“Don’t forget your coffee,” Tex boomed.
I nodded to the big man but said to the boys, “Hazel’s down the street. Get in. I’l be there in a minute.”
“But, Law,” Sniff whined.
“I’l be there in a minute,” I repeated, walking over to take my latte.
I wrapped my fingers around its heat ready to offer to pay when the bel over the door went. I looked toward it and saw Vance walk in.
“God dammit, ” I hissed under my breath.
His gaze locked on me and he walked to our group and stopped, his eyes never leaving me. I felt his stare like he was touching me and my mind, working against me, flashed on this morning and my body, also working against me, reacted.
me, reacted.
Roam and Sniff had frozen.
I shook off the Crowe Effect. “Boys, get to the car.”
“I wanna work with you,” Roam said to Vance and Vance’s eyes left my face and sliced to Roam but he didn’t say a word.
“I wanna be, like, your trainee or somethin’,” Roam went on and you could tel just by looking at him that this was taking everything he had.
Crowe’s face was blank and he showed no reaction, not even to Roam’s obvious mixture of discomfort and longing.
I felt my heart squeeze and my breath freeze, worried that Crowe would make a fool of him. There was nothing in Roam’s life that he ever wanted that he actual y got and you could see, quite plainly, that there was likely nothing in Roam’s life that he wanted more than he wanted this.
“Roam –” I started to break in.
“You on the street?” Vance asked Roam and my eyes swung to Vance. He was not blank anymore, he was watching Roam closely.
“Sometimes,” Roam said. “At King’s,” he went on.
“Stay at King’s,” Crowe returned and that was al he intended to say. I could tel because his eyes cut to me.
I could feel Roam’s disappointment, it fil ed the air.
“We need to talk,” Vance said to me.
“I’l do what you say!” Roam continued and everyone looked at him because his voice had gotten louder, higher, more desperate. His body was tense, solid, and I felt my throat close. “Anything you say. I won’t mouth off. I’l just do it. I won’t be a problem, I swear.”
it. I won’t be a problem, I swear.”
“Roam?” Crowe asked and Roam nodded, confirming that was his name. “Get your diploma, get smart, once you do that, I’l think about it.”
Roam shook his head, not letting it go. “Has to be now.”
“Roam, we’l talk about this in the car,” I said to him.
Roam’s body swung to me. “It has to be now! ” he shouted and my body jerked.
I’d never heard him shout.
His face was distorted with something, an internal battle the physical manifestation of which could be seen in his expression.
“Be dead in three years,” Roam continued and my heart stopped.
“Roam, don’t say that,” Sniff put in quietly.
“I’m gonna get ‘em. Al of ‘em and I gotta know how to do it. If I don’t, they’l kil me.”
I started to walk along the front row of the crowd to get to Roam and was just passing Vance when Roam started to back up. Vance stopped me with an arm around my waist and he pul ed my back to his front. I didn’t fight Vance and didn’t try to get to the retreating Roam.
Roam backed up until he was against the wal .
“Roam, we’l get back to King’s. We’l talk,” I said softly.
“No. You’re after them. You’re doin’ it. I’m gonna do it too. They kil ed Park. They didn’t shoot ‘im but they might as wel have. Park was…” he stopped, his voice went hoarse. “Park wanted…” he tried to go on but stopped again.
I leaned away from Vance to detach his arm from me so I could get to Roam but Vance’s arm tightened and he pul ed me deeper into his body.
“Best way to get them, Roam, is not to become one of them,” Nightingale cut in, his eyes sharp on Roam and I could tel he’d taken in everything.
“You don’t know,” Roam spat at Lee, taking (I thought) his life in his hands. I didn’t expect many people talked to Lee Nightingale like that, certainly not fifteen year old boys.
“You have no fuckin’ clue.”
“My best friend is Darius Tucker,” Lee told him.
Roam’s body went stil and his eyes grew wide. Mine did too.
“I do know,” Lee said with finality.
This hit Roam, I could tel , but he didn’t give up. His eyes went to me and Vance.
“I wanna be you,” he said to Vance quietly.
“You can’t be me. You gotta be you. And right now, you’re a kid. Be a kid,” Vance advised from behind me.
“I’m not a kid,” Roam protested.
“That ain’t a bad thing, Sugar,” Daisy put in.
“I’m not a kid!” Roam yel ed at her.
Al right. Enough was enough.
“Roam, don’t speak that way to people. It’s rude,” I put in and shoved forward, detaching from Vance and going to Roam. “We’l get some hamburgers and we’l go somewhere and talk. The three of us.”
“Done talkin’,” Roam said.