I stayed there, kissing her, still inside and still hard. “Fuck,” I whispered. “I’ve been needing that.”
“Me too.” She smiled at me, ran her fingers through my hair. “Really, really badly.”
I kissed her again before sliding myself to the side. She curled up against me, and we barely fit together on the chair, but I didn’t care. I held her tight, her body smooth and firm and fit in the space I left perfectly.
“For a little while, let’s just stay here,” I whispered, brushing her hair aside to kiss her ear.
“I’d like that.”
“Good.” I kissed her again and held her, and the quiet fell back down around us, only the hum of the pool pumps and footsteps from upstairs and her breathing, and that was all I needed.
19
Amber
Ren sat behind the wheel of a borrowed black SUV and stared out through the windshield. The street was quiet. Sparse cars parked along the curbs, and the weak yellow glow from the street lamps gave us barely enough light to see. We were up north in a neighborhood I didn’t know, parked outside of a pair of rundown abandoned rowhomes next to a patch of overgrown grass and weeds.
“They should be here already,” I said, looking at the time. It was a few minutes past three, and we were supposed to meet at two thirty.
“They’ll show.”
“What if they don’t?”
“They will.”
I slouched down in my seat. “I still think this is a bad idea.”
“Too late for that now,” he said softly.
He was right about that. The day before, he’d set up the meeting with Felix, and Dante had given him the combination, though not without a long speech about being safe and not being stupid and not double-crossing him and all that stuff. Through it all, Ren seemed cool as anything, like he made deals like that all the time.
I let my mind roam back to that afternoon by the pool, a few days ago now. I could still feel him between my legs, his hands on my skin, the way he touched my scars with a strange reverence, the way he looked at me like he never wanted to close his eyes, the pleasure as we came together. I could hear his whispers in my ear still and taste him on my lips. I wanted to stay in that memory forever, because I wasn’t sure we’d ever get another chance at something like that, at a perfect moment, uncomplicated and right.
“Up ahead.” His voice pulled me back into the present. “Car parking.”
I squinted and saw it. White sedan, lights off. “Think it’s them?”
“Doubt anyone else is driving around without their lights.” He leaned over me and popped open the glove box. Inside was a small, black handgun. I stared as he took it out, checked the magazine, then slid it into the back of his waistband. “Stay in here.”
“No way. I’m coming.”
“Amber—”
I jumped out of the car before he could argue. He’d made me promise to stay behind during the actual deal, but I wasn’t about to let him leave me out of this, not when it affected me so much.
He got out and followed me down the sidewalk. I felt his hand on my arm, but he didn’t squeeze, and he didn’t try to stop me.
“I wish you’d listen at least once in your life,” he said, sounding resigned.
I smiled up at him. “And I wish you knew me well enough to know I wasn’t going to keep that promise.”
He rolled his eyes then gazed straight ahead, expression sober.
The doors of the sedan opened and two men stepped out. The driver was Felix, and the passenger was Lukas, the same men as before. They walked into the center of the street then stopped, Felix’s arms crossed over his chest.
Ren stepped off the curb and slowly approached. Lukas hung back toward the car, leaning up against its hood and picking at his nails with a bored expression.
“Glad you could make it,” Ren said.
“Almost didn’t,” Felix said. “I thought about staying home, since you couldn’t have possibly come through this fast.”
“I guess my reputation isn’t as good as I thought then.” Ren gave him a winning smile, and I felt my stomach do flips.
There was a short silence as Felix stared at him. The man looked gaunt in the weak overhead light. He wore tight jeans and a black leather jacket, his hands shoved into the pockets. That made me nervous—I wanted to see that he wasn’t holding something. Ren didn’t seem bothered either way, and I did my best to mimic his gentle calm, even though I felt like I might pass out at any second.
“What do you have for me?” Felix finally asked.
“I have one code.”
Felix snorted. “I wanted them all.”
“I managed to get you one.”
“Come back when you have more.” He turned to leave.