"Who's out to get you?" La Bamba asks.
"Every-freaking-body, dude," Des says before I can reply. "We just had a guy with a sniper rifle taking pot shots at us."
That shuts them up for a moment. Then they all start talking at once.
"Seriously?"
"Did you get the guy?"
"Did you beat the crap out of him?"
"Either of you get hit?"
"Where was this?" Tomás says and everybody falls quiet again.
"We were just coming out of Riversea," I tell him. "On the west side of the barrio. We think it was one of the guys from Black Key Securities."
Tomás looks confused. "Okay, I know that you have some history with them, but why would they want to shoot you?"
"Someone's been killing the guys who kidnapped me. And they're making it look like it was done by a Wildling." I shake my head. "Maybe it was done by some Wildling, but I can't begin to figure out why."
"I hadn't heard that particular detail," Tomás says, looking a little peeved at being left out of the loop. "And it makes even less sense."
"Come on," Eddie says. "It makes perfect sense. Someone's trying to frame Josh."
Chuy nods sagely.
"Where did you hear about the Wildling connection?" Tomás asks.
"From the cops," I tell him. He gets that puzzled look again, so I add, "The Feds."
"Of course. You mean Agent Solana—the little pet of los tíos."
I feel the need to defend Solana.
"You shouldn't call him that," I say. "He's a good guy."
"And you know this because?"
I look Tomás straight in the eye. "Because I know him a hell of a lot better than I know you."
"Yet I was there to help with your rescue from ValentiCorp. Where was Agent Solana then?"
"Dude!" Des says. "You so bailed. You never even went into the building."
Tomás glares at him.
"And Solana was doing his job," I say. "With the limited information he had. Plus he's saved my ass any number of times since then."
"Yeah," Des says. "Who do you think chased off the sniper?"
Tomás nods. "I stand corrected. Brian," he adds, talking to the driver. "When we get to the parking lot at Tiki Bay, slow down, but don't pull in. We'll go a little farther down the road and work our way back on foot to make sure there aren't any more of these Black Key snipers lying in wait for us."
"How would they even know I'm going there?" I ask. "I just found out myself, an hour or so ago."
"How did they know to find you in the barrio?" Tomás asks.
Then he turns around to look out the windshield. Someone taps my shoulder and I turn to see it's La Bamba.
"So I hear you've got a surf band," he says.
I nod. "Yeah, we do surf and spy music. A few hot rod tunes."
"Cool. We should jam sometime."
I glance at Des and notice that Joanie's got a hand on his thigh. This whole experience might be the most surreal thing that's happened to me yet. We're riding in a freaking van with The Wild Surf. La Bamba wants to jam with us.
"So these pheromones," I say to Joanie. "How do they work?"
"You mean the ones like you're kicking out right now?"
"I am? I mean, I don't even know that I'm doing it."
She licks her lips and smiles. "Well, they sure taste sweet."
"How do I stop doing it? Is it the same as our other heightened senses?"
She shrugs.
Chuy nods. "Yeah, you just tone it down like you do with your other senses."
"So you all do it?"
Maybe that's contributed to why they're so popular—at least along the southern coast. Pheromones aren't something that would translate well on recordings or videos. But live and on stage? That'd be a whole different story. Except Chuy shakes his head.
"No, it's only Joanie."
"Do any of you have this kind of GPS tracker thing in your head?"
"What do you mean?"
"You sort of have a mental map of everything around you and you can tell where various people and animals and things are."
Chuy's shaking his head as Tomás turns around again.
"When did this start?" he asks. His voice is a little sharp.
"This afternoon."
"That sounds handy," Eddie says. "Hey, Tomás, when do we get ours?"
Tomás shakes his head. "That's only reserved for …" His voice trails off, then he quickly adds, "I don't know. It's different for everybody."
Except I can tell he doesn't think so.
"You ever cover any of our songs?" La Bamba asks.
As I turn in my seat to answer, Des's phone rings. He starts to reach for it, but Joanie lays her hand over his.
"You're going to talk on the phone," she says, "when you should be concentrating on me?"
It's obviously no contest. Des presses the button to kill the ring.
"Because," La Bamba goes on, as if there was no interruption, "I've always wanted to do the twin guitar thing live on tracks like 'Poppin' or 'Gimme Gimme.'"
Neither Des nor I have a chance to comment because just then we come up on the Tiki Bay parking lot. Brian slows the van down and we all look out the window. There's only a few cars there, including a Woodie like the one I saw that night when Elzie and I were down this way.
I feel a little guilty pang when I think of her and how I was drooling all over Joanie just before we got into the van. Sure, we split up a couple of weeks ago, but still. And then there's this odd thing I felt after Ampora kissed me. That's even weirder.
"Looks normal," Chuy says. "You can't expect the lot to be totally deserted."
"Yeah, it's probably just some surfers," Brian says.
Tomás nods. "But let's be safe. Keep driving until we get around that headland. You can let Josh and me off and then make your turn. The rest of you can wait for us in the parking lot."
