Free The Dead Series (Book 2): Dead Is All You Get by Steven Ramirez

have it your way.” She began tidying up the trailer.
    “I’m not jealous, dammit.”
    “Whatever you say.”
    “I’m going for a walk.”
    I wandered the grounds for a time, attempting to dissect my own feelings about the girl we’d come to think of as our own. Could Holly be right? Before I could think more on it, I saw Springer crossing the campus with a stack of files.
    “Hey, Springer.”
    As he stopped to greet me, everything slid from his hands. I helped him pick up the papers.
    “Let me ask you something,” I said. “What do you think about a fifteen-year-old girl hanging out with a nineteen-year-old guy?”
    “Dude, I’m the wrong guy to ask. Me, I’m looking for a girl with long legs and a short memory.”
    “Can you be serious for one minute? I’m talking about Griffin.”
    “Figured. And Lopez, right?”
    “Yeah. I mean, he might be an okay guy and all, but …”
    “But he’s a
guy
. And you want to protect her.”
    “Well, yeah.”
    “If she was twenty and the dude was twenty-four, would you have a problem?”
    “I guess not, but she’s
not
twenty—she’s fifteen.”
    “Fifteen ain’t what it used to be, Dave. Besides, he knows you have a gun, right? What do you think he’s gonna do? I have to go.”
    “Thanks, Springer.”
    Getting advice about women from Springer was like asking Taco Bell if chimichangas were bad for you. But he did have a point. I found Griffin sitting alone under the oak tree, pulling up blades of grass and putting them into a little pile. She didn’t see me as I approached her.
    “Look, I’m sorry,” I said.
    She refused to meet my eyes as I sat next to her. “That was
so
embarrassing, Dave.”
    “My heart was in the right place.”
    “We were only
talking
.” She turned to me, her face defiant, tear streaks on her cheeks.
    “Look, Griffin, I overreacted. But I’m trying to protect you.”
    “I know.” Her voice became soft, and I knew she was mulling it over.
    “Tell me something about him.”
    “He’s from Salinas. His parents came from Mexico when he was a baby. They spent their teen years in the fields, picking fruit and vegetables. He’s a writer. Well, he hasn’t published anything.”
    “Wow, you know a lot. What does he write?”
    “I don’t know. Stories and stuff.”
    “Do you like him?”
    “Yeah, I do. He’s nice. I mean, I’m not, like, in love with him or anything. We’re becoming friends.”
    “Anyway,” I said. “I’ll try to behave. But you have to promise me that you won’t do anything stupid. And you know what I’m talking about.”
    “Dave, you’re unbelievable. You know what happened to me.” She picked up a dead leaf and ran her index finger over the delicate veins. “I lost my innocence a long time ago.”
    “That wasn’t your choice. It was taken from you. Griffin, look at me. In my eyes—in Holly’s eyes—you’re still an innocent girl deserving of respect.” She hugged me. I could feel the wet on my shoulder. “And if he or any guy ever tries to hurt you, you tell me.”
    “Okay.”
    I kissed her head, got to my feet and started to walk away.
    “Dave?” I stopped and turned to look at her.
    At that moment she no longer seemed like a kid to me, the tall girl with the heavy eyeliner and the fingernails painted black who came to us once looking for protection. Now, I saw the sandy hair pulled back in a ponytail, modest makeup and the kind of poise Kate Middleton would appreciate. Or at least a Kate trained to handle a military-grade weapon.
    “Thanks,” she said. “For caring, I mean.”
    “No problemo.”
    She smiled in a way that shattered my heart. I walked off to find Holly and tell her that she may have been right about Griffin after all.

 

    Evie was dead. Looking spent and sleep-deprived, Warnick delivered the news.
    “Draggers?” I said as he entered the trailer.
    “No. She was shot.”
    “What?” Holly said.
    “One of our units found her on patrol this morning, in an alley