Up to Me - By M. Leighton Page 0,43

else to talk about.

"So, of the many things you interrupted with your persistent knocking was the plan. Cash was just getting ready to tell me what he's going to do. Mind cluing me in?"

Gavin eyes me suspiciously. "Uhhh..."

"Who am I gonna tell? My mother? Like she'd care, even if I did. Which I wouldn't. I'm just concerned. That's all."

After another long pause, Gavin gives in. "He's going to make a couple copies of the video and keep them with different people. He's buying some ledgers that look like the books they want to take with him. Once he confirms the girl is alive and unharmed, he's going to show them the video. He'll explain that if they don't hand over the girl and ensure the safety of you and his father, both the video and the books will go to the authorities."

"Oh God! That sounds dangerous."

Gavin shrugs. "He holds all the cards right now."

"No, he doesn't. They still have Marissa."

"Okay, he holds most of the cards right now. If they don't hand her over, he'll give them the books. They'll be with Nash, who he'll call in only if things get crazy."

"So, he's hoping to get away with the books, the video and Marissa?"

"Yeah."

"And worst case scenario would be...?"

"That he has to give them the books as an act of good faith to get the girl. But he'll still have the video. And whatever help Greg called in along with Nash."

"Greg? Is that Cash's father?"

"Yeah. He's a good man."

I say nothing. I still haven't decided if I think Cash's father is a good man or not. At the moment, I'd be more inclined to say not. He's the reason we're all in this mess to begin with. I'm sure he has some redeeming qualities; right now I just don't see them.

"Have you known him long?"

"Yeah, we go way back."

"I find that hard to believe. You can't be that old."

"I'm too hot to get old," he declares with a cocky grin and a wink. I roll my eyes and he laughs. "Nah, I started very, very early."

"Started what?"

He shrugs, but this time I think it's because he doesn't really want to answer, not because he's nonchalant.

"For a few years I was hired out to do all kinds of...odd jobs. But I can also fly planes and helicopters, which is how I met Greg. And then Cash."

I nod slowly. "Odd jobs, huh? So you're in a similar...business?"

"Not really. The work I did was dangerous and unsavory in a different way. That's why I got out."

It almost seems scarier to think what kind of person I'm riding with because he's so vague about what he does. Or what he did. And the way Cash talked about him, I can't help but wonder if I'm sitting next to a felon or something. Just because he's not in jail doesn't mean he's not guilty; it just means he never got caught.

All of a sudden, I'm much less curious about...everything! It seems that there's nothing but darkness and disappointment everywhere I look. For the first time in maybe ever, my mother's guest room is looking like a little slice of heaven.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Cash
Letting Olivia go with Gavin was much harder than I expected. And now, as I guide my bike back toward the club, I keep thinking of what she looked like in my rear view mirror as I drove past her on the street. Very upset. She looked very, very upset.

I remind myself that Gavin is both trustworthy and capable. Doubting my judgment at this point would be as counterproductive as it would be stupid. There's nothing I can do about it. It's too late to make any big changes, especially ones that could risk Olivia. My gut was to go with Gavin. Now I have to trust it. Period.

Pulling into my garage and seeing the door to my apartment open reminds me I've got more problems than just worrying about Gavin's role in all this.

Nash.

I park the bike and walk in to find Nash in the bathroom shaving. After rinsing his cheeks, he meets my eyes in the mirror. I'm glad to see the hair of his goatee intact; I don't want him looking any more like me than he