“Um. Yeah. I was talking to these guys.” Lucas gestured over his shoulder.
Teddi pulled Lucas with her to stand near the three cops again. They were all leery of the group. Clearly, we were lying. Teddi must have seen what was going down and went to get help.
Match walked next to me, grabbing my arm. “Sorry we made him late. Ruffian, here, was meeting up with us. Catch you later.”
I didn’t say anything. The Cokes were going to kidnap my ass the second the cops were out of sight. Maybe even before.
I watched as Lucas whispered close to Teddi’s ear. She nodded.
“You can’t stay. Mom’s waiting for us. Right now.” She threw down the gauntlet. The Cokes weren’t trying to get involved with the police over this whole thing, but it was going to be a bad scene. All these damn years I’d managed to stay out of gang affairs, now I was taunting them. And snitching on them. And somehow sleeping with my brother’s sister at night—as far as these guys were concerned.
Teddi put her hand on the forearm of the cop nearest her. I watched him puff up his chest. Life was easy for a gorgeous girl. He wasn’t leaving until she was satisfied with the outcome.
There was a standoff between Match, the other Cokes, Teddi, Lucas, and the cops for a few beats. And then her stubbornness won out. Match squeezed as hard as he could and then released me, pushing me in her direction.
Teddi held her hand out to me, and I took it because I didn’t have a lot of choices. She was saving the day and starting a war she knew nothing about. As soon as the cops were gone, these guys would descend on all of us.
“Sir, I’m a new driver and I have my Mercedes over there, and I couldn’t merge. Can you help me get into traffic?”
And just like that, we had a police escort. The other two cops stayed with the Cokes so they didn’t follow us back to the car. It was literally right where I had gotten out, hazard lights on.
The cop shook his head but waited while we got into Austin’s car and then directed traffic briefly for Teddi to pull out.
She rolled down the window and gave him a blinding smile. “You’re the best. Thank you so much, sir!”
Lucas sat in the passenger seat. I was jammed in the back of the car, which I was pretty sure wasn’t really meant for a full-size human.
We were getting away and I wasn’t sure how Teddi managed it.
Chapter 13
TEDDI
I FOLLOWED TRAFFIC. The easiest way was the best way as far as I was concerned.
“Hi, I’m Teddi.” I figured it was time to formally introduce myself to my new traveling companion.
“I’m Lucas.” He put out his hand and I shook it at the stoplight. Ruffian was looking all around and seemed to be hugging his long legs.
“You guys okay?” My hands were shaking a bit, but cheer had forced me to learn how to perform even when I was nervous.
I turned two times before inquiring, “So where are we headed?”
I was the driver, but either Ruffian or Lucas was going to have to help me along.
Ruffian tapped my left shoulder. “Try the next public parking. We’re far enough now that they shouldn’t be able to find us.”
The car behind me honked a few times because I turned so quickly. The actual parking lot was mostly crumbling asphalt and potholes, but I managed to park Austin’s car in a fairly even looking spot.
“So Grandma/Mom is in the hospital? Or the shelter?” Ruffian readjusted himself in the teeny backseat.
“She went to St. Andrea’s like we usually do, and someone complained about me.” Lucas was winding the hem of his shirt around his finger.
“Yeah, they’re picky. I knew a few kids that aged out of that place. So why did you leave? Didn’t Grandma/Mom tell you to stay just outside?”
Ruffian obviously knew Lucas’ situation really well.
“They told me she went to the hospital and that I couldn’t loiter. Whatever that meant. So I started walking. I was looking around for someone to hang with. Because you’re gone and no one really knows what to do because your mom died and she always had a plan.” Lucas turned his head and focused on Ruffian. “Do you think Grandma/Mom is gonna die?”
“No, man. Grandma/Mom has been around for a million years, and she’ll be around for a million more.” Ruffian leaned forward and patted Lucas’ bicep. “Let’s see what we can find out at the hospital.”
“Can I just leave the car here?” I was going with. I was invested now. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t going to be able to settle my mind until I saw that Lucas was safe from the guys that were taunting him.
