Hardcore Volume 3 (5 page)

I slipped my hands into my hair and paced away. “Goddammit,” I said under my breath. “Fine. Let’s run. Fuck everything else.”

I didn’t wait for an answer, just took off, vaulted over the wall and ran across the next roof over, then took three steps up the far wall and climbed. The brick was worn down, we’d scaled it so many times. I didn’t trick as we ran, didn’t take my time, just ran until I was a sweaty mess, ran until my knees and shins ached and my throat burned. Ran until the moon was high and bright, until I was so exhausted that there was no room to think before I fell into bed and fast asleep.

I PACED THE KITCHEN the next morning as the phone rang in my ear. Three sets of eyes tracked me.
 

One.

I didn’t know what Jade was going to say. I didn’t even know if I could keep my shit together for this conversation.

Two.

Erin, Cher, and Morgan watched me with baited breath. The room was completely silent.

Three.

“Hello?” Jade answered.

I took a heavy breath. “It’s Cory.”

She was stunned silent for a beat before picking up right where we’d left off. “I thought that might get your attention.”

I seethed, grinding my teeth together. “What do you want?”

“Gee, Cory. I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you’re all settled in.”

“Right. I’m sure. Tell me what you want.”

“Listen, I know everybody’s pissed—”

A laugh burst out of me.

“—but I’ve got to keep taking jobs or I’m going to lose my contacts. I’m just saying, while you guys get on your feet, we could just do a few more jobs to keep everyone’s pockets full until I can get a new crew and you all can … well, do whatever the fuck you plan on doing.”

I scanned their faces. “I’ll talk to them.”

“That’s all I wanted, Cor. See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Walk in the fucking park.” My fist clenched so tight, my knuckles burned. “Listen, because I’m only saying this once. If Jill sees your face again, you’re going to see mine. You don’t want that.”

Her voice was calm and condescending. “Of course not. Just don’t avoid me again.”

“You’re not going to intimidate me, Jade. You had one pass on that and you took it, so from here out, we’re on my terms. I will fuck you up if you cross me again.”

She paused for a moment. “Heard and understood. Call me after you talk to the girls.”

I didn’t respond, just hung up and leaned on the table. “Well, that was easy enough to set up. She wants us to work with her until she gets a new crew so she doesn’t lose her contacts.”

“God, I hate her so much,” Erin spat.

“Take a number.” I looked over the three of them. “How should we handle this?”

Erin answered. “Let’s take whatever job she has. We’ll case the place in advance, lock her bitchass in, and call the cops.”

“And what about Jace?” I asked.

Morgan sat forward, resting her forearms on the surface of the table. “What about him? They look into Jade and they’re going to find Jace and his ‘business.’ He’ll follow her to jail.”

Erin chewed her lip. “You think she’ll be able to drag us down with her?”

I thought it over. “I mean, maybe they’ll have circumstantial evidence, but we’ve never gotten involved with anything on paper. As far as anyone should be able to tell, we were all roommates and that was it. We never left prints at jobs, never kept anything we stole. We never texted about jobs on our main lines, only through burner numbers. And we always ran
up
. There’s no street footage, no cameras to pull from that would give them anything. That’s
if
she turns us in. She might not be stupid enough to try to take us down out of spite. She’d only dig her grave deeper.”

Morgan snorted. “No one ever accused Jade of being smart.”

Erin shook her head. “It’s possible she would try to fuck us over one last time, but not if she were sure it would put her at risk. Self-preservation is her number one goal.”

I sat down and tossed my phone on the table. “I’m just glad we never took Jace up on his offer to launder cash for us.”

Cher rolled her eyes. “That never sounded like a good idea to me. I trust Jace about as much as I trust a pissed off koala bear.”

Morgan looked at her like she had an extra head. “Koala bears are adorable.”

“No, they’re rapey assholes cracked out on eucalyptus, and they will eat your face off.”

“Oh,” Morgan conceded. “Well, that definitely sounds a lot more like Jace.”

“I don’t know.” Erin’s eyes were locked on a spot on the table. “They’re going to wonder who locked Jade in.”

Cher perked up. “What if we call in like we’re just random Samaritans? Like we saw someone robbing a place and locked them in?”

“That could work,” I answered. “She could rat us out, but I still think she’s smarter than that. She’ll keep her mouth shut until she lawyers up.”

Erin didn’t look so sure. “You give her a lot of credit. She’ll be mad as fuck, like probably madder than she’s ever been in her life. I can definitely see her selling out everyone she’s ever known. Maybe even Jace.”

Morgan shook her head. “No, she wouldn’t sell him out. I’m pretty sure they have an inappropriate relationship.”

Cher gaped. “Oh my God. Ew.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t thought it.” Morgan rolled her eyes.

“And what about when the cops come sniffing around?” I asked.

Morgan sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “We tell them we had no idea, that we always wondered where she got all that money. That we were living with her for free. Basically, we play dumb.”

Erin turned to me. “I don’t know if there’s another way around it, Cory. Do you still think Jade will leave Jill alone? Do you think she’ll leave us alone? Because I’m not convinced.”

I sighed. “No. I think you’re right. Let’s take her down once and for all. It’s the only way she’s going to let us go for good, and it’s worth the risk if it means we’ll finally be out from underneath her. If we’re careful, I think we can do it. We just need a plan and a story.”

