Lennox (20 page)

By lunchtime, I’m exhausted and grumpy. Instead of mental work,
trying to puzzle together a new car out of nothingness, it’s
just manual labor, and my fingers ache. I head to the break room—more
like a closet, really—and pull out the sandwich Lennox’s
grandma made for me.

“Hey,
djevojka
.”

My head whips toward the doorway. Drazic leans against the frame, his
mouth pulled taut. Even though I’m still furious at him, my
heart leaps to see him. He’s my family, after all. I try to
swallow it down and glower.

“I know you hate me right now.” He sighs and unfolds his
arms. “But I had to make sure you’re all right.”

“Why? Should I be worried?” I ask, far tarter than
necessary. Fine. So I love him. He’s my kin, and all that shit.
But I’m allowed to be angry, too.

His expression, though, sobers me up. He looks genuinely afraid for
me. “God, yes. For so many reasons.” I raise one eyebrow,
so he goes on. “The McManuses, first of all—I don’t
think you understand just how dangerous they are. To you and Lennox
both.”

“They give him work. They pay him. They treat him like family.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Which is more than I can say about
you.”

He winces and rubs at the stubble of his jaw. “Maybe for now,
sure. But I’ve seen how they chew people up and spit them out.
Hell, Sean McManus—there’s a reason he got sent to
prison, and it starts right with that nasty brother of his.”

“We’ll be careful,” I say.

Drazic sighs. “But there’s Nash, too.
Djevojka
 . . .
My anger at Lennox is one thing. I’m doing my best to control
Nash. But I really don’t want you to get mixed up in their
feud.”

“Nash is your problem,” I snap. “You’re
supposed to be in control of him.”

“Not anymore. I kicked him out of the crew. Told him his ass
could come back when he’s ready to think about the whole team,
and not just himself. But El . . .” Drazic
shakes his head. “I just couldn’t forgive myself if he
ended up hurting you in his quest to make Lennox pay.”

I groan. “When will it be enough for him? He’s still not
satisfied. Not after wrecking his goddamned car, after alienating
me . . .”

“Well, you didn’t exactly help matters by sneaking around
with his worst enemy.”

“It wasn’t like that!” I cry. “We were on a
break
. And then I
dumped
his ass.”

“Are you sure about that? Because you sure wound up with Lennox
in a hurry.”

“Fine. So maybe in my head, I was ready to be done with Nash
before I actually told him so. Guilty as charged.” I throw up
my hands. “But if the crime is thinking of Lennox, then
yeah—I’ve been guilty of that every single day for years.
And Nash knows it, too. He’s
always
known that.”

“He’s not in a rational place. And I can’t get
through to him.”

“Yeah? You mean you’ve fucked up yet again?” I know
it’s not fair of me at all, but I want him to feel betrayed.
The same way I feel. He’s the one who broke up my family, after
all, when he kicked out Lennox. “Don’t worry,
uncle
.
I’ll fix it for you. Like I fix everything.”

“That’s low,
djevojka
. I’m just trying to
protect you.”

I shove past him through the doorway. “Then stop trying. You’re
doing a terrible job.”

*

After I get off my shift at AJ’s, I head over to the Cartwright
Industries warehouse on the edge of town where Nash operates the
forklift. Somewhere public, where he might feel at least a little
pressure to behave himself. As bad as things got between us there at
the end, I want to believe I know how to get through to him. If I can
just convince him to see reason, to give Lennox a break . . .

But the look on his face when he sees me tells me all I need to know.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He rips off his vest
and catches me by the arm. “The fuck do you want, you lying
slut?”

“Okay,” I say, “first of all, check your fucking
attitude.”

Nash sneers, but releases me with a huff.

“And fine. You want to make me into the bad guy? Go right
ahead. Yeah, I broke up with you and got with Lennox immediately
afterward. But that was all
my
doing. Don’t blame him.”

“As if he’s so fucking blameless.” Nash kicks at an
empty cardboard box. “He got me kicked out of the fucking
crew.”

“No, Nash,
you
got yourself kicked out of the crew, with
this ridiculous, misguided quest for vengeance.”

Nash crosses his arms and glares at me. But I’m right, and he
knows it. Slowly, his shoulders ease back.

