Page 23 of Peaks and Promises

“Is it a criminal gang? I mean, club?”

“Yes.”

“Some kids in my class started a club. Not a criminal one, though.”

“What kind of club?”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me.”

“Well, that’s stupid.”

He chuckled a little. “It is stupid.”

Narrowing my eyes as I approached our apartment complex, I scanned the parking lot. For a second, I thought it was clear—no bikes. I slowed, but right as I was about to turn, I saw one of them. Either Buzz or Hammer—I couldn’t quite tell—was partially hidden in the shadow between two buildings.

I straightened the wheel and hit the gas, zooming by.

“Why didn’t you turn?” Nate asked. “Aren’t we going home?”

“One of the other reasons I always tell you not to talk to guys on motorcycles is there.”

He twisted around to look. “A gang member?”

“Club member, yes.”

“Is he looking for you?”

“Probably. And I don’t want to talk to him.”

“So where are we going to go?”

“I don’t know.”

Thankfully, he stopped asking questions. It was hard to think. Where could I go? If one of them was waiting for us at home, where were the others? I couldn’t go to the diner. They knew where I worked. One of them could be waiting there.

Without a destination in mind, I drove into town. My heart raced and a sense of panic threatened to push the air from my lungs. The taco truck caught my eye, and for some reason, I turned in to the strip mall parking lot.

What was I doing? I had too many things swirling through my mind. Nate’s fight at school. Axel’s appearance. One of the Mayhem guys parked at my apartment.

And Reese Haven. He said to call him. Should I?

“What are we doing here?” Nate asked.

I looked at the businesses from left to right. One storefront was empty with a big For Lease sign in the window. The next was a nail salon, followed by a florist. On the far end was an ice cream shop.

Apparently we were getting ice cream. Not that I could afford it, but I had bigger problems than my bank account. And I needed time to think.

“Ice cream.”

“You’re getting me ice cream?” His tone was suspicious.

“Yeah. Why? Don’t you want ice cream?”

“But I just got suspended.”

I let out a long breath. Not my finest parenting moment, but in the grand scheme of things, probably not my worst. “We’re getting ice cream in spite of you getting suspended, not because of it. Come on.”

We got out and I scanned the road. I didn’t see Axel or the others.