Before I had the chance to walk away, Quarry dropped the bomb. “Ash got me a fake ID.”
Flint swung his angry gaze my way. “Excuse me?”
“Uhhh . . .” I stalled, lifting my hand to fix my hair and flipping Quarry off in the process. “In my defense, I just thought he was going to buy lottery tickets,” I lied, punctuating it with an innocent grin Flint seemed immune to.
“Who in God’s name would actually believe he’s eighteen?”
“Oh, they don’t really care. They just needed the ID to make it look legit. And no hep C, either. The shop is really clean. They owed me a favor, so I made sure they took extra-special care of him,” I tried to explain, but if Flint’s reaction was any indication I had just dug myself even deeper.
“You. Took. Him?” he asked very slowly.
“Maybe,” I squeaked and then followed Quarry’s example of backing away.
“You took a kid to get a tattoo?” He moved toward me.
“Possibly.” I once again stepped away. I didn’t think I was in any real danger, but judging by the vein bulging on his forehead, his head was very close to exploding—and I didn’t want to be in range when it did. Blood wasn’t my thing.
“Calm the hell down,” Quarry said, stepping between us. “This kid at school was going to do it for me, but Ash talked me into going to her place instead. You should see the sweet-ass design the guy drew for my back. This is just the start.”
“I hope it was worth it. You’re gonna look like Mabie when Till finds out.”
“Nah. He already knows. Slate ratted me out after he saw me in the locker room. I gotta wait until I’m eighteen to finish the rest. It’s Eliza I have to hide it from.” Quarry laughed.
As if he had been slapped, Flint’s head snapped to the side.
He stared into space for a few seconds before Quarry sighed and quietly said, “Come on. Don’t be like that.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he wasn’t talking about the tattoo anymore.
“Whatever.” Flint spun away, leaving an arctic breeze in his wake.
I looked over at Quarry for answers on what the hell had just happened, but he only offered me an exaggerated eye roll.
“Let’s go,” Flint bit out as he started loading our trash on the tray. “Ash, you done with your shake?” he asked, sans all attitude.
“Yeah,” I replied, unbelievably confused. However, if he wanted to act like he hadn’t just plotted mine and Quarry’s deaths a few minutes earlier, I guessed I could do the same.
I could do normal. I was amazing at normal. It was my forte, really.
“Hey, would it be okay if I started calling you Wheels?”
He turned to look at me and quirked an eyebrow.
“What?” I asked as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “What?” I repeated, but he never answered.
Instead, he set the tray on his lap and headed toward the trash can.
ASH POINTED OUT THE PASSENGER side window. “Take a left up here.”
“Ummm . . . That’s a right,” I corrected, turning down a side street in what appeared to be the slums of downtown Indianapolis.
After dropping Quarry off at On The Ropes and luckily dodging Till and Slate, Ash had asked if I could drop her off at her friend’s instead of taking her back home. With hopes of also avoiding my mom and Ray, I agreed. However, as I drove deeper into the city, I thought there was a strong possibility Ash was leading me into a gang setup.
“Where the hell are we going?”
“Just a little farther. Take your next right.” She pointed across me.
“And that’s a left,” I mumbled, turning down an alley.
“Right here! Stop!” she exclaimed.
“Right where?” I looked around. There wasn’t anything even remotely inhabitable. It was a vacant alley that served no purpose except to connect two busy streets.
With the exception of two bums leaning against the building, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
“Right there.” She slung her seat belt off and jumped from the car. “Hey!”
“How’s it going, babe?” a gray-haired man replied.
“Get in the car, Ash,” I called as the obviously homeless woman in dirty and tattered clothing stood up and walked toward her.
“You little tramp!” the woman said.
“Oh, shut up!” Ash yelled back.
I had no idea what the fuck was going on, but I didn’t like it.
“Ash, get back in the goddamn car.”
“What?” She turned to look at me, but the woman continued getting closer, and this time, her murderous gaze was aimed at me.
“Who the hell do you think you are talking to like that?” the woman snapped, and the man behind her pushed to his feet.
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Look, we don’t want any trouble,” I told the woman, but my eyes were focused on the man. He might have been older, but as he strode toward the car, I realized he was also huge. “Ash, get the fuck in the car.”