Page 39 of Ride or Die
I really hope Colt doesn’t run into him later. That is not something I want him to see, a protective boyfriend versus a strung-out dad.
I leave him and head upstairs to go to my room. When I pass my parents’ room, I see my mom passed out in bed snoring, her cigarette still billowing smoke in the ashtray beside her. Looks like they had a drunken bender and both passed out. I walk in and put out the cigarette, then go to my room.
I lock my door to keep my family out when I am not home. They are known for stealing my stuff to sell it. I installed my own locks on the outside and inside, and any special food I buy gets put in my mini fridge. Like I live in a dorm, I cook with my own hot plate and toaster oven, doing my best to avoid them.
It’s isolating, but it’s the only way I feel safe in my own home. Having a man like Colt is a security blanket I desperately needed.
I get ready for bed and can’t help but wonder what Colt’s job is tonight. Where is he going? What are they stealing? How do they do it? It interests me, but also makes me anxious, knowing he’s out there risking it all right now.
If anything bad happens to him, I don’t know if I could go back to a life without him.
I take a deep breath to bring myself out of my anxious tailspin. He will be home soon.
After making a can of soup, I decide that the sooner I fall asleep, the faster I’ll see him.
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
JOB
COLTON
While driving to meet Axel, I can’t get the look Layla gave me out of my head. I know she doesn’t want me to do this anymore, and I need to make moves to get out to prove to her I’m not lying. A life with her is better than continuing on with this.
I pull into the yard and see Axel waiting there with the shitty Corolla he bought to take us to jobs.
I hop in and grunt out, "Hey, man."
“What’s up, brother.” He puts out his fist, so of course, I bump it, but I don’t respond otherwise, just signal him to start driving.
I stare out the window, trying to work out a plan in my head, but I feel Axel’s eyes on me.
“What’s your problem?” He digs for information, and I let out a deep breath.
“I just want out. I’m done with this shit. I’m speaking to Williams tonight. I got my education, my contract is almost done. I wanna move to the West Coast.”
Axel shifts in his seat. I know he’s not happy about this.
“Is this because of Layla?” he asks with a raised eyebrow, clearly annoyed.
“Don’t fucking bring her up!” I snap. I’m not in the mood for him to tell me she’s just a girl, that there will be others. Because there won’t be. I’m in love with her. She’s all I see. All I want. And I’m not going to fuck this up.
He scoffs a laugh. “Dude.”
“Don’t fucking dude me either! Is it so bad to want more out of life? To have the girl meant for me? To get the fuck out of The Shores? I’ve been lucky so far. But luck runs out. I’m either going to get killed or caught and spend years in prison. I’ve done what I need to do,” I spit out.
He doesn’t say anything, he just keeps driving. Because he can’t say shit and he knows it. He grew up in a comfortable home getting new sneakers and shit while I got the garbage worn out ones from the clothing donation bin my mom used to scour. I remember being in awe of the palace he grew up in.
He chose this life. I was born into it.
And if everything for him rides so much on me, then maybe he should work fucking harder and earn his place.
Tonight we’re lifting a car in the parking lot of a popular chain motel by the freeway. This fucker likes to bring his whores here and leave his luxury car out in the shitty parking lot. Willing to take any risk to get his rocks off. Just because people are rich does not mean they are smart.
I gotta give Williams credit. His team does a great job gathering intel on the targets, allowing us to formulate our plans to execute the lift and reduce the risk of being caught. Some plans are more intricate and risky, then there are the easy ones, like tonight.
We’re here for his Viper. We have a device that steals the key fob’s signal, allowing us to unlock and start the car. Axel pulls into the spot beside it and leaves the car running, shining thelights into the target’s room and turning up the speakers to dull the sound of the Viper starting. He installed this crazy sound system into the piece of shit Corolla, and it's kind of funny how booming the system is, considering how rickety the car is. But on those nights when the adrenaline is kicking, having a bomb sound system is the icing on the cake.
