Colten looked out the window of the convenience store and watched the blue Mustang spit rock as it roared away. He felt nothing. No seething hatred, no delayed viciousness. He just wished Jack to die.
Simple. Without thinking.
“You really are a piece of work,” said the man at the counter.
Seth.
He was dressed in a black button-down shirt with pearl buttons, tucked into vintage western jeans. An ornate silver buckle attached just below his abs. Seth looked the part of the evil cowboy in a Sergio Leone film, minus the hat. He was grizzled from the sun, lean and mean. Black hair greased back, much like Colten’s, his pale white scalp peeking just past the hairline.
“Huh?”
“Just sayin’.”
“Guy like that, car like that . . . due a beatdown if ever I saw one,” Colten said.
“You can’t tear ’em all down.”
“Wish I could.”
“Just your part.”
“All right.”
“Forget him. You got other things to think about.”
Colten turned, grabbed the butt from the ashtray, took a long hard toke, and blew the smoke through the man. “Don’t you worry, I got things taken care of.”
Seth seemed unfazed by the toxic smog surrounding him. He could see fresh scratch marks on Cole’s neck as he turned. “She do that to you?” he asked with a half smirk.
Cole brought his hand up and massaged the wound. “Let’s just say this one’s got a little bit of fire in her.”
“Really?”
“Like I said, I got it taken care of.”
“You got things taken care of? Ha! What do you know about getting things taken care of?” Seth said.
“I know enough. Got her locked up there right now.”
Seth fingered the trinkets hanging from a spinner rack on the counter.
“Why do you do this? Play around? Should have been over and done with. Moving on to the next one. There are always plenty more coming each day.”
Another slow drag, the amber glow lighting Colten’s pupils. “This one’s too good to rush through. I want to enjoy it.”
“Always the same with y’all. Not able to see the forest through the trees.” Seth stepped to the door but did not go out. He seemed to soak in the outside air by sucking in a deep breath. “Chaos, Cole. That’s what you’re working for. Don’t get hung up on this girl and forget yourself. Nothing compares to that last moment, when they realize that it’s over. That there’s no going home. That there’s nothing past that moment for them. You can string it along, thinking that you’re having fun, but each second that goes by, you’re leaving the door open for them. You do that, you’re liable to get yourself in a tough spot. You’re liable to mess it all up.”
Another drag, another exhale. “Don’t lecture me, old man,” Colten said. “I’ve done this plenty of times.”
Seth laughed to himself as he ran his hand through his hair. “All right, it’s your show. Just remember this: every second is a loose end. You keep horsing around, others might want to jump in, change your plans.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just sayin’. Keeping her out there like that, you never know who might be watching.”
Colten extinguished the cig in the tray, reached down below the counter to grab a new pack, and was about to reply, but the man was gone.