“No, I’m good. Anything else going on?”
“My girlfriend was stealin’ from me, the little bit I had, so I had to throw her ass the fuck out a couple months ago. She got on that shit.”
“Fentanyl?”
“Yeah… and meth, ’cause it’s cheap. Before that, she had a job ’nd shit. She had a degree and everything, but then she got caught up in that. Ironic, huh? Irony came and bit me in the ass.” His complexion deepened, and a look of deep regret flashed across his face. “That left me holdin’ the bag on half the rent. I need money, but I’m not selling my dogs—they’ll just be used in dog fights—and I can’t go back to sellin’, because I can’t afford to go back to prison, man. This last time was the worst.”
“Every time should have been the worst.”
“Not all of us can turn out like you, Mr. Wonderful!” Legend’s eyes narrowed on him, but Axel didn’t react. He’d seen this side of this man before, though it was rare. Hurt. Pain. Exposed and raw. The alcohol was making him tell the truth. Liquid truth. When he was sober, Legend wouldn’t dare allow anyone to watch his secrets froth out of his mouth like vomit.
“Every time should have been the worst, Legend, because you’re too good for prison. You weren’t made for prison. Prison is not created for men like you. You are not to be tamed. Confined. Told when to go to bed like a damn toddler. Now, do you want to get out of here or not?”
“Just because I said I need some cash; doesn’t mean I’m asking you for help. I don’t want your money.” He snatched his beer from the table, and began to chug it.
“I didn’t offer you any money. I am offering you a job. Actually, two.”
Legend finished his beer, smoking his blunt in the meantime.
“What kinda job?” he asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.
“First, I want you out of this neighborhood, and out of this house. You’re going to end up in trouble out here. I know you left Portland to get away from the old crowd, but trust me, this is worse. Look, I got a couple rental properties. You can move into one of ’em, and pay rent to me. I’m going to have you trained in my company. You know what I do. If anyone can stomach it, it’s you. That’s job number one. You’d be workin’ ’bout twenty-five to thirty hours a week, and always be on call. No drinking on the job. No coming in high, either.”
“If you think I’mma do all of that, why even take a chance on me?”
“’Cause I know you. I know who you are deep inside. When you commit to something, make a promise to a friend, you stick to it. It might be years down the line, but you keep your word. You were always dependable, if nothin’ else.”
Legend stared at the television for a moment, puffing on his blunt.
“You’re a death scene cleaner, right? We ain’t spoke in a minute, but that’s the business you’re talking about?”
“Yeah. You’d make damn good money, too. It’s hard work though. Mentally and sometimes physically. You’d earn your keep. Save up your money, cash to start over, then do whatever it is you really want to do in life. Just give it one year—you’ll get trained and everything.”
“I’ll think about it. What’s the second job?”
“The second job is a bit less conventional. I got a girlfriend that’s run into a problem with a slippery, weird ass delusional son of a bitch. Stalker. He won’t leave her alone. I need you to help me with a little project regarding him.”
Legend stared right through him as if he were a pane of glass.
“The second job sounds better than the first…” He smiled mischievously. “You still ain’t tell me why you’re here. I know this wasn’t it. To hire me to clean up guts, and help you handle your girl’s problem.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Just then, the Rottweiler got up, approached him, and he gave her a good rub on the head. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to let it all out.” Axel took a deep breath, leaned forward, and clasped his hands. “I’ve been having some dreams. Ms. Florence has been visiting me… told me I made a promise to her long ago. And I had. I don’t want to get into what the promise was, but I will tell you that I haven’t fulfilled it, Legend. She said you made a promise to her, too, and so did Caspian. She’s mad about this. She’s disappointed in us. She wants us to do what we promised her, and if we don’t, she said we ain’t gonna ever have peace.”