Erin sighed too. “I’ll do it.”

“Me too,” Morgan added, and Cher nodded.

I pulled up my burner app and texted Jade two words.

We’re in.

I stood in front of my mirror in my room as I zipped up my leather jacket, flipped up my hood, and pulled my buff over my nose and mouth. The feeling of it against my cheeks was so familiar, something I found comfort in. Something I’d missed. I looked into my reflection’s eyes, green and bright against black kohl and lashes, framed by my dark hood and the jersey stretched across my face. It was something I’d done a hundred times. But this was the last.

I left my room, followed my friends out of the loft and to the roof, and then, we ran. The moon was high, a glowing pinhole in the vast of the dark. It had been thirty-six hours since we’d agreed to help Jade. Thirty-six hours of planning, of casing the shop Jade had lined up, of stepping toward being rid of her for good.

I followed the girls across the roofs toward the old loft, watched them jump across a gap, arms out, flying. I ran through the plan again, tried to calm my nerves. I was about to see Jade, something I didn’t know if I was prepared for. But I had to keep it together. Otherwise, I’d blow the entire thing.

We dropped down a fire escape, scrambled up the other side of the alley, hauled ourselves over the ledge and took off again, running the length of the block. My eyes found Jade at the end of the row of buildings, standing next to the access door where she leaned against the wall with her arms folded. Every step amplified the anger, the tension, and my fists clenched as I pumped them, not wanting to stop. But I slowed anyway as we approached, grateful my face was hidden from her. I pulled my hood down lower.

Jade didn’t move. “Took you long enough.” She smiled, looking so fucking pleased with herself.
 

I stared her down with my nerves crawling because it was the only thing I could do. If a single word left my lips, a fight was coming.

“You’re lucky we’re here at all,” Morgan shot. “Don’t be a dick, or we’re out.”

“So sensitive.” Jade pushed off the wall. “I knew you’d come back.”

No one answered. We were all filled to the brim with the unwavering desire to get this over with. My jaw clenched as she walked a line in front of us, inspecting us.

“You look good, little birdies. All that fresh air has done you well. Hope you’re all on point tonight.”

Erin folded her arms across her chest. “You do your job. We’ll do ours.”

Jade smirked. “Good. Let’s go.” She pulled up her buff and took off.

My breath steamed under my buff as I followed from the pack, eyes scanning the roofs. No one spoke as we dropped down one building and scrambled up the next like it was nothing, ran through the crisp night toward the store, block after block before we reached the shop’s alley. It was perfect for a setup — no cameras inside or out, and the gate on the street windows locked from the sidewalk. Once Jade was in, there was no way she could get out.
 

We approached the door, and Jade knelt to pick the lock on the double doors. Erin and I shared a look as we waited in the quiet alley, and when Jade popped the lock, the door opened with a groan.
 

I blew past and looked for the office, but the alarm wasn’t there. I found it behind the counter and opened my pack to pull out my wire cutters. Once I’d popped the plastic face off, I snipped a couple of secondary wires and left the plastic casing off. She’d never know I hadn’t disabled it.

“It’s done,” I said as I packed my things and stood.
 

Jade’s eyes flashed with twisted pleasure. “Well, then. Let’s get to it.”

She stepped into an aisle and pulled off her duffle bag to start emptying shelves, but the four of us backed toward the door. Jade dumped a handful of graphics cards in her bag and glanced over her shoulder at us.
 

“What are you bitches standing around for? Come on.”

The girls stepped behind me and retreated down the hall to the exit. I blocked Jade from them, stance wide, voice hard. “No. This is it, Jade. I told you. I told you it was over, but you didn’t believe me. You wouldn’t let us go.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jade turned and stood, eyes narrow as they darted between me and the hall.

The door opened behind me, and I heard the chains clinking as Morgan pulled them out of her backpack. “You should have left Jill alone.”

“Fuck you, Cory. You shouldn’t have punked out like a bitch. But you did, and here we are. So you’re pissed. What are you going to do about it?”

I smiled. “I’m going to leave, just like I said I would.”

Realization passed across her face just before she lunged for me. “The fuck you are.”

I spun around and took off, eyes on the girls in the alley. I was steps away from the threshold when she grabbed my arm. I jerked away from her and banged into the wall from the force, but I planted my feet and shifted, swept my arm, catching her in the shoulder as she reached for me again. She wrapped her fingers around my forearm with rage in her eyes, and I snarled as I leaned away, cocking my knee, releasing it like a spring. My boot connected with her chest, and she reeled away from me, arms swinging.
 

Hands grabbed me and pulled me out the door, slamming it shut behind me. Morgan put all her weight behind it just as Jade plowed into it with a thud and a shriek, the sound muffled by the thick metal. A string of threats and obscenities came from inside as Erin chained the door shut. Cher was on her phone.

“Hi, I’m calling to report a robbery. Yeah, my boyfriend and I saw this girl break into ElectroJunkie off 52
nd
and locked her in the store. Thanks, yeah.” She hung up on the dispatcher and deleted her burner number. “All right, we should be good. Stick to the roofs and alleys. No streets. No cameras. Watch your back.” Her eyes smiled at me. “It’s done.”

“It’s done,” I echoed, my heart clanging in my ears, hands like ice from the rush of adrenaline. We all exchanged a look and nodded before taking off to the cadence of Jade’s fists pounding on the metal door.