by Nicky Shanks
“Hey,” Mac’s gruff voice jabs through my daydream. “We gonna try and swipe the place again?”
I shake my head. “No, idiot. Remember they have cameras, and I ain’t going to jail for you again. I told you that the last time.”
Mac snickers. “You told me that the last three times.”
I lower my eyes to my lap because I’m defeated. “I know that,” I say to myself, because he stopped listening once he said his piece. He knows I’ll never leave him because I need what he needs—the catch and release that we give each other.
“Well, if we ain’t swiping the place, are we followin’ those two?” He points where Casey and Julie have passed us and driven off without a care in the world. I find myself desperately wanting to leave Mac in the dust and become the matriarch of this family, but I know both of my sons want nothing to do with me. I’ve done too much and gone too far for them to forgive me easily.
Mac’s large foot nudges my leg. “Hey, you listenin’ to me? Don’t make me ask you again.”
I lick my lips and think for a quick second. “Let’s follow them and make sure Casey doesn’t fuck shit up for us.” The sweat running down my cheeks is from the fear Mac puts inside of me whenever he teeters on the edge of revealing his true self.
It’s not the easygoing and fun-loving man I met so many years ago. I’m careful not to let the monster inside of him out.
“Fine,” he growls, lurching the van far behind Casey and Julie. I’m sure they’ll be too distracted with each other to notice anyone following them and that’s fine by me; I’m not in the mood for a fucking confrontation right now. My eyelids flutter and I know it’s a long drive back, so I close my eyes and dream of something—anything—better than this.
***
There he is.
I wonder if my hair is doing that awful side curl thing it likes to do. Can I reach up and fix it without being obvious? The fear of being caught staring at their table—the rich kids table—rises in my throat and it makes me want to scream.
All that comes out is silence.
“Hey, Veronica. You might want to get a move on to your table, Mac is watching us,” another waitress, Polly, says to me. “You know he doesn’t like when we stand around.”
My eyes move to the corner that Mac, our day-shift manager, likes to lurk in and watch us. There he is, licking his lips and staring at me. I admit, there may have been a time when I crushed on him. That time has long passed me since Colin Jackson started showing up at Lake Reed. First, he started coming in the summers with his father when we were teenagers, then it became winters too. He never realized I existed until earlier this summer. He was always different from the other boys that would come and go; he never made fun of me in passing or even batted an eyelash at the thought of having a summer fling with the dirt-poor help of the Lake Reed Inn.
We’ve been secretly seeing each other all summer, and it’s bursting inside of me; I want to tell someone so badly that I don’t care what his rules are anymore.
Pfft. Rules.
Colin loves his rules.
I think it’s a way for him to protect me from his friends.
My mother worked at the Inn when she was a teenager too. She loved the Inn just as much as she loved Everett Lathrop, the son of the richest man on the east coast, Dr. Carlisle Lathrop. Unfortunately, after declaring their undying love for each other when they were seventeen, my mother found out she was pregnant with me and Dr. Lathrop took his son far, far away and never returned.
This didn’t deter her from loving me. She made the decision to keep me as her own and we lived at the Lake Reed Inn, down in the basement employee apartments, for six years. I can still smell the mildew caked on the pipes that ran through our ceiling.
Then, she was gone.
Just like that.
I was playing upstairs on a Sunday morning and when I came back downstairs to wake her…she wasn’t there. Her things were scattered and mostly gone, a roll of money laid next to a folded-up piece of paper on her bed.
My dearest Veronica,
I have spoken with Madrie and Paul, they will watch over you. I know you can’t read this letter, so I can only hope someone will explain to you why I’ve left.
I’m not meant to live this life.
Please, don’t go through life with hate in your heart for me.
I know you’re just a child, please forgive me.
Just know, I do love you.
