Page 93 of Ride or Die
“Look what we have here, the good girl holding a knife to her precious sister’s throat!” She continues laughing in disbelief, shaking her head at the sight before her.
“The ole lady of The Colton Hawthorne, taking over the world.” Her eyes flare as she antagonizes me. “I never thought I’d see the day.” She starts to calm down, but still doesn’t answer my question.
"Answer the fucking question! What are you doing here?!" I yell, but she still says nothing, she just smiles. She's getting under my skin and she knows it, so I push the blade tighter, just breaking the skin. But she doesn't flinch, not even a twitch of her lip.
"Come on, Layla, you don't scare me." She tilts her head.
“I'm sick of this shit. You’re a lazy bitch who’s jealous that Colton didn’t choose you. You’re fucking obsessed with him, and it needs to stop. I’m a different girl now, Simone. I work for Williams. I’m not one to fuck with.”
Pressing the blade tighter against her delicate neck, my body continues to hold her in place. I’m fucking wild with rage right now that this bitch tried to tamper with Colt's car to injure me. She stares me down, her eyes never wavering, never showing an ounce of fear.
What the fuck has this girl seen?
“Oh, little Layla. I just love how you’ve blossomed. Looks like you’re no better than the rest of us after all. You a big tough girl now?” She gives me a pouty look before she continues. “None of this shit will ever stop. You’ve got a huge fucking target on your back now that you’re involved with Colt and Williams. You really think I’m here tonight because of petty jealousy over a guy? You’re sadly mistaken. I couldn’t give two fucks about Colton. People want you out of the picture, so watch your fucking back,” she spits out.
"Who the fuck wants us out of the picture? You're not the first person to say that."
"If I tell you that, thenI'mfucking done for. So, no thanks," she says in a snarky tone. "Let's just say I was sent here. Consider yourself lucky it was me and not someone else."
“If you or anyone else comes around again, I’ll hurt you. I have no attachments to you except blood, Simone. I’ve come to realize we were never sisters or friends at all. You spent your entire life reassuring me how small and insignificant I was, and it was your mission to make sure I remained a nobody. Family, friends, they don’t do that.” I purse my lips and shake my head.
“Colt on the other hand.” My expression gets cocky, ready to rub it in. “He builds me up, reminds me every day how perfect I am. Tells me while he fucks me over and over, saying he’s going to put a baby in me one day. Mmm, can you imagine how beautiful our babies will be?” Now I’m the one with the devilish grin. “But you, Simone, you’ll get what’s coming to you working for Franky, pulling shit like this.”
She keeps her head held high in defiance, maintaining her tough girl front. She’s stubborn, I’ll give her that much.
“If you're not careful, you'll get what's coming to you too, Layla. God, I’ve always hated you. You think you're so fucking perfect, think you did nobody wrong. You weren’t a good sister, either,” she seethes, glaring hatefully at me.
“I fucking hate you too. I run shit now, Simone. Stay the fuck away from us.” I pull her to the front of the garage and cut the zip tie, shoving her into the yard. She stumbles and starts to walk away but stops and looks back at me.
“Little Layla, you don’t run shit. Guess you will find out the hard way. Watch your back.” She eyes me up and down, then turns and walks away.
I swallow the anxious lump in my throat. As much as I make fun of her for putting up a tough girl front, that’s exactly whatI’m doing. This is the second time we have been warned by enemies that people are out for us. I have worked hard training to deal with this shit, but it doesn’t stop the nerves that fill my belly.
If she's not lying, who sent Simone after us?
Thursday rolls around and it’s time to pull off the Aston Martin job. Axel has already parked the Corolla in an alley across the street and is starting his hack on the security system to this conference center where the car is set to be on display at a car show. As long as the hack goes smoothly, tonight should be fairly easy.
We wait until midnight, watching the evening crew leave out the delivery bay door and head to their cars before I get ready to get into position.
“Okay, security is doing their rounds on the other side of the building, and everything is offline. You ready, Layla? We’ve got seven minutes tops.” He looks over at me as he opens his door. I nod and do the same.
Even though I have no proof, I’m wary of Axel since I found out the drugs went missing after Colt's accident. I am hoping that he doesn't fuck me over for his own selfish gain.
We’re both wearing all black with hats on so we can blend into the shadows. The streets in the convention district are quiet except for the occasional dump truck or street sweeper as we run sneakily down alleys and backstreets.
My heart is thundering in my chest, my pulse pounding in my ears. I’m laser-focused as my adrenaline takes over, making mefeel invincible. When we find the back door, Axel uses a crowbar to force it open, keeping our backs to the cameras just to be safe.
“We have five minutes until the cameras reboot. We gotta move quickly,” he whispers. I nod and we silently move through the convention center to the display where the beautiful car is parked. Having studied the architectural drawings, we know exactly where to go. He throws me the fob, then changes out the plates, and I get into the car. When he’s done, Axel hops into the passenger side as I press the ignition button. The car rumbles to life beneath us.
"Three minutes," he says panting as I put the car in drive. We maneuver through the convention center hallways the same way they brought this car in until we reach the delivery bay.
"One minute." Axel hops out of the car, opening the doors for me. He waves me through, then runs after the car, hopping back in as we pull out onto the street.
I drive us back to the alley where we left the car and drop him off at the Corolla before leaving the city.
My sweaty palms stick to the leather steering wheel as I look around for any sign of danger. Like a good girl, I stick to the speed limits and follow all of the rules of the road, and Axel follows closely behind. We navigate the quiet city streets seamlessly and make our way onto the freeway for the forty-minute drive to the docks. My heart thrashes against my ribcage the entire time. Never has a drive felt so long in my life.
Relief fills me as we enter the docks and see the crews working, directing me where to go. As always, Williams is there waiting with a huge smile on his face and two envelopes, one for each of us.
