Page 116 of Shameless

Good. We need to act the way we normally do around him, or he’ll get suspicious.

“Let’s get this over with, Johnston. But before I even let you near our boat, I want to check that your letter has everything we agreed on.”

Evan throws the white envelope he’s holding in Crew’s face. “Here’s your fucking letter. I’m a man of my word.”

Napoleon’s ears perk up and a low growl shakes the pooch’s little body at Evan’s F-bomb.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Crew warns him. “Napoleon hates foul language and he’s in a particularly bad mood today.”

Evan bares his teeth, looking as aggressive as Napoleon. “That mutt has bitten me twice already. Keep him under control, or I promise you there won’t be a third time.”

Crew ignores him, making a huge show of reading the letter Evan just gave him. “It looks like it has everything we discussed.Have you ever driven a speedboat, or do you need a driving lesson?”

The provocation hits the intended target. “Of course I have. Not one used in competitions, but I’ve driven a few powerboats. The commands are all the same, right?”

Crew nods. “They should be. Let’s get you a helmet and let’s get this show on the road.”

Evan ignores him, turning to Lula. “Here, sis. Start filming when I tell you. When I go viral, I might tag you.” He gives her his phone.

I clench my fists, fighting the urge to kick his ass when he brushes Lula’s fingers with his.

Lula hits play while Crew gives Evan one of our spare helmets.

Stefan comes to talk to me, just as planned. “Is the new boat ready for Lake Ozarks?” He’s loud enough to be heard by the others.

“Yeah,” I confirm just as loudly. “We have an even better boat than the old one. You’re looking at the next fully electric speedboat that will beat the current world record.”

Evan should bite in three, two, one…

“Wait a second. You have a faster boat? I want to drive the future world record boat. I’m not forgiving a half a million dollar debt to drive your second best boat.”

“You’re driving our current competition boat. That’s what we agreed on.” Crew argues. “The new one isn’t ready yet. We’re still trying it out and running tests.”

“Bull-fucking-shit,” Evan bites out. “You’re giving me a slower boat, so I don’t look cooler than you. Are you scared I’m going to be faster than you?”

Crew scoffs. “The only thing I care about is that you don’t fuck up a boat that cost eight figures to build. If you crash it, the accident with your yacht will look like a little fender bender between two reasonably priced cars. I’m not risking our season to help stroke your ego.”

This is the moment of the truth. If Evan backs off, I’ll text Tom to let him know that we failed and our only hope is to make sure that someone finds the bag with the bloody clothes in Evan’s room. We’ve already crashed Eddie’s phone with a hammer.

But if I know assholes like Evan, they never back off.

“I’m not gonna crash your boat,” he argues. “Even if I did, I’m good for it. With my trust fund I could afford five of your boats.”

Crew looks at me and Stefan. “I don’t know. We’re ready to compete in the next official boat race, we can’t risk damaging our new boat.”

I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. “It’s not gonna happen.”

Evan insists. “You’re gonna let me drive your new boat, or the deal is off. You wasted my time, assholes. I promise I’ll press charges, Crew. Enjoy your fucking boat from jail.”

Lula intervenes like we agreed. “Please, Jules. Let Evan drive the new boat. I don’t want Crew to go to jail.”

After a little more arguing between us, I relent. “Fine. But one scratch on this baby, you’re gonna foot the bill, understood?”

I press the button that will lower the boat into the water.

“The code to start the boat is five, three, two, one, eight. Don’t enter it until I’ve given you the ok.”

Evan’s cocky grin goes from ear to ear. “Start filming, sis. I’m gonna show these losers how to go faster than lightning.”

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