by Liana Brooks
“Right.” She twisted and a bright red car parked beside the gas station caught her eye. The number plate read JACOB-1.
“AJ?”
She buckled herself in. “It’s nothing.” Red cars were a dime a dozen in L.A. and there had to be hundreds of Jacobs.
The car merged stealthily onto the highway. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Hundreds of Jacobs. Especially after Twilight. “Hmm? No, not really.” She shook her head, then sighed. “I’m sorry. That was rude. It’s been a long day. I died. It was a surreal experience. And now this. I’m tired, and worried, and things aren’t going the way I want. If I start talking I’ll start babbling. I’m already babbling. You don’t want that.”
They were silent as the miles vanished under wheels far quieter than Angela’s thoughts until Tyler finally said, “Are you going to give me an address or am I supposed to guess where we’re going?”
“Oh! Sorry. Next exit and make a left.”
“That’s not the high-rent district.”
Angela shrugged. “I didn’t have a job when I moved in.”
“You could afford somewhere safer now,” Tyler pointed out. “You have a job.”
She glanced at the clock: 12:13. Stop talking, drive faster. “No I don’t. My contract expired at midnight. I’m currently unemployed.”
Tyler’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me. Geoff can’t possibly be planning to kill you off! Pacifica is the best character.”
Angela shifted in her seat. “Why do people keep saying that? I have no lines. I stand around like the world’s awkwardest lingerie model.”
“But your faces! You’re so expressive.” When she looked over Ty was smiling, one of his full-blown, panty-dropping, forget-you-have-a-lover smiles that made him oh-so-popular.
She turned away as soon as she realized she was smiling back. “It doesn’t matter. Acting was fun for a bit, but it’s not what I came to L.A. to do. Next right.” She pointed to the street.
Ty turned on the blinker and slowed. “What did you come here for?”
“To teach. The only reason Luiz hired me was because she couldn’t afford a tutor out of pocket.”
“Because tutoring and acting are very similar skill sets?”
Angela sniffed. “I haven’t been acting. Standing around in a white catsuit doesn’t take any skill.”
“Making it look anything other than ridiculous does.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do you watch Fractured?”
“It’s allowed. Don’t you?”
Angela quirked an eyebrow. “I already know what’s going to happen. Why would I watch it? A left here and then stop by the second streetlamp.”
“The dark streetlamp?”
“Yes.”
Tyler brought the car to a stop beside the curb. “This really is not the best area for you to be living in.”
“It’s a poor working-class neighborhood; that doesn’t mean everyone here is a criminal.” She glowered at her bag as she made sure everything was in it. “What do I owe you for gas money?”
“Consider it payment for the cupcake.”
“You remember that? You didn’t even acknowledge me!”
“I was distracted. Sorry.”
He managed to look faintly uncomfortable, but Angela hmphed disdainfully and pulled a twenty out of her wallet. She tossed it on the dashboard. “Thank you for the ride.”
“Which window is yours?” Ty asked as she got out.
“Why?”
“So I know you got in safe. There are open hallways and... Listen, humor me. Please?”
Angela’s lips twitched in a grimace of surrender. “Second window on the left. I’ll turn it on when I get in.” She tried not to slam the door; it still closed with a satisfying thud. It figured that the one time she wanted a superhero to come to her rescue Arktos was nowhere in sight.
She took the concrete stairs two at a time and ran headlong into Mia.
“AJ!” Mia grabbed her arm and dragged her down toward the street. “We need to go.”
Relief washed briefly over Angela as she realized Mia was okay. “Why aren’t you asleep?” she asked as she shifted her backpack to the other shoulder.
“Aaron’s stuck on the highway. The bike ran out of gas, and I’ve got to help him. He’s trying to push it but it’s uphill. I can’t call my mom, she’d kill me! But you can take me, right? All we need to do is go on your bike, get Aaron some gas, and take it back so he can get home.”
Angela bit her lip as she counted to ten. “Mia, does Aaron have a driver’s license? Any driver’s license?”
