122 Rules Read Online Free PDF Page B

something out.”
    Monica shifted the phone to her other ear. “No. Not New York. I’m at Len’s off Highway 23.”
    “Wait. You’re there now ?”
    “Yes.”
    Nothing lined the deserted roads leading into and out of The Cove for almost a hundred miles in either direction except trees, scrub pines, and jagged mountains. But some sixty clicks north, smack dab in the middle of nowhere, Len’s Little Diner eked out a humble existence off of weary travelers too exhausted and desperate to find something decent.
    “Okay.” Monica heard her friend shift gears like a well-tuned auto, from surprised to task-oriented problem-solver. “I’m scheduled to work…gotta get out of that… I’ll be there in a couple hours. Maybe a little less.”
    Just like that, no questions. Her friend would bend heaven and earth to be there for her. Gratitude and love soothed Monica’s heart.
     
    * * *
     
    Ninety minutes later, Angel’s beat-up VW Beetle bumbled into the parking lot of Len’s Little Diner. Usually when they met, Angel greeted her with a hug and a Texas smile. But today she slid into the booth, somber and without so much as a “hello.” Time to get to business.
    “I’m leaving,” Monica said without preamble.
    Angel cocked her head, consternation reflecting in her eyes. “What do you mean? You’ve already left. Where are you going?”
    “I can’t tell you.”
    “I don’t understand.” Angel studied her closely, like a scientist examining an unusual specimen of bacteria. “Mon, you look like crap. What the hell’s going on?”
    Monica took a deep breath. “Look, I saw something I wasn’t supposed to, and now some people, some very angry people, would like nothing more than for me to be quiet. Forever. So, I’m going into a program that will protect me from them. In exchange, I have to testify to what I saw, but that won’t be for a long time. Stupid court system takes forever. Kinda funny, me wanting to be a lawyer and complaining about the court system, don’t ya think? Anyway, the government—at least I think it’s the government, they’re kinda hush hush about all that, assholes—promises to keep me alive. So we won’t be able to see each other for a long time. Maybe even ever. I just wanted the chance to say goodbye to my soul sister, so that’s why I’m here. To say goodbye.”
    Angel blinked several times after the random rush of words b ombarded her. “What are you talking about? What people? What did you see? Why would anyone want to hurt you? I haven’t seen or heard from you in months, and now you make me meet you out here in BF Egypt telling me you’re going away or underground or whatever because someone, what? Wants you dead? That’s what you’re saying, right? Someone wants to kill you? This makes zero sense.” Angel paused and took a deep breath. “Okay, honey, what exactly is going on? Start from the beginning, and tell me everything.”
    Monica regarded Angel over the diner’s worn, yellow laminate table. She wanted to talk to her friend, not only because she needed to say goodbye but also because someone should know what had happened to her. Besides, she needed someone to talk over the situation with, and no one fit the bill better.
    From an academic perspective, the two belonged to different leagues. Monica had natural book smarts. Angel on the other hand… If she were a bulb, her filaments wouldn’t shine as brightly as the rest of the lights in the chandelier. As a knife, her edge would be duller than the other cutlery in the drawer. On the shelves in the grocery, she would be one Dr. Pepper short of a six-pack. Angel had little ambition and tended to pick men for their looks and bad boy attitudes instead of their willingness and ability to make her happy. But her heart overflowed with kindness and patience. Plus, she possessed an uncanny ability to see through bullshit.
    Angel had entered the diner as a pigheaded pragmatist, and in this mode, no amount of arguing