Page 29 of Magic or Madness

Once he’s in the driver’s seat I slide over to the middle, snuggling against his chest like I did yesterday. It feels natural, like I’m exactly where I belong, and he doesn’t hesitate to hold me tighter, his thick hand cradling my shoulder.

It’s a short ride, but when we get to the dealership, everyone is gathered on the couch with their attention on Max, and a whiteboard in the front of the room. The dynamic with his friends is so interesting to me, how they love like brothers, and I’m happy to spend more time around them.

All heads turn to us when we walk in, and Ozzy takes a protective stance, leading me with his hand on my lower back.

“Ozzy, nice of you to join us,” Max says, and Ozzy rolls his eyes while we take our seats on the extended lounge.

“What’s goin’ on boss? Anything new?” He skips the pleasantries, jumping straight to the point, but Max’s eyes are solely on me.

There’s an uncomfortable silence as everyone trades looks, and suddenly, I feel like there’s a conversation going on around me that I'm not privy to.

“Fallon, would you excuse us for a few minutes?” Max asks with a sternness in his voice that makes me jump, and I immediately stand to respect their privacy, but Ozzy pulls me back to him, holding onto my midsection tightly.

“She’s fine. I’ll tell her everything anyway, we don’t have anything to worry about,” he says, but nobody seems to agree, considering nobody else speaks up, or looks in our direction.

“Ozzy, we have to create a plan, and then you’re free to do whatever you want, but we need you here now.”

There’s a thick slice of tension hanging over the room because of me, and I feel my cheeks flushing with heat,the embarrassment beginning to materialize like a pit in my stomach.

“I can go, it’s okay,” I whisper, hating the feeling that I’m causing a problem, but he shakes his head.

“She knows what we do, and I told her what happened to Masha. Fallon isn’t a threat to us. Just show us the plan and stop dicking around, Max.” Ozzy stands firm, and Max sighs deeply, directing his attention to me.

“Nothing leaves this room, do you understand?” His voice is dripping with seriousness.

I nod sheepishly, settling back into Ozzy’s arms and taking a chance to look around the room – anywhere but at the giant whiteboard perched like a target, daring me to just sneak a little peek.

‘The lack of decor in here is the same as it is in Ozzy’s room, just leftover car memorabilia and bland white walls. Unfortunately, nothing is interesting to stare at, but still, I sit quietly, listening as the plan for their next job is broken down.

They start with the payout, which makes everyone excited, and move on to the details.

Slowly, I start to recognize the building they’re describing, and my blood turns cold.

It’s Keith’s body shop –the place where I work.

I listen as Max details the security of the building, the timing of deliveries, and runs through a list of employees, but he pauses, looking from his paper until his eyes meet mine.

“And Fallon Mariano, secretary,” he deadpans, as everyone’s head swivels to face me.

Ozzy’s body tenses under mine, and I feel heat flushing my cheeks.

“That’s me,” I say quietly, masking my emotions with a forced giggle, and Max throws his paper on the floor.

“How is this happening?” He says to no one in particular, dragging a hand down his face as everyone is basically frozen in place.

“Can I say something?” I ask, taking a big risk, but hoping it’ll allow for me to gain some trust with everyone, and Ozzy takes my hand, leading me to the front of the room.

“You’re wrong about the security. When there’s a delivery this big, for a specific client, Keith and his brother, Kevin, stay at the shop until it’s complete. After that, all the codes are changed, and the access list is reduced,” I explain, taking the thick, red dry-erase marker and jotting down my own notes.

“So what are you suggesting?” Max raises an eyebrow at me, and I take a step closer to him.

“I wasn’t suggesting anything. Just letting you know where your information was lacking.”

“That’s enough, Max. She gave us some help, now back off,” Ozzy says defensively, and all eyes are on me as I stand at the front of the room.

I’m essentially crashing their morning meeting and inserting myself into their job, a place I know Ozzy doesn’t want me to be. His body language says it all, he’s protecting me by keeping his hand on my body at all times, and standing tall as if he’s on alert.

Max declares the meeting over, claiming he needs to reach out to a source, and Ozzy and I are free to enjoy the rest of our day.

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