-LUTHER- Paris left, but the threat she'd thrown into the air lingered long after the door slammed shut, like the smell of burned food you couldn't get rid of. We wouldn't have church until morning, but the men were too restless to wait. So, after Tank and Rick returned from the hospital, we called an early meeting. "So Fox is really gonna be all right?" Steel asked, drumming his fingers against his knees. The guy was a grumpy-ass hermit, but he cared about Fox as much as any of us. Maybe even more. "Yeah. The doctor said he can go home in a few days. The bullet missed the major arteries," I said, leaning against the cold wall. I was too f*****g wired to sit like the rest of them. "The f*****g Viper shot him in the chest, Prez! Fox almost died!" Rick yelled, slamming his hand against

