“So, basically, every man you’ve ever been interested in.”
“This isn’teveryman. This istheman. The one I’ve been in love with since I was fifteen. And he’s just as bad as the rest of them.”
Her doorbell goes off, and I startle. “Were you expecting someone?”
“I’ve got a date.” She looks longingly at her front door. “I can cancel it…”
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I just need a place to think.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. I’m probably not coming back until tomorrow morning at the earliest, but you know where I keep the food and the weed.”
“Thank you. I’ll replace anything I consume, and I’ll probably go back home in the morning.”
“Nah, whatever you take’ll be one less thing to move. But you know this means I’ll have questions when I get back, right?”
“I fucking hope to have answers when you do.”
She hugs me tight, then takes off.
I look around the boxed-up apartment. With no phone and no TV, the hours stretch out ahead of me, long and lonely.
25
BOONE
“You go after him,”Hopper says. He looks devastated. “I’ll have Jake track his car and phone.”
Not sure how I feel about having Maverick tracked like that, but then again, I’m worried he’s going to get into an accident with the way he took off.
“I have no chance of catching him in Eleanor,” I say, thumbing a gesture at the old Outback. “Like my dad says, she’s good for hauling art and the occasional dead body, but a performance vehicle, she is not.”
Hopper tilts his head. “Are those cloth seats?”
“Yeah…”
“Then never haul a dead body. It’s impossible to get all the blood out.”
Anders leans over and whispers something into his ear, and Hopper’s eyes widen.
“Oh. Sorry. Not a good time to joke about such things.”
I wave him off. Hopper seems like the kind of guy who might struggle with social cues.
“Here,” Anders says, digging in his pocket. “Take my car.”
I catch the fob, and my eyes pop out of my head. I hold it up, logo side out. “You sure?”
Anders’ car is double the value of Mav’s. I’m not even sure it’s street legal.
“Of course. Careful though,” he says, gesturing to the low-profile sedan in a dangerously dark charcoal gray. “It corners like it doesn’t give a shit about gravity.”
Anders parked a quarter million dollars’ worth of automotive excellence on the street like it’s a fucking Honda. I decide that, with all the things to worry about right now, maybe I don’t need to concern myself with its value.
“Okay,” I say, exchanging a look with Hopper.
He’s leaning toward me like he wants to say something, but Liam pulls him back.
Anders follows me to the car. “Look, Hopper wants to go with you, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
