Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,23

can help do your hair if you want," she offered.

I gave her a smile. "It's pretty nasty but--"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence before she held up a hand and said with a smile and a fake Jersey accent, "Oh, honey, that won't be a problem." She reached into the duffel bag and pulled out Halloween spray dye in black and a crappy towel. She led me into the bathroom and quickly spritzed over my streaks. “This’ll wash out in the morning,” she reassured me. She sauntered out while the smelly dye was soaking into my hair and returned with a pick and a bottle of hairspray. Ten minutes later, my hair was teased as high as a mountain. It was so... sophisticated.

Especially when Gray walked over smirking and helped me step into zebra stilettos that matched my shirt. He gave me a wink as I shook my head at him and made an 'are you kidding?' face at him. I almost started to tell him how appalled my mother would be if she saw me, but that made my throat close up so I just swallowed hard and glared daggers in his direction.

Emma took off her ugly-ass gold jewelry and handed it to me, saying, "Thank goodness. Be warned. This stuff is heavy."

I bit my tongue while we remained in the hotel room, but as soon as we were in the elevator, going back downstairs as "Emma" and "Kordell" I flicked my wrist and hit Gray right in the nutsack.

His girlish screech was music to my ears.

"Seriously? You picked this?"

Even as he clutched his balls over his sagging jeans, Gray couldn't help his laugh. He lifted his phone and snapped a picture of me in my ridiculous getup. I leapt onto him and tried to wrench the phone away.

"No!"

"Yes, this baby needs to be seen."

I reached a hand out, desperate to stop him, but then the perils of tube tops made me halt. I was about to pop out. I had to choose between giving the hotel camera a free show or preventing the guys from seeing this disaster.

My eyes narrowed as I took a step back and yanked my top back into the safety zone. "I'll get you back, Kordell. Mark my words."

He completely ignored my threat, instead chuckling to himself as he texted my photo.

My eyes traveled down his figure. Gray was relaxed in his baggy jeans and loose polo as he leaned back against the barrier. He didn't look tired at all after our night. He looked more energized than I'd ever seen him. Almost giddy.

Apparently, the criminal life did good things for Mr. Mars. The shirt he wore that showcased his pecs did good things for him, too.

The elevator dinged before I could decide between running my hands over his biceps and giving him a wedgie.

Then we left “Gray” and “Hayley” upstairs to bang loudly—to the disgust of all the hotel neighbors—while “Emma” and “Kordell” walked out the front door.

8

Z arrived at the van at the same time we did and asked, “Dunno about you, but is anyone else getting Scooby vibes from this thing?” He pointed at the van, which wasn’t white any longer, but had a dark green paint job with some florist name and flower logos on the side.

Z leaned against it and pointed at the flower, his army green jean jacket restricting his movement so that his elbow couldn’t quite bend. Or so I thought for a moment, before it happened again.

“Are you drunk?” Gray shook his head disapprovingly.

“Shut up and get inside,” Evan slid the door open even as he scolded, James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy” playing on the radio.

Z pointed at the radio. “See? Total seventies vibes. And Evan can be Scooby, the chubby version.”

Evan glared at Z.

Z narrowed his eyes. “Don’t be so damn judgy, Evan. What’d you do after Matthew’s accident? Vacation? Date? Or did you go get fucked up just like me?”

Evan’s blue eyes immediately softened in understanding.

I reached out a hand to help Z, but he pulled away. “No. Don’t be nice. Be mean. I deserve it. I’m the one who recruited him.” His voice choked up. “It’s my fault he hit the spell in that fog.” He gestured to Andros, who lay still and unmoving on the floor of the van.

“How am I gonna tell grandma? It’s all my fault.” Z choked on a sob and then rubbed at his eyes. “Shit.”

“Hey, man, we’ll unravel it,” Evan tossed a hand up on