Catch the Lightning Read Online Free PDF Page B

give him a few hours tomorrow.”
    “Thanks.” I hesitated. “You still thinking about hiring Mario full-time?”
    It was a moment before Brad answered. “I don’t know.”
    “You said he did a good job that night he filled in for your bouncer.”
    “Tina, he’s got a rap sheet a mile long.” Brad exhaled. “Possession of a dangerous weapon. Loaded firearm in public. Carrying a concealed firearm. Assault with a deadly weapon. Felony battery. Attempted murder, for Christ’s sake.”
    I knew how it looked. Most of the charges came from a fight between Los Halcones and Nug’s men after my cousin Manuel died. Mario was busted for carrying a Mac-10. The police hit him hard for the gun because they couldn’t make the attempted murder charge stick. They also wanted Mario and Nug off the street before the fighting went out of control. Both served time at Soledade, but no one went to jail for Manuel’s death. The police never found enough evidence to make an arrest.
    “They dropped the attempted murder charges,” I said. “Mario’s done his time for the rest.”
    Brad spoke gently. “I’ll think about it.”
    I knew what “think about it” meant. He wasn’t going to give Mario a job either.
    Brad motioned at Althor, who was headed with the bartender back to the storeroom. “How does he get his skin like that?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “And purple hair.” Brad shook his head as he walked away. “Sometimes I can’t figure what you kids call style.”
    I watched Althor carry two more boxes out of the storeroom. “Kid” was hardly accurate. For once I was glad that when I was tired, I looked older than my true age.
    At midnight, I found Althor in an empty storeroom with Brad and two Waitresses, Sami and Delia. They were sitting on the floor drinking coffee and eating jelly rolls from Winchell’s. Brad beamed, and Sami and Delia were flirting with Althor.
    “Hi.” I stood awkwardly in the doorway, wondering if I was intruding.
    “Hey.” Brad grinned. “Look at this.” He spread his arms, indicating the empty room. ‘Althor finished both storerooms.” ' “That’s great,” I said. Althor remained silent as Sami snuggled up to his side, her blond hair falling across his arm. He wasn’t paying attention to her, but that didn’t mean anything. She was older than me and lovely too. Maybe he wanted me to get lost. But then he stood up. “Are you finished?”
    I nodded. “All done.”
    Althor barely said good-bye to the others as he left. Nor did he say much while we waited at the bus stop. I wondered if he were irritated at me for interrupting their party. Either that, or he was tired. Then I realized that after clearing out two storerooms in one night, he was probably exhausted.
    The bus pulled up and Althor followed my lead, letting me pay foi us both. After we sat down at the back, he put his arm around my waist and slid me over to sit against him. I blinked, pleased, and let my head rest against his shoulder.
    “I almost forgot.” He pulled two bills out from his belt. “Here.”
    It was a fifty and a ten. “Why are you giving it to me?”
    “What would I do with it?”
    “It’s money. Don’t you know what money is?”
    He spoke drowsily. “In abstract. I never carry it.”
    “I can’t take this.” I tried to give him back the bills. “It’s yours. You earned it.”
    “Can you keep it for me?”
    “Just until you need it.”
    “All right.” Althor leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting his head roll until his cheek came to rest against the top of my head. He wrapped his arms around me, as if he were a small boy going to sleep with his favorite stuffed animal. I almost laughed. Closing my eyes, I drowsed next to him, content.
    I woke up just in time to ring for our stop. Althor followed me out the back door of the bus, rubbing his eyes.
    He was quiet as we headed for my apartment. At first I thought he was bored, that he was walking me home only because he felt he