he’s trying his luck now.    arms rest across her chest,  continuing to stare him down as he goes on.    she’s not volunteering to be the one to break the news to rusty,  and nothing will convince her otherwise.        ❛    you’re right,  i do know that,  but that doesn’t mean i think pretending you’re dead is a good game plan.    ❜        a shake of her head drives her point even further home.    the short silence that falls right after offers up the implication of an  ‘ if-you-weren’t-a-criminal ’  comment.    she doesn’t say it,  but it’s clear she’s thinking it.    she’s often thinking it,  whenever danny is involved.        ❛    yeah,  you are.    ❜        she makes no attempt to sound sympathetic,  but there are hints of a smile poking through her lethal glare,  and she takes a step closer.        ❛    he’ll be happy to see you.    eventually.    ❜        

❛   well, we were kinda short on options, sweetheart. and it worked out in the end, didn't it?  ❜  all the casualties of grief aside, he'd say the whole thing was pretty much smooth sailing. within the beat of silence, danny realizes his mistake and frowns.    ❛   don't... answer that.   ❜   he asks, but knows it would be in vain. still, this wasn't a lost cause. he's played this game enough times to know an opening when he sees it  –––  it comes as she steps closer, making danny draw up a smile of his own. he follows suit and meets her halfway, letting his suave façade fall through as he reaches to cup her face between his hands.    

     ❝      murder   genes   are   not   a   thing   ,      danny   .      and   trust   me   ,      i’ve   heard   more   than   enough   about   it   running   in   the   family   .      i’m   …   not   sure   that’s   how   it   works   .      ❞      she   couldn’t   lie   :      perhaps   the   idea   did   terrify   her   a   little,      thinking   of   her   sweet   little   trio   growing   up   to   smuggle   things   into   their   very   own   garages   at   some   point.      ❝      ah–      debbie   ,      maybe   .      you   just   came   along   with   the   package   ,      y’know   .      i   had   no   choice   .      ❞         a   smile   so  smug   it   could  be  his     —     it’s   the   undeniable  truth;   she   did   love   the   family.   and   if   it   ran   in   their   blood,   then   tammy   was   damn   right   she   belonged   with   them.

UNBELIEVABLE.    except,  it’s not really.    she does know her husband,  after all.    knows him too well.    and he should know her just as well    ––    should know that there’s no way in hell she’s doing this.        ❛    not a big deal?    ❜        she repeats,  and there are daggers already beginning to form in her stare.        ❛    if it’s not a big deal, danny, then why can’t you tell him?    ❜        there’s no need for him to respond:  she already knows the answer.        ❛    maybe you should’ve thought about that before deciding to fake your own death!    ❜        a well-timed shove at his shoulder,  one that’s not powered by her full strength:  it’s a warning,  one that tells him to quit there and then.

     ❝      …      oh   ?      is   that   your   way   of   explaining   why   you   and   your   sister   can’t   stay   away   from   trouble   ?      your      genes   ?      ❞      a   sigh.      she   should   have   known;      she’s   heard   it   all   before   from   deb.      ❝      god   .      i   can’t   believe   this   is   the   family   i   married   into   .      ❞      

❛  it's not a big deal, but   ––––    ❜     and god knows he's already asked enough of her ever since his   ...    untimely demise, but he just needs  one more.   danny presses his lips tightly together   ––   already an indicator that he was up to no good   ––   with a tinge of dread in his eyes.   she's not gonna like this.    ❛   i need you to tell rusty.  ❜    the request drops very much like a bomb, no exaggeration here. he really was asking her to tell his best friend that he was still alive and breathing when that responsibility should fall all on his shoulders.   ❛   just at first!  ❜    danny adds quickly,    ❛    to soften the blow, y'know? it will be easier for him to hear it before seeing me, i think  ...   ❜  

❛   look, i'm not trying to say she was right, but it's tougher for me and deb  –––––   we got the crime genes.   ❜