Devil's Pass

by Caroline Peckham

  I shifted in JJ's lap and he growled something that made the hairs along the back of my neck prickle as I turned to look into his eyes. He was so freaking pretty it was untrue. His mom was from South Korea originally and she'd told him his dad was Malaysian even though he'd never been on the scene and Christ that combo had created something really damn captivating to look at. He'd been the kind of kid who should have been on diaper commercials making shit catchers look cute and now he was growing into the kind of dude who girls couldn't take their eyes off of. Me included half the time.

  JJ kept running his hand in small circles on my lower back and it felt stupidly good, like he was soothing my damn soul.

  "I love you boys," I said, looking between the four of them and smiling as the panic of what I'd done finally subsided just a little.

  "I love you too, hummingbird," Fox said instantly, looking over at me with a grin and then shooting a scowl at J which I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to notice.

  Maverick thumped him in the shoulder. "We all love you, beautiful," he said firmly. "And I'd kill that motherfucker again if you hadn't done such an awesome job of it. In fact, that really just makes me love you more. You’re a bloodthirsty badass and it’s hot as hell."

  "Shut the fuck up, Rick," Chase growled, his eyes flashing and I was guessing he didn't like the fact that I'd been exposed to violence like that.

  He kept looking at my busted lip like it actually caused him pain and I reached out to take his hand to try and reassure him that I was okay. He'd seen too much fucking violence in his life for anyone and I knew this had to be rough on him. All he ever wanted was to be able to protect his mom from the violence of his dad and now he had to face the fact that he hadn’t been able to protect someone else he loved from pain either. It wasn’t his job to look after me, but I loved that he wished he could.

  Maverick elbowed Chase in response to the dig and Chase looked like he wanted to lay him out for it. Fox quickly piped up, telling them they needed to stop arguing or he’d pull over and start punching them, even though he was just joining in by saying that.

  I rolled my eyes as they all started in on each other and JJ tugged me closer, murmuring in my ear so that no one else could hear over their stupid bickering.

  "Are you alright, pretty girl? It's okay if you're not, you know.”

  "I'm good now, J," I promised, snuggling into him more and closing my eyes for a moment.

  This had been a long fucking day and we weren’t even close to done yet. I wished I could just curl up here in his arms and let the solid thump of his heartbeat lull me to sleep. Then maybe I’d wake up to realise this was all just some nightmare and I wasn’t a killer at all.

  A flash of red and blue showed through my eyelids and I gasped as a siren whooped, jolting me out of my momentary reprieve as my heart leapt up into my mouth.

  "Oh shit, we're all going to prison," Chase groaned.

  "Pass me the gun," Rick hissed leaning over me and trying to fumble the glovebox open.

  "Are you fucking insane?" I whisper-shouted back, slapping his hand away.

  "Just stay cool, they can't know about the body," Fox growled impatiently.

  "If I die, at least I'm going out with you in my arms, pretty girl," JJ murmured just for me and I didn't know whether that was supposed to flatter or terrify me, but as Fox pulled over, I went with terrify.

  I looked out of the rear window with my pulse racing a mile a minute as the cop got out of his squad car and shone a flashlight our way.

  Rick used my distraction to knock my hand aside, rip the glovebox open and snatch the gun, jamming it out of sight between him and Chase as the rest of us started hissing protests at him.

  The cop rapped his knuckles against Fox's window and we all instantly shut up as he opened it for him and I glared daggers at Rick while Chase gripped his wrist to make sure he didn't get any dumb ideas about raising that fucking weapon. Sometimes I swear that boy thought he was more dangerous that Luther Harlequin himself and I worried about what the hell that meant for his future if he was going to pull stunts like this regularly.

  "Evening boys," the cop said, leaning down to point his flashlight into the car while we all squinted back at it. "And little lady."

  "Hey, err...were we doing something wrong or..." Fox just shrugged like he had no idea why he'd been pulled over and I'd never been so glad of that boy's poker face in all my life.

