Rene got out on Wednesday. Darius posted bail with money from the Honda sale and six thousand from Nina's personal savings, which she offered without being asked. "Pay me back when you can," she said, and the way she said it told Darius she wasn't loaning money. She was investing in something she believed was worth investing in.
Rene walked out of county at noon. Oscar picked him up. Rene was thin and shaken and had the look of a kid who'd spent three nights in a place he never wanted to see again. He stood in the bay and his eyes were wet and his hands were shaking.
"I didn't talk," he said. "I held."
"I know you did."
"The cops said if I gave them a name they'd drop the distribution charge. I almost did it. But I thought about what you'd do, and I waited."
"You did right."
"I did scared. Scared and right aren't the same thing."
"In my crew they are. Scared means you felt it. Right means you didn't break. Most people break. You didn't."
