AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Emergency!” she shouts.
“What?” I ask, dropping everything in my hands except the phone. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby? Are you going into labor?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” she says with a smile.
A deep breath whooshes out of me. “Thank god. Then what?”
“It’s a friend emergency. I need you to come to my place right away.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
She shakes her head. “I’ll explain when you get here. Just come now. Okay? Bye.”
I don’t stop to check my hair or clothes before shoving my feet into my ratty Sambas and grabbing my keys as I race out the door. Whatever is going on with Vanessa is too important to fret over vanity. Plus, she won’t care that my hair is dirty and my sweatpants have a spaghetti stain just above the knee.
My journey begins with a run-walk that starts to feel foolish after a few feet, so I break into a jog, and find that the burn of my muscles feels surprisingly good. It’s been far too long since I moved my body, and that just makes me run harder.
When I arrive, Vanessa throws open the door and greets me with arms wide open. “Samwich! You made it.”
“Yeah,” I mutter through panting breaths. “I ran here.” She leads me inside, and in her living room, I find Zev, Kyan, Axil, and, of course, Mylo. And here I am, looking like a sweaty beast.
There’s no backing out of this now. Which was obviously Vanessa’s plan all along as she locks the front door and shoots me a wink.
“So there was no emergency?” I ask, not pissed at her deception, but definitely annoyed.
“No, that was true,” she says, patting the empty chair next to Zev. “Mylo’s planning on running for mayor, and we need you to tell him what a horrible idea it is.”
“That’s it?” I ask before locking eyes with Mylo. The sight of him still makes my heart race, and part of me is glad that hasn’t gone away. “That plan sucks. Don’t run for mayor.”
Mylo throws up his hands. “You too? Really?”
Kyan snickers. “It’s unanimous. You cannot run for mayor now. Someone call Luka. He will be thrilled to hear Mylo was finally forced to abandon this foolish pursuit.”
“How else are we supposed to protect our family from Officer Burton?” Mylo asks.
They fill me in on the bullshit that occurred during Uma Sinner’s story hour, and I’m disgusted, but not surprised that Officer Burton would stoop so low.
“Charlie is planning on sending pictures she took to the local paper,” Mylo explains, “but I’m not convinced Officer Burton will be held accountable.” He looks defeated, and it sends a fresh surge of vengeance through my blood. If there wasn’t a one hundred percent chance of me going straight to jail, I’d punch Officer Burton in the teeth.
That would probably hurt my hand, though. Hmm. The nose. Yeah, that’s better, and much easier to break.
Vanessa hands me a bowl of popcorn, and I notice everyone else has their own bowl as well. What a cozy little trap she set for me. Sneaky minx.
“Mylo,” I begin, tossing a piece into my mouth. “The moment you announce you’re running for office, it doesn’t matter how high or low that position is, your personal life gets ripped apart and dissected, and this all happens publicly.”
“That’s precisely what Charlie said,” Zev exclaims proudly, shaking his head in awe.
“And what Luka said,” Axil points out.
I’m not sure what that expression on Zev’s face is all about, but it doesn’t seem important at the moment, so I continue. “Do you really want people poking around in your past, digging up secrets that could put you and your family in danger?”
Mylo sighs. “That would not be ideal.”
“No,” Axil agrees. “It certainly would not.”
Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he stares into space for a few moments as he thinks about this. His gray eyes eventually drift back to mine. “Ah, you are right. It’s too risky.”
Vanessa leans on the back of Mylo’s chair and pats him on the arm. “Told you. Sorry, bro.”
