“You decent?”
“Yup, just finishing up.” She swiped a bit of pearly lip-gloss on her mouth and flattened her lips before dabbing the extra off with a tissue.
Britt crossed the room and dropped onto Nettie’s bed. “So where are we off to tonight? Late movie? Shopping? Oh! I got it! We’re going to finally use those fake ID’s I scored and go to The Final Resting Place! I have been dying to go there. No pun intended.” She laughed.
Serenity sat on her vanity chair and slipped on a pair of Keds, remaining quiet as Britt rambled on about New York City and the club. Even if those plans were on the table, Nettie wasn’t about to catch a train and make a two hour trip down there. After Drakkar left, she hadn’t slept at all. Between her mother’s instruction, Jake’s repeated apologies, and her own guilt, there was no point in trying to catch any sleep what-so-ever.
When Britt pulled out her cellphone to contact some unknown person -granted Nettie wasn’t paying attention so she missed their name- about going to the club, Serenity knew it was time to put the brakes on the Britt crazy train.
“We are not going to the city.” Her words went unheard as Britt continued to dial her phone. Nettie held her hand out and summoned the phone to her hand. Two seconds later it vanished and reappeared in her hand.
“Hey! Why did you do that?” Britt waved her fingers at Nettie. “Come on, give it back. I need to call the club to make sure we’re on the list.”
“No.”
“No? If I don’t call, we’ll never get in, and why bother going then!”
Nettie held her ground. “No, because, we are not going there.”
“But you just said--”
“I never said we were going. You came to that conclusion all by yourself.” Nettie stood and retrieved her red leather backpack purse and slipped it on her back. She then held out Britt’s phone to her.
Britt took it and slipped it back in her pocket. “Okay, then what have you planned for us, oh great one?”
“We are going to act like other kids our age and hang out.”
Her friend made a face at that. “Ugh really? We are actually going to do nothing?”
“Yup. There’s this abandoned airport where they all hang out. I thought it would be fun--”
“No. No. And I repeat, no.” Britt narrowed her eyes at Nettie. “I don’t know who put this thought in your head, but count me out. There is no way I am going to that airstrip. Nick used to go there all the time. He’ll probably be there tonight.”
Serenity was stunned. She’d never heard Britt get so angry about going somewhere. “Come on, you might have fun. I’m sure it’s so big that even if he’s there, there’s no chance we will even see him. Besides, it would be helping my mom on this case she’s working.”
“A case, huh?” Britt crossed her arms and assessed Serenity in silence. It made her a little squeamish. Nettie felt like she was under a microscope. She promised her mother she wouldn’t tell anyone about the case, but here she was, ready to divulge the info to her best friend. She was going to have to come up with something else to tell her, and fast.
“Uh, yeah. There’s been a number of vandalisms and petty thefts in the area, always on nights the car cruise is at the air field. My mom can’t go herself; she’d get made in a second. But, you and I, we can get in and not raise any questions. We observe. If anything out of the ordinary goes down, we call her with the info. Simple.”
Britt nodded. Her story made sense. It wasn’t anything her friend would overly question. And it wasn’t something so dangerous Britt would balk at the suggestion of them helping her mother.
Serenity crossed her fingers, hoping Britt took the bait.
“Alright. I’ll go. We collect info for your mom, hang for a bit -hopefully not running into Nick- and who knows, we may find me a new boyfriend.” Britt giggled. “Nettie, I do believe this might work out for the better tonight.”
Whew. “I promise, I’m only thinking about the case, not actively looking for your ex.”
“Sold. But there’s one problem. I can’t take my car there. People will recognize it” Britt tapped her chin with a nail. “Hey, do you think your Mom would let us take the Challenger? It’s a classic, after all.”
Nettie chuckled, picking up a set of car keys up from her dresser. She jingled them in Britt’s direction. Her toffee eyes twinkling with mischief. “I like the way you think. It’s already taken care of.”
“Awesome! Let’s get going.”
