Lennox (19 page)

“Elena,” Cyrus says, sounding more wounded than angry. I
lock eyes with him for a moment, then spin away.

Lennox touches my arm, softly, his face twisted with worry. “Are
you sure that’s what you want, El?”

“I’m positive. I don’t need a crew.” I glower
at Drazic before turning back to Lennox. “All I need is you.”

Lennox

Grams welcomes Elena into the house with open arms and a homemade pie
that she seems to pull out of thin air. They’d met before, but
it’s been a long time; Grams makes no effort to hide her
delight at the woman Elena’s grown up to be.

“I like her so much better than the blonde one,” Grams
tells me one evening, as Elena helps her clean up after dinner. “Can
you keep this one?”

My face flushes with heat. Not that I can blame anyone for preferring
Elena to Amber. I prefer Elena to the rest of the whole world. “I’ll
do my best.”

It’s amazing, watching how quickly Elena takes to life in our
cramped little split-level. She helps me take care of Grams, even
though I can handle it myself; she helps with cleaning up, and even
manages to fix an electrical outlet that’s been busted for
years. It’s the wholest my family has felt ever since the days
when Troy was alive and Drazic’s crew was my family beyond
Grams. Hell, in a lot of ways, this feels even better.

But I can’t shake the sense of dread I feel the more time I
spend with Elena; I can’t get rid of the shadow cast over us
when I leave in the middle of the night to make another run for the
McManuses. If they find out about Elena, I don’t want to think
how they might try to use her against me. I’ve got to find a
way to pay my debts to them and get my life together again—get
a real job.

But without the Cartwrights’ help, I’m stuck. And I can
never become the man I promised Elena I’d become.

*

Mama McManus summons me to the upper level of the pub again. There’s
a strained atmosphere among her cadre of assistants, and one of the
women shoots me a darkened look as I step inside, Rory behind me.
Like they know something about me that I don’t. It pulls my
stomach into a knot. The last time I felt this way was the time I
went to the showers in the pen only to get jumped by all the guys I’d
pissed off when I saved Sean McManus’s life. That fight landed
me in the prison med ward for several weeks while they patched my jaw
back together from the metal pipe. I’m hoping whatever’s
about to happen here won’t turn out similarly.

Mama sends her underlings away, leaving me with her and Rory and the
guards outside the door. She’s never been one for heavy makeup,
but today she’s not wearing any; it exposes the blue web of
veins beneath her eyes. She searches me for a long minute while she
lights her cigar and doesn’t say a word.

Okay. So that’s how she wants to play it. I’m supposed to
guess why she’s summoned me. I go for the most obvious choice.

“I’m very sorry about the Mustang.” I cross my
hands in front of me and bow my head, trying to look the picture of
contrition. In prison, it was amazing what a sincere-looking apology
could do. Most of the guys in there are just looking for a scrap of
respect. I wonder if Mama’s the same way.

Mama exhales a mouthful of smoke. “Go on.”

“I had no idea Nash Graham was that determined to take me out.
I should’ve seen it coming. But I’ll make it right. I’ll
find a way to pay you back for the car.”

“No.” She shakes her head, the tail of her braid slipping
from one shoulder. “That’s not your business.”

I raise my head back up. “It isn’t?”

“Nuh-uh.” She takes another drag of the cigar and leans
back in her chair. “Far as I’m concerned, that’s
Nash’s debt to pay. He’s the one who owes me. Both for
the car, and for daring to attack one of my boys.”

So I’m considered one of her “boys” now. I know I’m
supposed to be flattered, but all I feel is sick. Her words sit in my
stomach like tar. Just another debt I’ll have to dig myself out
of.

“But that’s the problem with Drazic’s crew, isn’t
it? They’ve got no discipline. No sense of self-preservation.
Always putting themselves in harm’s way, aren’t they?”

Oh, god. That’s not a threat to Elena, is it? My pulse spikes
as I try to figure out the real meaning behind her words. But no—if
she meant to threaten Elena, I think I’d know it. There’s
a chance she still doesn’t know about her. I ease my shoulders
back. Okay. As long as Elena’s safe, I can do whatever I have
to do for these dirtbags and get my life back on track.

