Rules Of Attraction (34 page)

about to happen, but the Mexican suppliers don’t trust Devlin. I wonder

if the street war with the R6 has already started.

We’re in the car on the way to meet with Devlin and Rodriguez in

Brush. Westford has the cash in a duffel between his feet. I’m in the

backseat, looking at the two guys who’ve become my posse. My heart is

beating strong and hard at the prospect of bringin’ my brother and the

Professor. I was supposed to be in this alone, without draggin’ anyone

down with me. Devlin is my problem, and they’ve made him theirs.

I remember when Kiara brushed her fingers over one of my

tattoos. La rebelde. I’m not that big of a rebel if I need an old man and

my big brother as my posse. And while havin’ them with me doesn’t sit

well in my gut, I admit I don’t know what the hell I’d do without ’em.

“There’s still time for both of you to back out. I can go in there

alone.”

“That’s not happenin’,” Alex says. “I’m comin’ with you, no matter

what.”

Westford pats the duffel filled with money. “I’m ready for this.”

“That’s a helluva lot of money, Professor. You sure you want to part

with it? You can wipe your hands clean of me and keep the money. I

wouldn’t even blame you.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not backing out now.”

“If one of us feels that somethin’ is off, get out fast,” I tell them.

“Devlin makes sure he’s got numbers on his side.”

Alex drives slowly through Brush. The streets remind me of

Fairfield, our town back in Illinois. We didn’t live on the richest side of

town. Some people refused to drive through the south side for fear of

being carjacked, but it was home to us.

A bunch of guys our age are standing on the corner, eyeing Alex’s

unfamiliar car suspiciously. If we look like we know what we’re doing

and have a purpose, we’ll be just fine. If we act like we have no clue

where we are or how to get where we want to go, then we’re toast.

As Alex drives down a winding driveway and ends up in front of

what looks like an abandoned ware house, chills race up and down my

spine. Why did Devlin insist on us meeting him here?

“You ready to do this?” Alex says as he puts the car in park.

“No,” I say. Both Westford and Alex turn back to look at me. “I

just wanted to say thanks,” I mutter. “But you think Devlin’ll take your

money and run, or shoot us dead and take the money anyway?”

Westford opens the car door. “Only one way to find out.”

We all pile out of the car, our senses heightened and on alert. As

much as I made fun of Westford for wearing all black again today, he

does look like a badass. An old, balding badass, but a badass

nonetheless.

“There’s a guy on the roof, two more at two o’clock, and ten

o’clock,” Westford tells us. What was his nickname in the military,

Eagle Eye?

A guy is standing at the entrance, waiting for us. He’s probably in

his twenties, but he’s got blond hair so bleached it’s almost white.

“We’re expecting you,” he says in a gruff voice.

“Good,” I say, taking the reins and stepping inside first. If anyone

starts shooting, I’ll be the target, and Alex and Westford might still

be able to get away. As the white-haired guy pats us down for any

weapons, Westford is clutching that sack of money as if it’s too painful

to part with. Poor Westford. He’s totally out of his league. “You know I

don’t want you to do this, right?” I ask him.

“Don’t argue,” Westford says. “’Cause that would be a waste of time

and get you nowhere.”

The white-haired guy leads us to a small office off to the side.

“Wait here,” he orders. Here we are, two Fuentes brothers and one ex-

military guy clutching a duffel bag filled with fifty thousand dollars of

freedom money.

Rodriguez comes in the room and sits on the desk. “So what do you

have, Carlos?”

“Money. For Devlin,” I say. I guess The Big Guy didn’t show up.

“I was told you had a benefactor to buy you out. You know people in

high places, huh?” he says, eyeing the Professor.

“Sort of.”

He holds out his hand. “Give it to me.”

Westford grips the duffel tighter. “No. Devlin and I made the deal

together, and we’re going to see it through together.”

Rodriguez gets in his face. “Let’s get one thing straight, Grandpa.

You’ve got no leverage here. In fact, you should be kissin’ my ass or you

might find yours on the ground with a hole in it . . . or two.”