"Des is coming with us," I say.
Tomás frowns and shakes his head. "This is cousin business."
"Then you're doing it on your own."
He gives me a hard look, but I hold his gaze until he's the one who looks away.
"Fine," he says. "Pull over here, Brian."
"You're really going to leave?" Joanie whines, looking all doe-eyed at Des. "We're just starting to get to know each other."
"Hold that thought," Des says, as he lifts her hand from his thigh and kisses it.
Brian pulls over to the shoulder and the three of us get out. I look back into the van before I slide the door closed. Chuy gives me a thumbs-up. Eddie nods. La Bamba makes a gun with his hand and pretends to shoot it.
"Give 'em hell, kid," he says.
Joanie pouts.
Then the door slides closed and the van pulls back onto the highway.
Marina
I take a shower as soon as I get back home, then go find Mamá. She's still in the kitchen making dinner. My stepdad, Jim, is in the dining room reading the news on his iPad while waiting for supper to be ready.
"Did the surfing help?" Mamá asks.
I nod. "A little."
I talk about the waves—the ones I missed, the couple I caught. She doesn't really know anything about surfing, but she likes to listen to my enthusiasm. When my cell rings, I pretend it's my stepmother, Elena, instead of who it really is: Theo.
"It's Elena," I tell Mamá. "Is it okay if I go over and babysit the girls?"
"Right now?"
I nod.
"It seems very short notice."
"Something came up. It's only until Ampora gets home."
Mamá gives me a worried look. "Is that really such a good idea?"
I know she's thinking about the conversation we had earlier, and it's obvious she doesn't think Ampora and I should be together with no one else around to referee, except for our little stepsisters.
"It'll be okay," I say.
"Have you done your homework?" Jim calls from the dining room.
"Of course."
"Then let her go, Nita."
Mamá nods. "All right. How late will you be?"
I repeat the question into the phone.
"She says not long," I lie. Then I add into the phone, "I'll be right over."
Five minutes later, Jim is driving me over to Papá's house. I get him to let me off at the corner store to buy some treats for the girls and tell him he doesn't have to wait. He hesitates, but we're close to Papá's house. I know he gets uncomfortable around Papá and Elena, so he's probably happy for the excuse not to run into either of them.
"Be careful," he says.
He thinks the barrio is a scary place, but it's not even dark yet. I may live on the other side of town, but this neighbourhood will always be my home. But I keep that thought to myself.
"I will," I say. "Thanks for the ride, Jim."
I give him a kiss on the cheek and I'm out the door before he can change his mind. He watches me go into the store, where I buy each of the girls a package of gummi bears. I watch him from inside as I'm paying. I wait until he turns the car around and heads back home before I step back outside and call Ampora.
Theo told me: you don't do this over the phone. You do it in her face and you don't give her the chance to say no.
I practice with this phone call.
"Meet me in the park," I tell her when she answers. "Right now."
"Why the hell would I—"
"Just do it," I say and I hang up.
I'm sitting on a swing when she comes storming into the playground area, her face dark with anger.
"Here's how it's going to work," I say before she gets a chance to talk.
But she barrels right over what I'm about to say. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you in the face."
The unfamiliar temper that's been plaguing me all day has me on my feet and I'm about to take a swing at her myself before I manage to rein it in. I take a steadying breath.
"I need you to cover for me in case Mamá calls," I tell her.
She laughs. "Like that's ever going to happen."
"And if she does call," I go on, "just tell her that we're talking things out and I'll be home later."
"Seriously, have you been smoking loco weed?"
"If you don't," I tell her. "If you screw me over, Papá's going to find out just how sweet a daughter you really are, starting with everything that happened today."
"You wouldn't."
"I will if you don't cover for me."
Her eyes are still flashing with anger, but now her curiosity wins over.
"What are you planning to do?"
"It's none of your business."
She smiles—that mean smile of hers that she has down to an art and throws at me every day at school.
"Either you tell me," she says, "or I won't cover for you."
I hesitate. Theo told me that if I try to explain myself it'll just show weakness, but as crappy as she treats me, she's still my sister. Once upon a time, we were best friends and I'd love to get that back again. But it's not going to happen if I stoop down to her level of meanness.
"It's just to clean up a few loose ends from what happened today," I tell her.
"You mean gang stuff."
My good intentions wash away and I feel like hitting her again.
"Gang stuff that you put in motion."
"Hey, those losers think they can waltz into this park and set up shop, they—"
I stop her with a raised hand. I take another breath and let it out while I try to ignore the way she's glaring at me.
"I get it," I tell her. "I agree. I think you were brave to do what you did." Stupid, but brave, but I don't say that out loud. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. There aren't many people who would step up like that."
That seems to take her off guard.
"You really think that?" she says.
I nod. "I really do."
"So this has to do with Josh and what happened today?"
I nod again.
"Then I'm coming," she says.
"What? Why would you come?"
And then she actually looks away and blushes. I don't think I've ever seen Ampora blush.
