The Lights of Tenth Street Read Online Free PDF

triumph.
    Tiffany glanced over from behind the wheel and grinned. “I can’t believe we made it!” She punched a button on the CD player and out blared their favorite song. Tiffany began singing along, moving with the beat behind the wheel.
    Ronnie laughed, almost giddy. The weight of the world was lifting off her shoulders, rising, rising with every mile behind her. The sun was low and vivid on the horizon, her best friend beside her, and she was
gone!
She was embarking on an adventure to finally have a life!
    She put a hand to her head, trying to keep flying strands of hair out of her eyes. Despite her efforts, she could feel her ponytail loosening.
    “Give it up!” Tiffany shouted sideways. “Caution to the wind, baby!”
    Ronnie hesitated, then looked at Tiffany and let her hand fall away. With deliberate exuberance she tilted her head back and shook her hair in the wind. The ponytail holder blew away down the road behind them as the car sped toward Atlanta.

T WO
    T wo kilos for you. No more,” Tyson barked at the man beside him as he watched his underlings distribute their load.
    Three other senior members of the group came and went, slipping out the side door with their briefcases and backpacks, heading for their own rendezvous. And still the little man stayed, standing off to the side, belligerence in his eyes, relying on his unique position to give him this access to the top echelon of the organization.
    Finally, Tyson gave a signal and his men jumped down from the truck and shut the back door, the clang reverberating around the empty bay. He turned to go, only to find Snoop in his face again.
    “You said I could have—”
    “I said,” Tyson hissed through his teeth, “
if
you could handle the last shipment, we’d
think
about giving you that run. Instead, you got two mules arrested, dropped your nine, and left federal agents crawling all over the plane.” He turned and headed for the office. “Not the most successful trial, all things considered.”
    Snoop shoved his kilos in his duffel bag, and trotted beside the second-highest-ranking man in the organization, gold chains thumping against his chest. “Not my fault, bro! Look here, you know—even Proxy knows—that we was set up. And no way the feds found the gun. But I got contacts all over south side, man, and y’all need me. And since I hear that y’all are getting into some new business, well, as I see it y’all need me even more.”
    Tyson ignored him, trying not to seethe. Snoop aggravated everyone, but his information was valuable enough to warrant patience. Until last week’s debacle, at least. He wished Proxy would just let him blow the informant away, but that wasn’t his call. After a moment, he smiled to himself. Snoop didn’t know that once the new business line was secured, the old lines were history. Maybe then.
    The two men pushed through a door and up a series of narrow stairs, legacy of the forties-vintage trucking depot they had recently purchased. On the third floor, Tyson strode through a wide, empty space and entered a large but cluttered office furnished with a sturdy metal chair and desk, remnants from the original WWII-period furniture.
    Snoop poked around. “Man, what happened to your old spiffy digs? Don’t Proxy and them like you no more?” He turned back to Tyson and guffawed, slapping his thigh.
    Tyson clenched his jaw and stood behind his desk, entering some notes in the log.
    Snoop stepped across the desk from Tyson. “Look, I just messin with you. I know the big man dig you.” He slapped Tyson on the arm.
    Tyson narrowed his eyes. “Snoop, you better get out of here.”
    “Okay, man, I’ll go.” He grinned slightly and crossed his arms. “I’ll go just as soon as you cut me some slack and tell me when the next run—”
    The phone rang on the desk, making Snoop jump. He started to open his mouth again, but Tyson held up a hand and picked up the receiver.
    “Tyson Keene.”
    Snoop began to wander