Read Online King Perry by Edmond Manning - Free Book Online

at once. “Fuck!”
    I’m ready. I’m awake now.
    He says, “It’s night. It’s night. I don’t fucking believe this.”
    “Don’t worry, Perry, I’ve seen this happen, night following a few hours after day. It only lasts until just before morning and then it goes away.”
    “You tricked me to sleep,” he says, a shrillness rising in him. “I was going to leave.”
    He pushes himself up on his right side.
    I say, “I prefer coaxed. But I like words with the letter x in them. Tricked has a k sound. K , in some ways, is the arch nemesis of x , which is awkward at Christmas because they actually have relatives in common.”
    “Holy shit.” Perry bounces to his knees and then his feet, ready to run with nowhere to go. “I could get fired for this. Of course I’ll be fired. Oh God, that’s a given.”
    “Relax,” I say, sitting up and offering a hand to him. “You gotta relax, Perry. Trust me on this.”
    He says, “Prison time is on the table. This is a federal crime .”
    “True. But it’s only a federal crime if we are caught. Otherwise, it’s an adventure.”
    “Pretty sure it’s still a crime.”
    His tone is icy.
    A section of San Francisco’s skyline provides a fairly constant glow to our surroundings, allowing me to read the big emotions on Perry’s face: fear, anger, and panic, all fighting for dominance.
    In a hushed tone he says, “ We’re going to prison .”
    I say, “How convenient. We’re already here.”
    I’m tempted to explain that he doesn’t need to whisper, nobody could hear us over the ocean’s roar. Perhaps emphasizing our isolation may not comfort him much right now. I’ll keep that little detail quiet.
    “C’mon back down here and snuggle.”
    He refuses to take my offered hand, so I leave it dangling in the air. Instead, he chooses to pace around our small green bedroom, my straight arm following him like a magnetic needle.
    “Take my hand, Perry. It’s going to be okay.”
    “Way to go, Vin Vanbly, if that is your real name. You have successfully freaked me out within a few hours of our hanging out together. I am officially freaked out, you psycho. I wasn’t kidding when I said I told friends. And what was that crazy shit about the letter k at Christmas?”
    Probably not a good time to tell him that my real name isn’t Vin Vanbly.
    He looks at me and says, “Bloody finger stumps and hacked-open stomachs with intestines spilling—”
    Oh, God.
    “ Stop it! ” I put up my hands over my ears and curl up. “Seriously, please stop. You’re not in any danger, Perry. But stop.”
    He does stop, but he glares at me from a safe distance. He says, “I’m not dying out here tonight.”
    Picture cherry crepes and warm pasta, and yummy bacon. I love bacon.
    Come back. Talk him down.
    “Perry, you wouldn’t have fallen asleep unless you felt safe with me. You felt safe with me because of how much fun we had this afternoon wandering around Alcatraz. That was real. If I were a serial killer, I would have tied you up or done something to you while you were sleeping, not fallen asleep next to you. At the very least gagged you, because, yes, blood and guts is too much for me. There’s a gun-carrying night guard casing the island right now, and if you get completely afraid, scream your ass off and he’ll hear you. Before you do that, however, lie down and talk to me.”
    Throughout my speech he softens, not completely, but he hesitates only a moment before taking my raised hand. Nevertheless, I feel resistance as he returns to the ground.
    “He has a gun? Serious?”
    “Lie here with me and breathe for a moment. This is one of those suggestions that’s more of a command, Perry. You agreed to submit all weekend, so c’mon.”
    “Vin, this stupid weekend ends tomorrow as soon as we dock. Assuming we’re not shot dead by the trained professional.”
    “Awww,” I say, letting the words trail off into a throaty grumble.
    I need to discover how badly freaked out he