Page 33 of Twisted Throne

“Pfff, they don’t even bother calling most of the time. And even if they do, it’s no biggie,” Lucy said with a wave of her hand. “So, are you in?”

She stared at me expectantly, literally balanced on the edge of her seat while she waited for my answer.

“You know what? Sure, let’s do it.” I don’t need Paul to babysit me, and I damn sure don’t need him to go back to my apartment so he can turn his nose up at me some more.

“Yes!” she squealed, jumping up off the couch. “Be ready at seven in the morning, okay? Meet me over by the garage.”

I gave her a thumbs-up and watched her bounce back out the door. Then I flopped back down on the couch, flinging one forearm over my eyes. What had Lucy gotten me into? What had I gotten Lucy into?

***

“Okay, just sort of lean down some and throw that blanket over your head,” Lucy instructed, pulling down the winding driveway toward the front gate. “The windows are tinted, so Ricky won’t see you anyway, but just in case, you know?”

I was leaning over in the backseat, with a Nightmare Before Christmas blanket over my head, feeling like an idiot, and enveloped in the cotton candy scent of the car’s air freshener. And Lucy was enjoying this whole thing way, way too much.

“Shhhhhh!” she whispered, even though I hadn’t made a noise.

The car rolled to a stop, and I heard the electric buzz of her window rolling down.

“Hey, Lucy,” a deep voice I assumed to be Ricky greeted her.

“Yup, yup,” Lucy said brightly. “You know me, don’t wanna be late!”

“Uh-huh,” he snorted at her. “Since when?”

I heard her laugh, and then we were moving again, and the window rolled back up.

“Told ya it wouldn’t be a problem!” she said, grinning at me in the rearview mirror. “There’s a Starbucks close to here, we can stop there and grab a coffee and then you can move up front.”

“Actually, I think we should just go to the apartment first,” I told her. I didn’t want to ruin this whole girls’ day Lucy had planned, but now that I was actually out of the house, I couldn’t stop thinking about that car that had been sitting across the street from my place and the guy outside the building.

“Why? We have all day!” Lucy said, swerving a little when she turned her head to look back at me.

“Watch the road!” I yelped. “Maybe we can grab something on our way back to the house or something. Let’s just go to my apartment and grab the coffee maker first, then we’ll see. Sound good?”

“Okay, fine,” she replied. “But we’re at least stopping through a drive-through or something. I literally cannot function without caffeine and sugar in the mornings.”

“Deal.”

The rest of the ride to my apartment consisted of Lucy singing along to the radio while drumming on the steering wheel and weaving all over the road. I debated hiding under the blanket again, just so I wouldn’t see any of the near misses in traffic.

We pulled up to the building. Lucy shut off the engine, spun her keychain on one finger, and started to get out.

“Hey, don’t get out,” I told her, reaching up to the front seat to put my hand on her shoulder. “It won’t take me but a second and I’ll be right back.”

“Alright, but hurry up so we can get food. I think there’s a donut place not far from here,” she said, waving at me to get out.

I climbed out of the back seat and looked around, but didn’t see anything suspicious. No sign of the black car or that Emilio guy. Even so, my hands were trembling a little and I could feel perspiration starting to bead up my back when I unlocked the door.

I hurried in, shutting the door behind me, hurried over to the kitchenette, and unplugged the coffee maker. I started to head back out, then I realized that while I was there I might as well grab a few more clothes since it looked like I was going to be staying at Angelo’s a little longer than I’d expected. I might as well grab a few more clothes.

I set the coffee maker back down on the counter and moved down the hall toward my bedroom. Just a few days of emptiness had given the place that hollow, eerie feeling that abandoned buildings seemed to have, and I half-expected my footsteps to echo on the crappy carpet. I just needed to grab a few things and get the hell out of here. I reached out to grab the handle of the dresser drawer, then there was a huge crash and I heard my front door slam open and crash into the wall.

Shit. A few days of safety and I forget to lock my door?

Footsteps moved down the hall toward the bedroom door and I scanned the room, frantically looking for something I could use to defend myself with.

I grabbed a lamp off of my dresser and crouched down beside it.