“Yeah. They don’t ticket this lot too heavily. And we know the meter reader pretty well.” Ruffian leaned forward and snaked his arm around Lucas so he could free the passenger door latch. “Head out, big guy.”
Lucas got out of the car and helped me push the passenger seat forward enough to let Ruffian out. I really hated the backseat of the sports car. I used the key fob to lock the doors with an obnoxious honk honk.
“They take her to Midiville Regional?” Ruffian leaned closer to Lucas.
“I don’t remember what hospital they said. Did they tell me a phone number? I think they told me that.” Lucas seemed upset with himself for not remembering.
“Don’t worry, it sounds like it was pretty stressful.” I looked around the area. I didn’t recognize it at all. We were on a side street walled in by two huge skyscrapers.
Ruffian began walking and motioned for Lucas and I to follow him. His long legs set a fast pace, leaving us to walk side by side.
“Was your grandma/mom feeling okay before she went into the shelter?” The unusual moniker for the woman rolled off Ruffian and Lucas’ tongue so quickly, I decided I didn’t have to press for any explanations about it today.
“She had a sour stomach. Was drinking some Mylanta that we had.” Lucas put his hands into his pockets.
Ruffian waited for us before he stepped into the crosswalk. “Here we go. This is where I think they would have taken her. Let’s check it out.”
For all of Ruffian’s pick-up lines, I was surprised to see him so gentle with Lucas. His flirting with me was definitely on the back burner. It was impressive.
Ruffian strode in the lobby, and again Lucas and I hung back. I took the opportunity to try to find out some more about Ruffian.
“How long since his mom passed away?” We stood near a pack of orange waiting room chairs.
“I don’t know. It was the start of the season. Everybody cried a lot. She was a really nice lady.” Lucas rocked from his toes to his heels and back again.
Ruffian thanked the receptionist and his voice carried. Then he made his way back over to us. “She’s here and she’s okay. They said you can visit her, no problem. We’ll wait here. Come out and tell us if you need anything.” Ruffian put his arm around Lucas’ shoulders and helped him in the right direction.
After Lucas disappeared with the nurse, Ruffian stepped next to me.
“You’re welcome.” I offered him the platitudes even without the gratefulness.
“Wow. You expect a lot. I had that whole scene figured out. You should have gone home.” Ruffian looked down his nose at me.
“Um, the way it seemed to me, you were getting your assed kicked and Lucas was next in line.” I folded my arms in front of my chest. I didn’t expect to have it out with him. This lift to the city had really taken a turn.
“How many gang fights have you been in?” He tilted his body to look for Lucas.
“That was a gang?” All I had noticed was the trouble.
“No, it was a gathering of like-minded young men that have a mutual favorite color and agreed I needed my ass kicked.”
Lucas’ return to the hallway quieted us both down.
“How is she?” Ruffian held his hand out, palm up with his question.
Lucas looked over his shoulder and came close to Ruffian, though I could still hear their conversion. “She’s okay. Was trying to get the shelter to let me in
by saying she wasn’t feeling good. But instead of letting me in, they brought her here. Now we got the bills.”
Lucas looked incredibly spooked.
“It’s okay, L. You know we’ll work it out somehow.” Ruffian gently touched Lucas’ shoulder. “Is she allowed to come home?”
“They have to let her out.” He was wringing his hands.
“I got you. Lucas, can you wait with Teddi outside? Keep a lookout for the guys that started with us in the park. I don’t think they’ll be here, but just to be safe. Okay?”
I watched as Ruffian turned and walked through the hallway like he had every right to be there. He rolled a wheelchair from an alcove.
“We gotta go if Ruff said to go.” Lucas took my hand.
“Okay. But what’s he going to do?” I glanced over my shoulder. Ruffian was now wheeling the chair, wearing a scrub shirt.
Dicey stuff was going to happen, but Lucas was not going to let me watch. We were outside in no time.