  "How many seats you got in this truck, son?" the cop asked, running his flashlight back and forth over the five of us crammed into the three seats.

  "Yeah. Sorry about that, we were just hanging out at the beach and lost track of time and I didn't want anyone walking home alone this late, so... I know it's not a good enough excuse, but we won't do it again." Fox offered up a bullshit winning smile and I chewed on my lip as my stomach writhed in fear.

  "Hmm..." The cop leaned back and looked towards the rear of the truck where Axel's body was hidden within the tarp beside all of our surf boards. "Licence and registration?"

  Fox shot all of us a warning look as he reached over us to grab the documents from the glovebox, pausing to give my knee a reassuring squeeze which sent a rush of warmth running beneath my skin and caused Maverick to grumble irritably.

  He leaned back again, passing the fistful of papers out to the cop who turned his flashlight towards them as he checked them out.

  "What you got back there?" he asked casually.

  "Fishing rods," Chase said just as Fox said, "Surfboards," and my heart leapt with panic.

  "Harlequin?" the cop asked, straightening up as he checked Fox's licence. "You Luther's boy?"

  "Yes, sir," Fox agreed brightly and I swear the dude looked about ready to shit his pants.

  "Well...err...we wouldn't want your friends walking home in the dark at this time of night, like you said. But it’s not safe for your girlfriend to be riding on your lap like that son,” he added, looking at JJ before turning his attention back to Fox. “So just don't do it again and have a nice night. Say hi to your pa for me...or don't. Whatever you like." The cop handed the paperwork back over and was gone before we'd even figured out what was happening. I guess it paid to be connected to the most notorious criminals in the city though, and we knew full well that half the cops were on the Harlequin payroll anyway. We probably should have thought of that sooner.

  We stayed silent as he pulled around us and drove away and then we all burst out laughing and whooping and howling at once as Fox started the truck back up.

  “I can’t believe that cop thought Rogue was your girl,” Rick scoffed, reaching over Chase to give JJ a shove.

  “That’s because she is, aren’t you pretty girl?” Johnny James replied, looking smug as fuck as he squeezed me tight.

  “You’re definitely the best of the bunch,” I agreed lightly and the others all broke out into protests.

  “You change your favourite every damn day,” Fox grumbled.

  “That’s because you’re all so damn irresistible it’s impossible to pick,” I teased.

  “You sure about that, little one?” Chase asked, an edge to his tone. “You haven’t decided you like one of us best yet?”

  “Don’t pout, Ace,” I said, reaching out to grab his chin. “You’ll be my favourite tomorrow.”

  He arched an eyebrow at me like he wasn’t sure he believed that and I leaned over to kiss his cheek, making Rick and Fox complain loudly about why they weren’t the favourites and JJ tugged me back against him firmly.

  I laughed at their dumb asses as the bickering started up in full force and we continued our drive down to the marina where Fox’s dad docked The Harlequin - his fancy speedboat which we were not allowed on under any circumstances and had therefore been out on more times than we could count.

  We pulled up in the dark marina and Fox cut the engine before slipping out of the truck. I checked the time on the dash, seeing that it was past two and chewing my lip as I looked around to see if there was any sign of anyo
ne else being out here.

  A few floodlights lit up the boats from the end of the peers and the yard gates themselves were chained up and locked for the night, but this city didn't sleep so that meant nothing really.

  Maverick and Chase followed Fox out and tossed the doors shut, leaving me alone with JJ for a minute.

  "Are you okay, pretty girl?" he asked seriously, watching me as I looked around and I turned to him with a tight smile, twisting on his lap as he kept hold of me.

  "I just don't want to be responsible for getting all of us into shit over this," I said, leaning forward to press my forehead to his for a moment and closing my eyes. "You guys are all that matter to me, J."

  "We got you," he promised me. "And you're not the one who got us into this. That piece of shit who tried to lay his hands on you is. I never would have thought I'd be glad to hear one of my friends killed someone, but shit, Rogue, I'm so fucking relieved that you did."

