Who'll Stop The Rain: (Book One Of The Miami Crime Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

sixteen."
    She gasped out loud through
a wide open mouth. "My God. Sixteen? Why'd you kill her?"
    "She drew on me. I got
her before she could get one off, but still …"
    Dorothy paused briefly,
digesting that information. We both sat in the dark without talking. The smooth
whir of the central air unit was the only sound. Then her hard center showed
itself. She waved the whole thing off as though it were nothing more than a
pesky fly on a picnic table.
    "So you did what you
had to do," she said. "It was her or you."
    "I know, but she was
just a kid . I've never done that
before."
    Her tone inched up a notch.
"You rather she fucking put one between your eyes? Come on. Get a
grip!"
    "But … but now, she's
never gonna have a … a …"
    She moved close to me, then
pulled me back down on the bed. She ground her doughy nakedness into mine,
murmuring, "Forget it. It's over and you survived. I'm just glad you're
home safely." My hands roamed her back and my mouth moved
close to her ear. She whispered in a way that lacked tenderness while summoning
up plenty of authority, "Promise me, my love. You're finished. You're
laying down the gun. For good."
    "I promise, baby. For
good."
    She moaned a little more
and said, "Because I will never let you go to jail. Not if I've got
anything to say about it."
    We rolled around on the
bed, kissing and lightly fondling each other's bodies. Then Dorothy curled her
head into my shoulder and ran a hand softly across my stomach.
    "Have you given any
thought to what you'll do?" she asked.
    "What I'll do?"
    "You know, for work. I
mean, you've never really, you know —"
    Yes, I knew. I'd never held
a straight job my whole life.
    I rolled over onto my side,
facing her, and said, "Don Roy Doyle — I think you know him, he runs
Mambo's sports book and bolita game. His cousin's got a landscaping business.
Mostly private homes, homes here in town and in the Lower Keys. He's mentioned
it to me a couple of times. Said his cousin was looking for someone to come in
with some money, you know, and some labor. He wants to up the ante. You know,
buy bigger equipment, build the business. But he apparently needs a
partner."
    "Landscaping? Like
tree trimming?"
    "Yeah," I said.
"That … and keeping vegetation looking good and cleaning yard waste. Stuff
like that."
    "What's he need your
money for?"
    "Oh, I don't know. I
think Don Roy said something about a new truck and some new equipment, maybe a
cherry picker."
    "You're telling me you
want to trim trees for a living?"
    I looked at her funny. Like
I was beginning to think she wasn't on board. "What's wrong with it? It's
good, honest work."
    She said, "What's
wrong with it? What's wrong with it?
How about for starters that it's not exactly your lifelong dream, to be
trimming trees and getting filthy dirty all day long."
    "It's not just
trimming trees. And getting dirty while you work is no sin. I'll be outdoors
most of the time. I'm in pretty good shape and I can —"
    Her voice moved down a
notch. "My love, it's not your cup of tea. You can't make any money doing
that. We wouldn't be able to live this way anymore."
    "You'd rather I risk
my life every time I strap on my gun?"
    "You know that's not
what I mean. It's just that … that, well … you know, we don't live real high,
but it's higher than what I ever had before. And I don't want to go back to
that."
    "Okay, so what do I
do?"
    "My advice is to find
something else. Forget about trimming trees."
    "There's more to it
than trimming trees! And I'd be a part owner in the business. You know, not
have to answer to anyone. We can still have our lifestyle! I'll bring in the
money, I swear."
    "What about this …
cousin? You'll have to answer to him, won't you? Or at least coexist with
him."
    "I can handle
it," I said. "And Don Roy said whatever I need to learn about the
business, his cousin can show me."
    She wasn't buying it.
"You're gonna hate it. I know you. You won't be able to stand it after a
while. And I'm not