Mommy
That piece of paper sits folded in my small cedar box where I keep my important things. I haven’t seen her since the night before she left, but I’m mostly over it now. Madrie and Paul took good care of me even though they were barely twenty years old themselves. I know it’s a sad story that I’ve lived, but it’s my story and I’d like to think that’s what makes life complicated enough to call it a shitstorm.
“V?” Polly nudges me. “Go!”
My legs work before my brain does. I find myself in front of the rich kids table and they stop their conversation to glare at me with disgust and pity.
“Another minute there, blondie?” One of the guys snickers and smacks hands with another to his left. I don’t even bother studying them when I know they don’t compare to the dark chocolate hair and cool gray eyes of Colin Jackson. I find them and blush; my insides are raging with adrenaline and fear.
“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere?” Colin jokes and smiles at me. “You look very familiar.”
The first guy snickers again. “Yeah, I’m sure she does look familiar to you. You’ve probably slept with her already, man…let it go.”
Colin’s eyes lock with his. “I’d rather you didn’t talk about her like that.”
My heart melts into my chest. “I-I, um…well, is there anything…do you need?”
The two guys and three designer-labeled girls at the table laugh.
Not Colin.
He leans in and the three girls at the table drool all over themselves. When they notice that his eyes are locked on me, their ruby-red lips turn into frowns. “Can you tell my girlfriend that I can’t wait until I see her tonight?”
His eyes burn into mine.
I’m going to faint.
He smiles. “Veronica?”
“Yes?” My throat is so dry that it hurts. I know Mac is watching, so I want to stay professional, no matter how bad I want to jump into Colin’s lap and smack the other girls in their damn faces. “Yes, Mr. Jackson?”
He blushes. “Please, V. You know you can call me Colin.”
Mac’s snarl is near my ear as he walks up to the table. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jackson, but I can’t.”
Colin’s lips turn into a wicked smile. “Well, then. You can call me whatever you want.” He bites the inside of his cheek and sucks his bottom lip in. “As long as you’re the one saying it.”
“Is there a problem here?” Mac grunts as he reaches us. “I can get you a new waitress if you’d like.”
The three girls at the table start to protest, but Colin waves his hand in the air like a magic wand and they go quiet.
“Absolutely not,” Colin says, glaring at Mac. “You’ll keep our waitress the same, and when I leave her tip on the table, she will get all of it and you won’t pocket it anymore, will you, Terrance?”
Mac tenses when he hears his real name. “Who do you think—”
Colin’s eyebrows rise. “Do we have an understanding?”
Mac nods and glares at me. “If he touches you, I want to know.”
Colin stands and towers over me; his dark hair falls into his eyes and I almost need him to help me stand on my own two feet.
He’s gorgeous.
“Veronica,” he purrs, “what time does your shift end?”
I let him pull me away from the table and to a secluded part of the dining room. “I took a double shift today, so I won’t be off until after midnight.”
He plays with the loose strands of my hair. “Then I’ll come pick you up at midnight.”
<
br /> “I don’t know about this.” I can barely breathe. “I’m not going to fall for this, Colin. I want more than this.”
“I’m not trying to trick you.” He licks his lips and looks like he wants to devour me. “I just find myself wanting to know you more, is that so wrong?”
I’m not going to fall for this.
I’m not going to fall for this.
I’m not—
His eyes glow. “Please?”
I find my voice. “Okay. But if this is a joke or a trick, I’ll tell Mac and he’ll probably run you over with his ATV.” I giggle and crane my neck to see Mac, still seething toward us in his corner. “I’m sure he won’t waste a chance to beat you.”
Colin laughs and slides his rough hands around my waist. “I couldn’t care less about what he wants or doesn’t want; I want to kiss you, and that’s all I can think about right now.”
His lips touch mine and it’s like fireworks explode in my body.
***
“Hey!” Mac’s harsh whisper jerks me awake. “Wake the fuck up, they’re stopping!”
