exactly the kind of guy who wants his business being spread around.”
Anger fired over Rory’s face. “My best friend has been devastated for days, and you’re telling me we could have done something about it? How could you keep that from me?”
The betrayal underneath her rage was clear, and I felt it too, if not as acutely.
“Tell me where he'll be tonight,” I said. “The cops are going to bust them. I heard them talking at the stadium.”
The corner of Beckett’s mouth tugged down.
An even more horrified thought crossed my mind. “Were you the one who gave them away?”
His eyebrows furrowed, and he quickly shook his head. “What? No. Never.”
“Someone did,” I said tightly, “and unless you can get Ronan to tell you where he's going to be, he and a bunch of boys our age are going to be slapped with crimes they didn't commit.”
Beckett’s frown grew even deeper. “It’s too late.”
Rory’s voice was dangerously low. “Is it too late, or are you just going to keep another secret?”
“I was going to take you there tonight,” he said, completely defeated. “They're going out to Seaton Pier. They have a prank planned too.”
I hurried up to the window separating us from the driver and knocked on it frantically. As it slid open, I shouted, “Take us to Seaton Pier! Now!”
The driver jerked toward me, surprised at my vehemence. I didn’t need his shock. I needed his action.
“The faster you get there, the bigger the tip!” I cried. I didn't care that I only had a couple hundred dollars to my name. I would give it all to make sure Ronan didn't give up everything he had too.
Forty-Three
Callie looked worried as I scooted back to my seat in the limo. “What are you going to do?”
I shook my head, trying to think fast. What was I going to do? I had to figure out something, and fast. Was I just going to yell at Ronan as he ran along the boardwalk? Or should I try to distract the police? There wasn't a lot I could come up with right now.
“Kai,” I said, “you wouldn't happen to have spray paint in the car, would you? Eggs?”
His eyebrows drew together. “That’s not exactly something I carry around in my limo.”
My chest tightened, and I turned to the limo driver again, knocking on the window. The car jerked as he turned down a street, but the window came down. “I'm driving as fast as I can.”
“Good,” I sputtered. “I need something that's going to leave a mark. Paint? Oil? Do you have any?”
As he kept one hand on the wheel and his eyes on the road, he reached over and pulled open the glove compartment. Out came at thick black marker. “That’s the best I got.”
It would have to do.
Ignoring my friends’ questions, I looked straight at Beckett. “Where are they starting?”
“He only told me when the big trick would be,” he rushed out.
I groaned loudly, feeling frustrated with Ronan for the first time. Why did they feel like they had to show off so much?
Before the question even worked its way through my mind, I knew it was not. Ronan wasn’t the kind of guy who just “got by.” He showed just how strong he was by living despite what had been done to him or said about him.
My mind worked over solutions. If the cops were catching them at the pier, we had to make sure DP didn’t get there. “We have to try and stop them before they get cornered at the pier.”
Jordan nodded and went to the window the driver had left open. “Stop us over by the old needle factory.” She turned back to us, but spoke to me directly. “That would be a good place to start.”
“Where next?” Ray asked, all power and purpose.
Kai looked to Jordan. “The end of the boardwalk?”
She nodded. “And then maybe just the streets leading up to the pier?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling better to at least have a plan.
She gave the order to the driver, and she and Kai were the first to get out.
Ginger and Ray got dropped by the end of the boardwalk. Rory offered to stop at the marina, farther down from the pier to see if they were hiding in any of the boats. She glared at Beckett. “You better get out with me and help fix this.”
He swallowed, nodded. “Of course.”
The limo driver dropped them off there. Then it was just Callie, Carson, and me in the limo.
“Let’s