Page 58 of Edge

“I need to touch base with Phoenix and see who’s available each day, but yeah, we’ve pretty much got it covered,” Byte said.

“It’s too early now, but I need to try calling Marcy again. I haven’t been able to get in touch with her since all of this happened,” I said.

“Really?” Edge asked, but he had a strange look on his face.

“Yeah. I’ve left a couple of messages for her and sent a text, but she hasn’t responded.”

“Is that normal for her?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never talked to her outside of work.”

“We’ll plan on having someone there to cover her shift,” Byte said. “If she shows up, great. I’m sure we’ll be able to use an extra set of hands.”

Edge shifted in his seat. “Do you want to go to your house to get a shower and a change of clothes before Irene wakes up?”

“Uh, sure,” I said, slightly taken aback by his abrupt change of subject. “You’ll be here with her until we get back?” I asked Byte.

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll head home for a bit when you get back.”

“I don’t need babysitters,” Irene grumbled sleepily.

The three of us froze and watched with bated breath to see if she would go back to sleep. When her eyes remained closed for several minutes, Edge and I waved goodbye and quietly left the room.

I waited until we were in his truck, but just barely. As soon as he closed his door, I asked, “What happened with Muzzle?”

He grimaced. “I can’t tell you the details, and honestly, it’s better if you don’t know them, but you need to know some of it for your safety.”

He was rambling, which was completely out of character for him. “Just tell me what you can,” I said gently.

“Muzzle’s dead.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what I was expecting him to say, but the news took me by surprise. “Did I kill him?”

“Does it matter?”

Did it? In the grand scheme of things, I guess it didn’t, but killing one’s own father felt like something a person should know.

“Sort of,” I admitted. “I mean, I don’t care that he’s dead, but if I killed him, I want to know. What if someone asks me if I’ve ever killed someone? I want to be able to answer honestly.”

“You should always answer no to that question,” he said seriously.

“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said and laughed. Okay, maybe I was still in a little bit of shock.

Edge reached over and grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to compose myself. “Yes, I’m okay. I suppose I’ve been concentrating on Irene, and now I’m starting to feel the impact of everything that happened.” I hesitated briefly before repeating my question. “Did I kill him?”

Edge audibly swallowed and slowly nodded. “Luca said he died shortly after they picked him up.”

The feeling of satisfaction that washed over me was completely unexpected. I nodded once. “Good. He deserved it, and I’m not sorry.”

“Are you sure that’s how you feel?”

“Yes. Why?”

He grinned. “Because I’m fucking proud of you. You walked into a bad situation and did what you needed to do to protect yourself and save your coworkers.”

“I’m just glad it’s over with, and everyone’s going to be okay.”