  His arms tightened around my waist as we stayed there a moment, sharing the same oxygen and so close that we almost could have been kissing and the moment that thought occurred to me, I could feel my cheeks heating. These boys were my life and soul. I only felt complete when I was with them.

  The door was yanked open beside us and I looked around to find Fox there, one eyebrow raised as he gave JJ a flat look and J shifted a little uncomfortably beneath me.

  "Rick's gone to shut the lights off for a couple of minutes so we can get him down to the boat without being lit up for everyone for miles around to see. You sure you wanna help out with this part, hummingbird? You can wait here if you'd rather not-"

  "Stop acting like you're the one who killed him, Fox," I said firmly, moving out of JJ's lap and hopping out of the truck to stand before him, looking up at his ruffled blonde hair and realising he'd run to me straight from bed when I'd called without even fixing it. Which for him was pretty much unheard of these days. "I did it and I'm not sorry. But we need to fix this and I'm not going to be left on the side lines."

  Fox's lips twitched with amusement. "Alright, alright, I'm just trying to be a gentleman about it."

  "I don't think there is a way to be a gentleman about throwing a dead body in the ocean, so how about you channel some of your psycho daddy for me instead and we get this over with?"

  “Deal.”

  Fox threw his arm around my shoulders and tugged me close as we walked around to the back of the truck where Chase was rolling the cover back so that we could see the tarp covered corpse waiting for disposal.

  Fox pressed a kiss to the top of my head and then hopped up into the back of the truck, moving with Chase to grab the head end of the body. JJ walked around to stand with me, giving me a firm look before reaching out to grab Axel’s feet and I forced myself to help.

  My skin crawled as I hooked my arms around Axel's legs and started heaving him out of the truck bed with the help of the others. I wasn't disgusted by the fact that I was touching a dead body - I was repulsed by the idea of touching him again. The sooner he was shark bait, the better.

  Fox and Chase jumped down and the four of us started walking towards the locked gates, heaving the solid weight of the corpse between us and looking all around nervously just in case there was anyone out here. Nothing to see here – just four kids carrying a dead body on our way to steal a boat and dump it in the ocean. Totally normal for a Tuesday in Sunset Cove.

  The lights suddenly went out and I gasped even though I'd been expecting it, taking a moment to adjust my eyes to the moonlight instead as we kept walking. Rick must have broken into the office where the power unit was to cover our asses and we needed to hurry in case someone noticed the blackout.

  When we reached the gates, I released my hold on Axel and moved forward, rattling the chain that held them together and managing to force a gap between the two metal gates just big enough for us to squeeze through.

  I ducked inside first and JJ followed before the two of us reached back through to tug on Axel's feet.

  He was a big bastard and he got stuck several times as the four of us pushed and heaved but eventually we managed to yank him through so suddenly that I fell back onto my ass.

  Chase was there a moment later, offering me a hand to help me up and I smiled at him as he drew me to my feet.

  "What were you doing tonight?" he asked me in a low voice, keeping hold of my hand. He was the only one of the boys who had made any real progress with growing any kind of beard yet and he never shaved it fully clean anymore, leaving a rough edge of stubble on his jaw which made him look so much older than the boy I’d grown up with sometimes. "Before that piece of shit grabbed you. Why were you out, little one?"

  I frowned at the odd question and shrugged my shoulders. "Me and Rick rode up to the upper quarter and spray painted the wall of some fancy new hotel."

  "And that's it?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

  "Pretty much...why?"

  "No reason," he grunted before turning away from me abruptly and grabbing the corpse again.

  He seemed a bit off tonight, but I wasn't sure if there was a reason for it beyond us disposing of a dead body. I didn't really have time to spare figuring it out though, so I grabbed hold of Axel's feet and helped lift him as we started moving down the wooden jetty in the dark.

  Luther's boat was moored at the far end of the row of vessels and we hurried along, cringing at the sound of our footfalls disturbing the silence and hoping there wasn't anyone out here for the hundredth time.

