Between the Cracks and Burning Doors: Book 2 of The Extraction List Series by Renee N. Meland Read Free Book Online Page A

here!”
    I pretended to be surprised. “Really? Wow, what a small world. Let’s get you to bed, you’ve had a long night.” Nick seemed to be satisfied, at least for the moment, so he followed me upstairs.
    I turned around to show him the apartment, but when I looked back, I saw he had already found my bed and was fast asleep. I pulled the rocket ship covers over him just a little tighter and crawled into Dominic’s bed.
    Before I went to sleep, I asked God for forgiveness for what I had done, and what I hadn’t done yet.
    When I looked at Nick’s safe, sleeping face, I knew He heard me.

CHAPTER THREE
    Attempting to sleep that night was a joke. I had just signed up to be a drug dealer. I never really had a plan of what I wanted to do with my life…my idea of fulfilling goals didn’t go much past getting out of my parents’ house.
    Leave home: check.
    Goal met. Set, and match. But I had signed myself up for something that I didn’t understand. I didn’t even know what was in it. As far as I knew, heroin didn’t look any different than that crystalized rock candy kids used to get as a treat back when at least some parents had extra money to throw around.
    I didn’t even realize Nick was awake until I heard him speak. “So, Father Dominic’s gone, but you get to live in his house? That’s weird.”
    I didn’t turn my head, and used the covers to hide my face. My temples hurt, but lying felt less bad with my face hidden. “Naw, he hooked me up. Dom’s a great guy.”
    “How’d you meet him? You part of the church?”
    I squeezed the sheets between my fingers. “Nope. His friend knew my parents. Found out I needed a job and he knew he was leaving for a few months. I take care of his place, and I get to stay rent-free. Church charity and all that.”
    Seemed likely enough.
     
    I mustered the courage to throw the covers off myself a few hours later and got out of bed. A small beam of sunlight peeked through the curtains. I opened them and the sunlight exploded into the room. Nick squinted from his bed. “What are we doing today?” He looked at me with big brown eyes unblinking and curious, though probably not just about the day’s activities.
    “Well, for one thing, you’re going to teach me how to be a drug dealer.”
     
    Not one of my proudest moments, asking a ten year old how to go about selling heroin, but I had made a deal and I was going to stick to it. Nick threw a hand in his pocket and handed me a small black notebook. “Maureen gave us all one of these. It’s filled up with names, addresses that are safe to meet at, everything you need. It is pretty much the manual.”
    I flipped through the pages. The edges were warped, like Nick had carried the book in the rain a couple times. Names, dates, locations—the book was filled with a virtual who’s who of D.C. The police officers, teachers, and politicians inside would be ruined if the little black book were made public.
     
    I could see why Maureen thought she was untouchable—it was true.
    “So yeah, each person I meet with and when is in there. All I,” he laughed, “well, you, have to do now is meet at that time each week. Pretty easy, actually.”
    Sure, except I was going to have to ask these people for double what they were paying before. Not likely to go over without a fight, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared for one.
    Or dozens.
     
    Surprisingly, I didn’t have to fight anyone until the fifth meeting. Tom Billinger, who was a fireman for fifteen years and not afraid to tell me so, thought that he would just go to another drug dealer. He ran his sweaty, round belly right into me, nearly knocking me over. “You’re trash, you know. Just trash.”
    I asked him what that made him since he was buying something from me. That’s when he shoved me.
    That’s also when I drew a knife to his throat.
    Nick stood a few feet away, eyes wide as he saw the twinkling metal whip from my hand. Tom threw both his hands up in surrender. I