Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(22)

“Nah. He already knows. Slate ratted me out after he saw me in the locker room. I gotta wait until I’m eighteen to finish the rest. It’s Eliza I have to hide it from.” Quarry laughed.

As if he had been slapped, Flint’s head snapped to the side.

He stared into space for a few seconds before Quarry sighed and quietly said, “Come on. Don’t be like that.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he wasn’t talking about the tattoo anymore.

“Whatever.” Flint spun away, leaving an arctic breeze in his wake.

I looked over at Quarry for answers on what the hell had just happened, but he only offered me an exaggerated eye roll.

“Let’s go,” Flint bit out as he started loading our trash on the tray. “Ash, you done with your shake?” he asked, sans all attitude.

“Yeah,” I replied, unbelievably confused. However, if he wanted to act like he hadn’t just plotted mine and Quarry’s deaths a few minutes earlier, I guessed I could do the same.

I could do normal. I was amazing at normal. It was my forte, really.

“Hey, would it be okay if I started calling you Wheels?”

He turned to look at me and quirked an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “What?” I repeated, but he never answered.

Instead, he set the tray on his lap and headed toward the trash can.





ASH POINTED OUT THE PASSENGER side window. “Take a left up here.”

“Ummm . . . That’s a right,” I corrected, turning down a side street in what appeared to be the slums of downtown Indianapolis.

After dropping Quarry off at On The Ropes and luckily dodging Till and Slate, Ash had asked if I could drop her off at her friend’s instead of taking her back home. With hopes of also avoiding my mom and Ray, I agreed. However, as I drove deeper into the city, I thought there was a strong possibility Ash was leading me into a gang setup.

“Where the hell are we going?”

“Just a little farther. Take your next right.” She pointed across me.

“And that’s a left,” I mumbled, turning down an alley.

“Right here! Stop!” she exclaimed.

“Right where?” I looked around. There wasn’t anything even remotely inhabitable. It was a vacant alley that served no purpose except to connect two busy streets.

With the exception of two bums leaning against the building, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Right there.” She slung her seat belt off and jumped from the car. “Hey!”

“How’s it going, babe?” a gray-haired man replied.

“Get in the car, Ash,” I called as the obviously homeless woman in dirty and tattered clothing stood up and walked toward her.

“You little tramp!” the woman said.

“Oh, shut up!” Ash yelled back.

I had no idea what the f*ck was going on, but I didn’t like it.

“Ash, get back in the goddamn car.”

“What?” She turned to look at me, but the woman continued getting closer, and this time, her murderous gaze was aimed at me.

“Who the hell do you think you are talking to like that?” the woman snapped, and the man behind her pushed to his feet.

“Fuck,” I hissed. “Look, we don’t want any trouble,” I told the woman, but my eyes were focused on the man. He might have been older, but as he strode toward the car, I realized he was also huge. “Ash, get the f*ck in the car.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” she answered, leaning back into the van with her upper body.

She was insane, I knew that much, but she was also apparently fearless. I, however, had no way to protect her, and judging by the faces closing in on us, I was going to need to do just that.

Reaching out, I grabbed her wrist and yanked her back into the van.

“What the hell?” she yelled.

The man sprinted forward, capturing her around the waist and pulling her out of my grasp. My eyes went wide, and panic settled in my chest. I scrambled across the passenger seat after her, but my legs got stuck behind me and I fell out of the door, crashing to the pavement face first.

“Flint!” Ash yelled, but the man never released her.

I pushed myself upright so I could at least use my arms as defense, but with the exception of Ash’s flailing to get free, no one moved.

“Max, put me down. He’s my friend.”

“Not touching you like that, he’s not.”

“Jesus Christ. Put me down. He’s paralyzed. I need to make sure he’s okay.”

I wasn’t sure what was worse: the fact that I was helplessly sitting on the ground while watching a stranger manhandle her or the fact that I was so weak and pathetic that she was worried about me while it happened.

“Damn it, put me down!” she shrieked.

The man finally relented.

After rushing forward, she dropped to her knees in front of me. “Oh my God. Are you okay?”

“We need to get out of here,” I declared, watching the man and woman step even closer behind her.

“Flint, these are my friends, Max and Donna.” She turned around to address them. “Back up. He’s not going to hurt me.”

Neither seemed convinced, but they did take a single step away.