Logan Kade (Fallen Crest #5.5)(57)

They were waiting for someone.

Well, f*ck.

I felt something nudge my hand and looked down. Taylor had typed out an unsent text message to me: Police?

I took it, erased the word, and typed: Mason might’ve called them, but your buddy’s screwed then. If he goes in, they might think he’ll narc on them.

Her forehead wrinkled, and she nodded. She wrote back, Mason is coming? That’s your plan?

You have one?

She shook her head, typing, Jason’s in trouble no matter what. I just don’t want him to get hurt right now.

I know. Let’s wait and see.

She nodded and put the phone away, turning back to the gate. She moved until she found a little eyehole to see through, too.

I took a moment and studied her. Taylor was a little thing, but she was tough. Most girls would run, hide, or cry. She was doing none of that. She was white-knuckling it out with me.

Nate had been digging at me. He knew I had feelings for her. I don’t know why he gave a shit, but he did. I hadn’t been willing to talk much, at least partly for the sheer enjoyment of pissing him off, but honestly, after dealing with Tate and being the one who hurt Kris, I was over talking about girls. I didn’t even want to talk chicks. Never had. If I liked someone, if I wanted to screw someone—bang her, get a quick dick suck—that was always my decision alone. Nate too. He bagged girls all the time and rarely talked to us about it. I knew some guys liked to gab about vagina. They bragged about past * or their future pink taco buffets, but we didn’t.

That was one thing I’d learned from Mason. That was beneath us. We did our own thing. If there was blowback on the group, we felt bad, but that was how it was. So Nate wanting to know about Taylor was pissing me off. If he wanted a go at her, he’d get a good beating, but I didn’t have to talk about whatever was going on with her and me.

Taylor sucked in her breath and stretched up on her tiptoes for a better view.

I looked, too.

A pair of headlights swept over the group, lighting up the area, and my gut sank. There were more guys than I’d thought. I started to reach for the gate, ready to run out if that vehicle was Mason, but when a different voice joined the group, I pulled my hand back.

“This is the guy who owes you?” The leader moved forward, and this time I saw his face: Square jaw. Big, thick eyebrows. Scraggly cheeks and tattoos that covered his neck. He had a scar next to his eye, like a bullet had grazed him there. He was an ugly motherf*cker.

“What is this?” The newcomer’s voice was high. He was nervous.

“Did you bring the money?” Delray asked.

“What money?”

Okay. This was going nowhere fast. I had to think.

Putting myself in Delray’s shoes, his problem ran deep. I could tell. He owed money, or he wasn’t getting payments. This dude, whoever he was, obviously didn’t have the money. We probably had another few minutes before something popped off. What I typed to Taylor was right. If cops showed up, the pressure would be on Delray. They’d push him to narc, and even if he didn’t, these guys would worry that he had. That was the best-case scenario in my head. There’d been a gunshot before… I still didn’t have it in me to sweep the area for a body. I didn’t want to know.

The best way to help Delray was a distraction. I needed to get him out of here. Remove him from the situation and give him a day or two, and he might be able to make things right with these guys. I looked around at what we had on our side of the gate.

I had my Escalade. And…an entire amusement park.

I started off. I had to find something fast. Taylor stayed right next to me. When we got to the first building, she watched me bring out some dirty rags and spray cans. Then we trotted back to where I had some booze in the back of my Escalade. When she saw all the ingredients together, her eyes got even bigger, but she nodded.

I pressed my mouth to her ear. “I’m going to go farther down and toss these into the street. I’m hoping it’ll distract them. When they run to check, be ready.”

She nodded and moved her lips were to my ear. “What do you want me to do?”

The gate was locked. I needed it unlocked. And I needed my Escalade ready to go. Everything would have to happen within seconds, and I bit back a curse. Mason was the thinker. I wanted to text him, see where he was, but I didn’t have time. This shit had to happen now.

I pressed the key to the gate into her hand. “Be ready to unlock the gate as soon as the first bomb goes off.”

She nodded.

I kissed her and went to my vehicle. I opened the doors and put my keys in the ignition. Everything was good to go when we had to move. I could hear shouting now from the other side, but I wasn’t listening to them anymore. I liked a good brawl. I liked going in alone or with my brother—either was fine with me. But those brawls were against dickheads from high school or fraternity boys—not real thugs like these guys. I didn’t think Delray had been involved with this crowd last year when I approached him. I’d just been looking for a little fun. This was not fun. If I stayed to fight for very long, I knew it wouldn’t be good. Everything had to move at an almost breakneck speed, and I’d need to go as far as I dared.

And now it was time.

Everything turned off in me then. I couldn’t think about Taylor or those guys. This had to be done. I let out a breath and grabbed a lighter. Jesus. God. Christ. I prayed to all three. We needed to get out of this alive.