Page 42 of Girl Lost
“Yes, it is,” she said. “Stryker’s my friend, and Carlie’s yours. We’re not out here asking questions just to bust your chops. We’re trying to help, and a little cooperation would be nice.”
“Okay, okay. Don’t go all PMS on me.” Andre looked at Corbin, probably thinking he’d get a laugh out of the insult. When Corbin crossed his arms, Andre cleared his throat. “Look, the dude knows we’re just playin’. Sometimes we be out throwin’ bottles and rudes at his place.”
“Rudes?” Corbin asked.
“Y’know, talkin’ trash. Nothin’ crazy, just sayin’ we don’t like cops. Stuff to get under his skin,” Andre said. “He don’t get the message, apparently, ’cause bro drops in here one day like we best friends.”
Sounded like Stryker. He’d walk into the den of a cartel leader and try to evangelize if given the opportunity.
Corbin asked, “What’d he want?”
“What do you think?” Andre threw his hands up. “He was tryin’ to preach, but we be tryin’ to skate.”
“Yeah, but we got to talkin’. Hung out for a little while,” Jordan said. “He gave us some money for food. Then he left.”
“Where’d he go? What did you see him do?” Corbin’s questions were starting to turn into an interrogation, and she shot him a look.
“We don’t know, man. He left. I ain’t seen him since.” Andre looked to Jordan. “Ain’t that right?”
Jordan nodded, and his hair fell into his eyes. He swept it back.
“Besides Stryker preaching at you, what did you talk about?” Luna asked.
Andre’s eyes darted toward the street like he was considering a getaway. “He was talkin’ about his program where the kids can live there. Sounded all weird to me, man. Then he says we need to leave that girl alone. Not hang out with her anymore.”
“Carlie?” Corbin asked.
“No, man, Trinity,” Andre said.
“We go to the same school.” Ashley didn’t look up, continuing to pick at her nail polish. “Or, we used to, I guess.”
“I ain’t seen her around school for a while,” Andre said. “But she hangs with us sometimes.”
Luna felt her heart stutter at the name. These kids knew Trinity. Went to school with her. “Did Stryker say why he didn’t want you to hang out together?”
“No tellin’, lady.” Andre shook his head. “Dude is, like, super protective.”
Ashley stopped scrutinizing her nails and said, “She’s different, you know? Always sick and stuff.”
“She’s a pillbilly,” Jordan added.
Luna wanted to defend Trinity. Maybe it was just the wordpillbillyshe didn’t like hearing thrown around. It meant they thought Trinity was struggling. Drowning in a world of pill addiction.
Andre slapped Jordan’s shoulder with the back of his hand. “Man, forget her. She’s gonna die young, so she may as well live it up while she can. Let her be.”
They obviously knew Trinity better than Liv did. “What do you mean, she’s going to die young?”
Before Andre could answer, a black Mercedes G-Wagon slid to a stop in the lot.
Andre swore. “It’s Steve. He’s gonna be peeved.”
The door opened, and the man they called Steve stepped out. Thick with muscle and moving with the weight of a tank, he adjusted his linen suit. Mirrored sunglasses hid his eyes, but everything about him screamed danger. The set of his jaw. The tension in his shoulders. Luna could see the rage simmering beneath his stony expression, a slow burn waiting for a spark.
Steve marched over and hiked a thumb. “Find somewhere else to be.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. The teens made off on their skateboards.
Steve’s eyes locked onto her. A predatory smile spread across his face. He put a hand on his waist, drawing back his jacket to reveal his gun. “Now, why don’t you two tell me what you think you’re doing in my neighborhood?”
