asks, looking up and finding my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Go with me, that is?”
My heart flutters and sparkles which is just stupid as hell because I’m not a fluttery or sparkly sort of person. More like a cactus. With big, motherfucking spikes.
“As long as Callum gives me a few dance lessons before then,” I say with a nervous laugh. Both Hael and Vic pick up on it and give me a matching set of looks. I think what I have with Aaron makes them all nervous. It’s hard to match up to first love, isn’t it?
“Deal,” Cal whispers huskily against my ear. This time, he isn’t shy when he leans forward and captures my hand in his, running his tongue up the side of my throat. I shiver as he laughs and Hael leans over to smack him with his mask.
“Stay focused, dipshit, we’re almost there,” Hael says, putting his own mask on. Aaron does the same, and when I look back, I see that Oscar’s face is already covered. He isn’t wearing his glasses either, but I see a glasses case sitting on the seat beside him along with a compact mirror and a plastic contact lens case.
I wonder why he doesn’t wear contacts more often, but then … the glasses are so fucking hot.
I bite my lip and yank my own mask on over my face.
“Remind me what we’re doing,” I say as I look out the window, trying to get a gather on what neighborhood we’re actually in. Some no-man’s land between Prescott and a neighborhood known as the Whiteaker, if I had to hazard a guess. I know every inch of South Prescott, but the boundaries are a little blurry.
“Like I said,” Victor tells me, reaching down to turn up the music. “A reminder never hurts.” He hits the button for the sunroof and then adjusts himself so that he’s crouching in his seat. “Alright, boys, let’s show the Charter Crew that we’re not playing games. Don’t shoot until I give the word, and try not to kill anyone. We already have cops sniffing around our fucking school.” Vic pauses and glances back at us, giving Cal a meaningful look. It’s impactful, even with the mask in place. “Except you, Cal. You know what you need to do.”
Cal and Hael roll their windows down on either side of me while Aaron and Vic do the same in the front.
“Safeties off,” Vic calls out as the Escalade slows, and I look out the window to see a group of people standing around in the front yard of an artsy house. Looks like we’ve just officially crossed over into the Whit, a neighborhood built by artists, musicians, and drugs. It used to be suicide to walk around here in the middle of the night, but the place has had its character ramrodded by uptight millennials seeking cheap homes.
Still, the house we’re driving by is painted with a politically charged mural of men in camo dragging protestors with signs into unmarked vans. I shiver. There are sofas in the front yard and a giant statue welded out of twisted metal branches.
Not sure whose house this is, but I can very clearly see Mitch Charter, his sister Billie, and the remaining Ensbrook brothers in the crowd.
Callum stands up on the seat, the upper half of his body sticking out of the sunroof, and cups his hands around his mouth. He lets out a chilling howl as Victor and Hael lean out their own windows and Oscar and I join Cal by standing up and looking out of the sunroof.
“It’s all Charter Crew at the party, so don’t worry about who you hit.” Victor cranks up the music, and I recognize the song blasting from the speakers as the delightfully upbeat rock track “Degenerates” from the band A Day to Remember. Holy shit. It almost makes the moment seem even more morbid than it already is. “Ready?” Vic calls out as Aaron slows the Escalade to a near stop, leaving us to roll by, almost like everything is moving in slow motion.
Oscar and Callum extend their arms on either side of me, their pistols clutched in two steady hands. I do the same, sandwiched between them, my breath slowing as I focus on the scene in front of me.
Billie Charter is laughing hysterically at something, dressed in what’s very likely a stolen designer party dress. It’s the same teal color as the underside of her two-toned hair. She’s standing