let out a stuttered laugh, like she was a little surprised she could find any humor in the situation at all.
Kenna, on the other hand, was all business tonight. She whirled around, pressing a finger to her lip, and let out a long “Ssshhhh.”
I returned a hand gesture of my own, mumbling to Josie, “I guess we should behave, get serious, or some shit before Kenna goes postal.”
We gathered under the canopy of a willow tree at the house next to Chi Sigma. It was another fraternity residence, one probably not as douchey as Sterling’s.
“Oh, look, they left the porch light on for us. How considerate,” Kenna sneered, glaring at the two-story home.
“We’re sticking to the plan. Got it?” I said, looking directly at Kenna and Ainsley. If anyone was going to deviate, it would be one of them. Probably both.
“We got it, Sarge,” Kenna answered snarkily. “Ainsley and I will stay stationed at the front and back exits as lookouts.”
“Keep your phones on,” Josie instructed, sticking her earbuds in. The rest of us did the same, connecting our phones on a four-way call. “Only talk when necessary.”
“And don’t spend the entire time tagging,” I directed at Kenna with a frown.
“Worry about yourself,” she replied as we started to break off and move into positions.
Josie and I slunk off toward the back door with Ainsley while Kenna took the front. I glanced over once before we went behind the house to see her crouching on the side of the porch, shadows concealing her.
Ainsley tucked herself next to a well-manicured bush a hair taller than she was. If there was one thing I could say about KU, it was that landscapers did a bang-up job keeping up the grounds.
Josie in front, I grabbed the back of her shirt as we came upon the rear entrance in the backyard. No lights other than the moon shone from this side of the house. The yard was small, not offering a lot of space for entertaining, but there was a long wooden table, a grill, and the grass was littered with cheap plastic chairs.
Lifting her hand to the doorknob, Josie checked the lock, pressing down on the latch.Click. Her eyes went wide with mine, and we both let out a collective sigh.
She pushed at the door slowly, careful to keep any noise to a minimum, and popped her head inside the dark room to see if any unexpected stragglers were lingering who might put a wrench in our plan.
With a quick wave, she signaled for me to follow, and I took that as the coast was clear. Inside, I closed the door softly behind me, leaving Ainsley outside.