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She glares at me. “Is that it?”
No. That’s not it. Because now that I’ve said it, I realize that I mean it.
I am sorry.
About all of it.
About everything I did.
Everything I said.
I regret it.
What I did to her and Con.
And I hate the way that makes me feel.
“Yeah.” I stand up, glaring down at her. “That’s it.”
She looks down at the book in her lap. Pulls her finger from between the pages and keeps reading.
I’m so pissedabout how things went with Henley that I don’t hear them until they’re practically on top of me.
“Hey, D.”
Fuck my life.
I look up and over to find Quinn Murphy walking beside me. Pasty. Thin. Shaved head that shows a rash of bright red stubble. Barely tall enough to stare me in the chin. Despite all that, he has no problem keeping up with me. He’s like a Jack Russel on meth. “Quinn.”
I slide a quick look to my left. Thad Jacobs. Dark head tipped down, chin tucked into his chest. Hands jammed into his pockets. He’s an okay guy. Smart. Loyal. Too bad he’s loyal to the wrong person. Spends most of his time trying to keep Quinn out of handcuffs. “T.”
Thad looks up, giving me a chin jerk in response. Something flashes across his face. He shoots a quick look at Quinn.
He’s warning me. This isn’t a social call.
I don’t even have to look to know Sean Grady is right behind me. I can hear his harsh, uneven breath, trying to keep up with me. He’s as big as I am but softer. Slower. If I try to run, it’ll be his job to stop me and he’s nervous about things will go if I put up a fight.
He can relax. I’m not running.
“Where you been?” Quinn says, his tone easy. Almost friendly. It’s a lie. Quinn would kill me as soon as look at me. I don’t take it personally. He’d kill his own grandmother if she looked at him funny.
“The library.” There’s no use in lying. They’ve been pacing me for a while now. They know where I was. I just pray Henley stays where she is. That she doesn’t come flying out of the building to give me a piece of her mind. It’s bad enough that I’ve got Tess tangled up in this shit. Ryan would kill me if I put his little sister on this psycho’s radar.
Yeah? What about your brother? How would he feel if he knew you splashed his girl with your bullshit?
“Yeah?” Quinn shoots me a grin. “What about last night? Where you at the library then too?”
The question has me stopping in my tracks. Sean bumps into me and mumbles sorry before backing up. Manners aside, he’s just as loyal to this ginger fuckstick as Thad. Quinn snaps his fingers, I’m getting dragged into the nearest alley. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I say it over the sudden drum of my pulse, banging away in my ears. Quinn’s eyes narrow at my tone but I don’t let up. Fuck him. “I went to work, pulled my shift, dropped my time card off to the boss, and went home.”
Workis his Uncle’s body shop in Southie.
My shiftconsisted of stealing a 2011 Aston Martin Virage Coupe from a parking garage in the financial district. Some fat cat banker who stays late at the office so he can bang his secretary.
My time card is the envelope full of cash I took to Mr. C as payment for the car. He works for Quinn’s uncle. Runs a crew for him that works the high-end neighborhoods, stealing luxury cars. Mr. C gets the orders, we fill them and collect his finder’s fee.
“Sure you didn’t stick around after your shift?” Quinn cocks his head at me, his mouth twisted into something nasty. “Collect a bonus.”
I’m not sure what he’s accusing me of. Either he knows about Tess or he thinks I’m skimming. Either way, why he’d give a shit is a mystery. Neither one has anything to do with him or his uncle.