by Dawn Doyle
“He knows better than to do shit without us watching his back,” Charlie said, taking the joint back.
We were still living with our fuck up—I was—but I’d taken advantage of a shitty situation, finding something I was good at; what I enjoyed. If Blaine continued on his path, though, the next time mightn’t turn out so well.
“He’s supposed to be smart about it.” I tapped my temple. “If he so much as attempts to boost anything, he’ll make sure he’s covered. The big hits are risky—he won’t go for them without planning it out first.”
Nate stared at me, his dark eyes unblinking. He was a weird guy sometimes, and right now was one of those. “No, he won’t, because if he does, and stupidly hits the cars he gets a major hard on for, I’m not going down for him.”
Charlie dropped his head, saying nothing, and Brady looked away.
“So, that’s it? You’re just gonna quit on him if he fucks up?” I asked, my voice raising.
“That’s not it,” Nate replied, his voice level and eerily calm. “You’re still fighting. Three years, Loosh, and you’re still going to that pit twice, sometimes three times a month.”
“Because I want to, Nate. You know I do.”
“Bullshit,” he ground out. “If we hadn’t got caught, if we hadn’t gone with his insane idea, where do you think we would be now?” I had no fucking idea where any of us would be. I wouldn’t be fighting in the pit; I wouldn’t be Larry’s bitch. It didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, though, just the situation that got me there, and that I was now stuck with no way out. “I’ll tell you, Lucian, we wouldn’t be sitting here, worrying what Blaine was getting up to like he was our responsibility.”
“Did I hear my name?” Blaine asked, walking in with a shit eating grin and dropping down next to Charlie. He took his joint, sucked a lungful and then blew the smoke out while sighing. “Man, that’s good shit.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” Nate growled.
“Chill out, Nathan. I’ve just been busy, God.” He sat back and rested his head on the cushion. “Just give me a moment to savor the tension in this room.”
Brady grabbed the cushion from the armchair and threw it at Blaine. “You dumb fuck, where’ve you been? Nate couldn’t get hold of you.”
Blaine threw the cushion back, then sat up. “Okay, I caved.” There was a collective groan around the room. “Whoa, it’s not bad! I picked up a cute little number, tight ass, great ride, got my gears turning just enough.”
“Hang on, you’re talking about a girl, right?” Charlie asked, taking back his joint and handing it off to Brady.
Blaine had the decency to look even a little ashamed. “No girl.”
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled. “Where is it now?” He pointed toward the door. “You brought it here?”
That wasn’t new. A particularly high risk hit needed to be off the road, and hiding it out in our garage when our parents were away with business meetings was the safest bet. All we had to do was make sure we weren’t spotted driving it up here. No cameras on the quiet road made that possible.
“It’s on the driveway,” Blaine said, following me when I got up off the couch. “There was no room at the inn for this baby.”
I yanked open the front door, and my stomach immediately fell out of my ass. I walked slowly down the steps, trying to take in what the hell Blaine had brought to our door, the churning in my gut increasing with every step.
“Where did you get this?” I asked, barely hearing my own voice.
Blaine had the fucking audacity to look proud of himself. “It was at the front of the parking lot at West Norton. I figured the owner could do with having this pretty lady taken off their hands for a day.”
I clenched my fists. “Open the door.”
Blaine dug into his pocket and took out a key fob. I didn’t know how the fuck he’d managed to make a copy, but I needed to make sure that he hadn’t just made one of the biggest fucking mistakes of his entire life. He pressed the button, and the door locks popped.
“She’s sweet, isn’t she?” he asked as I got in.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
The scent inside the car, mixed with the black cherry Yankee Candle freshener hanging from the rearview mirror… I got out and grabbed Blaine by his jacket.
“What the hell, Loosh?” he yelled, his eyes bulging and his face draining of color.
“Lucian, let him go,” Brady urged, gripping my shoulder.
