our faces.
The cops know they can’t catch us either.
They can try, but they can’t make it a minute before dropping off.
They know it’s better to just let us be.
Worse case, we ending up killing ourselves.
Except we don’t.
We cut off the main road and cruise along a few of the side roads that are twisty and empty.
That’s where Taz gets to show off.
I do a little of the same.
For me, I like to lift the front end of the motorcycle and speed up.
It’s funny because it’s just Taz and I.
Nobody else sees us, yet we keep going back and forth at each other like we’re trying to impress some pretty girl on the beach.
I drop the front wheel of my ride back down and then stand up.
I slow and move to the side of the road.
When Taz sees me, he slams on his brakes and turns.
The back wheel of his ride skids around, then he speeds up, leaving a cloud of smoke behind him.
He does the same turn near me and then is next to me.
We both kill the engines and take off our helmets.
“What’s the plan?” he asks.
I look at my phone. “We have about five minutes to go. Let them get out and start talking. They’re already there. That’s why I wanted to stop here. Less attention.”
“Perfect,” Taz says. “Have a smoke? You give me pointers on how to get my fingers down the front of Violet’s panties?”
“What if she doesn’t wear panties?” I ask.
Taz’s eyes go wide. “Now why would you say that?”
“Just throwing it out there. Crazy girls like that usually don’t.”
“Fuck,” Taz says. “And I had her in that damn tub too. Even with Les around, I still could have…”
“Not drunk,” I say.
“Why not?”
“Because I said so,” I say. “No drunk fucking Jolie’s best friend.”
Taz shakes his head. “She’s ruined you, bro.”
“Excuse me?”
He laughs. “She’s ruined you.”
In a way I can’t argue with him.
But I stand by what I said.
“You know I’m not looking for love,” Taz says. “Neither is she.”
“Taz…”
“Hey, I get it,” he says. “Let Les do all the mushy shit with her. Hold her hand. Whatever. You know what? He can hold her hand while I’m taking care of her. She’ll need it. You know the rumors about my tongue, bro…”
“I don’t want to hear this,” I say. “Keep your…”
My eyes move beyond Taz.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“What?” Taz asks.
I look at my phone.
Then I look behind him again.
There’s two black SUVs approaching.
“Oh, shit, Mac,” Taz says. “Is that…”
“Yeah,” I say.
The SUVs are just showing up now.
Which means we’re early.
Which means we’re caught.
Taz looks at me.
He knows what’s about to happen now.
We’re fucked.
We start the rides and take off.
I look back just in time to see a guy hanging out of the passenger window of the front SUV.
With a gun.
He shoots.
I duck down like I know where the bullet is going to go.
It’s just the front SUV chasing us.
The second one is turning around, taking off.
That means everything is fucked up even worse now.
No seeing Jeff.
No seeing who he was supposed to meet.
No figuring out the truth.
That means Jolie is going to be stuck at Mama Dae’s for a little longer.
More than that, I’m not sure I’ll get to see Jolie ever again.
Taz speeds up and I catch up to him.
Our only choice is to dip into the parking lot area where the meeting was supposed to take place. Then try to turn it around and get away from the SUV.
It’s really not that hard to do… except they have weapons.
We’re easy targets.
All we can do is move fast and dart left to right to make it harder to shoot at us.
I take the lead and make the right turn into the parking lot.
I look back and the SUV isn’t all that far behind us.
The shooter is still hanging out of the window, gun in hand.
He starts to shoot again.
I turn my head to the left, wanting to warn Taz.
As I look at him, I see him make a jerking motion.
He loses control of his ride and slows before falling to the ground.
I’ve never seen Taz crash before.
I slam on my brakes and turn.
I jump off my ride and let it hit the ground as I run toward Taz.
He’s getting to his feet, grabbing for his right shoulder.
We both take our helmets off.
“It clipped me!” Taz yells.
I turn my head and the SUV is coming right toward us.
I reach behind me and take out my gun.
The second I point it at the SUV, the driver