He tosses me the key, which I fling back over my shoulder to Lewis, watching as he catches it in midair, clinging to it for dear life. Our eyes meet. He’s holding up well. Sticking to the plan, doing what I told him to do. But I can tell he’sthisclose to falling to the ground and covering the key with kisses.What’s with the kissing obsession, Amy?
I shake off the memory of Lewis’s tongue in my mouth, and turn back to Tyler. I won—true. But I need to make sure word gets around that I’m not doing this again. This run was a one-off, and this is where the fun and games end. I’m not playing anymore. Not with Tyler, not with anyone.
I stretch out a hand and smile, and I can tell he wasn’t expecting this. He’s dropped his guard, I realize.Andthat’s always, always a mistake.I thought losing would make him a little warier of me, but it looks like he’s as stupid as he ever was.
Somewhere over his shoulder, I swear I hear Emil snickering. He knows the score—all my old friends do. They all know I’m not the kind of girl to shake hands with a car thief. Especially not one who tried to fuck me over with some rusty-ass pickup.
He takes my hand in his. “No hard feelings, huh?”
“No hard feelings.”
And with that, I yank down on his fingers, snapping his wrist back. As he tries to wrestle free, I loosen my grip, letting him think he can shake his hand free. All I’m doing is tweaking my angle, though, and the next thing he knows, I’ve got him in a headlock, my knee landing square in his balls. His lungs drain of air as he gasps for breath, and the crowd watches on in shock.
Message received, loud and clear.
I bend down to his ear. “That’s for playing dirty. Just be glad I didn’t mess your face up,” I snarl. “This is your first and last warning. Next time I find you all up in my shit again, I won’t go so easy on you.” I glance up at the onlookers. “And as for you guys… I want you to listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. From tonight, Sycamore Heights is out of bounds. As in, completely out of bounds.” I widen my stance. “So, pass it on. If I catchanyoneon my turf again, they’ll pay. I don’t need to remind you who my dad is. All I’ll say is this—the Hitmans know how to handle themselves.”
Cries start up all around me.
“¡El Mago! ¡El Mago!”
That’s the spirit.
I turn back to my car.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I say to Lewis, slinging an arm over his shoulders. “It’s time to go home. Meet you back at that motel in Deodate?”
His eyes flick from Tyler to me, and back again.
“Gimme a second.”
I don’t have time to ask what for—I don’t need to. Suddenly, Lewis is lunging for him, punching him straight in the face before Tyler can even sit up. Lewis winces, shaking his fist loose, and spits on the ground before swaggering back over to me.
My jaw is somewhere near the floor.
I guess we’re both just loose cannons.
My heart is lodged in my throat, fluttering hard. It’s like I’ve unlocked a new side of Lewis—sharp and reckless and dangerous—and let’s just say my body seems to like that.
Who knew watching him punch someone in the face would get me all lit up like this…
I stare after him in shock, watching as he slides into his precious Dodge, slipping me a wink as he fires up the engine and thunders off into the night.
“You sure know how to pick your amigos,” Emil murmurs.
I glance at him. “Like I said—no es mi amigo…”
It’s not exactly a lie. Friends definitely don’t get your heart racing like this.
“Got time for a drink, mi pequeña pilota?”
“Got a long drive ahead of me. Thanks for the West loop, by the way.”
“Least I could do.”
“Make sure word gets around about the new no-go zone,” I add. “I can’t promise not to lose my shit next time.”
Emil flashes me a grin. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the whole state hears. Fuck, that old man is lucky to have you.”
