Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

“Speaking of sides,” Zak stood up and wandered across his living room to gather some papers he had on his table, and then he came back to join us. “I’ve had a bit of a break through with this account. It seems Daddy Winters likes to keep things clean, if you know what I’m saying.”

We nodded, but Zak carried on like we didn’t.

“Looks like he’s laundering a hell of a lot of money through this account. A few of the names I’ve followed up have led me to some pretty shady places.” He turned to look right at me. “Let’s just say, if that was my girl living in his house, I’d get her the hell out of there.”

I don’t know what power he thought I had over Emily, but I’d need more than a hunch and Zak’s hacking skills to convince her. I needed solid proof that spelt it out for all of us. Alec Winters was a no-good, self-serving thief, and if my suspicions were right, he had more than money laundering on his hands. His were soaked in blood.

“There was one name that sprung out at me though. Troy Barker. Ever heard of him?” We all shook our heads. “A pretty hefty sum of money was transferred two days after Danny’s accident into an account in his name. It might just be a coincidence, but I’m looking into it. Maybe see if Emily knows who he is? And if you could get eyes on that toxicology report or anything, it’d really help,” Zak said, addressing me.

“I need more time. Danny is a sore subject for her. I can’t ask outright. I need to build up to it.”

“Jesus, Ryan. Can you hear yourself? Did you gift wrap those balls before you handed them to her for safe keeping?” Brandon snapped.

“She can do whatever she wants with my balls.” I grinned back, and he tutted, standing up to head into Zak’s kitchen and escape my smugness. I don’t think his sarcastic comment had got the reaction he’d wanted.

“I’m serious.” Zak pulled me back in again, giving me a look that told me I needed to stay focused. “I tried hacking into the official records, seeing if I could bring the toxicology report up or anything from the inquest, but there’s nothing. It’s like the accident never happened. Online anyway. Every trace of it has disappeared. Apart from his shitty interviews and the whole ‘our younger generation are doomed’ bullshit he spouts. We could really use a leg-up here.”

I agreed. I needed to man up and remember that I was doing this for Danny too. If anything had happened to me, I know for a fact he’d have stopped at nothing until he found out the truth.

I needed to bite the bullet and talk to Emily.

It was safe to say, Chase Lockwood was not gonna be welcome at our home any time soon. Apparently, he’d been beyond rude to my mum on Friday; who was home alone after Dad had had to make an emergency dash back to London on urgent business. She made it very clear that I was not to invite him back here again, despite the fact that his dad did business with us, otherwise he’d get an earful of her well-rehearsed lecture on bad manners and etiquette.

Sometimes my mum was awesome. Not often. But sometimes.

Tonight was my first official date with Ryan. He was picking me up at seven, but I had no idea where we were going and no idea what to wear. The guy ran illegal parties as his side-line, I doubted it’d be some upmarket club or bar and truthfully, I was okay with that. More than okay.

Ryan was the most real person in my life right now, aside from my girls. But I didn’t want to wear jeans again like every other time he’d seen me. Oh, apart from the white old lady dress I’d worn to the warehouse a few months ago. So, I went for a cute black skater dress. It was fun and flirty with just the right amount of sexy. Plus, the flared skirt meant I’d be able to scale a fence if needed without being restricted by the material. As long as he didn’t look up, that is. I’d have my ass on full display with the lacy thong I had on underneath.

I slipped on my heels and then popped a pair of flats into my handbag for emergencies, like uneven woodland floors or picking through rubble. I had to cover all bases, right?

When seven o’clock came, I hea

rd the doorbell and rushed to open it before my mum made an appearance. Ryan stood there looking like a tall glass of water in a desert. He was wearing a tight black T-shirt with tight jeans and a leather jacket. He oozed that sexy bad boy vibe and I knew I had to get him out of here before my mum copped a load of him and fucked up my plans for the night.

“Damn, Em. You look…” He looked me up and down like he was having the same thoughts that I was, but I jumped forward, slamming the door shut and cutting him off.

“Yeah, you too. Let’s get out of here.”

He raised his eyebrows, then must’ve remembered what my parents were like ‘cos he turned around and marched right after me, down my driveway, without giving the house a second glance. He made a grab for my hand to slow my steps and when I looked at him, he smiled and said, “Slow down. I want this to be special.”

We reached his van and I went to walk around the back, aiming for the driver’s door.

“Ah, no need. I got it fixed.” He opened the passenger side for me as I stood there gawping at him.

“You fixed it?” Nothing like stating the obvious, Em. Maybe I was a little more nervous than I realised?

“Yeah. I didn’t need to before. No one ever used it. But I had to fix it.” He shrugged. “It’s your door now.”

Most guys melted a girl’s heart with flowers, chocolates or jewellery. My Ryan had melted my heart into a pool of goo with a new door for his van. I honestly felt like dry-humping him in the driveway to show him how grateful I was. He was so perfect without even knowing it.

“No more climbing over the gear stick.” I put my hand over my heart to pretend I was flattered by the gesture. I shouldn’t have pretended. I was flattered. “I feel so special.”

“Em. That door had been broken for nearly two years. I wouldn’t fix it for just anybody.”

“You say the sweetest things.” I fake batted my eyelids.

“I’m just getting started, baby.”