Luke slid his arm around the back of my chair and nodded toward Kai. "You two know each other?"
"Kind of." There was no need to turn and see the contempt on Kai's face.
Luke's eyes narrowed. "He's into you."
"No." I shook my head even as shivers ran...
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Jasmine and I stared at my ceiling Sunday evening. I was supposed to lay low, not parade myself around town, but cabin fever was at an all-time high. Even Mom and Dad had gone out to dinner, something about needing 'together time' but I knew they felt it, too.
"I'm so bored," I said.
"We could go to Magpies." Jasmine rolled onto her side to look at me.
"We could?"
"You know, quietly."
I sat up. "We could park in the back, sneak in the side door." It sounded glorious. I hadn't done anything normal in forever.
When we arrived, there were a bunch of guys gathered in the lot behind Magpies. As soon as Jasmine and I got out of the truck, they headed for us. Jazz mad-dogged the guys and came around to my side of the truck.
"Well, well. Look what we have here," one of the guys said as they walked up. I'd seen him hang out with Kai before. "If it isn't the sacred white girl."
Jasmine stepped in front of me. "Get over yourself, Hank."
"Don't have a problem with you, Jazz." He nodded toward me. "Just her."
Another guy cornered me against the truck. "Tell us what you really saw."
"It's in the police report," I said through my teeth, trying to act tough, but my hands began to shake.
"Liar," he growled in my ear as his hand locked around my elbow.
"Knock it off, you guys," Jasmine said as she tried to shove the guy away from me.
I tried to wrench my arm out of the guy's grip, but he wasn't letting go. This was why I wasn't supposed to be out in public. Now I get it. I reached for Jasmine's arm. I couldn't let them separate us. If they took me and it was just me against all those guys, it wasn't going to be pretty. I needed a plan. Quick.
An engine roared into the parking lot. Luke? Please, let it be Luke. I couldn't see over the guys surrounding us, but a car door slammed. Angry footsteps stomped toward me. The guy holding me said, "What should we do with her?"
"I'll take care of it." Kai's hand snaked around my wrist as the other guy released my elbow. Kai quickly led me to his Fastback, guiding me across the driver's seat instead of opening the passenger door. Then he got in, slammed it into gear and gunned it down the road.
Was he saving me?
Or driving me to my death?
His clenched jaw told me he was as angry as the guys in the parking lot.
"Okay, Kai." My voice shook. "Let me out." He probably wanted to throw me off the nearest cliff for what I said about his aunt.
"You make guys crazy," he said as he stared out the windshield. "Drive them to do things they wouldn't normally do."
