“There’s a diner not far. It’s a college hangout. PubTown.” The answer came from behind the register.
Cross frowned at Brock, but skimmed over the rest.
Zellman and Jordan were trailing behind me.
“You guys want to eat there? Head home?”
“Uh.” Zellman tossed our emptied soda bottles in the garbage, then held up a hand. “Since I’m single, I say hell yes for the diner. There’s gotta be chicks there.” He clamped a hand on Jordan’s shoulder. “Remember, he requested girls for a distraction tonight.”
Jordan’s smile was a little wobbly, just like mine.
It was then I realized Cross had a hold on the back of my jeans. He tugged me back into him, a small smile just for me. I loved when he gave me one of those. A little tingle raced through me, and even though I was either buzzed or drunk, I was still feeling it.
Cross tugged me farther back, his one arm going around my shoulder and curling around to rest over the front of me. I reached up, entwining our hands. He spoke over my head, “Then it’s settled.” He angled us out the door, adding behind me now, “Thank you for letting us stay late.”
“Yeah…Bren!”
Cross swung me around. I blinked a few times, focusing because Brock now had two heads. Both were swimming around his body. “Yes?”
“You can have tomorrow off if you work Saturday.”
I knew what that meant. Saturday was bail-bonds day. It was always one of their busiest nights. “Yes! Can I go in the field?”
He chuckled, closing the register. “Maybe. We’ll see.” He dipped his head down again. “Have a good night.”
I felt Cross lift his arm, but then we were moving back out and headed for Jordan’s truck. I asked as soon as we were inside, “Why do we always drive Jordan’s truck? Why not mine? Or yours?”
Jordan slid open the window between us. “Because my truck is the biggest.”
Zellman added, “And because he’s got a setup back here with sleeping bags, cushions, and blankets. It’s like we’ve got our own couch.”
Jordan snorted. “A couch that’s strapped down.”
“Well, yeah.”
Cross started the engine, putting the gear into reverse. “Your boss watched you almost the whole night.”
Aaaand there went my buzz.
I felt it leaving me with a big ol’ thud.
“What? Really?”
Cross nodded, his face getting all somber. “I swiped Trundle’s keys to the building.” He hit the turn signal, glancing at me before easing onto the street. “I think we should find a time no one will be there, help ourselves inside, and take a look at what they’re keeping you away from.”
My stomach did another dip, but I wasn’t sure if I was excited or nervous. But I did say, “Sounds good to me.” But, “I don’t want to wait.”
“I knew you wouldn’t.”
It was decided.
PubTown turned out to be busy, and Zellman recognized a few people, so he and Jordan were happy. After dropping them off, we headed to the house for a change of clothes, then went back to Coug r Lanes.
FROM: Cross
TO: Tazsters
SUBJECT: Bren is drunk. It’s hilarious.
—I’m always the best twin
FROM: Tazsters
TO: Cross
SUBJECT: blank on purpose
Type your message HERE.
Not in the subject line.
—The Best Twin
CROSS
Bren was drunk.
She was the type of drunk where she wasn’t registering she was still drunk, but she was. She was also damn cute about it. She kept flicking her hand over her nose. She’d scrunch up her face afterward and make a little pffting sound. She was as loud as a tiny kitten. Seriously fucking adorable.
I’d been watching her boss the whole time we were bowling. He was older twenties or younger thirties, but the way he was staring at Bren, a boyfriend would start wondering if he had a hard-on for her, too.
He didn’t. I put my arm around her and he hadn’t cared.
He was more interested in scoping out the rest of us.
Bren said he read her file and he made a call to Roussou. So it made sense he’d want to know about us. We were her crew. That shit didn’t stop in high school, not for us.
But all the other stuff she mentioned. Yeah. It was making me worried.
I scoped out a security system while we were there, so we had ski masks on, pulling them down as we left the truck, and darted to the back door. We didn’t do this. We never had, but there were times at Roussou we needed to go somewhere that we probably weren’t welcome. That was the closest we had to breaking and entering. This was a whole new graduation level, but I’d been watching Bren’s boss all night. I’d been scanning the entire building, and I knew we needed more than just Trundle’s key to get in.
Once he sobered up, he would report it missing the next day.
Brock was smart. I saw that, so he’d change everything as soon as possible, not wanting to risk anyone getting in to see whatever they were working on. That meant we had to move fast. We needed to get in and out even before they thought someone would get in and out, and that Brock guy would be watching Bren. We were the last people seen with Trundle. They were hiding something from Bren. We’d be on the short list of who took Trundle’s keys.