Page 10 of Crush & Byte
River looked adorably confused, but I saw a sliver of fear I didn’t like at all.“Hey.”I took a step forward and held out my hand to her.She took it and for some reason, I tugged her toward me.“We’re not gonna hurt you, River.”I’m not sure how I found any sort of tenderness inside myself.“You know that.Right?”
She toed the ground where she stood before taking a breath.When she met my gaze, I nearly fell to my knees.Breathtaking didn’t begin to describe the full effect of those sparkling copper-colored eyes of hers.It felt like she was looking straight into my soul and I wasn’t sure if she found me lacking or not, but she might give me a chance.“Yeah.I know.Mrs.Walsh wouldn’t send me to someone who was gonna hurt me.”Then she started slightly before shaking her head.“Except she’s got dementia so she probably wouldn’t know if she sent me to someone who was gonna hurt me.”
She looked so put out I found myself smiling.Crush laughed softly.“Trust me when I tell you, Maggie is in complete possession of all her mental faculties.”He chuckled again.“Dementia, my ass.Is that what she’s got everyone believing now?”
“I had my doubts,” she muttered.
There was an awkward silence, but it didn’t feel like anyone’s fault.But honestly, I didn’t really expect conversation to flow effortlessly.Eventually, I couldn’t help myself.“Did you bring the message?”
She nodded.“Yeah.”She reached into her backpack and produced the phone, still powered up, and a slip of paper folded in quarters.She handed them both to me.
I didn’t even have to look at Crush.I could feel his attention locked on my face, waiting for me to do my thing.I pulled out my own notebook, which was actually a battered, sticker-bombed composition pad.Maggie had given us dozens of codebooks over the years, but this was her favorite.She called it “the skeleton key.”Whenever she wanted us to decrypt something, she’d reference a cipher in this notebook.
The grid of letters, numbers, and symbols looked familiar.It was her favorite cipher when we were kids.She taught us when we were younger, and Crush and I had used it any time we wanted to pass something secret to each other.This whole adventure was for fun, so it made sense she’d use something we could easily read but would keep River guessing.
“What’s it say?”she asked, bouncing slightly on her toes.The excitement was back, replacing the nervousness from earlier.I liked that unfiltered excitement when she got distracted from being in a strange place with strange men.She really needed to be more careful, but her lack of self-preservation wouldn’t be much of a problem since she now had me and my brother to look out for her.
“Pike Place Market,” I said, showing the decoded message to Crush.“She wants us to go to Seattle.”
Crush nodded, his expression giving nothing away to anyone but me.Amusement danced in his gaze as well as a small amount of resignation.We both knew where we were going.Maggie had taken us hiking and camping in the area around Seattle when we were kids.“About two hours and some change away.We should get moving.”
River’s eyes widened.“Now?Like, right now?”
“Unless you’ve got other plans?”I asked, unable to keep the smile from my face.Her enthusiasm was infectious and, for the first time in longer than I could remember, excitement spurred me on, tempting me to simply hang on for the ride and let things fall where they may.
“Sting said you guys might need an off-road vehicle.”Boon tossed Crush a key fob.“Bronco’s out front.I put you a couple weapons and some ammo in the back along with camping gear and supplies.”He leaned against one wooden column with his shoulder.“Take a quick inventory.Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”
That caught me by surprise.“Wasn’t expecting that.Thanks, man.”
“Sting said to take care of you all and treat you like family.Also, didn’t think you’d want your girl riding long distances without the proper gear.Girl said she’d never been on a bike before.”
Crush stuck out his hand.“Appreciate it.You let us know when you need a favor.Any time, any place.”
“Oh, don’t worry.”Boon grinned.“I won’t be shy.”
We followed Timber, the VP, back out into the yard and around to the front of the building.The air smelled like cedar chips and exhaust.I thought I caught the scent of cooking meat in the breeze, like someone was grilling upwind.I glanced at River as we walked.She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously but had a steady stride as she walked with us.Like she’d made her peace with whatever weird shit was about to happen next.
* * *
The drive out of Castle Rock was silent for maybe ten minutes, until River finally spoke up.“So… why am I here?You know, like,really.”
I glanced at Crush, letting him field that one.The highway stretched ahead of us, trees flanking either side creating a natural tunnel effect as we headed north toward Seattle.The late afternoon sun filtered through the branches, casting dappled shadows across the road.
“Our grandmother likes to create adventures for people she cares about who she believes need a little fun,” Crush said finally, his gaze on the road.He drove while I rode shotgun and River sat behind Crush in the big-ass Bronco Boon had loaned us.“She’s always been that way.Says a little adventure --”
“-- is good for the soul.”River joined Crush as my brother repeated our grandmother’s mantra.
“So this whole thing… the secret codes, the burner phone, all that cloak and dagger stuff at the nursing home… it’s just a game?”River sounded confused.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.“Yes and no.Maggie doesn’t do anything without a purpose, but she definitely has a flair for the dramatic.”
The landscape opened up as we approached Seattle, the Cowlitz River glittering to our left, Mount St.Helen’s snowcapped peak visible in the distance whenever the trees thinned enough to give us a glimpse.It was beautiful country out here, all misty greens and blues.So different from Florida.
“I can’t believe I fell for it,” River said, but she didn’t sound upset.If anything, the relief and budding excitement lit up her face.“I mean, I questioned what she was telling me right up until I got to the stupid library and found the note and the cash.”Her gaze snapped forward, probably to the rearview mirror to meet Crush’s.“I didn’t spend any of it, by the way.I still have all of it.”She pulled a small envelope from her duffel in the seat next to her and handed it forward.
“Hang on to it,” Crush advised.“I like the idea of all of us having some cash.”He glanced back in the mirror at River.“Assuming you still want to continue.No one is making you, but we’re more than happy to take you on this adventure.”
He smiled, and it struck me how I hadn’t seen my brother truly relaxed since we’d figured out what was going on with Gina back when Claw was still vice president.The mere thought of what we’d put Falcon’s woman through, however unintentional, was enough to make my stomach knot.It had been because of Claw and his private feud with another former member, Hammer, that Gina and another young woman, Scarlet, had been traumatized.We’d fixed the problem.Hammer and Claw were dead, and Gina was now with a man who loved and protected her.Scarlet too.In fact, Scarlet was now the old lady of Mars, a member of the Iron Tzars club in Evansville, Indiana.The resulting cultural shift in Grim Road had been for the better.We no longer kept secrets from each other.At least, not many, and nothing that could potentially come back on the club.
