I close my eyes, steadying my breath.
Please don’t tell me…
Suddenly, I’m shoving my bag into Don’s hands and turning on my heel, retracing my steps as my heart pounds in my throat, scouringevery square inch of the damn parking lot before clambering on top of a car for a better view.
“Goddamn it, Lewis. If this is what I think it is…”
I hop back down and crouch on the ground, stuffing a fist into my mouth. No matter which way I look at it, there’s no escaping the facts—somebody stole my car.
“You sure you parked here?” Don frowns, scrambling on top of another car to scan the horizon.
“Surer than I’ve ever been. Fuck.” I drop my head to my hands. “Somebody fucking stole my Dodge.”
I force the words out, like that’s the only way for them to really sink in. I’m seeing red. Through it, I hear Don calling Lane, then Adam, and I am going to destroy whoever did this.
“The guys are on their way,” he says when he hangs up. “Wait here, I’ll just go check with security.”
I do another two laps of the parking lot, and by the time I meet back up with Don, I’m in pieces.
“You’ve gotta file a complaint if you want to check their CCTV,” Don explains. “Let’s go talk to the cops. Maybe they towed it. Was your insurance all good?”
“Some motherfucking asshole stole my Dodge!”
Don puts a steadying hand on my shoulder. “Breathe, buddy. Maybe there’s been a mix-up.”
I flop against a car, trying my best to catch my breath as I cancel my next ride.
By the time Adam and Lane get to us, I haven’t budged an inch. Don, meanwhile, has turned the parking lot inside out and upside down. Again. And yeah—the Dodge has definitely vanished.Like I’d ever forget where I parked it…
“Let’s go speak to the cops,” Lane tries, holding out a hand to help me up. “Find out whether it’s been towed, and if it hasn’t… we’ll just have to search the streets.”
“I’m gonna burn this town down.”
I can hear myself panting hard as Lane drives us to the station, and the rest is pretty much a blur. The two cops I speak to clearly don’t give a shit, and thank God for Adam’s hand on my shoulder the entire time, because I’mthisclose to losing it.
The older officer runs a quick search to see whether a Dodge Challenger has been registered at the impound lot, and as I watch him shake his head, all my hopes scatter.What’d I do to deserve this?
I describe the car and give a statement, and when we spill back out onto the street again, I’m a mess.
“Let’s go grab our cars and comb the city,” Lane suggests.
“Yeah, like the total asshat who stole my car is just chilling near campus, right?” I spit, kicking a trash can for emphasis.
“So, your solution is to just sit on your ass and do nothing?” Private Investigator Super Lane rolls his eyes at me. “I’m gonna call Lois and Carter. The more of us, the better.”
“I’ll message Carrie and the Cardinals.” Don nods. “And I’ll go give the security guys a copy of the police report. That way they can check their cameras.”
I sweep a hand over my face. That Dodge is my world. I can’t imagine life without it. If I ever get my hands on the complete douche who did this to me, he’s gonna wish he was never born.
“Let’s split up. If we haven’t found it by the time it gets dark, we meet at RJ’s,” Lane suggests. “He’ll figure something out—he’s got people all over this state.”
Once we make it back to SHU, Lane heads off again, and as Don races away, I hop in beside Adam, my feet pounding the floorboard with rage as we streak through Sycamore in complete silence, our eyes peeled for every passing car. Adam knows better than to talk to me right now. We just bailed on practice, but I don’t give a fuck—the state I’m in, I’m a danger to my teammates.
Night is settling in around us when both our phones buzz.
LANE:Nada. FFS.
DON:Same. I got one of the security guys on board, he sent over some camera stuff. A dude jacks open your door and runs off, but you can’t see his face.
