Chapter 30
thirty
GRANT
“Yeah, it was in the bag. I was going to bring it back to you once we got home next week.”
Heath’s confirmation of my thoughts are both amazing and horrible. We’ve figured out where the USB is, but I was right that they’ve just reached Pennsylvania.
From the corner of my eye, Locke grimaces and falls further into the passenger seat.
We’ve spent hours talking in my car, and while he was dishing about Keller’s hated business partner who is trying to buy out of the company, Lily called. The hopeless and unnatural tone of her voice cracked through my heart.
I can’t let her down again.
“Could you upload the file and email it to me or something?”
Heath yawns from the other end of the call, and I realize how late it is, the sunset having shifted into a skyline of building lights and a dark sky.
“I didn’t bring a laptop. Paris probably has one in her hotel room, but she’s staying with the company. If I do see her before her acceptance speech, it wouldn’t be until late morning.”
Fuck. Okay. That’s not ideal, but this could still work. If the timing lines up, Heath could email me a copy of Lily’s assignment and I’ll put it onto a new USB. I just need the puzzle pieces to fall into place.
I run the plan by Heath. He reminds me nothing is guaranteed, and he can’t mess up Paris’ schedule, but he’ll try his hardest to make it work. For now, I’ll hold onto that hope.
When I finish my conversation with Heath and hang up the phone, Locke speaks.
“You’re going to wait it out?”
His back is straightened again, expression stoic and serious. He resembles the stereotype I afforded him these years, but I know better now. Behind that demeanor is a guy who has too much superhero knowledge and loves to gossip.
I nod. “Yeah. What else can I do?”
“Something dramatic and cool.”
There it is. The boyish glint in his eye.
Laughing, I turn my body to his. “Do you have any ideas?”
“Let’s go get the USB.”
I cackle, clapping my hands at his ridiculous suggestion. He’s joking.
“Yeah, because it’s possible for me to get to Pittsburgh and back in the next 12 hours.”
His own laughter doesn’t come. Instead, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket and smirks. “How fast can you get to the Boston airport?”
“For what?”
“It’s crazy. Dad is going to kill me.” His smirk grows and he waves his phone back and forth. “But I’m an authorized user for his private jet.”
My jaw unhinges. It’s insane. First, that my father has a private jet. Second, that we would secretly use it to fly to another state for my girlfriend’s homework assignment.
The most insane part of it is Locke suggesting it in the first place, despite how angry our father will be with him.
He’s told me the things Keller has done the rare times Locke steps out of line—cutting him off for months, berating him in front of employees, and going as far as to spread rumors about his own son to the public.
I won’t question anymore why Locke does his bidding. I question why he’s willing to test him now.
“I don’t want you to get in trouble for this. Who knows how Keller will react?”
“Yeah.” He bobs his head, but the amused expression doesn’t fall. “But we’re together, right? That counts for something. Fuck it.”
A smirk similar to his, identical, even, spreads onto my face.
“Yeah. Fuck it.”
In record time, I’m starting up the engine and Locke is buckling himself into the passenger seat. We’re barely thirty seconds onto the road when he’s tapping away on his phone.
“Dad has a membership with a private jet charter. That’s where I’m authorized.”
“How much is something like that?”
“The one he has? A lot. He’s going to be pissed.”
I quickly glance at his face to make sure he’s not backing out. If he did, I would understand, and there’d be no push back.
Locke is smiling though, and I do, too.
“Thanks for doing this, dude.”
“Of course. I got you.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightens, hope and warmth invading my senses. Locke doesn’t ask for anything in return. He throws me a thumbs up when someone on the other end of his phone call answers, and he spits out the McCarthy name.
For the first time in a long time, the name doesn’t strike anger or resentment in me. Just faith.
This is family.
Heath jogs out of the hotel lobby, his heavy breaths coming out as smoke in the cold air. I slap my arm around his shoulders and thank him continuously while he shivers.
“You’re crazy.” He hands the pink USB over to me, and I kiss it, cherish it. Stuff it deep into my cargo pants and zip the pocket shut. “I can’t believe you came all the way here for a USB. How did you even do that?”
In the chaos of traveling via private jet and Locke lying to Keller about the huge, late night credit card charge, I didn’t have time to run Heath through our plan.
I move to the side and push Locke in front of me, grabbing onto his shoulders.
“Locke, this is my cousin, Heath. Heath, this is my little brother, Locke.”
They shake hands, rough and stern, but Heath’s smile is nothing by friendly. When Locke retracts his hand, he fidgets with his glasses.
I smile, too. “Locke flew us here on a private jet.”
“Holy shit. A jet?” We nod, and Heath laughs in bewilderment. “That’s crazy, but so cool. One of the perks of your rich dad, huh?”
He chuckles lightheartedly. Even with his knowledge of my life and how I feel about Keller, my cousin doesn’t fully understand how touchy the topic can be, and how all the money in the world can’t make up for my father’s absence in our lives.
I side eye Locke, and the hole in my heart that is usually caused by thoughts of my neglectful father doesn’t feel so big. The corner of his mouth tugs. He gets it. Heath might not, but we understand each other, and that’s enough.