“We miss Ruff.” Lucas was keeping true to Ruffian’s request, checking the area for bad people.
“Who is we?” I wanted to understand the dynamics here. Was Lucas family?
“Home. We miss him. He’s got a big plan, though. He told me not to tell people, so I won’t.”
“The plan to get a wheelchair and a scrub top?”
As if I’d said something hilarious, Lucas burst out laughing. “If you think that’s a big deal. Wow.”
I didn’t get to ask anything else because Ruffian’s entire pair of scrubs and an older woman in the wheelchair moved past us like they were on a mission.
She patted his hand as they went by.
“There we go.” Lucas touched my elbow and I followed him. As they walked away, Ruffian shed the scrubs, hanging them on signs and a light post, and eventually he helped who I was assuming was Lucas’ grandmother out of the wheelchair. He thoughtfully set the wheelchair’s brake so it would not roll into traffic. He held out an elbow to the woman while comforting her.
“Grandma/Mom, you sure you’re up for this?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just looking for an out for Lucas and me so we can stay together. But I messed up.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Lucas.
“I told you to give me a call. You know how to get me.” Ruffian hit the crosswalk button and we all waited.
“Did we just bust Grandma/Mom out of the hospital against medical advice?” I held up my index finger.
“We helped a friend out of a building. That’s how it was intended.” Ruffian took a step into the crosswalk when the sign clicked to a blinking walking man.
Grandma/Mom did indeed seem just fine. She was keeping up with Ruffian’s fairly brisk pace. When we got to the bus stop, Lucas and I caught up. I’d noticed Ruffian speaking close to Grandma/Mom’s ear, and they had clearly come to some sort of arrangement.
Ruffian reached into the pocket of his jeans and slipped money to Grandma/Mom. “This will get you there. I’m going to make a few visits, and I’ll see you tonight.”
He walked closer to me and gave Lucas a handshake they had clearly practiced before. “You guys are gonna head to Ropert’s Place for now.”
“Oh, man. I hate it there.” Lucas kicked the sideway.
“Just for tonight, okay? We’ll look into a few things and see what we can do. They might have a spot at the hotel, too.” Ruffian gently punched Lucas’ upper arm. “Thanks for going easy on those guys for me. We can’t go full hulk on randos.”
And that brought out the smile he was pressing for. Ruffian returned Lucas’ smile. I happened to catch Grandma/Mom’s expression as she watched their interaction. I recognized it from my work with the Me Party crew. Grandma/Mom was hanging on by the thin thread of hope, prayer, and determination. Physically, she was fine, but mentally, she was concerned. Deeply concerned.
The bus pulled up and Ruffian put his tall body in the way so that Lucas and Grandma/Mom could get on without being jostled.
After they were sitting, Ruffian scanned the area again. Watchful. He was in his element in the city here. The things that made it slightly disoriented for me seemed like they synched up with his very being.
When the bus pulled away, he finally addressed me, “Let’s get the car. You have to go back home.”
“You mean we have to go home? Right?” I double-timed my steps to keep up with him.
“I’ve got stuff to handle before I can go back. They need security while I’m away.” Then he mumbled, but I still caught it, “Why I thought I could leave, I don’t know.”
I found myself speaking up for him, “You found out you had a brother and you wanted to meet him. That’s not a bad thing.”
He turned, stopping the foot traffic where it was. He put his hand on my shoulder, which forced the others on the crowded sidewalk to go around us. “If I hadn’t been here, Luke would’ve been alone. What the hell else has happened since I’ve been gone?”
This was a different side of this guy. Up at the house, he seemed so carefree and full of trouble. Here, he had the demeanor of a principal with a bat.
Ruffian shook his head and resumed his stalking on the concrete.
He ran his hand through his hair a few times. I wasn’t sure where this was on his spectrum of things he had to do today. There was no way he could have planned running into Lucas, as far as I could tell. He didn’t have a phone and neither did Lucas—that I saw anyway.
