My head whips back around. “No, of course not.”
“Phew.” An easy grin spreads across his lips. He wipes the back of his hand across his forehead, pretending to be relieved.
Thick curls of dark hair shift in the breeze. He runs his fingers through them, trying to tame the windswept strands, but it’s a lost cause. He’s attractive, standing at a shorter height witha lean build and brown skin. He’s dressed simply in a loose white T-shirt that flaps against his chest in the sea breeze and black cargo pants.
“You had me worried there for a second. I didn’t want to have to jump in after you.”
My lips twitch. “Are you quotingTitanic?”
He lifts one shoulder, stepping closer with an easy charm Kane wouldn’t have.
Kane? Why am I thinking of him now?
“It felt fitting.”
He’s closer now, his curly dark hair a wild tangle at the mercy of the sea spray. I’m no better off. My hair lashes my face, and I tuck it behind my ears, but it doesn’t stay there for long.
Soon enough, it’s teasing my cheek again.
“You’re Holt’s sister, right?”
“That’s me in the flesh. Sorry, I don’t know your name.”
I feel more relaxed now. He doesn’t seem like someone who would throw women off cliffs.
“It’s cool,” he says with a shrug and an easy smile. “I’m Omari.”
He extends his hand like a gentleman, and we shake. I’m smiling now. He is too, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m doing something wrong. I’m not. Kane isn’t my boyfriend. Besides, he hasn’t contacted me in days.
My insides twist into a tight knot as Omari talks while we walk along the cliff, away from the party.
We stop by a cluster of trees. Omari leans back against one of the trunks and tells me about watching my brother race down at Dark Lanes. His Adam’s apple bobs as he shakes his head and stares up at the sky. “I hope to race against the best someday.”
That pulls me out of my thoughts of Kane. “Why don’t you?”
He drags his gaze down from the stars and looks at me. Really looks at me. “I will one day. If I can get the scrap metal in my garage working first.”
“My brother works at Bleakmoor Auto Repair,” I say. “Why don’t you bring it in for him to have a look at?”
He goes distant, running his tongue over his bottom lip. He’s looking at me, but he isn’t really seeing me. Then he sighs, like he’s scolding himself, and turns his attention back to the sea. “Money’s tight right now.”
My heart squeezes at that. Money’s a problem for all of us in the Falls.
“Speaking of money…” He straightens. “Word on the street is that your brother is looking to recruit.”
“Recruit?”
A frown pulls my brows together. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it.
Omari leans in closer. “To help with the shipments.”
The color drains from my face. I can feel it. What shipments?
I shake my head in denial, barely registering his fingers on my cheekbone. Chris wouldn’t do anything stupid. He wouldn’t get pulled into that mess. He knows better.
“Will you put in a good word for me? He knows who I am.”
I lift my gaze to his face. We’re close. Much closer than I realized.
