Bad to Be Worthy (Bad to Be Good #2) - Andrew Grey Page 0,39

beer and brought him up to date.

“So we’ve got some drug running going on,” Terrance said with a shrug. “Why do we care or want to get involved? Call the police, let them deal with it, and then this can be over. They’ll arrest this guy and he’ll be gone.” It seemed like a pretty good idea to Tucker, but Gerome showed him one of the wet pages, and Terrance grew quiet. “I still say we leave it up to the police. It’s their job.” Terrance grabbed a beer and flopped onto the sofa, putting his feet on the coffee table.

“Yeah, you should do that,” Tucker agreed. “But Gerome was on that boat, and I was seen on the dock. What if they come looking for us?” He met the gaze of each of them. “I don’t want to be hauled off to jail because I was there. I’m a homeless guy. People like to blame guys like me for everything.” He didn’t like this at all.

Gerome, Richard, and Terrance all got that same “ESP” look. “I think Tucker is right,” Richard explained. “But we all need to stay away from these people. No more breaking into boats or following folks around the key. If we see something, call the police and let them handle it. We all want to stay out of this and away from any sort of trouble, especially this kind.” Clearly he was a little spooked. He seemed paler than normal, even now.

“Fine,” Gerome snapped. “But you know guys like this don’t stop. They keep coming, and though so far Tucker has been lucky, it isn’t going to stay that way.”

Richard’s gaze scanned the room like radar. “We need to stay away from this if we possibly can.”

Terrance nodded, and after hesitating, Gerome did as well. The tension in the room seemed to pull the walls in, making the space smaller and more confining.

“We may not have a choice,” Gerome countered. Both Terrance and Richard nodded. It was like the three of them were speaking in code, with hidden meanings everywhere. Not that it was really any of Tucker’s business.

“Stop this,” Tucker interrupted. “Look, if Cheryl and I are going to be this much trouble, we should just move on. We got along before without the three of you, and we’ll be okay again. It’s that simple. We’ll pack our stuff and be out of here tomorrow. We can leave town and go somewhere else completely. Maybe farther down south or something.”

Gerome sat next down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “You don’t want to leave. We aren’t arguing about you and Cheryl.” He sighed and turned to Richard as though he wasn’t sure what to say.

Richard in turn glanced at Terrance. Tucker got the feeling that more of that silent communication was winging its way through the room. Finally Terrance shrugged. “The three of us have a history, that’s pretty plain, and, well, that history and your current predicament seem to have been drawn in together.”

“Have you met Ramone before?” Tucker asked.

Richard shook his head. “No.” None of them seemed to know what to say.

A knock on the door interrupted the tension. Daniel and Coby came inside, followed by Cheryl and Joshie. Richard, Terrance, and Gerome seemed almost relieved, and Tucker was just as confused as he ever had been. Something was definitely going on, and his curiosity about what Gerome and his friends were hiding grew more acute. Not that people didn’t have a right to their privacy, but suddenly it seemed that what they were keeping a secret affected his and possibly Cheryl and Joshie’s safety. He wished they would be honest with him.

Bobby Ramone was a bad guy, that was obvious, and if these three were afraid of him, there had to be some connection. They weren’t police; Tucker was sure of that. Maybe they were ex-military and couldn’t leave well enough alone. Maybe something like the A-Team. He dismissed that notion pretty quickly. These guys were different from that, even. He just couldn’t figure out what it was. Tucker thought the best thing to do for right now was to watch and pretend he was taking everything at face value and continue to go along. Maybe what he’d thought in the very first place was correct. Maybe you didn’t get something for nothing, and the price of Gerome’s help hadn’t been named yet.

TERRANCE HAD ordered pizza, and the delivery guy arrived. Coby and Joshie sat at the