My eyelids flutter and it takes me a few seconds to realize where I am and what I’ve become. My vision focuses just in time to see Julie and Casey leave the car laughing, walking into a small off-the-road antique store halfway between Lake Reed and Rockford.
“We goin’ in?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No, we have to wait for the right time to snatch her.”
“When is that?” Mac snarls. “When you’ve changed your mind and backed out of this?”
He knows.
Dammit, he knows.
“I know you’re thinkin’ twice about this,” he says, and I can feel the heat of his breath on my cheek as he leans closer into me. “But don’t you fucking dare try and back out of this, you hear me? I want that money, we need that money. Those boys don’t fucking want you, so don’t fuck this up.”
My hands slam onto the dashboard. “I said I’m doin’ it, so I’m doin’ it! We can’t just go charging into a place we ain’t ever been before and kidnap someone! Jesus, Mac…get a damn grip on yourself.”
He thinks about what I’ve said and clicks his tongue. “We can’t follow this little bitch forever—I hope you’ve got a plan. And it better be a good fucking one.”
We wait for over an hour before Julie and Casey come back out of the antique store. He holds a few packages and puts them into the trunk before they start to drive away. This time, Casey gets into the driver’s seat, and as they pass the van, he looks nervously over and we lock eyes.
“Shit,” I say, ducking my head. “I think he saw me.”
Mac groans. “Jesus, leave it to you to fuck this up. I’m still followin’ them, right?”
“Right,” I hiss. “Maybe he won’t freak out and draw attention to us.”
The rest of the drive is silent between Mac and I, just the constant buzzing of the van’s engine as it struggles on its last leg. I wonder how we blew through that last hundred grand so fast without so much as considering the fact that we needed a new car. I mean, we fucking sleep in here…the least I should’ve done was buy an RV.
“They’re going back to Oliver’s apartment,” I say when we get into Rockford and they pull into the parking garage of his apartment building. “They’re not going anywhere tonight…let’s park and get something to eat.”
He snorts. “All you ever do is eat.”
I look down at my thin arms and legs. “Then, let’s sleep. I’m tired.”
Sick and tired, to be honest.
I want a different life. I want the life I was supposed to have. It’s too late to go back now.
No…I have to do this…I have to snatch the girl and get the money. Except now, I’m going to take the money and run.
Without Mac.
Chapter Sixteen
Heather
“Who does she think she is?” Brandon’s deep voice rises in the sealed cab of his car. “If she only fucking knew what we were doing for her, she wouldn’t be such a Grade-A bitch!” He blows out a typhoon of air from his lungs and taps the steering wheel impatiently. It’s been an hour since Julie blew us off and he’s still steaming over it, which can only mean one thing:
He’s not over her.
I listen as he rambles on.
“…right? It’s not like she’s innocent in all of this…she knows what she’s doing with that second-rate Saint Jackson…”
I find a package of mini peanut butter cups in my bag and start popping them into my mouth as he trails off and cranes his neck to stare at me while driving.
“And what do you think you’re doing?”
I toss another chocolate into my mouth. “Eating candy and not giving a shit about what Julie said to me, that’s what.”
He scoffs. “You’re not pissed? That’s surprising.”
I shake my head. “I don’t care what she says—I know that I’m doing a good thing for once, and that’s all that matters. Who cares what she thinks? Oliver knows the truth about how we’re trying to be better people. In the end, she’ll know too. Just be patient.” Brandon’s jaw drops and I stick a chocolate inside and smile. “You want people to see you in a better light, then act like it.”
“You’re right,” he says, chewing the candy. “I shouldn’t be a dick to her when I haven’t told her the worst news yet.” He sucks in air through his teeth. “We can’t be divorced for like three months…there’s a whole process and waiting time we have to adhere to.”
I don’t act surprised, even though I want to claw his eyes out. “Okay, so we wait three months. I’m not in a hurry to get married, so it makes no difference to me.”
“You don’t want to get married?”