“I’m here to make peace. Bury the hatchet.” I stare
him right in the eyes. “Can you do that?”

Nash is quiet for a long moment.
Please, Nash, let’s get
past this.
I know he’s capable of it. He’s not a
villain, as much as I want to see him as one. He’s just hurting
and broken. I wish I could help him get past that. For his good, and
for Lennox’s and mine.

But then he shakes his head. “First of all, it’s not a
misguided
quest. He killed my brother. There’s no
disputing that.”

“Nash, I know that—”

“Do you? ‘Cause I don’t think you do. You’re
totally blinded by him.” He laughs, sour. “God. The
universe is so fucking unfair.”

“Please don’t start that,” I say.

“I’m serious, El. That fucker’s got a four-leaf
clover shoved up his ass, I swear. You saw the wreck last week—he
was barely scratched when I swiped him. And the wreck where he stole
my brother’s life? Just scratches, a few burns here and there.
Even though the whole fucking front end of Troy’s car was
smashed into nothingness.”

“Nash . . .”

“And then he
kills
my brother. Murder, El.”

I groan. “Manslaughter—”

“And all he gets is three and a half years on the inside? It’s
fucking ridiculous.”

I open my mouth to respond, but then frown. Something isn’t
adding up—something that’s been nagging at me ever since
Troy’s death. “Wait, wait, wait. What’d you say
about Troy’s car? The whole front end was gone? Driver’s
and passenger’s sides, both?”

“That’s right.” Nash sighs. “Hell even Amber
shattered one foot and broke her nose, and she was in the backseat.
Like I said—totally unfair that Lennox walks away with almost
nothing.”

“Well, he did get banged up pretty good on his right side from
the shattered glass.” I blink. “But wait—when you
shoved him into the wall last week, the glass sliced up his left
side.”

“That isn’t the point, Elena. It’s time someone
made him pay. So you should stay the fuck out of my way.”

“No, no, no.” Suddenly, everything clicks into place,
like a lock being picked. I lurch forward, feeling an overwhelming
urge to throw up. “Oh, my god. Nash. Oh, my fucking god.”

Nash’s tough-guy façade drops. “Wait. Are you
okay?”

“I get it now. Holy shit.” But if I’m right—

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“If you kill Lennox,” I say, “you’ll be
killing an innocent man.”

“
What?
” Nash screeches.

“He wasn’t the driver. Lennox didn’t kill your
brother.” The blood drains from my face; I sway on my feet. But
I have to be right. It would explain everything. “And I know
who did.”

Elena

I find Amber at her secretary post in another Cartwright building.
She’s flirting with some generic-looking suit who probably
lives in the fledgling subdivision on the other side of the ridge;
his tan cheeks lose all color when he sees me storming down the hall.
Amber looks up at me, heavily mascaraed lashes fluttering in
confusion, but I yank the guy out of the way and shove him aside.

“Amber Cartwright.” I slam my fist on her desk until she
jumps. “We need to fucking talk.”

“Jesus. Okay. Just—not here.” She scans up and down
the aisle of cubicles, then stands and beckons for me to follow her
to a stairwell.

I can’t tell if she recognizes me or not. Those tottering heels
of hers, totally not work-appropriate, give no indication in her sway
if she understands the sort of shit she’s in. But I’m
going to let her know. And she can’t fucking hide any longer.

“Now, who are you again?” she says, once she pulls me
safely into the stairwell.

Ahh, now I
know
she recognizes me. I jam my finger right in
her sternum. “I’m the girl who knows that
you’re
the one who killed Troy Graham.”

Amber’s bored expression falters.

“You fucking drove the car. You were the drunk driver. And you
and your rich daddy made Lennox Solt take the fall.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I do such a thing?”
Her voice is high-pitched, hysterical.

I smile thinly. “Because prison isn’t a nice place for
girls like you.”

Amber tries to sneer at me, but it dies on her lips. “Did
Lennox put you up to this? You can’t fucking believe him. He’s
a liar. A murderer. Don’t trust that lowlife—”

“He didn’t have to say a word. I figured it out on my
own, and if I can figure it out, so can someone else.” I
gesture toward her perky nose. “Your broken foot, your nose
job, the scars you had right afterward . . . You were
the one driving, and your foot got pinned when the front of the car
crumpled in. I’ll bet you broke your nose on the steering
wheel, too, because Troy’s old car didn’t have airbags.”