“It’s Luca’s car!” I roared in Blaine’s face and he shook his head. “You stole Luca’s car, you fucking degenerate!”
“No, I…” His voice trailed off when he raised his hands.
I let go with one hand, balling it and raising my fist.
“No!” Brady yelled, grabbing my arm along with Nate. Charlie wrapped his arm around my neck and yanked back, the three of them trying to drag me off of Blaine.
“You stole Luca’s car!” I repeated, fighting off the others. “How fucking stupid can you be, Blaine?” I struggled, easily throwing Charlie from me, then swinging my arm, pulling away from Brady and Nate. I shoved Blaine to his ass on the stone path, and he landed with a thud. “Her dad’s a cop!” I threw my arms into the air. “He’ll be all over this, asshole. We don’t need any extra shit coming our way.” The four of them stared at me like I had five heads.
“Her dad’s a cop?” Brady asked. “And you’re only telling us this now?”
“It wasn’t important until this dickhead took her ride!” I bellowed, jabbing my hand toward Blaine, still sitting on the ground. “Get inside. We have to fix this shit now.”
I stood in the basement, eyeing the pool cue’s on the rack. I wanted to break one over Blaine’s head. Luca’s car, for fuck’s sake. My Luca! He was here when she was, did he not know what she was driving?
“Loosh, I had no idea,” Blaine said, looking sheepish. “Charlie’s car was out front, I didn’t see hers.” He walked carefully toward the back of the room. He was definitely smart about that. “I took off the plate and put my ringer on it. It won’t flag up.”
I spun around as the others gathered near him. “Her parents track her fucking phone. Her car won’t be any different.”
He glanced down, then back up. “I disabled it as usual once I got out of there,” he mumbled. “It’s not my first rodeo, cowboy.”
I rubbed my hands over my head and face. “Seriously? You’re making jokes right now? Blaine, I want to rip your goddamn head off, so if I were you, I’d shut the fuck up and listen to every fucking word I say.” I was like a raging bull every time he opened his mouth, and I had to be careful with my soaring temper or I would charge him.
“Shut the fuck up,” Charlie said to him between his teeth. “You’ve fucked up big time, Blaine.”
“Ya think? He may as well have gone right into a fucking dealership and drove through the fucking window!” I yelled, throwing my hand down.
“I just wanna say one thing,” Blaine said, holding his hand up like he was in class. “I didn’t have to go looking for signals, because the car was unlocked. I tried the handle first and it just opened.”
“Oh, so that makes it okay?” Nate asked walking away from Blaine’s side and sat down.
Here I was, ready to end him for stealing my girl’s car, but we’d supported him doing it to others for years. “When was it ever okay?” I asked. “You’re taking someone’s shit without their permission. I don’t care that you clean it, re-enable the tracker, and dump it, it has to stop.”
Blaine looked at me like I’d told him to give up sex. “You can’t be serious. Loosh, you know how it gets.”
“Then find a new fucking hobby!” I roared. “And if you ever get the need to boost another fucking car, don’t involve us anymore.”
His face fell, his brows dipping and sheer disappointment weighing on his hanging jaw. “Where did all this come from?” he whispered. “You guys have always had my back, and now you’re giving up on me? What happened?”
�
��You took Luca’s car,” I spat, turning away from him. “The one car you should never have laid your hands on, is sitting in our driveway. That’s what fucking happened.”
“How’s he gonna get out of this one?” Charlie asked, grabbing the stool and sitting next to me at the curved counter. “The usual?”
“Looks like it,” I huffed. “We’re gonna clean up for him because he can’t just go and put the car back all by himself.”
Charlie nodded. “Same old crap, huh? He takes it, and we have to help him send it home.”
“I vouched for him, and he pulls this shit.” I groaned, then rested my head down on the ice-cold granite. “Just an easy boost,” I snorted. “He pulls an easy boost without us and…” I couldn’t continue that sentence. I’d said it too many times it had lost all meaning.
“I kinda feel bad for all the times we helped him now.”