“Um...no?” Mia’s eyes went wide. “Come on, AJ! He’s got to get home before his brother does or his brother’ll kill him! That’s brothercide or something.”
“Fratricide.” Her eyes strayed to the street to where Tyler was still parked. On cue, the window rolled down. “Give me a minute,” she muttered to Mia. Putting on her brightest smile and radiating a desire for goodwill and agreement, she strolled up to Ty’s car. “Hi.”
“Hi.” His smile was warm with no hint of mocking. “Did you forget your key?”
“No, I didn’t make it as far as my door. There’s a little problem. Mia’s boyfriend ran out of gas on the highway and he needs a rescue. Do you think you could possibly, pretty please, drive us over there? I promised Luiz I’d take care of Mia until she got home, and I owe Aaron’s big brother for giving me a ride to the airport.”
Tyler stared down at the steering wheel for a long moment and then shrugged. “Sure. My sleep schedule’s shot anyway. Hop on in.”
“Thank you.” She opened the door and motioned for Mia to get in the back seat.
Mia climbed in, settled down, and then stared. “AJ?” she asked in a stage whisper. “Is that—”
“Al Capone? Yes he is.”
Tyler shot her an amused smile. “I always thought of myself more as the Elliot Ness type.”
“What, you’re untouchable?” Angela asked as she buckled in.
He winked at her. “You can touch me all you want.”
Angela gasped in mock horror. “Mister Running Fox, there is a child in the car!”
“I’m fifteen!” Mia protested.
“Fifteen and about to be grounded for life if your mother ever finds out about this little escapade.” Angela glared at Mia. “Please tell me that you didn’t do anything that will result in a baby in nine months.”
“Ohmigosh! AJ! No! Aaron just came over to hang out. We watched a movie.”
Angela raised an eyebrow.
Mia blushed, and then tossed her hair nonchalantly. “We might have made out a little. But that was it! I swear! We kept our clothes on the whole time.”
Tyler made a noncommittal noise. “I can think of a couple of loopholes that would—”
Angela hit his shoulder. “Don’t give the teenager ideas.”
He hit back with a smoldering gaze. “Can I give you ideas?”
Angela gave him a steely glare. “Not this late at night and not when I’m this tense.”
His face melted into concern. “Do you want me to turn the heater on the seat up again?”
She snuggled back into the leather. “Yes, please. Mia, what exit is Aaron at?”
“He said he can see the gas station with the green sign.”
“Two miles,” Angela translated. She leaned her head back and texted Luiz to let her know Mia was all right. The whole boyfriend on a stolen motorcycle bit could wait for morning.
The car accelerated with barely a sound. “There’s water in the glove box,” Tyler said quietly.
She popped it open without a second thought. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay, AJ?” Mia asked, leaning forward.
“It was a long day. No big. How’d your math test go?”
“I didn’t get a hundred, but only because I didn’t show all the steps on the last problem. Mr. Marshall doesn’t like it when you combine steps.” She gasped. “There he is! On the righ
t!”
Angela swatted Mia’s arm down.
Tyler flipped on the four-way flashers as he pulled over.
Angela waited for the car to stop before she hopped out, but only because Mia was in the car and she wanted to set a good example. This would be so much easier to handle with her sisters around. Or Arktos. Someone with super strength who could fly? That would be nice right now. “Aaron! What are you doing?” She heard the car door shut behind her as Aaron toed the ground. “Well?”
“I wanted to see Mia. It’s no big deal. All I did was run out of gas.”
“You stole your brother’s bike! Aaron, what is he going to do when he gets home tonight and you aren’t there? The poor man is going to have a heart attack! I can’t believe you would do this to him.”
“I know how to ride!” Aaron protested.
“That doesn’t mean anyone in L.A. knows how to drive! It’s Friday night. All it would take is one careless drunk and you’re splattered all over the highway. What do you think that would do to your brother? He’d be devastated. Get in the car.”