“Listen, you little shit—”

“He went to prison for you.” I’m seething now. “He
let everyone think he’d killed his best friend!”

“Please. Spare me the dramatics.” Amber rolls her eyes.
“It’s not like he didn’t get anything out of it.”

I raise one eyebrow.

She huffs at me in response. “His grandma’s house. The
bank was going to foreclose. She didn’t have any other
relatives to live with, and he couldn’t afford to send her to a
home. He can’t pay the kind of rent my daddy charges around
town.”

“Let me get this straight. Lennox agreed to take the fall for
you so his grandmother could keep her house?” Now I’m the
one with the blood draining from my face. Poor, stupid, noble Lennox.
The lengths he’d go to for his grams. I don’t know
whether to laugh or cry.

“Yep. But Daddy paid it off, no problem.”

“Okay. If your dad was willing to do that—then why give
Lennox such trouble now, when he’s free? Why is he trying to
keep him out of working?”

“Don’t you get it? We want you people
gone
. Fuck.
His grandmother was supposed to be dead by now.” Tears well in
Amber’s eyes. “I don’t want people around who know.
I don’t want any chance that someone might—but now you’ve
found out, and—”

I fold my arms and wait for her to catch her breath. She’s just
the sort of psycho to cry like this for show. I’m not about to
feel the slightest shred of sympathy for her. Not after what she’s
put Lennox through.

What she’s put
all
of us through. My whole family and
crew.

“I’ll pay you,” Amber says, her voice whining now.
“I’ll pay you not to tell anyone. I’ve got a little
bit of money my daddy doesn’t control.”

I narrow my eyes at her.

“Please. Just leave town. You and Lennox both. Don’t tell
anyone.
Please
. You can’t.” Then her expression
sharpens. “My daddy’s a powerful man, and he’ll
make sure you get blacklisted, too.”

“I’m not afraid of your dad.” I smile, thin, baring
my teeth at her. “I’m the kind of person your daddy ought
to fear.”

Amber rocks back and forth on her heels, her tears already dried up.
“Fine. Just tell me what the fuck you want.”

“I want you to come with me.”

*

I call ahead to Uncle D to make sure the whole crew is waiting for us
while we arrive. Lennox doesn’t answer, probably because he’s
with the McManuses, but it’s okay. I want the old crew to hear
her story first. I wouldn’t exactly call Amber a hostile
passenger in my Camaro, but she’s obviously just as disgusted
to be sharing air with me as I am to share it with her. I drag her
inside the garage, where Drazic, Nash, Jagger, and Cyrus are all
waiting, wearing varying expressions of confusion and disbelief.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting,” Amber
says, jutting her chin out. “Elena’s just got some crazy
idea in her head—”

I grab one of my trusty wrenches out of a nearby toolbox and thwack
the head into my open palm.

Amber clenches her jaw.

“What the hell’s she doing here?” Nash asks. “I
thought you had something to tell us, Elena.”

“Not me. Please, Amber.” I gesture with the wrench. “Be
my guest.”

Amber takes a deep breath. “It’s . . .
it’s about the night that . . . it’s about
Troy’s death.”

Nash’s upper lip twitches. Instinctively, Cyrus puts a hand on
his shoulder, while Jagger exhales and starts to pace with nervous
energy.

“We were all at a party together. Me, Troy, and Lennox. Lennox
didn’t want to go, but Troy was trying to get with Rani back
then, and . . . well, you get the idea.” Amber
looks down at her peep-toes. “It was my turn to be the DD.”

My throat tightens. As much as I need to hear it from her, it’s
already starting to sting. I can only imagine what Nash is feeling
right now. How Lennox has felt for the past four years.

“But oh, my god, it was just
so
fucking boring. I didn’t
know any of Rani’s loser friends, and none of my friends were
there, and . . . anyway, I started flirting with
Monty, you know Monty, just to give me something to do, but Lennox
saw and got all upset.” She rolls her eyes again. “It was
so not a big deal, but he just had to make it into this big fucking
fight. Because he’d already been drinking . . .
and so he storms off and I start doing shots to cool off, too.”

“Son of a bitch,” Nash says under his breath. “No.
This can’t be for fucking real—”