“The Drazic crew . . . they can’t keep a
secret. Can’t keep their goddamned tempers in check. Not a one
of them—Nash, Cyrus, Jagger, even Drazic himself—has got
a goddamned lick of sense. Not like you.” Mama smiles, thin and
vicious. “You know how to keep secrets.”

“I’m loyal to your crew,” I tell her. I glance at
Rory, but he’s donned his usual mask—the psychopathic
grin that chills me to the bone. “I hope I’ve proved that
to you by now.”

“Loyal? Mm, not quite yet. Loyalty takes longer than that to
build.”

My mind spins over her previous words. She didn’t list Elena as
part of the crew. As much as Elena hates it, her invisibility is
working to her favor right now. If Mama doesn’t know about her,
then she’s safe.

Oh, god, I hope Elena’s safe from these monsters.

Mama slides her feet off of the desk and spins away from us.
Apparently we’re done here. But I can’t imagine this is
the only reason she summoned me. I glance toward Rory, confused.

“Come here, Lennox. Let’s you and I talk.”

Rory’s the last person on the planet I’d talk to for fun.
All the weird little things he says when he’s escorting me on
our runs . . . the way he treats every woman he comes
across like his personal property. And that fucking temper of his.
But it does make me terrified enough not to want to find out the cost
of telling him no. I let him sling his arm over my shoulder and steer
me to the couch.

“I got a new job for you,” Rory says, as we sit down.

I sigh. Of course he does. “Another shuttle run to Taos? No
problem.”

“Nuh-uh,” Rory says. “We’re going to be doing
something a little different this time.”

The hairs rise on the back of my neck. This sounds like they’re
trying to push me deeper into their web—make me more complicit
in their schemes. I want to be getting
out
of this life, not
deeper in. Especially now that I’m responsible for Elena.

But I need the money for now. And I also need the protection from
Nash.

“This time, we’re heading to Reno,” Rory says. “And
we’ll be taking a whole lot more with us than before.”

I furrow my brow. “More stuff? But the Nissan can only hold so
much. It’s the best car for our work because it’s
unobtrusive. If you want something bigger, you’re going to
attract a lot of attention.” I shift my weight. “Vans get
stopped all the time.”

“Well, we’re going to have to use a van. So you’d
better up your police evasion skills.”

“Wait.” My heart sinks. “You said Reno. But that’s
across state lines.”

“And?”

“The conditions of my parole—I’m not supposed to
leave the state. Besides, anytime you’re doing something . . .
well, you know. Doing it across state lines makes the repercussions
even worse.”

“You’re the best driver we’ve got.” Rory
narrows his eyes. “All these other meatheads try to show off.
But you’re sensible. You play it cool.”

It’s a load of shit, though, and I know it. He wants to test
me, and bind me even closer to the McManuses. Keep me forever in
their debt. “If my parole officer finds out I’ve left the
state—”

“Aww, you’re afraid of the parole officer?” Rory
laughs, a manic glint in his eye. “Come the fuck on. You think
we can’t buy off some underpaid dumbass in the corrections
system?”

The scary thing is, I know full well they can. If the McManuses
really did throw the election against Cartwright, there isn’t
much they can’t do. Except maybe get me out of my debt to
Cartwright. But maybe, if I stick with them long enough, I can pay
that off, too.

“Fine.” I cross my arms. “We’ll use a van and
cross state lines. What’s the cargo?”

“Not what.” Rory laughs to himself. “Who.”

Bile singes at the back of my throat. Oh, god. I don’t even
want to know.

Rory leans toward me and claps a hand on my knee. His touch is like
poison. I don’t want him anywhere near me. But I have to do
this. It’s my only shot. “C’mon, Lennox. If you’re
going to be our partner—a real member of the family—then
you need to know just what it is we do. None of this baby talk
bullshit. You’ve got to be
complicit
.”

Being complicit to their illegal dealings is the last thing I want.
Especially if this is what I’m afraid it is . . .

“These girls, Len . . . they just need some
honest work. They’ve had a rough life, and we’re happy to
provide them with an opportunity to find their feet. Well . . .
eventually they’ll find their feet.” He smirks. “After
they spend some time on their backs.”

I want to throw up. They’re human traffickers. Exploiting the
weakness of homeless women, or drug addicts, women desperate for any
source of income—

No. Not women. “You said
girls
.”

Rory’s smile is thin as razor wire. “Age is just a
number. They know what they’re about.”