  Fox quickly jumped aboard as we reached the white speed boat, reaching back towards us so that we could get the body onboard and the rest of us hopped in the moment Axel's corpse fell to the floor.

  The floodlights blared to life again a few moments later and Fox set about untying the boat so that we could leave as Maverick jogged around the jetty and headed over to join us.

  Chase took a seat and I dropped down beside him, his arm wrapping around my waist automatically as I leaned in and he released a long breath.

  "What's up?" I whispered, peering up at him and making him look around at me too. He had the kind of eyes I could get lost in, so much dark and anguish and pain in them but so much life and hope too. He’d had too much bad in his life and sometimes I felt like every smile I could tease from him was more valuable than anything else in the world.

  His chocolate brown hair curled naturally and he’d let it grow out over the last few months – probably in part because he was poor as dirt like me and couldn’t afford to get it cut and his mom just hadn’t bothered helping him out recently – but I found I liked the look on him. I reached up to push a bit of it behind his ear as the wind tossed it across his face, frowning at the fresh bruise on his jaw. I wanted to ask about it but he hated us mentioning the injuries he got at home, so we never did unless he chose to bring it up.

  For a moment it looked like he was going to spill but then the boat rocked violently as Maverick leapt onboard and he just shrugged, his gaze moving from me to Rick and narrowing slightly.

  "Let's just get rid of this motherfucker," Chase muttered, closing the subject and shutting me out. I hated when he did that, but it almost always had to do with his dad, so I got it.

  Maverick took the seat on my other side, grabbing my knees and twisting my legs around so that he could pull them over his lap instead of me having to try and stop my toes from touching Axel’s body.

  I gave him a grateful smile and turned fully, laying back in Chase's lap so that I was half on top of both of them, but they never minded me crowding their space, so I liked to do it as often as possible. Maybe it was because I hadn’t gotten enough hugs as a kid or maybe it was just because I could never get enough of my boys. Either way, it felt as natural as breathing to be close to them so that was what I did.

  JJ took a seat opposite us and Fox started up the boat, slowly manoeuvring us out of the marina to keep the engine noise to a minimum.

  I turned my gaze up to the silvery moon far above us, watching it peek throug
h the clouds as the boat bobbed and swayed beneath us while Chase slowly moved his fingers through my hair and Maverick painted circles around my ankle with his fingertips.

  Once the boat upped its speed and we were racing out into the ocean with spray flying up around us, I finally began to relax. We could deal with this. It was gonna be okay. Me and my boys against the world.

  Fox kept going until Sunset Cove was just a twinkle of lights on the horizon and then cut the engine, getting to his feet as the boat bobbed on the waves.

  "Maybe we should have brought some chum to attract the sharks," JJ muttered as he stood too and I pushed myself upright in my seat.

  "He's plenty bloody, the sharks will sniff him out anyway," Chase reasoned.

  "We've gotta stick holes in him so he doesn't float," Maverick announced, getting to his feet and unwrapping the tarp.

  "That doesn't sound right," I muttered, my nose wrinkling at the sight of the body as I sat up.

  "It is, beautiful, trust me." Rick gave me a wide grin and then snatched the metal poker from within the bloody towels while I tried not to look at Axel's face which still looked kinda shocked in death. Like he couldn’t believe that some big bad gangster could be taken out by some nothing girl he just wanted to fuck and forget. Well fuck him for underestimating me and I seriously hoped he was burning in hell right about now.

  "Don't," JJ protested, reaching out towards Rick with a disgusted look on his face as he raised the poker.

  "You see this asshole's pants?" Rick snarled, pointing with his free hand. "You see how his fucking fly is undone? You do know what he wanted to do to our girl, don't you?"

  JJ looked while I tried not to and Fox took my hand, squeezing it tight.

  JJ leaned forward and snatched the poker from Maverick before driving it down into Axel's gut with a shout of anger.

  Chase pushed to his feet and kicked the body next then suddenly all four of them were kicking and stomping and stabbing him with the poker as the boat bobbed and swayed beneath us from all of the movement.