Page 40 of H E R
Is he telling me the truth? Is he really agoodcop? Would he help them or expose them? I can’t answer that, and I don’t want an answer. Cops can’t be trusted. “Well, he won’t find you here.”
Jasmin, Jule, and I are parked under a bridge, waiting for one of Noah’s friends. Helena’s house has a landline, and we called his cellphone to make sure he’d meet us. We can’t drive to the trailer lot and risk Dylan catching us.
If he connects the truck to me, I’m fucked. It has to look like we caught a ride with someone, and for now, Erik will have to do. He walks toward us, and I step out so he can take my place in the driver’s seat. He knows the drill and doesn’t ask questions. It’s better this way, that way if he’s ever questioned by police, he truly doesn’t know anything.
“Am I supposed to keep this from Noah?” he asks in a rushed whisper.
Jasmin clears her throat and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. I look back with a questionable gaze and she gives me a little squeeze. “For now,” she says. “Just let us figure this one out and keep quiet about it.”
She’s never fully trusted Noah, or anyone but my brother and me, so I don’t blame her for wanting to keep Noah in the dark about the truck.
We make it back in twenty minutes, which leaves Jasmin and me exactly one hour to get ready for work. It’s dark by the time Erik lets us out of the truck to then store it in the shed. We leave him to it, hoping it convinces the rookie cop that we got a ride from our neighbor, in case he’s watching. And then it occurs to me—what if this motherfucker has cameras?Shit.
My focus turns to my little family. Whenever we return from our patch of paradise, we’re all glum and miserable. And this sets over us as we walk toward our trailer.
Jule is quietly, yet animatedly, explaining an episode ofStranger Things, in an attempt to distract us, when a jingling sound rushes toward us.
“Oh, shit,” Jasmin squeaks and grips my arm tightly. Jule moves in front of her and begins to wrap his arm around me to do the same when I notice what all the fuss is about. Max is rushing toward us, his tail wagging crazily and his tongue hanging out.
“Hey, boy.” I squat down and he shoves me back, then covers me with kisses.
“What the fuck?” Jule gasps. “Your new friend?”
“Yea, he’s a cutie.” I rub his massive face between my palms and kiss the top of his head.
“Max,” Dylan’s roaring voice calls. It’s not a yell, but it cuts the air and chills you. “I’m sorry, he’s deciding to be disobedient. Thankfully, he likes you.”
Jule straightens, and I can feel Jasmin’s focused stare on me. She knows he affects me but hasn’t pressed further.
“Did you move here to unleash the hound on us?”
“Jule,” Jasmin snaps.
“No, he’s gotta know. Moving here puts us at risk. The last thing we need is a cop sniffing around where he shouldn’t. The corruption is uptown, not here.”
“I moved here to make sure no one is fucked with,” Dylan retorts. His eyes shift from Jule to me and stay there. They darken and he snaps his fingers. Max reacts robotically and moves to sit next to him.
Jule narrows his eyes. “Right.”
“Come on, Jule. You have to finish your essay.” Jasmin puts her hand on his shoulder and gently moves him to our trailer. “Justice, we’ll see you inside.”
How my best friend knows that I can’t go in just yet, I have no idea. But thankfully, my brother listens. His acceptance to the school depends on him turning that thing in, and he’s just about finished. They disappear into the trailer and Max whines suddenly.
“So, who was the ride?”
“What?”
Dylan points behind me toward the shed. “The ride.”
I roll my eyes. “What is it with you always interrogating me?”
“Fine, I can find out another way.”
Fuck. “A neighbor, okay. We take rides all the time.”
“And where were you?”
What in the fucking world? “Listen, rookie, I don’t know what makes you think I have to answer your fucking questions.”