Page 90 of Reasons We Break

Nick’s grip on the wheel tightens. “The godfathers wanted recruits,” he says eventually. “But now they’re focused on other things. Take advantage of it. Skip town. You found us an accountant we can maybe use, good. But you’re not helping Simran anymore, being here.”

Rajan latches onto only one part of his answer. “You mean the godfathers are focused onSimran.” No answer. “They know about her, down south?”

“Not her name. Just that we’ve got one helluva bookkeeper.” Jesus. Rajan rubs his face. Nick’s phone buzzes, and he pulls it out of his pocket. “Yeah.”

Moodily, Rajan tries the glove box while Nick listens to his caller. It’s locked, of course. He’s about to dig through the center console when the car swerves slightly.

Rajan glances at Nick. He’s gone pale.

“Okay,” he says. “On my way.” He ends the call. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”

“What?”

“The Aces are retaliating.”

Big surprise. Rajan yawns. “Drop me off at home first. I don’t give a shit about the mess you got yourself into.”

Nick casts him a glance as he accelerates, seeming to consider his words before speaking.

“You should,” he says slowly. “Because Simran is there.”

THE CLOCK TICKSloudly in the café kitchen. Zohra and several of the Lions stare right at Simran. Keeping her face expressionless, she tosses her final card on the table.

Everyone sighs. Shane, one of the Lions, throws his hand down, too. “Are we all gonna pretend she’s not counting cards?”

Zohra reclines in her chair. “That’s the fun. Trying to beat a card counter.” She pushes her chips toward her. “Damn it, Simran. I lost two hundred bucks to you.”

“I don’t want the money,” Simran replies. But they always want to play with real stakes. “Take it back.”

“See, that’s plain insulting.” Shane gets up to stretch. He’s in his twenties, heavily tattooed, and had intimidated Simran until recently. “I’m starving. I’m gonna get one of those bagels in the display case.”

“Ew,” Zohra says. “Those things have been there forever. Wait five minutes and I’ll go buy you something fresh.”

“Too hungry. I’ll risk it.” The kitchen door swings shut behind him. As Zohra puts the deck away, Simran pulls the ledgers toward herself. She’s finished her bookkeeping for the day, but the Ace ledgers are her side project. There’s only one she hasn’t fully decoded yet. It’s mostly simple transactions, which she deduced were encrypted with a Vigenere cipher ten minutes in, but she wants to finish anyway. It’s like Rajan said: She just likes solving problems. There’s no other excuse for being here. Things at home have actually improved. In fact, just this morning, her mom’s oncologist had called.

“I have excellent news,” she’d said as Simran and her parents crowded around the phone. “The lymph nodes came back negative.”

It was like a spring released in the room. The oncologist kept going. “You’ll get a follow-up about further treatment. If any.”

If any. Her father silently cried right there, tears trickling into his beard. Once the call was over, he called Kiran. Her mother just opened the window and stared out for a long, long time. And Simran...didn’t know what to do with herself.

She’s spent months bracing for a train wreck. And now that it’s not happening, she feels off balance. Like someone’s playing a prank, and any moment now, the other shoe might drop.

Zohra reaches for the ledgers, but Simran’s grip tightens. “I’m not done yet.”

Zohra gives her a knowing look before straightening. “You remind me of Manny sometimes.” She swings her purse over her shoulder. “His favourite thing to do is get high and then count his money. Except, for you, I think counting money is whatgetsyou high.”

Simran ignores her teasing tone in favour of a question she’s been dying to ask. “WhoisManny?” All she knows is everyone seems to answer to him.

“He’s part of the family from Van that founded the LS. They got rich in the nineties funneling drugs from Pakistan to India to North America. Biggest open secret ever, the Khullar family. Cops have never been able to pin any of them.”

“Why not?”

“They don’t do any actual dirty work. That’s reserved for plebes like me and you.” Zohra winks and pushes out the door.

Now alone, Simran resumes working. It’s silent for a long while, the only sounds the ticking clock and cars occasionally driving by. The Aces have used “reigninhell” as their keyword in this book. Disappointing. It’s too easy. She wanted achallenge. She wants the same rush she got on June 18.

She can practically see Rajan shaking his head at that. Which is why it’s best he doesn’t know about these extra sessions.