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T W O W E E K S L A T E R
Tana's footsteps seemed to echo as she climbed the stairs to Buck Merrill's place. She knocked on the door nervously. When no one answered, she knocked again. The door swung open, revealing an older man who looked like he'd just woken up.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Are you Buck?"
"Yeah," he replied gruffly. "What, you selling Girl Scout cookies?"
"No. I came to have a little chat with you about Dallas."
Buck squinted his eyes at the teenager. He was getting so damn sick of these kids always pounding on his door asking to talk to Winston. It took him another good look at the young girl before he realized who she was.
"Ah, shit," he grumbled.
"Yeah," Tana said, not sounding too thrilled herself.
"What do you want?"
"Can I come in?"
"No. Don't you have some people to belittle? I don't need no one seeing a soc like you on my doorstep."
"Let me in," Tana said firmly, her eyebrows knitted downward. This girl meant business. Buck set his jaw square before stepping to the side and letting Tana in.
"What do you want?" he asked as Tana looked around. She eyed the bar curiously before turning to Buck.
"Why did you send the police after Dallas?"
Buck squirmed nervously. "I have no idea what you're talking about, kid."
"Yes, you do."
"Who told you that?" Buck asked nervously.
"Doesn't matter." She said this, but he knew as well as she did who had told her he'd been the one to tip off the fuzz. "Why did you send the cops after Dallas?"
"Kid owed me money. Knowing him, he was gonna skip town and I wouldn't get paid."
"Why did he owe you money?"
"A few hospital bills," Buck said. "His insurance didn't cover it all and we weren't in rodeo season. Kid was broke."
"You paid off his hospital bills but then sent the cops after him?"
"He promised he'd pay me back. One way or another."
"Well, it's your lucky day, then," she said.
"What do you mean?"
Tana reached into her purse and took out a thick stack of bills; it was way more money than what Dallas owed him.
