Page 32

CHAPTER 32

I give Dad maybe two sentences of information—how long I’ve been dating Mei and the thing Nick did to her that night in the alley. I leave out the thing he did to her last night or all the other times before. Or where she’s at now and what she’s told me about her situation because I just don’t know where this is all headed. In exchange, Dad answers my question about what, exactly, Nick has done. Without telling me the top secret, for-cop-eyes-and-ears only stuff, he confirms that Nick is at the center of the missing women case but there are others.

Okay, so…according to Mei, she and her family are undocumented and supposedly here because of Nick, but is there more? Is she more involved with Nick than she’s told me? Is she even who she says she is or is she trying to protect Nick and her family? The way she looks right now tells me otherwise, but I just don’t know.

“I need you to think really hard about what you’ve told me and make sure it’s everything because if something comes out later, you can forget college. So. One more time: is there anything you’re not telling me that you should?” Dad checks over his shoulder and changes lanes, then turns the corner faster than any law-abiding cop should.

I don’t even know what more to tell him because I don’t know what I’m involved with at this point. I could tell him about getting jumped by Nick’s guys. That Guo knows stuff, but it’s all too heavy to drag up and out of my mouth so I shake my head. “That’s it.”

Dad’s phone rings and he glances at the screen, then swears as he punches the button to answer. “Call you back in five.” He ends the call and stares straight ahead. “I’ve got to get to the station so I’m going to drop you off at The Clubhouse and you’re going to stay there and not answer the door, you understand? You cannot leave, no matter what, and you cannot talk to Mei Li. It’s dangerous for both of you. No discussion, no exception.”

I look out the window.

“Marcus?”

“Got it,” I say through a clenched jaw.

“When I get home, we’ll dig into everything else. All of it.”

He veers to the curb and I’m out of the car, inside our building, taking the stairs two at a time as questions chase me up them. Is Dad just doing this because he found out I’m with Mei? Should I have told him what happened to her? Should I be with Mei? Is it safe for us to leave or will someone follow us? Should I leave with her?

I burst through The Clubhouse door, slam it behind me, and back against it, scanning the living room. This isn’t home anymore. This is where Mei and I ended. Where I believed everything Dad said. I want to leave it all here and get out of San Francisco.

It’s so quiet, the clock ticks in my head, reminding me how long I’ve been gone from Mei. I pull out my phone and dial Guo’s number .

“Are you okay, boy?”

“Yeah. Just…so many things.” I rub my forehead and close my eyes. “Can I ask you a question and will you give me an honest answer?”

“I always do.”

“Is Mei involved with everything Nick was doing? Like, was she ever part of it? Or her family?”

“No, she is not. Neither is her mama but…” Guo pauses on the other end, and I tense. “I cannot say the same for her baba.”

“Her dad’s involved? Like how involved? Some kind of fall guy? Or Nick’s henchman or something? What??”

“Or something.”

I grip the phone and stare into the dark living room. So Mei’s not involved but she’s so close to the action.

“Does Mei know?”

“No. And it must stay that way until things are confirmed.”

This phone can’t even handle a secret this heavy. My hand aches. My throat. My head that’s not sturdy enough to handle the realization that just plowed into it: even if I stay in San Francisco, I won’t be with Mei. Stuff’s going to happen to her family if her dad’s really involved. We definitely have to leave, and we have to hide because this could be bad. All of it.

“You okay, boy?”

I push up through the layers of debris my life just made. “Yeah. So…do you think your brother would be okay with me staying at his place? And how soon can he be ready for us?”

“He is ready now. I already told him you would be coming with Mei Li. She will be ready as soon as you get here.”

The call ends and I look at the phone, then dart into the kitchen and snag the lanyard with the motorcycle key on it and throw it over my head. Sprinting to my room, I pull my soccer bag from under my bed and empty it, shove clothes and hoodies inside along with an extra pair of Adidas. I snatch my wallet and Meemaw’s graduation money, tossing it inside along with my passport, just in case. We might have to run a lot farther than we would have before I saw Dad.

Headed for the door, I pause, backtrack, and yank open my top dresser drawer. I grab Buddha and a couple books I haven’t finished yet.

On my way past the kitchen, a note Dad left on the whiteboard on the fridge catches my eye. I missed it when I came home from prom since it was so dark but now, I see his message: Wake me up when you get home . Definitely didn’t have to wake him up, and I wonder what my life would be like right now if he’d fallen asleep instead of talking to Kenna. Or hung up with her two minutes earlier. I wouldn’t have known Dad’s been lying. Wouldn’t have run to Mei’s. Wouldn’t know about Mei’s situation or any of this. I might have missed her. Never seen her again. Maybe I should be grateful for Kenna.

I wipe off Dad’s message with the side of my hand and grab the dry erase marker.

“I left. My choice. I’ll check in later.”

I set the marker down and am out of The Clubhouse. Down the stairs, out the building, running through backstreets and dodging puddles in alleys. Every time I think of a shivering, bruised Mei in the shower, I run faster. Every time I think of the pictures on Dad’s phone, I stumble. Anyone could be following me. They could jump me and lights out. Then again, I’d almost prefer that to seeing Dad again and explaining why I’m doing the exact opposite of what he told me to do.