Britt jumped off the bed and almost sprinted out of the room and down the stairs to the garage. Nettie followed at a slower pace. Sure she was excited to drive one of her mother’s prized possessions, truthfully, is didn’t happen that often, but her reservations and guilt held her back.
Please tell me I’m doing the right thing here.
No one confirmed or denied it. Not even the little voice in her head which usually talked her out of getting in trouble.
Nettie came to a stop at the foot of the main staircase. Her mother was there, a tight lipped smile on her lips. She smiled brightly at her mother. “Guess this is where I get to live the life I’ve been groomed for.”
“Unfortunately it’s sooner than I ever thought it would happen.” Sheridan pulled Nettie into a tight hug. “You be careful and don’t do anything stupid.”
“Funny, mom. I’m not the one you have to worry about.” She pulled back and motioned toward the shadow lurking in the living room. “I think my personal body guard will make it his business to be within shouting distance. Lord knows he’ll blend in with something.”
Sheridan laughed. “True” She looked between Nettie and Britt. “Not too late you two and have fun.”
Britt beamed. “Always, Mrs. A. I’ll make sure Nettie watches the time. Pinky promise.”
“Okay, go.” Her mother waved them off as she headed toward the now empty living room.
They entered the garage and climbed into the car. Serenity took a moment to run her fingers over the leather steering wheel. The 1970 Plum Crazy Purple Challenger was her father’s baby. It started out as his father’s car, never passed to anyone outside the family. When her grandfather died, her father inherited it. He treated it like it was a rare piece of gold, which it was. They didn’t make cars like it anymore and it was even rarer to find one especially in the condition this one was in.
She put the key in the ignition and started the car. It rumbled to life like a lion ready to go out on a hunt.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Britt exclaimed beside her. “I can’t wait to see the looks we get as we pull in.”
“Yeah, two teenage girls in a classic muscle car, we are definitely going to turn more than a few heads.” She glanced at her best friend. “It will make it that much easier to get the info we need.”
“How so?”
Nettie rolled her eyes as the garage door rose. “Because we just put together the two things guys our age are drooling over, cars and chicks. Well, they get all hot and bothered over video games, which I don’t understand, but I’m not about to challenge anyone to play a game. At least not one they need a game controller for.”
Serenity put the car in reverse and backed out of the garage, careful not to hit the gas too hard. The last thing they needed was for the neighbors to call the police on the noise. Sometimes the people who lived around them could be real jerks that way.
Muscle cars were made to be seen and heard, not hidden away and treated like they were some evil gas guzzling beast from hell. No, this car was a piece of art and she wanted to show it off.
Once the car rolled into the street, Serenity shifted into drive, giving Britt a devilish grin. Britt grinned back, encouraging. Foot on the brake, Nettie hit the gas hard. The tires spun as the engine roared. Billows of smoke rose behind the car. Nettie waited just long enough for a few curtains to open in the homes surrounding them before she let her foot off the brake and sped down the street.
They probably went no more than a couple
miles when Nettie’s cellphone rang. Britt held it up so she could see who was calling. Nettie sighed when her uncle’s name on the screen. She nodded and Britt put it on speaker.
“Hey, Uncle Jake. What’s up?”
“You are really going to play stupid and act like you don’t know why I’m calling?” She could almost see him frowning through the phone.
“I know, I shouldn’t have done the burnout, but, come on, I’ve been dying to do it. The neighbors will get over it.”
Jake surprised her by laughing. “Yeah, they will. Don’t worry about it. But that actually isn’t why I’m calling”
“Then why?”
His voice became strained. “I’m not following you two. Your mom said to let you handle this, so I am. This is your mission. But know that if you need me, I’m only a call away.”
“Aw, Jake. I’ll keep that in mind. I think we’ll be fine, though.”
“I’m sure you will. I taught you how to protect yourself, remember. I know you can handle this.”
“Thanks, Jake.”
“And, Kiddo?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too. Later.”
“Yeah, later.”
