Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,32

guilt and fear that had braised my insides for hours lessened and I no longer felt like failure was simmering inside my stomach, just waiting for the right moment to boil over. He’s okay, I repeated internally. He’s okay.

I knew him least of all the guys. But he’d held his own tonight, gone above and beyond. He’d sacrificed for us.

And all of that made him glow like a damn saint inside my head.

Hesitantly, Andros put a hand on my shoulder. The huge man slowly pushed me backward and stared down into my eyes. All sorts of things flitted across his expression from worry to relief to exhaustion back to worry.

I had no idea what he saw on my face because I was feeling too many things. Things I didn’t understand, couldn’t even bother to interpret, things that might have been real or prompted by exhaustion and all the intensity of the heist and everything that followed it.

Our stare-off grew longer … into that territory that hovered between awkward and heated. He opened his mouth—

But at that very moment, Zavier came barreling out of the back room.

My thief saw Andros and gave a fist pump. Then he scrambled over to us at inhuman speeds, using his Tock power to manipulate time and propel himself faster than humanly possible. His dark brown hair flew back as he smashed us both in a bear hug. “Yes! Two for two!”

As soon as I could extract myself from his grip, I leaned back and asked, “So, Gray’s good?”

Instead of answering, Z dropped his hold on Andros, clutched my arms and spun me in a circle before he pulled me in for a kiss. The kiss was as happy and giddy and as full of relief as he was; when he pulled back, he nuzzled his nose to mine before declaring, “Best. Night. Ever.”

“Excuse me for putting a damper on the party, but aren’t you with Grayson?” Lysa interrupted.

Z wouldn’t let me go; he slung an arm around my shoulders as I turned to face her.

Her arms were crossed and fury glowed on her face.

“She’s with all of us.”

Oh, Z, way to just drop that truth bomb on a stranger, I mentally chided.

Lysa worried a strand of her bright hair as her eyes bounced from me to my crew and back to Z. I wasn’t certain what she saw in their faces but confusion marred her face for a second before she asked, “Wait. What? Are you guys like Sweet Butts?”

I nearly choked on giggles. “You mean the girls that run around and sleep with every guy in a motorcycle club?”

“Whoa—” Z held up a hand, simultaneously squeezing my shoulder to warn me not to let my laughter continue. “No! No, no, no. Not like that.”

Lysa narrowed her eyes and glanced from him to me before she decided to focus her questions on me. “You just snap and they come running?”

“Not exactly—”

“You get to have sex with them whenever you want?”

Z protested. “That’s a totally mutual decision—”

“Yeah. Still Sweet Butts.”

Z grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the porthole door at the back. “I’m not listening to that. Also, I’ll have you know … I’m not sleeping with Hayley. She’s gotta seduce me first.”

“So … are you like the Old Lady?” Lysa called out.

Z just flipped her off as he pulled me into the back room.

Her raucous laughter followed us inside.

11

It was nearly dawn and I felt wrung out, ready to sleep, and though Lysa offered to let us stay with them (over Cotton's grumbled protests) Gray shook his head and pulled out his phone.

He made a single call and said a single word, "Deliver."

Then we sat down to wait awkwardly in the bar as the sky grew lighter around us. Lysa tried to push small talk, but Z—who was normally the most talkative—was still huffy about the Sweet Butt thing.

Thankfully, a semi-truck pulled its squeaking breaks into the parking lot after only about twenty minutes. As I strolled with the others out to meet it, my eyes grew wide. In the back of the semi were some seriously impressive Harleys.

"Oh, they're prettier than Zac Efron!" Lysa gushed, stepping forward and running her hand over the handlebars of the nearest one.

Cotton just grunted and Gunther put on duck lips—kind of like he was impressed too but didn't want to say it.

There were five bikes and six helmets ready for us.

"Hayley, I thought you'd ride with one of us, but since Z is drunk... " Gray trailed