that but there was nothing I could do to check it out unless I wanted my ass to be seen on camera. I just had to hope for the best so that once I got my hands on all of the keys, I could come back here, break in to the crypt, take what I needed and go. At that point it wouldn't even matter if I was caught on camera because I wouldn't be hanging around in town to have to worry about being caught anyway.
I swung a U-turn in the middle of the road, let out a breath of frustration and headed back towards town. There wasn't anything else that I could do about the crypt right now and that surfboard was whispering sweet nothings in my ear which I just couldn't ignore any longer.
I was going to drive down to Rejects Park, pay the rent on my trailer then spend the day on the beach and in the surf with my new friends if I could find them or make some more new friends if I couldn't. And after the last couple of weeks, I had to say that sounded like its own little slice of paradise.
***
A day on the beach enjoying the surf and laughing with Lyla and Bella did wonders for the tension I'd been carrying around with me. This was what I needed. Just some down time away from the ghosts of my past and the dominating auras of the Harlequins where I could relax and talk shit over a couple of beers with the sun warming my skin.
"A bunch of guys are going to The Dungeon tonight," Lyla said as we were gathering up our shit and making our way up the beach with the sun setting at our backs. "You wanna come party with us?"
"Where's that?" I asked curiously.
Ten years was plenty of time for new clubs and bars to have opened up in town and though I knew this place like the back of my hand, there were more than a few additions that I didn't recognise.
"It’s beyond The Divide," she said, tossing her blonde hair and glancing over her shoulder like she was concerned about being overheard. "Obviously none of the Harlequins can come because it's in Damned Men territory, but it's one of the best clubs in town and they have a band playing tonight."
My pulse picked up a little at the mention of crossing through that tensely fought over strip of turf, but did I really have any reason to worry? I wasn't in the Harlequins, I had no real affiliation to them aside from Fox's dumb claim that I belonged to him. Besides, the leader of The Damned Men was one of my old boys. No matter what else I might have thought of Maverick, I didn't think he'd actually hurt me. And I was way overdue in my need for a night out.
"Okay, I'm in," I agreed decisively.
Great, make sure you wear something hot and we'll head out at nine. Lyla walked off up the beach but I stopped, grabbing my cellphone from my bag and glancing over the messages I'd received while I'd been surfing.
Fox:
It's been hours now. Where are you?
Fox:
If you expect to keep hold of this new freedom of yours then I suggest you get your ass home soon.
Fox:
Answer me
Fox:
If you don't let me know that you're okay, I'll come find you myself.
JJ:
Can I get your opinion on something? x
JJ:
Also, can you text Fox before he flips out again x
It was extra irritating because I knew that he knew exactly where I was thanks to his stupid tracking software, but I was also fairly certain that he’d be showing up here soon if I didn’t reply. I sighed dramatically, sent Fox a quick message to tell him to stop riding my ass if he expected me to ever come back then asked JJ what he wanted my opinion on.
Several messages demanding my immediate return appeared from Fox but I ignored them in favour of opening up the video attachment JJ had sent.
The sound of Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney poured from the speakers of my cellphone as I was shown a video of JJ dancing on stage with four other dudes, grinding his hips in a sinfully slow and torturous rhythm before tearing his shirt off to reveal his seriously ripped body which seemed to gleam a little beneath the lights overhead.
He threw flirtatious looks at the camera as he moved