Page 8 of The Saviors: Part One

This is where my specific skill set kicks in. I can slip in and out of anywhere unnoticed. I can pick any lock or deactivate any alarm as easy as breathing. My antics are what landed me in Axel’s lap. After I got arrested and my dad wouldn’t bail me out, Axel came and saved me from more than jail. He shined up my skills, gave me a place to live, and the family I never had besides Ghost. We grew up together, and all we ever had was each other.

“I’ll look everything over, and I’ll be ready,” I assure him.

Axel gives me a hard look and then jerks his head for Kai to follow him.

Cole looks at me when they’re gone. “Where the hell was your head at?”

I shrug. “Last night.”

“You were thinking about the blonde?”

“Yeah. And?”

“Since when? You’re more the hit-it-and-quit-it type, not the sit-and-pine,” he laughs.

“I wasn’t pining.” Okay. Maybe I am a little.

“What’s her name?”

“Dawn.” I’m sticking with the name she gave me, even though I have my suspicions she’s more of a Chelsea.

“That’s a stripper’s name.”

Before I can stop it, my temper soars to the surface. “She’s not a fucking stripper,” I say between clenched teeth.

“Whoa,” Cole laughs, throwing his hands up placatingly. “You got it bad, bro.”

I try to stuff my temper back in its box where I need to keep it. “There’s just something about her.”

Cole shrugs. “Explore it then. Just don’t lose focus of why we came back to Forest Grove.”

“Explore it how? How the hell do we date with this kind of life?” I’ve seen the Abbs Valley crews pull it off, but we never stay in one place long. It’s too dangerous.

“Hide what you can from her and tell the truth where you can. I didn’t say it would be easy, but if this girl has you twisted in knots after one night, then I think it’s worth exploring. Maybe when you know you can trust her, you can tell her the truth.”

“If it’s that easy, why haven’t you done it?”

Cole gives me a look. “Because there is only one girl I would want that with, and she’s lost to me forever.”

I know of the infamous girl from Axel and Cole’s childhood. They never said her name, but they were all best friends growing up. Apparently, Axel punched a kid in the face in the third grade for picking on her, and they were inseparable after that. The only reason I know about her is because Cole got drunk one night and told me. She’s the girl that got away. I mentioned it in front of Axelonetime, and he threatened to rip my heart out through my throat. So, I figured she was the one who got away from him too.

“Are you ever going to tell me the full story?” I ask him.

“No. It’s in the past. We left her. She hates us. The end.”

“How do you know? Have you tried to find her?”

He looks away. “Once. She’s married.”

“How long ago was that?”

“I don’t know. Four years ago, I guess. It’s been six years. It’s time to let it go,” he says sadly before walking from the room.

Something tells me he’s never letting this girl go. Maybe I should have Nolan find her.

Once that thought pops into my head, I can’t let it go.

After this job tonight, I have a hacker to call.