Page 92 of The Devastation You Reap

“Those guys at the party. Who are they? They all looked… Well, dangerous.”

She laughs, an amused twinkle in her eyes. “That would be because they are. I have no idea why Leon thought it was a good idea to take you there last night. I don’t even know why he was there to be honest, I didn’t realize he was friends with any of them.”

“So who are they?”

“Harrow Creek Hawks.” A shudder runs down my spine from the three words alone.

Leon had called them Hawks, but the fact Letty has just tagged on the name of the awful place where she grew up doesn’t make me feel any better about them.

“A… A gang?”

“Yeah. A pretty dangerous one. If I were you, I’d stay as far away as possible.”

“You friends with them?”

She nods. “Yeah. They’re actually decent guys when you get to know them and are able to see beneath what they do for a living.”

“Which is?”

“Stuff you don’t want to know about.”

“Fair enough.”

My cell dings again and I rush over to grab it hoping once again that it might be him. But just like earlier, it’s just the security company telling me that the alarm tripped again.

“Ugh.”

“Not him then, I assume.”

“What gave me away?” I joke.

“The disappointment that was written all over your face was a clue.”

“He’s messing with my head, Letty. I said I’ve never let a man do that to me. Ever.”

“Don’t we all. Unfortunately, sometimes they just get on up in there and refuse to get the hell out.”

“Great.”

“I need to head off, I’ve got work later, but I’d love to hang out again, if you’d like to, of course. I could let you in on a few of Leon’s secrets.” She winks but despite her words, I already suspect she's loyal to the core and would never tell me anything that was actually a secret.

“I’d love to,” I say with a wide smile. I’ve never had many friends, but something tells me that there could be something here.

“I’ve got a couple of friends who I think you’ll really get along with.”

“Don’t they get out much either?” I deadpan but she doesn’t laugh like I was expecting.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking college at a slower pace, Macie. You just do you. Whatever that is.”

“Thank you,” I mouth, a lump of emotion clogging my throat and stopping me from saying the words aloud.

“Let me give you my number.” She holds her hand out for my cell, and after unlocking it, I pass it over and she taps her digits in. Hers rings in her purse two seconds later. “I’ll be in touch. And when that boy gets in touch, give him hell, yeah? Let him know you’re not a doormat who’ll let him get away with acting like a douchebag.”

“I’ll do my best, but mostly he turns me into a stuttering idiot.”

“It’s the eyes. I get it,” she jokes. “Just don’t look at him as you do it.”

“Thanks for this. I really appreciate it.”