“Feelings haveeverythingto do with this.” She scrunches her nose. “Being nervous means it matters. Being scared means you’ll be cautious. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Let me guess. Your grandmother taught you that?”
“Gran told me to trust my gut.”
“And what’s your gut telling you?” I look through the window again. Zane and Sol have finished loading the money bags, and Dutch is walking out to meet them.
“My gut is saying… nothing will go wrong.”
I swing back to face her.
J tosses her hair over her shoulder. “BecauseI’mhere.”
I slip my finger over her shoulder and tug at the laptop bag strap. “I didn’t know computers could stop bullets.”
“Maybe not yet, but someday…”
I smile.
Dutch catches sight of us from the driveway and waves both arms.
I stiffen again. “Let’s go.”
J and I meet my brothers at the car.
“Everything’s ready,” Dutch says, giving me a loaded look.
I nod.
On the drive to the warehouse, no one speaks.
Dutch’s eyes are glued to the floor, and Sol keeps flicking his lighter nervously while he drives.
“Can you stop that?” Zane hisses. “What if you drop that thing and this entire car explodes?”
“That’s not how it works,” Sol responds tensely. “It takes a significant fuel-air mixture and a source of ignition in the right place to start a fire.” He flicks the lighter again. “At worst, if I drop this, it would be a small upholstery fire.”
“I don’t want to test that theory, okay? So, cool it,” Zane grumbles.
Sol curses him under his breath, but he tucks the lighter away.
I stare through the window, noting the change of scenery as we leave the city behind and approach the port. The houses get smaller and smaller until they resemble shacks. On the opposite side of the road, dark, inky water spills out, bleeding into a pitch-black night.
Sol parks the car in front of the warehouse.
Ren walks out to meet us.
“Everyone, stay here,” I grunt. “Let me talk to him.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Zane protests.
Dutch unzips his seatbelt and leans forward, his amber eyes glowing in the dark. “I thought we were going together.”
“I’ll assess first.”
“And then what?” Zane asks. “Aren’t we going to offer them money?”
“I don’t need all of you there for that.”
