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“Good to see you, man,” Jack said.
“Good to see you too. I got your message – I tried to call Fiona, but you didn’t answer.”
“Phone died,” Jack explained as he shut the door.
“Figured,” Kade said as he put the truck in drive and took off down the road.
“Where’d you get the ride?”
“I didn’t go to juvie for nothing,” Kade said. He looked at us in the rearview mirror, and I could see him frown the tiniest bit. “Did you guys…?”
He stopped himself, shook his head, and turned back to the road. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Embarrassed that he knew we’d had sex, I went on the offensive. “What took you so long?”
He didn’t bat an eye at my reproachful tone. “I ran into the cops at the bottom of your neighborhood.”
“What?!” Jack exclaimed in surprise. “We didn’t hear sirens until at least five minutes after I talked to you!”
“That’s because they weren’t there for the fire. They were waiting. No lights, no nothing, just a couple of cruisers on either side of the turn-in.”
“MotherFUCKER,” Jack swore as he realized the implications. “Peters was running backup for Eyeball and the others.”
“In case you two got out,” Kade agreed.
“What happened to you, then?”
“I saw them just in time – just the outline of their cars under the streetlamps. I figured they might gun me down if I tried to blow past them, and I was going too fast to turn around in time, so ran my bike up somebody’s driveway, ditched it, and ran through their backyard. The cops came after me. Took a couple hours of them chasing me on foot and in patrol cars before I was sure I’d gotten away. That’s when I boosted the truck.”
“Thanks for coming to pick us up.”
“No problem,” Kade said, as though he was being thanked for holding open a door.
“Well… we need to figure out our next move. Can’t go back to your place or the shop.”
Kade’s eyes flicked up and looked at Jack in the rearview mirror.
Jack caught it. “What?”
Kade narrowed his eyes as he looked back at the road. It was the closest I’d ever seen him come to a grimace.
“They torched the shop.”
Jack stared at him, and I felt my stomach churn with fear.
“You’re sure?” Jack asked, his voice unnaturally calm.
“Yeah. I drove past on the way here. Every fire truck in Richards was there – way too many for the size of it. I’m guessing that’ll be the official reason why they let your house burn down – too busy putting out another fire.”
Jack sat there in silence, then said quietly, “That’s it. Lou got everything.”
“Not everything,” I said as I squeezed his hand.
He looked at me, then smiled gently. “Not everything,” he agreed.
“So what’s the plan?” Kade asked. “I don’t think we should be driving around in a stolen vehicle.”
I pulled out my cell. “Is there a phone charger?”
