Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

“That guy, Troy Barker, he’s a mechanic. Works for Winters,” I said absent-mindedly. All I could focus on was what I was gonna say to Em. Her whole life was about to be blown wide open, and even though I knew this was gonna happen when we started all this, I hadn’t really thought what the impact of the fallout would be. She’d lose everything. Her house, her family, her goddamn mind. After what’d happened to Danny, I wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

“He’s no mechanic.” Zak looked over at Brandon then back to me. “He’s a fixer.”

“Fixing what?” I was losing patience fast. I had to think of a plan for after. A plan for her. I couldn’t lose her. Not now.

“That’s where my online breaking and entering falls short. I was kinda hoping that Brandon might be able to help me with another way,” Zak said cryptically.

“What? To pay this guy a visit?” I asked

“Sort of. But not really.” Zak looked guilty as hell. He might’ve been a whizz at computers, but he couldn’t make a poker face to save his life.

“Do you think he’ll talk to you?” Finn added.

“We won’t give him a fucking choice,” Brandon said clenching his jaw in irritation.

“What you gonna do, beat the truth out of him?” I knew Brandon had a mean right hook, but we had no idea who this guy was. And from what Emily had told me, he could turn out to be a big fucking problem for us.

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” Sometimes Brandon’s bravado packed more of a punch than his actual fists. He was a loose cannon. Which might’ve served us well in the fights we staged for money, but in real life, I was worried it could all blow up in our faces.

“I don’t need to ask any fucking questions, I can already guess what you’re gonna do. Just make sure you don’t leave any evidence behind. You don’t want to get stuck sharing a cell with Winters for the next five to ten years.” Brandon rolled his eyes at me.

“I’ve got a question.” Finn spoke and we all stopped in our tracks. “How do we shop him without incriminating ourselves? ‘Cos I’m pretty sure there’s a law against the hacking we’ve been doing. Not to mention the parties and-”

“You let us worry about that,” Brandon said sharply. “Tom might help us. Anyway, I’m pretty sure they’d overlook our scams if it meant they could catch some bigger fish like Winters. That’s the gift that keeps on giving. All those links to the cartel? Nobody’s gonna turn that shit away for the sake of a few dudes throwing illegal parties like we do.”

“I hope you’re right.” Finn nodded, but the way he bit his lip, I could tell he had more on his mind.

“Spit it out, Finn,” I said, folding my arms over my chest.

“Do you think we can pull this off? The plan, I mean?”

We all looked at one another.

“We’ve been planning this for years. This is going to be fucking epic, my man,” Brandon said, jumping up from his seated position in the ring. “I’ve been living for this moment.” He laughed and started to jab his fists into the air like he was fighting an invisible opponent.

“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.” Zak patted Finn on the back and smiled as Kian walked back through the door with four Starbucks coffee cups in a holder.

“This is gonna break her,” Finn said in a low voice so only I could hear. “Are you really ready for that?”

I closed my eyes and let my head fall forward.

“I’ll have to be.”

My phone buzzed for the hundredth time that afternoon. I glanced down at the screen and smiled when I saw Ryan’s message staring back at me.

Can I see you later?

I thought about making him wait, letting the message stew for a little longer on my phone, but I was never the most patient person, so I fired off my response.

You can see me whenever you want. x

I hadn’t even put my phone down again when it buzzed with an answer.

That’ll be a lot then.

I couldn’t believe how things had changed. Months ago, Ryan Hardy was the bad boy in town that I couldn’t even look at directly. He was too intimidating. Now, he was all I thought about. He consumed me in every way possible.

I heard the doorbell go, and knowing my mum was out for the day, I reluctantly stood up and dragged myself to answer it. I laughed when I saw Ryan standing there with a beautiful bunch of pink peonies.