I lifted my head and eyed him. “I never thought about it until today.” It had been a rush, getting away clean from a hit, but it didn’t excuse what we were doing—what were helping Blaine to do.
“Yeah. Nate was right as per fucking usual.” He blew out a breath and then got up to get a soda from the fridge, bringing one back for me. I needed something stronger. “I’m just wondering what else he’s done without us.” When I paused, holding my soda still in front of my mouth, he continued. “He hasn’t asked me to search for details since we dug up info for Luca. I know he doesn’t for a simple boost, but it makes me wonder… If he did this by himself, what else has he done without us?”
“Lucian, can we talk?”
My hackles rose at the quiet, pathetic voice coming from the living room. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I replied, not bothering to turn around.
Charlie slapped his hand on my shoulder. “Sort this shit out before tomorrow.” I glanced up to see his stern expression. “Loosh, you know what can happen.”
Yeah, stupid fucking mistakes.
“I’m sorry,” Blaine said, walking around the other side of the counter. “I swear I didn’t know it was hers.” I stared at him while I drank the last of my soda. “I can’t undo my fuck up, but I can put it back tonight or tomorrow.”
I snorted. “Yeah, cos that’ll work.” I checked my watch and I cringed. “That’s too late, Blaine. School gets out in twenty.”
His head dropped as he lifted his wrist. “Damn it.” He made a move to leave.
“Take it back now” I demanded. “I’ll talk to Brady.” I got up and walked away from him while he apologized again.
I just hoped they weren’t too late.
Luca
The memories of last night invaded every single thought I’d had throughout the day. I’d woken up with a smile on my face, but a throbbing between my legs that made walking uncomfortable. I’d never thought being with Lucian would’ve been so good. I’d heard it hurt a lot and was probably one of the worst first experiences to go through, but he’d made mine unforgettable—perfect. He’d taken care of me, comforted me, and had been so gentle that I couldn’t help smiling widely as I walked through the halls or, carefully, sat in class. I couldn’t wait to see him again. He had something to take of for a couple of days, but he assured me that once he was done, he would come see me right away.
I was still thinking about how his hands had touched every part of me when it was time to go home. I met Paige at my locker, and headed out of the building, still floating.
I came crashing down when I got to my spot. “Where’s my car?” I looked around at the other cars moving out of their spaces.
“Your car?” Paige asked, looking confused.
“I parked it right here!” I screeched, gesturing to the big empty spot my car had been this morning. “I know I did.” I turned to Paige. “Did you see anybody hanging around when you left it?”
Paige shook her head, her ponytail swishing quickly. “No. I grabbed all of my stuff, then got out. The only people here were the other kids going inside the building.”
I’d picked up Paige for school, and just as I’d parked up in the only space that was left, she lifted her school bag the wrong way and the contents spilled out all over the floor. We were late enough already, so I handed her my keys and told her to give them to me during first period. That was the last time I’d seen my car. “Then where is it now?”
Paige shrugged. “Maybe Principal Davis has camera footage?”
I looked around, searching for any sign of the school’s security system. “There aren’t any cameras,” I whispered. “No fucking cameras!”
When I looked to Paige, she wouldn’t look at me. “What’s up? You look like you know something.”
“Oh, god I’m sorry,” she cried, covering her face with her hands.
“Paige? What did you do?”
She dropped her hands and tears were falling down her face. “I-I think… I don’t know if I locked it.” My jaw dropped. “I thought I did, but I don’t know. I was in such a rush, I pressed all of the buttons and heard a click.”
I cradled my head in my hands. “Oh my fucking god,” I whispered. I swung my school bag around to my front and looked inside to find my phone to log into my tracker app. I felt a blow to my stomach when the message came up on the screen. “No, this can’t be right. It says my tracker has been disabled.” How the hell could it be disabled? How would anybody know where to look for that kind of thing? My mom’s words came back to me, warning me of the thefts in the area.