“I’ll take the bike down to the station,” Tyler said as he walked up beside her.
Her cheeks flushed as she realized she’d just ordered Aaron to get into a car that wasn’t hers. “I’ve got it. I’ll get the kids out and we can walk.”
“Why don’t you take the kids home in the car so no crazy drunks try to play hit the pedestrians? I do know how to ride a bike. Promise.” He slipped his hands under hers, taking the bike away.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Can you drive a car?”
“Yes.” She stared at him in disbelief. What a ridiculous question!
“Then why can’t you take mine?”
“I don’t want to make you do any more. This isn’t your problem.”
One eyebrow shot up. “Which of those kids is yours?”
She glanced over her shoulder to the car where Mia and Aaron were whispering ferociously. “Both of them.”
“Really?”
“I tutor them.” Angela lifted her chin and waited for him to argue her claim.
Tyler just shook his head. “You kill me. Here.” He tossed the car keys at her. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
Angela held the cold keys, and then gave in. “Thank you. I’m sure you had better plans for the evening.”
“My grandma raised me to be a gentleman.”
“That was sweet of her.”
He smiled, and she had to stop herself from leaning forward and kissing him. It was probably his cologne. Wasn’t there some expensive man perfume that made women lose their minds? She was pretty certain she’d seen an ad for it at the back of a GQ magazine. That had to be it. With another quick smile she retreated to the car.
“Do not ruin these seats or I will kill you,” Angela warned the kids. She adjusted the seat and turned on the heater before pulling back into traffic. “Why does he have the air conditioning blasting?”
“Because it’s hot outside?” Aaron guessed.
“I can practically see my breath in here!” She took the off-ramp, and then did a U-turn to go home. The car moved like a dream. As they neared their exit she was beginning to fantasize about long road trips with this vehicle. “Do you think we could make it to the border before Ty noticed his car was missing?”
“He probably has GPS tracking,” Mia said.
“That’s a darn shame.” Angela turned for home. “If I ever become filthy rich I’m buying one of these. I love this car.”
“There’s only five in the world,” Aaron said.
Angela patted the car fondly. “And I’m sure this one loves me. Maybe Ty will let me adopt it.”
“Probably not,” Aaron said.
She gave the warm leather seats one last rub. “I know. Come on. Everybody out. We’ll wait for Ty to get back and then I’ll drive Aaron home.” Before the temptation to run off with the lovely car became too much to bear, she put the keys on the dashboard along with another twenty from her purse. “I hope that covers the gas for tonight. I’m broke.”
Mia smiled weakly at her. “I’ll pay you back.”
“Don’t worry about it. If my bike was working, none of this would have happened. Well, Aaron being stranded on the highway might have happened, but not the whole hitchhiking with strange men thing. I don’t recommend doing this ever again.”
A motorcycle turned the corner with a roar, picked up speed, and accelerated before the rider popped a wheelie and slowed.
Angela gasped. “Tyler! Get down—that’s not your bike to break!”
He laughed. “But it was fun.”
She snatched the bike key from him. “Fun isn’t the same as safe.”
He leaned closer. “Lots of things aren’t the same as safe.”
“Your keys are on the dash,” she said primly. Angela turned back to Mia and Aaron, who were sitting on the steps. “Okay.”
The logistical problem of staying with Mia while taking Aaron home presented itself. Calling her mom or Maria to come babysit seemed like the best idea. Maria would be here in a flash of light if she wasn’t occupied. What time was it in Brazil?
“I could stay here,” Aaron offered. He sat up. “That’s good idea. Right? I’ll stay here until morning when Mia’s mom gets back from work. She won’t mind. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Angela frowned at him. “What about your brother? You’ve already snuck out of the house without permission, stolen his bike, and spent the night unsupervised with your girlfriend? For that matter, what will Luiz say? Mia is going to wind up in a convent under a vow of silence for this. Luiz is going to have a herd of cattle. A whole herd.” She glared at both of them, young, stupid, and in love, when she heard someone laughing. “Are you still here?” she asked Tyler. “Don’t you have a club to go dancing at or something?”
