Page 5 of The Best of Us

Damn you, Hudson.

Me: We should talk.

Leah: Oh.

Leah: No need to come up. I get it.

Before I could think of an appropriate response, a flash of movement in my rearview mirror caught my eye.Because my night needed to get worse.

I tossed my phone on the passenger seat and unbuckled. It wasn’t my car they were trying to boost, so it wasn’t my problem. But when in my life had I ever been theit’s-not-my-problem-just-ignore-ittype?

When their lookout man came around to the back of the Aston Martin, I realized he was only a teenager. His hood was drawn tight around his face, but it was still obvious he was young. When I opened the door, the kid startled backward and bumped into the vehicle. He quickly warned his two buddies they had company.

“You have five seconds to rethink your actions and get out of here.” I kept my tone stern and father-like as I stepped forward. I wasn’t in the mood to play a game of chicken with three teens, but I was in even less of a mood to accidentally injure one.

The other delinquents came over and flanked their lookout man. The shorter of the three decided to play with fire, flipping open a pocketknife.

I held up the only tool I had to scare them off since I didn’t plan to fight. Thumb hovering over the alarm button as if it were a trigger, I warned, “Put down that Boy Scout knife and get out of here, and I won’t sound the alarm.” With a lift of my chin, I indicated they were on camera and security guards would notice what was going on any minute.

“How about you give us the keys to your Gran Turismo, and you won’t get hurt.” The Boy Scout decided it’d be smart to step closer while lifting his knife.

I jutted my chin forward, letting him get a good look at me. To see I wasn’t the kind of man to play a game of “fuck around and find out” with. “If you’re going to be in the grand theft auto business, you should at least know your cars. It’s an MC20 Cielo. Grigio incognito is the color. You like it?”

The kid’s blue eyes flicked to my car and back to me. A touch of fear finally cut across his face. About damn time.

“Grigio incognito. That’s asshole talk for solid gray, by the way.” I winked. “I’m trying to give you kids a chance to walk away here.” As the lookout drew my eyes, I lowered the keys to my side.

“Come on, let’s just go,” the lookout said, elbowing the Boy Scout.

Knife returned to his pocket, he flipped me the bird. “You’re lucky, man.”

“Mm-hmm.” The sound buzzed low from my mouth as I shook my head.

The Boy Scout and the other teen took off, leaving only their lookout behind. He quietly stared at me. There was something oddly familiar about him.

Please tell me you’re not having a change of heart after being the voice of reason.“Go.” I pocketed my keys, and he blinked twice, then finally moved. Of course, he opted to bump into me on the way out. I stood there and took it since I didn’t want to hurt him.

Once the exit door was closed, and I was finally alone, I returned to my car, remembering I had another mission to complete. Officially end things with Leah.

Sitting behind the wheel, I sent her another text.

Me: You sure you don’t want to talk in person?

Leah: I’ve already moved on. Nothing to say.

Damn. Okay.I let go of a deep breath, then realized . . .

My left pocket was light. My wallet was missing.

You got the drop on me.

I was mildly impressed for a few seconds until I remembered something important. Something importanttome was now gone.

I called Hudson, not wanting to waste any time. I needed to get the kid’s name and location before it was too late.

“Hey, you good?” he answered after a few rings.

“Just tell me you broke it off with Leah.”Izzy.Of course I was on speakerphone. She must’ve joined Hudson at the office after I left. “How you felt about my ex is how I feel about her.”

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