Oh, fuck!
I had to make the difficult decision to call my dad. I walked away from Paige so I could talk to him in private. Before I could press his name in my contacts, I received a text from Lucian.
‘I can’t wait to see you.’
My heart leaped into my throat. How could I tell him what had happened?
I swept my fingers across the screen, then deleted everything. I pressed his name to call instead.
He answered after the first ring. “Hi, Luca.” His low voice in my ear caused tingles to run over my skin.
“Hi,” I replied.
“Are you okay, baby?”
I breathed out, ready to tell him what had happened. I turned around to lean against the low wall surrounding the lot. “Not really,” I replied as the bridge of my nose began to sting. Tears filled my eyes, but I swiped them away before they could fall.
“What’s the matter?”
“Lucian.” I put my hand over my mouth as a sob escaped my lips. “My car… It’s been stolen.” I couldn’t hold back the flood that erupted.
Paige walked over and opened her arms to hug me, but I put my hand up to stop her. “Don’t, Paige,” I warned. “Just don’t.”
“Luca, talk to me.”
I moved away from Paige so I could speak to him. We had to keep us quiet, and getting away from her right then was the best for everyone. “Paige didn’t lock my car, and somebody stole it,” I began. “She said she thought she did, but just pressed all of the buttons and thought it locked when she heard a click.”
“Have you called your dad?”
“No,” I said through my tears. “He’s going to be so mad, Lucian. They bought me that for my birthday.” I turned my head, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a movement behind the large tree where Lucian and I had talked the last time he showed up here. When whoever the people that were over there walked away, I saw a white car. “Hang on.” I walked over, doubt running through my mind as I wondered if I’d been mistaken—if while I was in my happy land, I’d forgotten where I’d parked. “It’s here.”
“Your car?”
I nodded more to myself. “Yeah, but it doesn’t make sense.” I looked behind to where I remembered parking, and back to where I was standing next to my car. “It wasn’t here. I never parked it here.” I took out my keys and pressed the fob, opening the door.
“I’m glad it’s there,” he said, breathing out in relief. “As soon as I can, I’m coming to see you.”
“You better.” I wanted to see him
now, not when whatever thing was going on dictated. I already knew what to expect when he showed up, and my stomach was in knots.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I was far from okay. “I’m fine,” I lied. I threw my school bag onto the back seat and waved for Paige to come over. “But I want to see you.”
“Baby, you won’t be able to keep me away. That’s part of our deal, right?”
“Right.” I smiled to myself, then got in the car as Paige walked around the other side.
“I have to go, but I’ll be thinking of you.”
“I’ll be thinking of you too.” I ended the call, then paused before putting it in the console.
“How did it get here?” Paige asked as she got in. “This isn’t where you left it.”
“I know,” I replied, then opened my app. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how the hell my tracker was online and showing my location. I wasn’t stupid, somebody in school had definitely messed with my car. I was going to find out who, and I knew somebody who could possibly get that information for me.
I dropped my phone into the center console and picked out a small plastic object, no bigger than a dime. It looked as though it had been broken off of something, the edge freshly snapped. I ran my finger over the rough line before putting it in my white jacket pocket, reminding myself to keep hold of it.
“Yeah,” my dad said as I headed toward the living room. “His name is due to be released to the public soon, but we don’t know how useful it’ll be. Our leads have come up empty.”
“Oh, John,” my mom sighed. “That poor boy. I hope, for his family’s sake, that something comes up soon.”
I stayed in the hallway and listened.
“That’s four guys just this year, Vi. I can’t discuss anything more, but their families need answers.”
“Hi,” I said, turning the corner into the room. “Um, I just wanted to tell you I was home and that I’m going to make a start on my homework before dinner.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” my mom said, smiling warmly. It didn’t meet her eyes as it usually did, though. “You have about two hours.”
“Cool.”
My dad walked over to me and kissed the top of my head as he always did. “You’re a good girl, Luca.”