I slid out of Ridley’s Jeep and crossed the sizzling pavement. It had rained some time during the night, and the early afternoon sun had turned the city into a furnace.
Queen’s Gold was way too close to Dante’s house for my liking. Although across the street from the Orange County Sheriff’s Station, the pawn shop obviously still had a lot of thieves. There were wrought iron bars covering the windows and door. I glanced up and to my left to see a surveillance camera before looking back to the front door.
My lips twitched into a smile as I read the sign stuck to the front door, Grow from the dirt they left you in. Coco sounded like my kind of woman that was pretty much my motto.
I opened the door of Queens Gold and smiled at the stocky woman who stood on either side of the floor room. She was not what I had imagined, she had to be close to seven feet tall. She seemed to fill up her surroundings.
“Hey.” I waved as the entrance bell dinged above me, and I strode past an impressive wall of firearms.
“Hello,” the woman said, her broad shoulders hunched forward as she began writing. “What can I do for you today?” She had an islander accent, I wasn’t sure from where, maybe the Cayman’s or Jamaica.
I leaned on the glass display cabinet as she continued to write.
“I’m not sure how this works, I want to pawn something.”
“Oh?” she asked. “And whatcha hoping to pawn?”
I slid my hand into my tight denim pocket, and pulled out a half carat diamond ring.
“Well now, what do we have here?” She furrowed her thick brows as she took the diamond ring into her beefy hands. “Did you steal it?”
“No, of course I didn’t steal it,” I said, offended, and had half of mind to reach across the counter and snatch it back.
“Don’t be cranky, I have to ask.” I nodded, relaxing some.
“It was my mother’s engagement ring.” I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.
Coco held the diamond up to the light and opened a drawer as she rummaged around. “I’m surprised to see you here, Allie.”
“Allie?” I asked, and my body tensed at the false name. “How do you know my name?”
Coco pulled out a magnifying glass and peered into the diamond. “I know everything that goes on in this area.”
“Is that so?” Okay, this woman was scaring me. My mind could have gone in a million different directions but instead it went right to Dante, obviously he had this woman in his pocket, kind of like Sasha.
“I know that people are watching you,” she added to prove her point. “I also know that you are not right with the world.”
“Huh? What do you mean? Who’s watching me?”
“One question as a time.” The woman let out a small chuckle that sounded more like a rumble. “You’re not who you pretend to be. You are always watching your back which tells old Coco that you a nervous thing. You be careful, I notice it that means others may start to notice it.”
“Okay, I’ll be careful. How about the other, who’s watching me?” My heart beat faster and the smell of something cooking filled my lungs. It had a slight curry smell.
“Lots of people.” And then nodded toward the bracelet on my wrist.
I closed my fingers around the silver bangle, and wondered how much Detective Getty could hear right now.
“Girl who plays with fire…”
I interrupted Coco, “Get’s burned, I know.”
“No. Girl who plays with fire must first learn how to fight the fire,” Coco warned.
“I’m learning as I go along,” I said although it sounded more like a question.
“Don’t,” Coco barked. “Learn first. Fire takes on many forms, don’t think it is always a flame.”
I tried to take in her words but in all honesty, I was lost. Fire takes on many forms. Did she mean not to trust anyone or who I thought was the fire is really someone else? Fuck.
Coco lowered my mom’s engagement ring to the glass counter.
“That’s the plan,” I said. “How much would you give me for the ring? I’m just pawning it—I want to get it back eventually.”
“Good girl. How does three thousand sound?”
Kobe
I clutched the dingy dishcloth in my hand and scrubbed along the worn bar top at Sasha’s. Her bar was especially grimy with the overwhelming scent of ashtrays and stale beer from the bottles that littered the tables. I didn’t know what had happened here, but for whatever reason, it was shittier than usual.
“You work hard, girl,” Sasha said as she took a long slow drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke into my face.
I resisted the urge to cough as I swiped the smoke from around me.
“You remind me of myself twenty years ago,” she continued, and I began to scrub hard at the Sharpie marks some jerk had left on the bar top. “I might have to give you a raise, you know.”
“A raise?” I asked and grimaced at the way my boot stuck to something sticky on the wooden floors. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.” I didn’t bother to look at her since it was probably a joke of some kind.
“Well, you’d be the first I’ve given in seven years,” she said, and the bell rang signifying a new customer had entered the building.
“How much more are you going to pay me?” I asked, and my stomach churned as Dante came into view. God, I hated that man.
“I was thinking of bumping you up to twelve dollars an hour,” she said and glanced over her shoulder at the slimy gang leader who spoke quickly