“Oh, no, this is much more entertaining. I’m excessively diverted.” He grinned at her over the top of his car.
“I’m glad someone is happy with this mess.” She turned back to the kids. “Mia, you go upstairs. Lock yourself in the house and in your bedroom and stay there until I get back. I can’t believe I’m doing this at one in the morning.”
“AJ, I’ll take Aaron home.”
“What?” She stared at Tyler in confusion. “I can’t just let you... No. I’ll take care of it. We’ve intruded on your time enough already. It’s bad enough that he ran off. I can’t send him home with someone his brother doesn’t know.”
“Angela?” Her name floated in the night air. “I’m his brother.”
“Oh,” Aaron groaned behind her. “I’m so dead.”
Angela stared wide-eyed at Tyler. “That’s one of those little details that should have come up an hour ago.”
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” Aaron protested. “So I don’t have weird people with cameras following me.”
Ty shrugged. “You were doing such a good job of chewing him out I didn’t want to intrude. Keep the bike for me? You can leave it at the studio lot tomorrow when you go to get yours fixed.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t. Aaron, get in. Angela, I’ll wait until your light comes on. Thank you for helping tonight. I would have panicked if I’d gotten home and he wasn’t there.”
Aaron slunk to the car. Angela grabbed Mia’s arm and all but pulled the girl upstairs after her. She flipped on the light, locked the door behind them, and watched as Tyler Running Fox drove away with his little brother.
“Am I really dating...” Mia started, but a look from Angela quelled her.
“Bedtime. Right now. And maybe I won’t tell your mom everything. Maybe.” Angela waited until Mia was out of the room before she dialed Jacob’s number.
“Hiya, peach. Ready to party?”
“I dunno, why don’t you and Mikey come over to my place instead? I don’t feel like the club scene tonight.” She held her breath waiting for a reply.
Jacob took his time. “Mikey says he doesn’t know where you live.”
Liar. “Okay, then I’ll meet you somewhere. How about the old warehouse we filmed on Monday? Some punk messed with my bike and that’s close enough.”
“Want me to pick you up?”
“Nah. You can park there and we can walk to the bars.” Too many cameras in the studio lot, although she’d bet her entire paycheck that they’d not seen a thing when the wires were cut. “I need some fresh air. See ya soon!”
Mia peeked around the corner. “What are you doing?”
“Go to bed. I need plausible deniability. As far as you know, I was here with you the entire night.”
Chapter Nineteen
Dear Maria,
If I become a fugitive in the States will you let me move in with you? This is not entirely a rhetorical question.
Call me,
Angela
Ty tossed his wallet on the table. “So, you stole my bike and rode across town on the freeway on a Friday night.”
“AJ already gave me the lecture,” Aaron grumbled.
“But she’s not your big brother and I am. I get to yell a little. Don’t I?” He ruffled Aaron’s hair. “Can’t we skip the stupid teenage stunts?”
Aaron crossed his arms. “You go do stupid stuff. What happens when you get killed? I’m supposed to move back in with Grandma? Maybe go to a foster home? That’s going to end well.” His jaw stiffened.
“I’m not going to get killed.”
“You don’t know that. Every time you go out you might not come back and it doesn’t matter!” Aaron yelled. “You care more about people you’ve never even met than making sure I’m here. I go out all the time. You’ve never noticed.”
Ty’s fists clenched. “All the time?”
Aaron took a step back. “A couple times.”
“Fine.” Ty took a deep breath. “You’re right. It’s not fair. I quit.”
“No!” Aaron’s mouth dropped open. “Don’t send me back. I’ll be good. Please. I promise, no more stupid stuff.”
“I mean I quit superheroing. Last week I turned in my resignation. Katrina thinks it’s because I took a rib to my lungs. I told her I can’t breathe when I fly. I’m officially not with The Company anymore.”