“Where’s the fun in that?”
Shoving my hands in my jean’s pockets I shrug, “It’s not fun to steal. It’s shitty.”
Lou rises up with an expression I recognize — the one right before he punches someone. I’ve never been on the receiving end before. Not a fan. “Wyatt, you’re really beginning to piss me off.”
If we fight…not sure I’ll come out intact.
The body heals.
Self respect?
Hard to mend.
It’s not easy to hit a friend, so Lou’s heavy fist isn’t swinging as quickly as it normally would. His shadowy eyes narrow more.
He’s going to slaughter me.
I’m a goner.
This is it.
A feeling I’ve never experienced rises from my stomach.
It’s beyond calm.
A knowing.
This is wrong.
I can’t do this.
I won’t.
My choice.
“Someone owns this, Lou.” I motion toward the store, my skin hot and tingling. “Like my parents own Crash and Burn. They put in a lot of hours to be successful. I’ve worked there, too. You know that — you visited during my shifts. My brothers and my sister have put in their time, right? You know them. Imagine them working behind the counter of this place just to keep it alive. Whoever owns this place, it’s the same thing.”
Toby’s made the connection. If you picture stealing from my family then you’re just a pile of shit everyone should avoid being near.
But something is different in Lou since he came back from summer break, traveling with his family. He always had a dark side, but now it’s taken up all of him.
Light left.
He leans close and those onions on his cheeseburger didn’t get better with age. “I’m sick of you looking down at me.”
“I’m looking up. You’re literally taller.”
“You know what I mean. You pick that lock right fuckin’ now or you know what I’m gonna do? Pull one of your teeth out and use that to get us inside.”
The visual makes me sweat. He really is big enough to make that a reality. I swallow, my recently cracked voice deepening to say, “You wouldn’t do that.”
“Try me, Wyatt. You have no idea what I would do.”
I believe him. Lou doesn’t look like the dumb guy I used to call a friend. His eyes are pure danger. I want nothing to do with him, this break-in, or even Toby since they travel in pairs. But how do I get out of this without getting the shit kicked out of me? How do I explain to my parents why he attacked me? Would I even survive the beating? Instinct is telling me I might not.
His eyes. So evil.
There’s only one option.
Do what he says.
I stammer, “Fine, I’ll break-in. I’ll do it.”
He hisses something and I can’t even hear him, heart pounding so loud it hurts.
I inspect the lock. Lou hovers so close the hair on my arms stand at attention.
I’m scared.
Future flashing before me.
My lungs like a vice.
Anxiety itching my skin.
Fingers not moving.
Can’t think.
Don’t want to steal.
No.
No.
No.
This isn’t me.
He’s bent over, right behind me, watching the lock to ensure I’ll follow through. “What’re you waiting for, Wyatt?”
I take a deep breath. “This.” My elbow shoots back and up and hits Lou’s chin so hard his teeth crack, head swinging. He grabs his mouth and bends forward.
I bring that same elbow up high for speed since I don’t have his strength, and pound it where the back of his head meets the base of his neck.
Nobody’s strong there.
He falls into a heap, heavy and stunned.
I punch his head. “I make my own choices!” I punch him again. And once more to make sure he stays down.
Toby’s jaw has dropped to the gummed-dotted asphalt.
Grabbing my skateboard, I jump on it, calling behind me, “I’m not a loser whose future disappears behind bars. I might be gorgeous, Lou, but I’m not dumb.”
CHAPTER 1
PRESENT DAY
WYATT
“Hey Cocker! What made you decide to be a cop?”
Leaning against my locker, I smirk, “Long story.”
“You gonna shine that badge all day or put it on?” Eudy asks.
I steam the silver with my hot breath and smooth off a smudge with the clean cloth I keep handy for exactly this. Glimpsing the photograph of his wife as he slams his locker shut I ask, “You ogle Christy like she’s a pinup girl and have the audacity to razz me, Eudy? You’ve got your love, I’ve got mine.”
Deputy Asante Washington went through the Academy with me and has been my partner ever since. His laugh breaks free, one of his best qualities. It could fill a stadium, and in an echoing locker room like this one, it rattles the rows, the benches, the florescent light fixtures.
It always makes me grin, and this time is no exception.
Eudy side-eyeballs the two of us. “My wife is a saint, sue me.”
Washington drops his boot onto cement so scuffed it makes our janitor swear. “You ready to roll?”
Pinning on my badge I smirk, “Been waiting for you to fix your hair.”
He leans over for the mirror in my locker, inspecting the bald knob above his massive shoulders. “Wait, is it misbehaving again? Just like your mother?”
I smack his chest with the back of my hand. “Don’t joke about my mom, dickhead.”
He lumbers away, all six-eight of him. “You’d be surprised how many women like a man with two bald heads, Cocker.”
My grin flashes as I slam my locker. “I wouldn’t know.”
Eudy watches us go, wishing he had a better partner. Larter is a deadbeat, never carries his weight. If he were alone behind the wheel he’d pretend to be busy whenever dispatch summoned. Wouldn’t matter if he was parked in front of the address. Larter joined the Force for power. A lot of men and women do, but it’s how you use the power that differentiates one cop from another.
One human being from another, too.
Washington asks, “Got something on your mind?” as we stroll through the station.
I lift a pen from Deputy Harris’s desk. She smiles, “Hey!” so I toss it back to her able catch, with a wink reminding her of last Friday
