Chapter 18 #2
We head toward another room, which I assume belongs to Romeo and Jinx, with my arm wrapped protectively around Romeo’s shoulders.
“How do you know so much?” I ask Jinx.
He shrugs, his short pink waves billowing in the breeze. “Oh, I’ve been planning to take out Tito for a long-ass time. After what he did to Romeo when he tried to protect me… Even if they figure out it was us who killed him, there’s no record of Romeo or me now.”
“Damn, you’re pretty smart,” I say. I’m intelligent myself, but not like that. Did I ever daydream about taking out Holt? All the time, but my planning had revolved more around escaping rather than killing him.
“I know.”
Not much humility, though, but I have to hand it to the kid; he’s adapted in a world where most tend to break.
The room they share is smaller than Tito’s.
There are two full-sized beds with ugly floral bedspreads that look like they’re out of the early 90s, a beaten dresser with a small TV on it, and a kitchenette.
They tried to make it look nice with some decorations, but I don’t think it helped much. It’s damn depressing in here.
I reluctantly let go of Romeo as he rushes to the closet and pulls out a duffel bag. They open drawers, take down hanging clothes, and shove all that they can into their bags.
“Do you have a car, Sugar?” Jinx asks.
Romeo smiles at his friend. “This is Julien. Only I get to call him Sugar.”
“Okay, Julien. Grab your car if you got one. We’ll meet ya in the back.”
I look at Romeo, afraid to leave his side even for a second. Look at what happened when I did earlier.
He cups my face again and pulls me into a short kiss. “I’m fine. Go grab your car, and we’ll be right out.”
“Park behind the building,” Jinx says, shoving toiletries into his bag. “Romeo and I’ll climb out the window. No point in risking getting caught.”
“Okay.”
I keep my eyes peeled for guards on every corner.
With keys in my still-shaking hands, I unlock my truck, jump in, and drive the block away toward the back of the building. As soon as I arrive, Jinx is tossing bags out the bathroom window.
With the car running, I jump out, grab a few bags, and toss them into the back. Romeo is the first to climb out. He lands on his feet, rushes to the passenger side, and climbs in. The kid is next, who gets into the back seat.
“Go!” Jinx yells. “Get us the fuck out of here.”
It takes all my power not to peel out and speed off.
Stay calm, Julien. Stay calm. Lock in.
I drive until I hit Interstate 605 and have to pull over suddenly.
We’re surrounded by trees and construction, but not much else.
I jump out, rush to the half-dead grass mingled with garbage on the side of the road, and throw up again.
My hands are on my knees, and spit dribbles out of my mouth, but not much comes up.
Romeo rushes to my side and rubs my back until I’m calm. I thought I was finally past the shock, but clearly not.
“Come on, Sugar. We’ve gotta get back on the road.”
I nod, stand straight, and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. When I get back to the car, I find Jinx in the driver’s seat. Before I can kick him out or complain, he says, “Get in the back with Romeo. I’ll drive. We got no time to waste.”
“Do you even know how to drive? Can you even see over the steering wheel?”
“Psh, I’m old enough to drive. Besides, a john who was crushing on me taught me how after I promised him a week’s worth of free blow jobs.”
“Do you even have a driver’s license?”
“Dude, you just killed someone. I think licenses are kinda moot at the moment.”
“Point taken,” I say dryly.
Romeo and I climb in the back, and Jinx peels away and into traffic. I’m fucking tense with him driving, but he seems confident and capable, so I relax in my seat.
“Where are we going?” he asks.
I pull out my phone, enter the GPS coordinates, and set the instructions to Bluetooth in the car. The robotic female voice tells us to stay on I-65 until we reach I-210 all the way to Bonita Falls north of San Bernardino National Forest.
“I’ve got a cabin there that I’ve rented for the night,” I tell him. “It has two bedrooms. We were supposed to go hiking to the falls. Then I plan to take us to Lake Arrowhead, where I rented a cabin for two days. I want to check out the hot springs north of the lake.”
“Fire. With us constantly moving, that will keep us safer,” he says. “You got a lotta money? I can blow you in return, if you want.”
Romeo tenses and grabs my hand. “I don’t fucking share.”
I rest my head on his shoulder, smiling. Jinx looks back at us through the mirror. “Ah, I get it. Forget I asked.”
“I don’t do kids anyway, Jinx. No offense.”
“Fair.”
Now that my stomach is empty, and I’m safely next to Romeo, who’s playing with my hair while I relax against him, I can close my eyes and chill.
I’m still freaking out a bit, but I’m pumped because Romeo is safe. He’s alive and holding me, soothing me.
No matter how I feel about killing Tito, I won’t ever have to worry about getting caught now. We’re gone. No way they’ll find us. If they do, I’ll be long gone.
I’m a confused mess, but I’m also calming down because I know I’d do it over again if given the chance to protect Romeo. Ironically, that’s another reason I’m freaking out again. I shouldn’t want to kill anyone.
With Romeo’s gentle touches, I quickly doze off.