No.57

POV Ryan.

I park my car on the corner of this seedy neighborhood. I look around to make sure no one's around. Then I breathe a sigh of relief. I lean back in the armchair and light a cigarette. I hate coming to Sydney's palm hole, but when circumstances force me to, I don't really have a choice. It's in this godforsaken hole that you find everything men like me need, henchmen when you want to make someone disappear, whores, drugs and I'm even certain that in this shithole I could find someone capable of imitating my brother's signature even better than himself. I inhale the smoke from my cigarette, then spit it out into the air in circles. Ever since I learned to do this trick, I can't get enough of it. Sierra loved it too. I close my eyes and shake my head. What the hell am I doing thinking about her at a time like this? No, what's wrong with me thinking about her at all? Sierra is part of a past I'd like to put behind me, far away.

I catch a glimpse of a silhouette in the dark, and