Oh, no. I struck a chord I didn’t mean to.
“Someday, sure. Not anytime soon.”
His teeth grind loudly. “I see. I was under the assumption we were working toward something like that, and here you are…wanting the opposite.”
Shit. I have to fix this before he blows up.
“You didn’t listen to me. I said eventually I want to get married. We aren’t in any rush, are we? I’m not going anywhere…you’re not going anywhere. We’ve only been dating for less than a month. Maybe after a year we can talk about something like that.”
The steam in his breath chills. “You’re right…again. I don’t know what my problem is. I guess Julie got under my skin. It’s a fucked-up feeling knowing that someone you once loved is marrying someone else. It makes you crazy and want to rush things.”
I hiccup at the sugar overload and he laughs at me, so I shove a candy into his mouth to shut him up. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? I’m not Julie’s biggest fan right now either, but in her defense, we haven’t been angels to her a day in her life…why would she believe we are now?”
Brandon tugs the car into a parking space outside of Rita’s Boutique and puts it into park. My insides panic; I haven’t told him this is where Lucy works. “What are we doing here?” I squeak. “Are we going into another shop?”
He shakes his head. “No, we’re going into Rita’s. I know it’s not Dolce or Versace like Jackson could give you, but I have a black-tie charity thing next month for work and I need my girlfriend to look fucking more amazing than she already does.” He winks and opens his door. “So, shall we?”
I quickly try and think of a reason to get out of it, but he’s already opening my door and pulling me out of the car. I don’t know where Lucy goes after our class, but hopefully she doesn’t work today or this entire transaction is about to be awkward.
Once Brandon opens the boutique door and pushes me inside, I look around frantically for Lucy to pop out from behind the counter. Instead, a small-framed woman with bushy black eyebrows and bottle-cap glasses greets us.
“Hello there, kids. Welcome to Rita’s Boutique…I’m Rita.” She makes a weird giggle. “What can I help you with today?”
Brandon speaks for me. “I work at Walden and Trum
bull—” The woman’s eyes grow big and suddenly she’s more attentive. “—and my girlfriend needs something spectacular to wear to the children’s hospital gala next month.”
The woman gasps. “The Gatlin Children’s Hospital Gala? Oh, honey, that’s fancy.” Her eyes dart toward me and she looks me up and down. “We have some gowns I’ve been saving for special occasions like this, what are you…a size four?”
I blush. “Yes.”
She doesn’t miss a beat. “Okay then, honey, have yourself a seat and I’ll run up and grab them for you. Black-tie, yes?” She nods at Brandon, who nods right back to her like this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. “Excellent. Help yourselves to the sparkling white wine on the table there.”
Brandon pours each of us a flute of wine and sits down on the oversized white sofa. He takes a huge swig of the wine and notices that I’m staring at him when he crosses his legs. The suit he’s wearing is charcoal and cut just right for his body; the cool, silky fabric calls to me to snuggle up next to.
“You okay?” He snickers. “It’s just a dress, babe.”
I swallow whatever feelings were about to burst out of me. “I know that. Are you sure about this? What happens if we go to this charity thing and something happens to Julie?”
He puts the flute down and uncrosses his legs, putting his elbows on his knees as he leans forward to scold me. “Oliver will be back in town by then—this gala is a month from now. I’m not going to let anything happen to her, so just enjoy this, okay? I thought you might need this after the shit day we’ve had. I’ve gotta make a few phone calls…you’ll be okay in here by yourself for a few minutes, right?”
“Of course I will.” I playfully roll my eyes and let him kiss my cheek. “And thank you.”
He shakes his head. “No need to thank me; you deserve something like this for the kind of person you’re trying to become. I envy you that you’ve been so cool-headed about everything…it’s really sexy.” His lips turn up into his wicked smile before he steps back outside. I watch him through the front windows as he pulls his phone out and dials someone, looking around before he starts talking.
