Jacob points at the entry point. “Cameras are angled in a way that only catch the edges, so if we walk right up and in the front door, we won’t be seen if we keep our heads down. Don’t look up.”
“That’s what he said,” I tease, because I can never read the room.
Parker sucks his teeth and clears his throat. “Jacob and Dante, you’ll take down the two security guards out front, tie them up, then I’ll bring the one employee still in the back up front for you to handle while Hayden and I focus on the assets.”
“No murder,” Hayden reminds us.
“Yes, Dad,” Parker replies.
Hayden glares at him while Jacob makes an aborting, slashing kind of movement with his hand. I am truly too exhausted to understand all of the layers of dynamics that are occurring right now. I just want to punch someone like I was promised. Tired of the shenanigans, I breeze past them all and jog across the street. The stars are blotted out today, clouds covering the night sky, and the harsh bright lights of the medical facility make me want to sneeze. But I keep my head down and walk right up to the doors. The soft sounds ofthe boys' footfalls echo behind me, letting me know at least they’ve got my back.
I stop at the front door because I didn’t think this through. “So, do I knock or?”
“Jesus Christ,” Hayden mumbles. The rustling of his hands over his clothes reaches my ears, just in time for him to step in front of me with gloved hands to open the doors wide.
“Hey!” a security guard shouts, but falls to the floor when Parker leans over me with his tranquilizer gun. The other guard falls shortly after in a heap of messy limbs.
“Forgot about that,” I tease Parker with a smile.
He carefully rearranges his dress shirt cuffs. “I didn’t. No, you can’t use the gun.”
“Fine,” I sneer because this has been a year-long fight. Only Parker gets to use the tranquilizer gun because he’s convinced the rest of us will either shoot ourselves or the wrong person.
Hayden and Parker disappear into the back, just for Parker to reappear with a man that has a gag in his mouth and the fear of God radiating out of his eyes. Amazing. I’d probably feel the same way too if Parker was manhandling me with crazy eyes. Parker disappears again while I hover over the guy who’s shaking at our feet, the two security guards still out cold.
Jacob leans against the check-in desk, fingers flexing a few times out of restlessness.
“Doesn’t Parker usually get brawn duty with me?” I ask from the corner of my mouth.
Jacob snarls. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ah, that’s code for he pissed Hayden off again.
Hayden quiets over the comms just in time to breeze through the door Jacob and I have been standing guardaround. Parker plods along behind Hayden with a pointed look in Jacob’s direction. Oh he’s inserioustrouble if his twin is also pissed at him. Now I’m fucking curious.
Once we’ve all climbed into Parker’s loaded SUV, we peel out of the alley to head back to the city. Hayden curls over his laptop as he uploads whatever data he stole. A frown etches his perfect face for only a moment, before that delighted grin spreads. That means success.
“All done. Can we stop for ice cream?”
Jacob snorts. “It’s one in the morning.”
Hayden clenches his jaw. “I want ice cream.”
Jacob swears and looks out the window, but not before making some hand motion to Parker to indicate we should stop for ice cream. I tug my phone out as we drive, checking my text message thread with Reid. We’ve been texting nonstop the past week since I haven’t had time to see him again. I’d watched him on campus for a brief moment. He’d had a cigarette dangling from his mouth while angrily marching toward the math building.
He’s surly and argumentative in text, the same as he is in person, but he’s also more apt to share details of his life. The last text from him was an hour ago, saying he was going to bed. Attached is a photo which is new. When I click into it, my heart races and my mouth goes dry. It’s a simple drawing of hands wrapped around a throat, but I know that’s my hand because of the tattooed phases of the moon across my knuckles.
Which means that it's Reid's throat that the fingers are wrapped around.
I’m not going to get hard in the car with the boys that are essentially my brothers-in-arms. I lead a cursed existence. The SUV comes to a stop at a gas station on an abandonedstreet. Before I can ask what’s up, Jacob jumps out of the car and heads inside. Hayden sits beside me, arm leaning against the window with his chin resting on his palm.
Hayden’s eyes dance as he carefully tracks Jacob’s movement in the store, never once losing sight of him. The grin that overtakes his face when Jacob reappears is somehow both terrifying and heartwarming. More people should experience the thrill of ice cream after a theft.
Jacob tosses two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream at Hayden, then signals with his hand for Parker to keep going. The rest of the car ride is mostly silent, except for the sound of Hayden eating his beloved ice cream. A few minutes from home, Hayden leans over the console to hand Jacob the half-eaten pint and plastic spoon. Oh, these fools. I bite back a chuckle when Jacob takes the offered ice cream. By the time we return home, the carton is empty and both boys are smiling.
Hayden trudges into the house with Jacob hot on his heels.
“Do you think they know?” I ask Parker while we wipe down the car.
