“Well, that fucking sucks. What’d you find out?”
“There’s a meet coming up,” she replies. “Day after tomorrow. I kept the questions short and sweet—didn’t want to trigger them. But honestly, it’s too soon to be a coincidence.”
I’m starting to lose patience. “What do you mean, exactly? What meet—and what’s my car got to do with it?”
She turns to me, sighing.
“You guys head on home. RJ will call if we get anything.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. It’s my car—I’d like to stay in the loop, if that’s okay with you.”
“Thinkreputation, Conley.” She narrows her eyes. “You know?”
“I amsoconfused right now.” Don sighs. “But listen, we’re here to help. If you have a hunch, a location you’re thinking of… spill, man. There’s enough of us to go get Lewis’s car back. You can be straight with us—what happens in the shop stays in the shop.”
Amy shoots RJ a warning look. “Don’t get them mixed up in this, Ronald.”
“They already are.”
There’s an edge to his voice as he glances back and forth between the four of us, and in that moment, it dawns on me—there’s a darker side to RJ the mechanic.
He turns back to Amy, his lips narrowing. “First I’ve heard of a meet—I’m guessing it’s out of state, then?”
“Correct.”
“In a nearby state?”
“No.”
“Then forget about it.” RJ frowns. “I’m okay on home turf, but the big, bad world is a whole other story.”
Amy bristles. “I don’t need your help—it’s on my turf.”
“That asshole Emil thinks he can just come on in and make himself at home, huh?” RJ bangs a fist against the table. “Shit, I don’t like this, Amy. I don’t like the idea of you going back to New York at all.”
New York?The way the two of them are staring each other down, somethingdefinitelyhappened there.
“I’m sending Rixton,” RJ continues. “He kept a few contacts there.”
“No fucking way. You know damn well this is my territory. He’ll have his ass thrown out of town before he even steps a foot there. I’m not worried. And anyway,” she adds, “if things get sticky, I know what to do—so, let me go. I’ll check in, see what the situation is, and we’ll take it from there.”
None of this is making any sense, and there’s something about being stuck in the passenger seat that’s really, really grating on me.
“Where’s my fucking car, guys?” I yell. “In New Fucking York? Is that what you’re telling me? Cut the secret-code bullshit and level with me—if you know where my Dodge is, then you better start talking, Hitman. I’ll go there and get it myself!”
“How about you pipe down before I shove that beer bottle into your eye?” she snaps. “The only thing that’s stopped me so far is my empathy—and it’s wearing thin.”
She glares at me, and I step closer, glaring right back.
“Chill, Lewis.” My best friend squeezes my arm. “We get it—this is hard. But you need to take it easy.”
“It’s my Dodge, Adam. My baby.” I shake my head. “I’m going out of my mind here, and the way you two are acting is making me hella nervous.”
Amy cracks her knuckles, reaching for a soda. “I’ll have more to share on Friday, okay? In the meantime, you guys just do your thing and don’t say a word to anyone. No making waves—if you do, we don’t stand a chance.”
“I give up,” sighs Lane. “What exactly is going on, here?”
Amy and RJ exchange a knowing glance.
