Blaze (The Stark Affair Book 3) Read Free Page B

for my well-being because of his connection to my family.
    But
on the other hand, there was something behind the words. Something sinister.
    Is
Frank the mole?
    No.
No way. I could never believe that. I trust Frank. I always know who I can trust.
    Right?

 
    * *
*

 
    “Trust me,” says Wanda with a forced smile. “He
wouldn’t hurt me.”
    Angel, her boyfriend, sits on the concrete
steps. The top half of his body is covered in tattoos, a snake leading up the
side of his neck. He’s motionless, staring at nothing.
    I look at Mike. He shrugs.
    His radio crackles. “Four-Victor-Eight, do you
need backup?”
    Mike taps the radio. “No, no need. We’re fine.”
    “Copy that,” says the dispatcher.
    Several other tenants of Flamingo Terrace
Apartments have gathered to see why a cruiser’s flashers are lighting up the
night.
    Mike and I have been here before for the same
reason. Angel and Wanda fight a lot. The neighbors get scared and call us.
    It usually ends the same. They make up and hug,
and we leave.
    Angel has been in and out of prison five times,
out again for four months now.
    I turn to Wanda. She’s a very pretty girl. Big brown eyes. Thick lips. Gorgeous
caramel skin. She could be a model, making tons of money just five miles
from here. But instead, she’s gotten herself a snake tattoo on her neck to
match her boyfriend’s. And another tiny one under her right
eyebrow. Not to mention cheek and lip piercings.
    There’s a spark behind her eyes too. An intelligence . She could be something. But she chooses to
live here.
    With... that.
    “I don’t know, Wanda” I say. “Why don’t you
just let us take you and your daughter to your mother’s? You two had a fight
and maybe it might be best if you just spend a night apart.”
    I look over at Angel. Still
motionless.
    “No, we’re fine ” says Wanda.
“He just gets like this when he has a... beer or two.” She squeezes my arm. “He’s
a good man.”
    I’d laugh if this weren’t such a serious
situation. Good man? No fucking way. What does she see in him? The guy is a
lowlife, barely human. When he speaks, he grunts. I’m constantly amazed at the
sheer number of women who think this type of man is attractive.
    I feel a speech building inside me, a rant
about how Wanda should be with somebody else... how she deserves somebody else.
    But I know it’s a waste of breath so I don’t.
    But still, there’s something bothering me.
Something is different tonight. They’re not making up and hugging. He just sits
on the steps.
    “Please go,” Wanda says. Her eyes are pleading.
    I look at Mike. He shrugs again.
    “Okay,” I say. “Fine.” I walk over to Angel. “If
we’re called here again, I will personally—”
    “ Sofe !” says Mike. “Come
on.”
    We walk back to the cruiser. I start the engine
and pull out of Flamingo Terrace Apartments.
    “What’s wrong?” says Mike.
    “I don’t know,” I say. “Something was off.”
    “Aw, come on. It was just a fight. They got a
little out-of-hand. Neighbors called the cops. We’ve done this a thousand times, Sofe . We’ll probably see two more before our shift is
over.”
    “This time was different. There was something off.”
    “ Sofe , we can’t save
the world. We can only do what we can do. People make their own decisions and
live their own lives the way they want, even if what they decide is a mess.”
    “We should have taken him in.”
    “On what? We had nothing.”
    “I don’t know, Mike. We just should have done
something!”
    “Forget it, Sofe . It’s
over. They’re probably smoking some crack and chilling out right now.”
    I grip the wheel hard and grit my teeth as I
turn onto 12th Ave.

 
    * *
*

 
    “What
have you learned?” says LaTashia as she gets in the
car. We’re in the parking lot of Checkers across from the Hilton. I had just
bit into my burger.
    I
give her the one sec sign as I chew
and wipe my mouth.
    “Is
that a Checkerburger with Cheese?” she