Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86168 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86168 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
All to end up right here.
STELLAN
Frankie’s not talkative on the drive down south. That’s fine with me. I put on the radio and cruise along 95, sitting in the right lane, taking my time. I’ve got my wife on my mind, her whiskey taste, her orgasm. Her mouth in the morning. How badly I want to be with her right now.
I glance at my friend. He seems preoccupied. When I called, he showed up at my place, like always. Like nothing changed.
“Where’s this job at?” he asks when I cross the bridge into Jersey.
“Not too far.”
“We heading to AC?”
“Nah, not all the way.”
I don’t take the main roads. I head off the second I can and cut down a long road hewn in the middle of the pine barrens. The trees feel oppressive. Random houses appear in their midst. I have no idea how anyone lives back here. It feels like we’re on the bottom of the ocean.
“Jersey Devil was born down around here,” Frankie remarks, frowning at the sandy road I turn onto.
“You’re superstitious?”
“Nah, I don’t believe any of that stuff. It’s just a fun story.”
I drive for a while longer. We don’t find anyone or anything. Just another stretch of road and more trees.
After a while, I pull off the main road, deep in the middle of nowhere.
“Pine barrens go on for miles,” I comment as I pop the trunk. Frankie joins me. I shouldn’t let him out of my sight, but we both know what this is. There are shovels in the back. I grab one and hand him the other. “You know how many people live out here?”
“Too many.” He follows me into the trees.
“There are over a million acres of these fucking things.” I knock a tree as I walk past. It’s scraggly and crooked. “Soil’s a wreck around here, but the trees keep coming. No wonder people hate it.”
“Whole place is haunted.”
“Lots of graves around here. Sandy soil makes easy digging, especially when it’s a little warm.” I keep walking. Frankie follows, his boots stomping over twigs.
“Smells like the ocean. I like that at least. Good day for a hike.”
“Yeah, that’s what we’re doing. Going for a hike.” I keep walking. We don’t talk much as I wander further into nothing, until I can’t see the road or the car and there’s nothing but trees spreading out for miles in all directions.
Then I stop. Frankie stops too. I turn to face him as he leans against a tree and checks his phone. “No fucking service.”
“Why’d you do it?”
He taps at his screen before shoving it away. Then he wipes his forehead with his sleeve. “I had a feeling this was about last night.”
“Why, Frankie?”
He sighs, shaking his head. “Fucking Turks were supposed to check in. But they’re not reliable, you know? I wasn’t sure what went wrong. Now I guess I see what happened.”
“You told them.”
“You set me up.” He shrugs, grinning a touch. “Does that make us even?”
“Why?”
He nods to himself, pats at his pockets, and reaches inside. I have my gun drawn before he can take out a packet of cigarettes. He flips out one and lights it. My aim doesn’t deviate from his chest as he takes a drag.
“I gamble. You know that. But six months ago I got in deep with some fucking Russians. Deeper than I’d ever been before. Couldn’t tell you about it. That would’ve only pissed you off and left me in a worse spot. So when this guy approached me from the Turks and offered to buy off my debt in exchange for some information, it was too good to be true.”
I almost laugh. “You betrayed me for money?”
“Always comes back to money. That’s the American way, right? Capitalism and shit? Lots of economists would say this is your own fault for not paying me what I’m worth.”
“Fuck you, traitor. You fucking rat.”
He shrugs. “Yeah. Well. Guess my debt doesn’t matter much anymore.”
“Why’d you come out here?”
“Hoped I was wrong. But I also knew that if I wasn’t, and you caught me, there was no running away. I’ve seen what you do. I know what you’re like. Who knows you better?”
I clench my jaw. He’s got a good point. Not many people know me like he does.
“Over ten years,” I say softly. “You’ve been my partner for over ten years. I trusted you with my life.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You were going to sell our entire Famiglia to the Turks.”
“It was a lot of money.” He grins sheepishly. “A really deep hole.” He sucks in more smoke and blows it out. His hands are shaking. I know Frankie well enough to know he’s afraid and trying not to show it.
Fucker’s always been a brave idiot.
“Start digging.”
“You really gonna make me? Seriously, Stellan?”
“You betrayed me. You’re getting off easy and you know it. Your whole family should be dead for this. Your name should be smeared from history. Instead, I’ll tell everyone you died during a job. We’ll pay your mother and take care of your sister. But you’re done.”