Smash & Grab (33 page)

We haven't done a
BAM since the heist. Not that Leo and the others haven't brought it up. It's just that I haven't felt like it. I don't want to forget about what happened with Christian: the kisses we shared on the roof and during the heist, the doughnuts and chess—even that day at the Griffith Park zoo. I thought I was immune to all this sappy sort of stuff, but all I want to do is hide in the house with a container of Ben & Jerry's and binge-watch chick flicks. Somewhere along the way, I went from total badass to total mess.

But today, after weeks of listening to them beg and plead, I finally let Quinn, Leo, Oliver, Elena, and Whitney drag me out of the house for a maneuver they've planned without me. They're calling it a celebration, but I don't feel much like celebrating. Christian and his crew have their money. We have ours. The only thing I don't have is him. He read my note and maybe found what I wrote in the book, but he hasn't come around or called, and so it is officially and totally over. Now all I need to do is figure out a way to move on. It used to be so easy to do, but I think I've forgotten how.

I went into this whole thing to steal back my family's life, and for the most part I did, but what I never counted on was that along the way I'd have something stolen from me. My heart. God, it sounds melodramatic, but there it is. Christian stole my heart even if he didn't mean to.

“So what are we doing?” I ask.

“You'll see when we get there,” Leo says. He puts an arm around me, and I rest my head on his shoulder.

Elena and Oliver are up front. Quinn decided to take his motorcycle. I watch him drive by with Whitney behind him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. It's almost twilight outside and the sky is filled with pastel light. We drive out of the city and toward the canyons. Oliver's playing some audiobook on learning Japanese, and he and Elena are laughing and repeating the Japanese words for
cup
and
fish
and
hello.
Now that Oliver's got the money to leave, he's decided to actually do it. In a few weeks he is going to Japan to live with his mom. Since he's nearly eighteen, he won't have to worry about his dad making him come back. He says if he likes it he might stay for good. Elena is planning to visit over the winter holidays from school. Our group is gradually going to start drifting away. Oliver now; Quinn after this school year, when he heads off to college. Leo, Elena, Whitney, and I will graduate the year after, and then we'll be off to college, too. Tonight might be the very last BAM we do together.

We park down the road from an extreme-sports place that does tree obstacle courses and zip-lining. It's closed up for the night, but after bank robbery, it is no big thing for us to scale the fence. And tame as it is to break into this place, after all we've done, the thrill level feels just right. We put on the head lamps Quinn brought, but we don't turn them on until we are next to the obstacle course. I shine mine up at the trees and the rope course.

“Got room for one more?” Christian comes up behind me in the dark. My heart squeezes. I don't have to shine my light in his direction to know it's him; I'd know his voice anywhere. I slip the head lamp off my head and shakily set it on the ground.

“I didn't know you were into this sort of thing,” I say, trying to play it cool, but in the end I can't. A big, silly grin spreads across my face.
He's here.
After so many weeks it almost feels as if we're meeting for the first time.

“In scaling things? You could say I'm a recent convert.” He holds out his hand. “I'm Christian, by the way. I don't think we've met.” Obviously, seeing me again is strange for him, too.

I laugh because this is silly and I feel silly, but I also feel wonderful. He wants to start over. Can we? After everything that's happened? After all the things we did, or almost did, to each other?

I wouldn't have left him the note if I didn't believe it.

“I'm Lexi.” I hold out my hand.

We shake, and then he brings my hand up to his lips. My friends make noises behind us, cheers and gagging sounds.

“A little privacy, please?” I pretend to glare at them and they busy themselves with climbing, all except Leo, who holds up his camera and snaps a picture just as Christian scoops me up and spins me around.

The way he looks at me—for a moment I can feel that old familiar panic, the animal-like instinct to run because it is too much, I feel too much, but then he takes my face in his hands and leans in to kiss me.

The night we met I jumped off the US Bank Tower downtown. As exhilarating as it was, it was no match for this moment, this kiss. I'm hanging off the edge without a parachute, trusting him to catch me before I hit the ground. Given what I've known about love and all the ways it can go wrong, it seems like a reckless and crazy thing to do, but suddenly I can't seem to stop myself. I close my eyes and let go.

Many thanks are due to the incredible Random House Children's Books team. I am lucky to work with such creative, dedicated people. It takes a village to make a book, and I am so very happy you are mine.

To my editor, Chelsea Eberly, who is always just a phone call away. Thank you for all the patience, care, and attention you've given to this book and to me. I enjoy working with you more than I can express!

To Caroline Abbey, who gamely took the time to nudge me in the right direction early on.

To Elizabeth Tardiff for the brilliant cover. You captured the essence of Lexi perfectly!

To Barbara Bakowski for your genius copyediting. I'd still be lost in the revision stage if not for you.

Much love to my agent, Lucienne Diver, who is my own personal superhero. Thank you for believing in me and having my back. You are more than an agent. You are a very dear friend.

To Stefanie Marks and Shann Keckler for helping me work on the bank-related bits. Every technical thing I got right is thanks to the two of you.

To the YA Chicks: Vivi Barnes and Christina Farley. One of the best things that has come out of this whole writing thing is meeting you both. Here's to many more years of crazy adventures!

Shout-outs to my GFA girls: Michele, Ruth, Amy, Lori, Corinne, Kim, Natalie, Gemma, Deborah, and Stephanie. I'm honored to be sharing the journey with you all.

Enormous gratitude to my early readers: Tara Gallina, Stefanie Marks, and Jennifer Baker. You waded through a messy draft and inspired me to dig deeper.

To my parents; Tom, Erika, Lauren, Kiersten; and my in-laws. Your love and support mean the world to me.

And finally, to my husband, Jay, and my two daughters, Samantha and Riley. You have given me the ability to pursue this dream of mine, and I love you all to the moon and back and back and back.

AMY CHRISTINE PARKER
is the author of
Gated
and
Astray.
She writes full-time from her home near Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband, their two daughters, and one ridiculously fat cat. Visit Amy online at
amychristineparker.com
and follow her on Twitter at
@amychristinepar
.