“Oh, but I do have leverage,” Westford says. “Because my wife has

a letter she’s been instructed to give to the police if we all don’t come

home safely. Believe me, a well-respected professor won’t easily be

forgotten. You and Devlin will be hunted down.”

Westford doesn’t release the death grip on the duffel.

A frustrated Rodriguez leaves us again. I wonder if next time he’ll

just shoot us and take the money for himself.

“What, do you think Devlin’s gonna give you a receipt for it?” I ask

the Professor. “I don’t think you get a tax break for payin’ someone

off.”

He shakes his head. “Even in the face of danger, you’re still a

smart-ass. Do you ever give it up?”

“Nope. It’s just part of my charm.”

“How do you know Devlin’s even here?” Alex asks.

The Professor doesn’t bat an eye. “If there’s a guy on the roof and

two more monitoring the comings and goings, the Boss is here. Trust

me.”

Sure enough, Devlin himself comes sauntering in a half hour later.

He obviously made us wait on purpose, to make sure we knew who was in

charge. Devlin glances at the duffel. “How much is in there?” he asks.

“The amount we agreed on . . . fifty thousand.”

Devlin walks around the room, eyeing us skeptically. “I checked you

out, Professor Westford.”

For half a second, Westford looks nervous. He masks that

nervousness an instant later. I don’t know if my brother or Devlin

noticed, but I sure did. “And what did you find out?” Westford asks.

“That’s the strange part about it,” Devlin says. “Not much. Makes

me think you’ve got some kind of intelligence connections. Maybe you

came here just to set me up.”

I can’t help but laugh. The Professor doesn’t have intelligence

connections. Maybe in his glory days he was some covert special-ops

soldier, but now he’s just Kiara and Brandon’s dad. The guy gets a hard-

on for Family Fun Night, for God’s sake.

“The only connections I have are with the psychology department

at the university.”

“Good, ’cause if I find out you have any connections with the cops,

you and these kids will regret you ever met me. Rodriguez told me your

wife has a letter for the cops to ensure your safety. I don’t like

threats, Professor. Open the duffel.”

Westford opens it and takes out the money. When Devlin is

convinced all the money is there and isn’t marked, he orders me to pick

it up and hand it to him.

“Now we’ve got one more piece of business,” Devlin says, gesturing

to me. “You and Rodriguez are going to be meeting some very important

friends of mine. In Mexico.”

What? No way.

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Westford says.

“Well, I’m changing the deal,” Devlin says. “I have the money, a gun,

and the power. You’ve got nothing.”

As soon as he says it, the ground starts shaking as if we’re in the

middle of an earthquake.

“It’s a bust,” someone yells through the door. Devlin’s men have all

scattered, giving up their duties to protect their boss to save their

own skins.

DEA agents in blue jackets burst in the warehouse, guns at the

ready. They order everyone to the ground.

Devlin’s eyes are crazy-wild as he pulls a .45 from his waistband

and aims it at the Professor.

“No!” I scream, then lunge forward to knock the gun out of Devlin’s

hand. Nobody is gonna kill Westford, even if that means I end up in the

morgue. I hear the gun go off and feel like my thigh is on fire. Blood

drips down my leg and lands on the cement floor. It’s surreal and I’m

afraid to look at my leg. I don’t know how bad it is, only that it feels

like a thousand bees have clung to my thigh with their stingers. Alex

rushes Devlin, but Devlin is too quick. He turns the gun on my brother,

and a deathly panic washes over me. I scramble toward Devlin to stop

him, but Westford holds me back just as the white-haired guy bursts

into the room with a Glock. “Police! Put the gun down!” he orders.

What the—

In a flash, Devlin turns his gun on the guy and they exchange

gunfire. I hold my breath but let it out when Devlin is down, clutching

his chest. His eyes are open and blood is streaming on the floor under

him. The biting pain at the prospect of losing my brother or Westford

at the hands of Devlin makes me squeeze my eyes shut.

