I looked to Ty. “Actually, I do.”
He glanced at me then back at the road. What he didn’t do was answer.
“Ty, I don’t care about Shift. You know that.”
He sighed. Then he stated, “Another reason to quit the game. Sometimes men f**k up, do that shit, you can’t be the man who lets it slide. Not my favorite thing to do. With Shift, he’s such a piece of shit, gotta say, I didn’t mind but the effort it took. Didn’t mess around, my message left him breathing if not standing. Delays getting my money I have to wait for the end of a hospital stay.”
“I’m surprised about that,” I said quietly to the windshield. “Ronnie usually took Shift’s back.”
“Can’t offer you an explanation, baby,” Ty replied quietly. “Didn’t hear shit about Rodriguez when I was down there, that wasn’t exactly my world but I’m at a table, I don’t care whose money I’m taking just as long as they’re good for it. Maybe he hid that shit from Rodriguez. Losin’ that bad, he’d not wanna spread that around. He’d wanna keep it quiet, save his rep from takin’ that hit.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Shift.”
“’Cause that is Shift.”
I fell silent and experienced the smooth ride of the car, listened to the growl of the engine, eyes to the wide, two lane road ahead of us, the beauty of Colorado all around thinking he’d shared. As I sat there silent, I waited but he didn’t ask for his take. I’d asked him a question, he gave me the answer and there it was.
Yes, Lady Luck was feeling generous.
Hesitantly, scared shitless the Lady would turn on me and strike, I pushed my luck.
“So, you made friends in prison?”
“One,” he answered and I felt the beat of my heart ease because he answered.
“Just one?”
“Not a social club, Lexie.”
“Right,” I said softly.
And, surprisingly, he kept talking. “Name’s Julius. Julius Champion, you believe that shit.”
“That’s a great name,” I told him.
Ty didn’t respond.
“What was he, um… in for?”
“Manslaughter.”
“Oh God,” I whispered and then I heard it.
Ty chuckled.
My eyes moved quickly to him firstly because I was shocked and secondly because I didn’t want to miss it.
It was good I didn’t miss it, his beautiful lips curved, his face relaxed in humor, amazing.
Still.
“Manslaughter is funny?”
“No,” he stated firmly, all humor gone and my heart started beating hard because, before I left Texas, I knew this one thing about Ty. Shift had shared this. Shift had delighted in doing it because that was Shift.
I knew voluntary manslaughter was what Ty had been sent down for.
And he would not find that funny.