My legs are cramping by the time I make it to Lex’s house, sweat dripping in my eyes as I punch in his garage code, urge the door to move faster. Hope Lex really is with Dad .

When the door rises enough to duck under it, my eyes land on my bike and I straighten, stare at her. She’s more beautiful than she looked in the pictures. I circle her, run my hands over her. Matte black body, chrome everywhere else. And a seat perfect for me with Mei right behind me.

Smiling for the first time in hours, I shove my bag in the seat compartment and slide onto the motorcycle, rubbing the handlebars. I’m totally in love. She’s mine. And if I’m going by Ray Rules, I earned every last bolt.

I roll her out of the garage, punching the button to close the door, then slip the key in the ignition and ride toward freedom.

My hands ache from being clenched, gripping the handlebars like I can control my life if I just keep my grip tight enough. I squint against the heavy fog draped between buildings, my eyes stinging as I speed back toward Chinatown, taking corners way too fast, imagining Dad behind me any second.

Early morning buses rumble past and send ripples toward me, try to shake me off my bike. The whole world quakes beneath me. I accelerate, and a few minutes later, I turn so fast into the alley behind Guo’s shop that I have to put my foot on the ground to keep the bike upright. Swearing, I steady it, veer behind a dumpster, then cut the engine and jump off.

Throwing open Guo’s back door, I weave through the dark, around stacks of boxes, burst through the velvet curtain into Guo’s kitchenette where she and Mei sit at the table.

Their heads snap up, Mei’s hand on her chest before she closes her eyes and breathes my name. “You scared me.”

“We have to go. Now. My dad knows about us. And Nick. There’s…I’ll explain later.” My eyes meet hers. “I’m going to Seattle with you.”

Emotions sweep across Mei’s face, her eyes going from afraid to confused to hopeful to questioning while Guo watches silently .

“Marcus, no—you can’t—”

“I’m going with you and we gotta go now.”

She hesitates, her hand gripping the table’s edge before she stands. “ Are you sure ?” she asks with her eyes.

I nod spastically. “ So sure .”

She presses her lips together, then swallows and turns toward a bag by the stairs. She’s dressed, packed, shoes on. She was going to leave without me. I could have lost her, just like that. The way my heart folds over that thought to smother it is the only sign I need. I’m doing the right thing.

Guo’s chair scrapes against the tile. “You will be safe there until we can figure out the next best thing. I will stay in contact. This is as it should be.” She reaches up and pats my face.

I swallow and nod, glance at Guo who’s staring at me.

“You are wondering what will happen to Mr. Ray, yes?”

“Yeah. Even though right now, I shouldn’t care.”

She puts her hand on my arm. “You love him, and he loves you. Everything will be okay. Magic 8 said so, and I will make sure.” Guo opens her arms and wraps us both in a hug, her face against my chest as she talks. “Please be safe.”

I lay my cheek on top of Guo’s head as she speaks to Mei in Mandarin. My heart is racing. We’ve been here too long. Dad’s gonna show up, stop us from leaving. Stop us from being together. Detonate my world again.

I lean down to kiss Guo on the cheek, then grab Mei’s hand and her bag, not saying anything because there are too many emotions in the way.

Guo slips the address into Mei’s hand, and I follow her out the door, pausing when Mei stops on the top step and stares at the motorcycle.

“You got it,” she breathes, looking over her shoulder at me. “When did this happen…?”

“Incredibly long story and I’ll tell you everything but right now, we gotta go.” Darting around her, I drape her bag over the back of the motorcycle so it covers the temporary license plate, then take the helmet from the handlebars as Mei eases onto the seat.

I pause, gripping the helmet, because Mei is on my motorcycle. The only two things I want, right here. Twelve hours ago, I wouldn’t have dared hope to see Mei again because it hurt too much. Now, she’s here. It’s us, together.

My heart beats in my throat as she takes the helmet from me, pulls it on, buckles it. Ready. Decided. I shove my sleeves up my arms to release heat trapped in my hoodie, but Mei grabs my arm, staring at THE END I drew in bold, black finality last night, then looks at me, searching.

“ Why this…?”

Words throw themselves around my head, scattered and frantic. “When I didn’t hear from you, I thought we were—”

She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head at my arm, then meets my eyes again. “Do you have a Sharpie?”

I slide the one I grabbed on the way out of The Clubhouse out of my pocket and she takes it, uncaps it, and scribbles out END, then writes BEGINNING under the black smudge on my arm.

Blinking away emotions, I tug her helmet strap toward me, my eyes locked on hers. “I love you,” I breathe against her lips, and my mouth doesn’t need a reintroduction to hers; I would never forget how she feels even if I’d never seen her again. Hers is telling me the same thing, and I give my mouth full permission to take us way past THE END and the old us and pull us to the other side of together where I’m staying for good.

A car parks at the end of the alley, and I pull back from Mei, glancing over her head. Not Dad, not a cop, but we have to get out of here before it is.

Sliding onto the seat in front of her, I crank the key and rev the engine, nodding at Guo standing in the back door before veering us around the dumpster and down the alley. Mei’s arms wrap around me, holding us together while our old life crumbles behind us and we speed toward whatever comes next.