When I open them, I see a glimpse of Rodriguez out of the corner

of my eye. He’s got a gun pointed to the white-haired undercover

agent. I try to warn the agent, but to my surprise Westford grabs

Devlin’s gun and shoots Rodriguez as if he’s a trained sharpshooter.

Westford barks orders to one of the DEA agents as he and Alex carry

me out of the ware house.

“Are you DEA?” I ask Westford through gritted teeth, because my

damn leg stings like a mother.

“Not exactly. Let’s just say I still have friends in high places.”

“Does this mean you get to keep the fifty Gs?”

“Yep. I guess that means our deal is off. You don’t have to go to

college or the military.”

Two paramedics rush over with a gurney. They strap me down, but I

reach for the Professor before they can wheel me away. “Just so you

know, I’m goin’ to enlist.”

“I’m proud of you. But why?”

I groan against the pain but manage to give him a half smile. “I

want to make sure Kiara’s got a boyfriend who has more to offer than a

hot bod and a face that could make angels weep.”

“Do you ever lose the ego?” Westford asks me.

“Yeah.” When his daughter kisses me, my ego flies out the window.

FIFTY-SIX :
Kiara

I stroke Carlos’s arm and let him squeeze my hand as we’re waiting

to hear what the doctor has to say about his leg. A stoic Alex also

hasn’t left Carlos’s side since we arrived at the hospital. He’s scared,

and it looks like he blames himself for not preventing his younger

brother from getting hurt. But it’s all finally over.

My dad found out that Carlos’s mom and brother were threatened,

so with their permission he’s arranged for them to come to Colorado.

He’s also helping them get temporary housing, which is great.

“My dad says you’ll live,” I tell Carlos as I lean forward and kiss him

on his forehead.

“Is that a good thing?”

Okay, Kiara, it’s time to spill it, I tell myself. It’s now or never. I

lean close to him, so only he can hear me. “I . . . I think I need you,

Carlos. The forever kind of need.” I look up. Carlos’s eyes are locked on

mine. I want this, I want him. More than that, I really do need him. We

need each other. The closer I get to him, the more I feed off the

energy and strength radiating from him.

I can tell he wants to say something, to fill the silence like he

usually does, but he holds himself back. Our eyes are still locked, and I

won’t look away. Not this time. I slowly reach out a shaky hand and

touch the center of his chest over his shirt, wanting to take his pain

away. He’s breathing heavier now, and I can feel his heart beating

against my palm.

He cups my cheek in his hand, his thumb gently stroking my skin. I

close my eyes and lean into his touch, melting in the warmth of his

hand.

“You’re dangerous,” he says.

“Why?”

“Because you make me believe in the impossible.”

After Carlos’s surgery, my entire family is surrounding his hospital

bed. There’s a knock at the door. Brittany walks in tentatively.

“Thanks for calling me, Kiara,” she says.

Carlos told me to call right before his surgery, after he told me

about Alex and Brittany breaking up. “No problem. I’m glad you’re

here.”

“So am I,” Carlos says. “But I’m on morphine, so you might want to

get that in writing.” Alex is about to walk out of the room, but when he

reaches the door Carlos blurts out, “Alex, wait.”

Alex clears his throat. “What?”

“I know I’m gonna regret sayin’ this, but you and Brittany can’t

break up.”

“We already did,” Alex says, then looks at Brittany. “Right, Brit?”

“Whatever you want, Alex,” she says, frustrated.

“No.” He walks up to her. “You wanted to break up. Mamacita, don’t

put the blame on me.”

“You want to keep our relationship a secret from my parents. I

don’t. I want to scream to the world that we’re together.”

“He’s afraid, Brittany,” Carlos says.

“About what?”

Alex reaches out and tucks her blond hair behind her ear. “That

your parents will make you realize you deserve better.”

“Alex, you make me happy, you make me strive to work hard. I get

caught up in your future dreams and am desperate to be part of it.

Whether you like it or not, you’re a part of me. Nobody can change

that.” She looks up at him, tears streaming down her face. “Trust me.”