This place was comfortable to him. He could be distracted and still navigate the sidewalk back to the parking lot. We made it back to the car. It was fine. It unlocked when I stood close to it. He opened the driver’s side door and waited for me to get in.
I stood there instead. “What’s going on here? How are you getting home?”
He pinned me with his deep eyes. “This is home. The rest?” He waved a hand in what I assumed was the direction of my house. “Was a mistake.”
I felt oddly pinged by hurt. I blamed the look Grandma/Mom had given him at the bus stop. Since I’d started with my group, I chased that feeling. That approval that the universe and the people in it knew you were moving in the right direction.
Something he was doing here was the right thing.
“Where are they going to stay tonight?” I needed more information before I could leave him here.
“Ropert’s Place.” He lifted his eyebrows like that should explain everything for me.
“Is that like a hotel, a chain or something I’ve never heard of?” I fondled the keys to Austin’s car.
“Ropert’s Place helps kids with special needs. Technically, Lucas has aged out of that as well, but they love him there and will find a place for them tonight. Then I need to figure out something else. See if the community is set up somewhere, see if one of my friends is around to keep tabs on them.”
This guy had his backpack and no phone. “Where will you stay?”
His gaze flitted to my mouth like I’d said something surprising. His lips slid to one side before responding, “No worries, Princess Pants. I can take care of myself.”
I was reluctant to get into the vehicle. I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out of my back pocket.
Where in Lort’s name R U? This tracking app can’t even find a road name.
Austin was not happy. I pounded out a quick reply.
R U worried about the car or me?
I looked back at Ruffian. “I’ve got to get someplace. And I want you out of here.”
“Wow. Sorry.” Maybe I was wrong about this harsh guy.
“Not trying to be rude, but the Cokes will be looking for us. You need to get this car out of here.” He tapped the doorframe.
“Hey, I don’t want to leave you without a way back.” I tossed my jacket into the car.
He switched, putting on a huge, condescending smile. “Is that the real reason? Or are you just gonna miss all this pretty next to you for the ride?” He grabbed his chin.
“If I need pretty, I’ll look in the mirror. All I kn
ow is you’re Gaze’s brother and I don’t just ditch family. So you’re going to have to give me more than a vague answer.” I crossed my arms and glared at him.
I was a little nervous about navigating out of the city without Ruffian. And the whole reason we had actually come was escaping me, even though it was nice to help Lucas.
“I have to pick some stuff up. Then I’ll get on a bus.” He patted the doorframe again like he was hurrying me along.
“I’ll come with you. Or do you want to send me out of the city in a car marked by the Cokes?” I was taking a wild guess. I wasn’t even sure that was a thing.
He looked left and then right before blowing his hair out of his eyes. “Fine. Fine. We’ll go together. But we’ll leave the car here.”
I reached back into the car and grabbed my stuff, hitting the lock button. When I was looking at him expectedly, he hesitated.
“What?”
“You’re just going to see stuff. Maybe some stuff you’re not ready for, is all I’m saying.” He waited for me to move out of the way and slammed the door.
“Maybe you have no idea what I’m ready for.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
Chapter 14
RUFFIAN
THIS WAS GETTING to be too much. I wasn’t planning on getting back to the Burathons’ house until I was good and ready. I was having doubts that I could do this at all. Leave the community to fend for themselves. Help keep the community together without my mom. Become a part of Gaze’s life so I could pull off a huge heist.
I started walking with Teddi trailing after me, poking a message into her phone. All the reasons I was sure that getting wads of money to help Lucas, to help Grandma/Mom and everyone else that desperately needed it were rearing up at me.
This was what we did. Mom and me. We patched this existence together. We fixed things day by day. Case by case. If we could. I threaded my fingers behind my neck. I didn’t want Lucas to get forced out of shelters, and he didn’t do well away from Grandma/Mom. She needed to be off the streets. Sure, she was tough, but this lifestyle wasn’t kind to the older crowd. They needed something reliable. They needed dental care and a doctor to keep track of their meds. I felt tears coming to my eyes with the weight of it all. I blinked them away.
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