Nettie motioned for Britt to disconnect the call, which she did immediately.
“Okay, so we just lost our back up. We can do this.” Serenity’s voice waivered slightly as she started giving them both a pep talk. “We’ll be fine.”
“Nettie,” Britt said quietly.
“Hmm?” Serenity stared straight ahead. Her pep talk sounded flat to even her own ears. How did she ever expect Britt to go along with her plan now? To say she was losing confidence was an understatement. Her hands were clammy and there was a knot slowly tightening in her gut. If she let her nerves get the better of her now, she might actually stop the car and go back home.
“I need you to be straight with me. Why are we really going to this meet up tonight? And don’t give me the crap about getting info for your mom. We could do that at school during the week.”
Serenity bit her lip. She knew she couldn’t keep a secret from her friend for that long. And it seemed Britt was getting better at calling bullshit on her. Was there really a reason to keep up the charade? Probably not.
“Okay,” she grumbled. “You got me. This isn’t about the information I told you about. But it is still a mission for my Mom and the Conservatorship.”
“Oh really? Here I thought we were just going to put a few guys and their imports to shame. What’s the mission?” Britt pulled out a light up compact and put on lip gloss.
“Well.” Serenity hesitated. Her best friend was going to flip. “We have to find Nick and Drakkar.”
Britt dropped her compact and lip gloss. “No. We are not going to hang around with Nick tonight. You turn this bucket of bolts around and drop me off at home. Now, Nettie!”
Serenity turned into the abandoned airport’s driveway. The spotlights up ahead shone like a homing beacon. “Sorry, Britt. There’s no turning back now. We are doing this.”
She pulled to a stop and rolled the window down. The guy guarding the gate slowly made his way down the line of cars, giving her time to collect both of their ids. Of course, Britt was giving her a hard time, but as the kid came to the door, she finally gave it up.
“ID’s please, ladies,” He leaned forward his arm restring on the top of the door. His amber wolf’s eyes glowed as he assessed them. Serenity handed him their cards. The wolf glanced at the plastic and back at them. “Business or pleasure tonight?”
“What kind of question is that bul—Ow,” Britt exclaimed just as Serenity pinched her.
“Business, definitely business.” Nettie nodded with a saucy smile.
“Niiiice.” Wolf boy bit his lip. “Who ya looking for? Or can I fill in instead?” He winked.
“Oh puhleeese!” Britt rolled her eyes from the other side of the car. “I’d rather deal with Nick.”
“Nick? You mean Montgomery?” The wolf pulled back with a nervous look in his eye and handed her their ID’s back.
Serenity’s brow furrowed. That wasn’t the response she expected. “You know him? Is he here yet?”
“Uh, yeah. Take the straight away to the first turn off. They should be at the end of that row.” He turned away and headed toward the cars lined up behind them,.
“Gee, thanks.”
Britt let out an unlady-like snort. “See, I told you. Montgomery is bad news.”
Oh, Britt, you have no idea how bad things are going to get for us.
“So this is what you do every weekend?” Drakkar got out of the van and looked around them, amazed. Rows upon rows of cars and motorcycles, current and classic alike, surrounded him. He’d never seen so many in one place other than on TV.
Nick grinned. “Yup. See what you miss out on being her locked up puppy? Tonight you see how the other half lives.” He opened the back of the van and motioned for Drake to come help him get the bike out of the back. “Tonight we will be popping your social cherry.”
Drake grabbed the handlebars, roughly yanking the bike to the ground. The look he shot at Nick was a cross between appalled and far from amused.
“My cherry doesn’t need popping.”
“I beg to differ.” Nick scoffed. “Cuz maybe if it were, you wouldn’t act like such a dick to everyone.”
Before he responded, a dark skinned female with all the grace of a feline slid up behind Nick and wrapped her arms around one of his. Her green eyes glittered as she looked up at him, smiling.
