Page 108 of Brazen Deceits

She doesn’t. She gives me a long look, so I smile and lift my chin in greeting, switching the music to something without words, just in case she’s offended by lyrics. Who knows with old ladies? It’s not like I’ve spent a ton of time with them. They just love me on principle.

Bored after another song with strong beats but no words, I call Walker.

“Did you find it okay?” he asks, skipping any greeting.

“Yeah. Now I’m just waiting.”

“And you’re bored and debating just breaking in while her parents watch TV?”

I stare at the colors barely visible flashing through the front window. “It’s like you know me, man.”

Walker’s laugh sounds light, and after weeks of him being in amood, it’s excellent to hear. I just want everyone to get on the “we’re all in this together, for the long haul, and it’s going to be fucking amazing,” train with me. Because the writing’s on the wall. And I’m doing all I can to keep from blurting it out in front of everyone else as they take their damn sweet time coming to the same conclusion.

Clara was the glue we didn’t know we were missing. She’s the last tumbler in a tricky lock. She’s the center we’re all drawn to. She’s all of ours. And we’re hers.

Holding my tongue is nearly impossible.

“Want to entertain me?” I ask instead.

“You’ve got me for maybe three minutes. Then I’m home.”

“I want to be home.”

“Really? Home over breaking and entering?”

“Okay. Fine. I’d rather be breaking and enteringwithClara.”

A smile cuts across my face as he chuckles again. “At least you’re honest. Are you sure I can’t convince you to just knock on their door and ask for her winter gear? I’m not sure what she’s going to think about you breaking into her parents’ house, Jay.”

“You said her mom hit her, that she dug her nails in so deep Clara bled. They don’t deserve the courtesy. They don’t deserve to feel safe in their house. It’s not like Clara did.”

The pause on the other end lingers. “You’re not wrong. But your sense of justice is both perfect and terrifying.”

“Despite everyone’s pessimism, I’ve actually learned something from all my philosophy classes. An ability to defend my twisted morals isn’t a terrible skill in our line of work.”

“Since when did you care about your morals?”

Since a brown-eyed beauty skittered into our lives. We might be dragging her to the wrong side of the law, but for me? I’ve also had to reevaluate where I stand on things I just took for granted. Why do I steal? Because it’s fun. Because it feels right.

Because as a kid, I couldn’t see another way out of the hole we’d sunk into after my dad died. And I was so fucking hungry.

Shit. I don’t need to dwell. It’s never helped.

“Just practicing in case I get caught,” I joke.

“Don’t get caught and you won’t need to practice that shit.”

“You know that’s my plan.”

I can see him shaking his head at me in my mind. “Be safe. Don’t make things worse. I’m home, so I’m hanging up on you.”

“Give our girl a kiss from me.”

“I’ll be giving her a kiss from me. You can kiss her yourself tomorrow.”

“Good call. She’s still a bit too boogery for my tastes right now.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her that, man.” The line goes dead.

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