Page 136 of Drift

Jack looked him over, that same mistrust over not really knowing who stood there such a startling contrast to how Martin had looked at Drift. Martin had knownexactlywho stood there, but Jack?

“Yeah…” He gave such a rough, angry sigh. “I’m… Jack. Jack Harrison if Martin didn’t get to dick-tate before I jumped in.” His tone was a lot softer despite the hard mistrust in his look. “I’m… hmm.” He seemed to struggle so badly, and his brief, angered glance rested on Gray. “Cars…” He was back with Drift. “Give me a car, kid. I can fix anything you throw at me. But hand me a teenager, I tend to shout a lot. To… fuck up.” He dug his hands into his pockets too. “Sam… You really need to meet Sam at my garage to understand why… chainsaws.” He nodded. “They’re my default go-to around kids.” He eyed Drift up, took an unsteady long breath. “You caught me out again, nothing more. And there’s nothing worse than being caught out with this shit, huh?” He offered a softer smile, his head looking a littlemore calmed. “Sorry. I should have listened before shouting and… cars, fuck. You into cars, by any chance? You know, help me out here with finding common ground as we dance around each other?”

Drift snorted. “I’ve yet to meet a car I can’t outrun on London streets.” He shrugged. “Take or leave them, me.” He winced. “And by that I mean not in a Feeding sense. Bit awkward to run with one in my pocket, right?”

Jack smiled briefly down to his feet. “Bad habit, anyway,” he said, looking at him. “Stealing cars. Know your comfort zones.”

Jan coughed. “Wrong kind of common ground with thieving,” he said under his breath, and Drift tilted his head slightly at Jack, no doubt mentally listing just how many potential cars Jack had carjacked in his youth. Kid was damn sharp, or maybe he was just trying really hard to try and understand what was going on, if Jack really did have DID, and just how different he was to Martin. If it was a vicious trick from Martin. Had Martin had time to go into who was the alter personality? Who was the original host? Fuck, Jan hadn’t, not with West. Just how would that impact Drift?

“Yeah.” Jack dug his hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortable with the scrutiny, but then social… Jack avoided life for this very reason, and to have a kid,Martin’sstanding there, scrutinizing his disorders? Yeah, Jan understood his anger over Gray allowing Drift in here. No matter the circumstance, Jack needed that time to adjust so he didn’t… batter his way through life and catch Drift with the blows. And the blush shying his cheeks said he saw hehadunintentionally battered his way back blindly into things and nearly knocked Drift off his own unsteady course. “I mean… thieving. Don’t do it. Well….” Jack seemed to rethink that. “Don’t get caught doingit.” He finally smiled privately Gray’s way, and seemed to rethink that again. “Well… just don’t get caught doing it by him. He’s a bit of bast—” He stopped thatbastardpart so quickly. “A bit of a sharp old soul.”

Drift shifted awkwardly….

“Ah, Ray’s phone.” Jack tilted his head and searched Drift’s look. “Common thieving ground found after all, huh?” Because, yeah, Drift did take after Jack for running around on the wrong side of the fence and pissing Gray off when it came to theft and handling stolen goods, although Drift seemed a lot more professional than Jack.

“Dance,” Drift said eventually. “I like to dance, if you’re really struggling for… respectable common ground.”

Jack cocked a surprised smile. “You do, huh?”

“You?”

Jack dug his hands deeper in his pockets, winked. “A little. Maybe a lot.” Th’fuck could he, Jan knew that, had the X-rated content of him and Gray sparring and Jack going dirty dancing up to Gray each time Gray turned his back, but—“Not the kind to be done around kids, though.”

Drift snorted a smile. “Moonlight as a pole dancer, do we?”

Jack suddenly choked a laugh. “Hey. Watch it. That’s Sam’s mouth you have there over double entendreing.”

Drift blushed, so badly, and Jack cocked a brow. It looked like Drift had only meant pole dancing in one professional way, and Jack…?

“Fuh…” He stopped thefuckright there too and chuckled again. “Jesus. Kids and their delicate ear balls. Gotta remember that, right?”

“Hmm.” Drift shifted from foot to foot, then held a hand out back to West, his look staying on Jack. “This… this is West,” he said softly as he waited for her to take it. “As long as she’s okay, I’m okay.” It was an exact mirror of what he’d said to Martin, but maybe, just maybe a small acknowledgement off Drift that he picked up on some of the subtle difference between Jack and Martin. Or maybe he was being defensive with just sending out the same warning on how West was to be left alone with this level of mind game no matter who stood in front of him.

Only West’s look was on the gate, the roadside beyond, and Jan followed her look at the same time Drift glanced back when he realised she hadn’t taken his hand.

“Fuck,” breathed Jan.

Outside the gate, the young lad stumbled alone into the road, and as gentle sobs wracked his body, he looked no older than twelve. He was small for his age and wrapped up against the cold with a coat almost a size too big. Fingerless gloves always seemed pointless to Jan, but with how West reacted to him, he guessed fingerless gloves must be good for either musical talent or parkour skill and grip. He was one of their crew, that was obvious. The kid wore a cap, one that belonged more on the set ofPeaky Blinders, but it suited him well, giving him a mean street urchin look. But young… how round his face was, it called out a youth that shouldn’t ever see a street on his own.

“Brighty…?” West took a step towards the gate, but Drift bolted over and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back into him and wrapping a hold around her. She looked back at him… then Light. “Get him off the bloody street. Now.”

Gray’s look was on the treeline behind Brighty, and although nothing but trees stood watch over the boy, his body language was all wrong. Drift must have seen it along with Jan, because he kept switching a frown between Gray and Light. Light didn’t reply to West either, his look fixed on the undergrowth, and his lowered gaze mirrored Gray’s.

Something else out there hid in the darkness, out of sight.

“Back away from the gate, both of you.” Gray slipped a touch under his jacket and came out with his firearm.

“What?” West shot a look Gray’s way.

Jan jolted towards her, but a hand stopped him, pulling him away.

The look in silver eyes was too sharp, too focused on the shadows where Gray and Light looked. Too full of black.

Martin was back.

Christ. It wasn’t just Gray and Light picking up something was seriously wrong: the whole pack shifted their muzzles towards the treeline even though nothing was visible in the dark beyond the security lights highlighting the boy. The thin line of blood running Martin’s nose had said Jack had been like Jan and not picked anything up from how he’d tried to retain control.

Unease hitting his gut, Jan stepped over by Simon as he slipped his firearm out too. Simon’s glance beyond the gate wasn’t as focused, but he seemed to naturally bounce off Light’s change in mood, and his silent order went to the guards, directing them into position. George took left side of the gate, another behind him as the third came over to Simon, backing him up.

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