"It's just," she says, "you know … after he helped me …"
Oh my God.
"You're interested in him?" I say.
She tries to shrug it off. "He's a nice guy. Why are you so surprised? You pined over him for years."
"I guess I did."
"But not anymore, right? That's what you said."
I'm having so much trouble processing this. My sister and Josh?
"Does he—know that you're interested in him?"
"I think so. That's why I have to come."
"Will you just trust me in this?" I ask. "The most help you can be right now is to cover for me."
"What can you do that I can't?"
"I'm going to a … meeting, I guess you could call it. But it's private. You're not invited and if I show up with you, the whole thing could get called off. We can't let that happen because it took a long time to set it up."
She studies me for a long moment.
"Just what are you really into?" she finally asks.
"Maybe I can tell you all about it one day. But not now."
Except she's not ready to let it go. "Does this have anything to do with Wildlings?"
I can't hide my shock. What does she know?
"Why—why would you ask that?" I manage to say. "You don't even believe they're real."
"I do now. Josh showed me."
Can this day get any stranger? Ampora crushing on Josh. Josh telling her—showing her?—he's a Wildling. Is there anybody he hasn't told?
"And just like that, you're okay with it?"
I see a moment of vulnerability in her eyes.
"I don't know. All I know is what I saw."
"But what about the government conspiracies and all that stuff you're always on about?"
"I guess I was wrong." she says.
"Do I even know you anymore?"
"I could ask you the same thing. What secrets are you hiding?"
"They're not mine to share."
"But Josh already told me he's a Wildling."
I nod. "Okay then, since he's your big confidant, ask him about secrets." Then, before she asks me anything else, I pull the packages of gummi bears from my pocket and add, "These are for the girls."
"Okay."
"So you'll cover for me?"
"Sure. But this doesn't mean I like you any better."
I smile. "You're going to need to work on that if you plan to be hanging with Josh."
I walk away as she thinks about that. As soon as I turn the corner I call Theo.
"So how did it go?" he asks me a short while later, as I get onto the back of his bike.
"Fine. It was … interesting."
He turns to look at me. "Interesting how?"
"I think she's crushing on Josh."
Theo's brows go up. "Well, I can understand the basic attraction. That is, if he's crushing on her."
"Oh, really?"
"Sure. There's good genes in your family."
I smile. "Good recovery."
"Nothing to recover from," he says, his eyes earnest. "You need to understand that you're the one for me, nobody else."
I wish we could just stay in this moment, but I have to tell him the rest.
"Plus she knows he's a Wildling," I say. "Josh told her."
"Tell me you're joking."
"I wish. She says he showed her."
Theo starts to say something, then shakes his head.
"I'm going to assume he knows what he's doing," he says.
He gives me a kiss, then turns around and starts the bike. I wrap my arms around his waist and press my cheek into his back.
The world's turning upside down, but at least I've got this.
We've got this.
Halfway to Tiki Bay Theo suddenly pulls over to the side of the road.
"Why are we
stopping?" I ask.
Theo shakes his head. "I'm so stupid."
"What? Why are you stupid?"
I get off the bike so I can see his face.
"I didn't put it together," he says.
He looks so fierce I could be afraid of him, except I know in my heart that he'd never hurt me. I put my hand on his arm.
"Theo, tell me what's wrong."
"Tiki Bay is what's wrong. That's where Vincenzo killed Lenny."
A chill runs up my spine.
"Exactly," Theo says, reading my face. "This feels like a set-up. I'm already jumpy because there's been no sign of Vincenzo for a while."
"But I thought it was Auntie Min and Cory who picked the location. I can't see either of them betraying Josh."
"What do we really know about them?" he says. "All I know for sure is that they've been keeping things from us. That's a given."
I find myself nodding. What little interaction I've had with either has been frustrating. They only ever tell us so much.
"Do you think Vincenzo's working with the elders?" I ask.
"Honestly? I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground anymore."
I can't help it. That makes me laugh. Theo smiles and I can feel his tension ebb.
"But we have to keep going," I say. "If it is a trap, Josh is already on his way."
He nods. "I'll call Des. Josh hasn't got his phone with him. But we have to be careful. I …"
He lets the word just hang there.
"You what?" I ask.
"Okay, you can get mad at me, but I wish you weren't here. If anything happens to you …"
I smile. "Actually, I find that sweet. But I'm a tough surfer chick. You don't have to worry about me."
"I know you're tough. But I'm still going to worry."
Josh
"Okay, that was weird," Des says once the van pulls away.
"You mean getting a ride from The Wild Surf," I say, "or having Joanie Jones fawning all over you?"
"Both. Dude, what is wrong with that woman?"
"I would have thought you'd be loving it."
He nods. "So would I—if you'd asked me anytime before today. Now? Not so much. And I don't get it. Why is she into me? I'm not putting out the pheromones or anything."
"I get the feeling she just likes to hook guys in for the fun of it."
Over My Head Page 23