Honkytonk Hell: A Dark and Twisted Urban Fantasy (The Broken Bard Chronicles Book 1) eden Hudson (best book club books txt) đ
- Author: eden Hudson
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Glass crunched. Grace was stepping in what was left of the big pane in the door.
âWait, donât cut yourself, Grace. Let me get the broom.â
âMy nameâsââ
Whatever she was saying faded out when I saw the broom and the dustpan, just leaning against the fridge, right where I left them.
This wasnât real. Standing around with my brotherâs girlfriend, sweeping up broken glass? Normal people swept floors. Sane people. Brain-damaged nutcases didnât. They sat in the dark, fighting their straightjackets and giggling, waiting for the next round of electroshock to burn the crazy out.
There wasnât any way I was here. Not really. This was all in my head.
âColt?â Graceâs voice sounded far away. âAre you okay?â
I had to swallow so I could talk.
âYeah, Iââ I got a death grip on the broom. âYeah, Iâm fine.â
âConvincing,â Ryder said.
âFuck you,â I said.
He snorted and spit into his bottle. âYou know the thing I always liked best about you, Sunshine? When you know youâre wrong, you just tell everybody to fuck off. Thatâs a winnerâs attitude right there.â
I ignored him and started sweeping.
âWould you like some help?â Grace asked.
âThatâs all right.â
Grace took a step toward me.
âI could hold the dustpan forââ
âNo, donât move,â I said. âI mean, Iâve got it.â
Itâs strange to realize youâre doing something obsessive and not be able to stop yourself. Watching Grace watch me freak out and sweep the whole kitchen, then sweep it again made me feel as if Iâd gone back in time to the time to living with Ryder and Tough.
When I made it all the way around the floor the second time, I got out the trashcan and dumped the dustpan into it.
There was something too rotted to recognize in the bottom of the bag, but I knew it was a hamburger. I had made it out on the grill, tried to eat, couldnât even get half of it down. Iâd been preoccupied with something. MikalâŠthe Dark MansionâŠa Tac-Ops Tango-51?
I tried to think who Iâd be picking off with an old model sniper rifle at the Dark Mansionâand without a suppressor. Might as wellâve strapped a bomb to my chest and rang the doorbell. Maybe that was why Iâd been too anxious to eat.
Then I saw Grace looking out the doorâs broken window.
âSheâs going to cry,â Ryder said, scraping his boot on the floor. âSon of a bitch. Way to be a man, Baby Boy.â
I leaned the broom and dustpan back against the fridge, and tried to think of a way to comfort Grace. Crying girls paralyze me. I know they donât always cry because theyâre hurt physically, but that was what it felt likeâlike I messed up and let them get hurt.
I touched Graceâs arm. âAre you all right?â
She smiled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
âYeah, just being stupid.â She brushed the bangs out of her face. They were too short to tuck behind her ear, but she tried anyway. âIâm pretty tired. Is there a place I can lay down?â
âIn here.â
I went into the bedroom and turned on the light. Just being in there at night made me feel a little uneasy, but Grace didnât act like it bothered her. The bed was made. A three-quarters-full bottle of SoCo on the dresser. Top drawer would be socks and underwear. Middle drawer two shirts, an HK .45, and a full magazine. Bottom drawer empty.
That wasnât right. Iâd put something in the bottom drawer. Topâsocks and underwear. Middleâshirts, .45, full magazine. Bottomâwhat?
I jerked open the bottom drawer. There was a black and red box inside with BawdyHeatâHeat Up the Night printed in spiky letters across the front and sides.
Grace was standing beside me. I handed her the box.
âTell me Iâm not seeing things again,â I said. âWhat are those?â
âAw, for fuckâs sake,â Ryder said, rolling his head back on his shoulders.
âShut up,â I told him. âI didnât ask you. I asked Grace.â
âDesty,â she said.
âRight. Short for Modesty,â I remembered. âTell me what those are.â
âCondoms,â Desty said. âFor vampires.â
âThatâs what I thought.â I took the box back and turned it over. It hadnât been opened. âYou and Tough havenât been out here, have you?â
Desty shook her head.
âIâ We canât use those,â she said.
âWhy do I have vamp condoms?â
Ryder spit into his bottle and shrugged. âSomebody making an educated guess might say âboning a vamp.ââ
I remembered Beth Ann at the drug store giving me that satisfied smirk people get when they find out a preacherâs wife has been cheating on him. That mustâve been when I bought them. I remembered smelling cinnamon, too. Or thinking about cinnamon. Smells are supposed to be able to trigger memory, but this one didnât. Brain damage.
âIâve only ever had sex with Mikal,â I said. I wouldnât have forgotten, not even with the brain damage. Sex is a physical expression of love. Thatâs part of why I was so upset when I found out Tough was going to sleep with that pedophile bitch, Mitzi, so she and Jason would be his protectors. He was just a kid. He didnât love Mitzi, but if you have sex with someone itâs hard not to feel like you love them, like youâre giving them your heart. And once they have it, they can crush it, the way Mitzi crushed Tough.
Ryder snorted.
âYeah, Toughâs the
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