“Nicky, you weren’t going to leave me stranded here all by myself tonight, were you?” She turned her gaze on Drake, who shifted uneasily, and licked her lips. “And who is your delicious friend?”
She held her hand out to Drakkar, urging him to take it. When he didn’t, she pouted, tossing her long dark curls over her shoulder.
“Dahlia, meet Drakkar. I was able to spring him from his prison for the night and thought he could use a little entertainment. Drake, Dahlia is a panther shifter and really good at making people forget their problems.” Nick touched her chin with his finger and lifted it so their eyes met. “He’s off limits, baby.”
“The good ones always are.” She sighed, turning her attention back to Drake. “Nice to meet you, Drakkar. Will you be around a while? Maybe we can hook up later without your babysitter.”
Drake frowned. Hearing her say his name was like hearing nails on a chalkboard. He definitely didn’t like it. Now, if it were Serenity saying it . . . he could listen to that all day. “Nah, I’m good thanks.”
“Your loss, tall, blond and lethal.”
“Hey, I’m standing right here.” Nick coughed, muffling his laughter.
“So?” She shrugged.
The two of them playfully bickered back and forth. Drake lost interest. This was definitely something he wanted to steer clear of.
This was a stupid idea. I’d much rather be-
The movement around him slowed to a halt. The noise faded into silence. The familiar scent of strawberries encompassed him. Closing his eyes, Drakkar inhaled deeply, completely forgetting about Nick and Dahlia. Even though they were standing in front of him, they were miles away.
“Serenity.” He breathed.
Nick broke away from his debate with the shifter. “Did you say something?”
Ignoring Nick’s attempt to get his attention, Drake frowned when her scent changed slightly. He could sense something was bothering her. Opening his eyes, he stalked off in the direction her scent radiated from.
He crossed over two aisles and headed toward the main stretch. As he approached, he slowed down to listen to the conversation unravelling before him. The wolf from the main gate leaned on a vehicle which obviously meant something to Serenity. Her mouth was drawn in a thin line as her anger rose.
“Come on, baby. You and me, right now. Let’s take this for a spin.” The wolf was nearly salivating on the hood. “I promise, you let me drive a
nd you won’t regret it.”
Serenity’s lip curled slightly for a moment. ”I told you already, not here for a hook up, especially not with a rabid canine.”
Drakkar chuckled under his breath, still keeping his distance. Instinct pushed him to intervene, but she could handle herself. She proved it to him more than once on the night they met. If only things hadn’t gone out of control.
“First of all, not rabid, just looking to have a good time.” The jerk finally pushed away from the car. “I thought the two of you were here to have fun. Sorry I was wrong. But if you change your mind, head over to the Honda corral. Me and the boys are much better company than that human you’re searching for.” He turned away, sauntering toward new prey.
“Not likely, and I wouldn’t hold your breath. You might die from forgetting to breathe.”
She wiggled her fingers. The wolf lost his balance and stumbled into a Harley Fat Boy, knocking it over. Its owner snarled, rising to tower over the wolf. Honda boy scrambled to his feet and took off like a bat out of hell. Drakkar was sure he saw flames trailing on his heels.
Serenity turned away from the chaos unfolding, picked up a rag, and proceeded to clean the fingerprints off the hood of her car. She didn’t’ even hear Drake as he came up behind her.
“Neat trick you just pulled off there,” he whispered into her ear. Nettie froze. She turned around slowly to meet his blue, glowing gaze head on.
She swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh really? Then that thing you just did with your fingers had nothing to do with that jerk getting what’s coming to him.” He smiled.
“Honestly, that was just karma. I had nothing to do with it.”
Drake put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, none of my business. I’m just glad he left before I made him leave.”
“And why would you do that?” She folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head to the side. “If I remember correctly, the last thing you said to me was, Judgmental Cattle. Humans are nothing but food for my people. Somehow I allowed you to cloud my view. Then you stormed out of my house through the garage. Did I leave anything out?”
Drakkar ~ Beyond the Lie (A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel Book 3) Page 8