Probably runaways, then. Teenage girls, and Rory wants to smuggle
them to Reno to whore them out. I stand up from the couch, and
stagger backward. “No. I—I can’t do that. Whether
they’re ‘willing’ or not—”

Mama clears her throat.

We both turn to look at her. A ribbon of smoke trails out of her lips
toward the ceiling. Her eyes are narrowed to little green dots as she
looks at me. “Lennox.”

“Yes, ma’am?” God, it feels disgusting to treat her
with the same level of respect I show women like Grams. But I have no
choice.

“Remember what I said earlier about Drazic’s crew? And
how they owe me?”

A trickle of sweat runs down between my shoulder blades. “Yes.”

“Drazic’s got that hot little niece, doesn’t he?
Elena, I think it is.”

My throat feels closed up like she’s squeezing it. No. No. I
can’t get Elena involved in this. But Mama already knows.
There’s no point in lying. “Yes,” I manage to say.
My voice sounds squeaky and frayed.

“She would sure be one way that Drazic could pay his debts.
Workin’ for me, same as these girls will. Or perhaps I can find
some other use for her.” Mama watches me, unblinking. “It’d
be real easy to scoop her up. She’s not even staying with her
uncle anymore, I hear.”

Every instinct in me is screaming at me to pounce on her. Beat the
shit out of that smug look on her face—hers and Rory’s,
too. But I can’t. I can’t snap like Nash. I have to think
about Elena. The future. The promise I made to her. The one that
seems to be getting further away from me by the minute.

“There’d be simpler ways for Drazic to settle his debts.
But look, Lennox, if you’re going to put me in this
position . . .”

I suck in a slow breath. I hate the gleeful look on Rory’s
face. He’s probably already imagining all the things he’d
do to Elena if he got his hands on her. I grit my teeth. “Okay.
I’ll do it.”

Mama snorts. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

My shoulders sag as I let out my breath. A short-term solution.
Eventually I’ll pay my debts. I’ll get out of their grip.

But god, that someday is only getting further away from me.

Mama steps out from behind the desk and approaches me. I don’t
dare move as she looks right in my face and exhales her cigar smoke.

“You may think you’re good at keeping secrets,” she
tells me. “But there are no secrets from me.” She leans
back. “I
always
find out.”

Elena

“I’m glad to have you on board, Elena,” AJ says,
handing me my nametag. “But I’ve got to warn you. My
shop’s not going to be nearly as glamorous of car work as what
you’re used to.”

I grin. “Glamorous? Please. I wear oil stains more than I wear
makeup.”

“Yeah, but I mean, you aren’t going to be restoring
gorgeous old muscle cars like you did for your uncle.” AJ leads
me back to the garage space behind the storefront. “Mainly we
get oil changes, brake pad replacements, you know, the works.”

“It’s fine, honest. I just need a job for now.” I
hesitate, but AJ seems like a nice guy, and he was good friends with
Lennox once upon a time, so I decide to ask. “You’re sure
you can’t hire Lennox, too? Even if it’s just a few hours
here and there . . .”

AJ cringes. “I’d love to. Honestly, I would. It’s
just . . . Alexander Cartwright. He’s got this
way around here. People would talk, or he could mess up the zoning
for my shop . . . I need to pay off the small business
loan, you know? It took me a lot to build up this place. I can’t
afford to lose it.”

There’s real fear in AJ’s eyes. I don’t understand
it. What does Cartwright have against Lennox? I know he didn’t
exactly love that Lennox used to date his daughter, but this seems
like a whole new level of weird. Like he’s trying to run Lennox
out of town completely.

Well, if Lennox can get out from under the McManuses’ thumbs,
he may get his wish. I’d love to leave Ridgecrest and not be
haunted by memories of what our crew once was. I’ll miss
them—they’re my family, after all—but maybe it’s
for the best. Leave the crew behind, and all the drama. Get a fresh
start somewhere—just me and my man.

In the meantime, I’m stuck at AJ’s shop.

Like AJ warned me, most of the work turns out to be tedious,
thankless maintenance jobs—the kind of shit people should know
how to do for their own cars. But so many drivers treat them like a
hunk of metal instead of a system that has to be kept finely tuned.
When I lecture the first lady on the proper timing she needs to obey
for oil changes, she just rolls her eyes at me, like I’m the
asshole here.