Chapter 19 Lewis
Like clockwork, I wake up before dawn to a sliver of light peeking through the heavy curtain.
I roll onto my side, and it takes a few seconds for my brain to fire up. Lying there with her hands making a pillow under one cheek, Amy looks like an angel. An angel I really want to have sex with, I mean.
My eyes focus on her lips, and memories of last night come flashing back.
The way she kissed me like that—hungrily, like she couldn’t get enough of me…
The plan was to track her down and tell her to get her shit together, but somehow I’ve ended up butt naked in her bed.
What the actual fuck? What am I looking for?
I don’t know. And I have no idea where I might find myself, if I carry on thinking with my dick.
I watch her while she sleeps, searching for answers in the sweep of her nose, the curve of her cheek, trying to figure out what it is about her that made me crack last night.
She’s a beautiful girl—I like the way she looks.
But in terms of personality, she’s not my type.
I like to keep things neat and tidy. Simple.
I like things controlled, so nothing gets in my way.
Basically, the total opposite of Amy. So how come every time I see her, I want her?
I shove the covers back and roll out of bed.
Whatever. It’s way too early for this much thinking.
It’s the last day of Christmas break, and my plan is to squeeze in a little practice with a teammate ahead of the NBA scout gold rush.
It’s been stressing me out for months, and the closer the deadline looms, the more I start freaking out.
I spoke to Don’s dad yesterday—he’ll be back on court tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter how much he builds me up; I can’t shake the feeling that I should be doing more.
Don tried to build me up, too, but I’m not planning on slowing down.
I do feel pretty chilled this morning, though. The Hitman effect.
I throw on my clothes and pull open the door, only to find…
it’s locked. Huh? I look around for the key, but it’s nowhere to be seen.
Shit. The last thing I want to do is wake up Firebird, so I cross my fingers and try a second door, turning the handle as quietly as I can until I get a satisfying click. Yeah, baby!
I cast one last look over my shoulder, and once I’m sure Amy’s still fast asleep, I poke my head through, listening out for voices, tiptoeing into the dimly lit hall and gently pulling the door shut behind me.
I creep past a small bathroom and two more doors, one of them plastered with a kid’s drawings.
Amy’s nephew? I’m guessing the other room belongs to the sister.
I double-down on the tiptoeing, and when I reach the end of the hallway, I’m in a pitch-black room, the exit right there at the back.
Just when I slink past the rocker, two things happen at once. Blinding light floods my vision, and a shadow lunges at me, forcing me back. I curse under my breath, tripping over something in the process.
“Let’s play! Let’s play! Let’s play!”
I glance down. Great. Some kind of freaky-ass toy is squashed under my foot. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and then an extra second or two to get that there’s some pregnant chick standing in front of me, waving a huge baseball bat in my face.
“You better get the fuck outta my house before I break your balls, kid.”
She holds the bat high above her head, while the toy carries on shrieking at me.
What in the…
“Whoa, there, Harley Quinn!” I shield my face with my hands. “Take it easy!”
“Why are you whispering? You’re busted!” She glares at me. “And what the hell are you doing in my house?”
“I was with Amy!”
She narrows her eyes. “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. My sister doesn’t bring guys home—ever.”
Sister? Fuck—are all the Hitman women total badasses?
“And you’re not her type, anyhow.” She stares at me, her eyes glittering with defiance.
“We’re study buddies. We had a late-night cram session and I fell asleep!” I protest, figuring it’s my one shot at getting myself out of this mess. “Go wake her; ask her yourself.”
She’s weighing it up, I can tell.
“Wanna put that thing down for me?” I nod at the baseball bat. “I’m on the basketball team. Being able to use my arms and legs is kinda a big deal.”
She looks me up and down again, and after what seems like forever, she places it at her feet.
“Thank you kindly, ma’am.”
“You ‘ma’am’ me again, and I go straight for the face.”
In true Hitman style.
“Deal.”
“I was gonna make coffee,” she says curtly.
“Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna head for that door over there. Don’t worry, no sudden movements, or anything…”
“Like I said—I’m making coffee,” she snaps.
Get me out of here!
“Okay…” Seems like this is some kind of order, rather than just chitchat. “In that case… Black. No sugar.”
She nods at the coffee table, and I sit myself down, praying Firebird is an early bird. I thought she was scary—but she’s got nothing on her sister.
“What’s your name?” she asks, setting a mug down in front of me.
I eye the piping-hot coffee warily. “Lewis Conley.”
“Oh, come on!” She snickers. “Poison is for pussies.”
“That’s a quote. And kinda reassuring. In a way…”
“Raven Hitman,” she offers.
“Nice to meet you.”
In a way…
“Study buddies, huh?” She laughs. “It’s hard to imagine my sister having an actual friend.”
“Tell me about it!”
We exchange grins.
“I guess ‘friends’ isn’t exactly the right word,” I say. “We’re more like colleagues.”
“What’s the job? And please don’t tell me it has something to do with RJ—don’t make me go gangster on your ass again.”
She nods over at the baseball bat propped against the wall.
“Nothing like that! I mean, I know RJ because he does my Dodge—that’s all.”
“You’ve got a Dodge? Okay, that’s more Amy’s vibe.” She nods thoughtfully. “So, tell me about the job.”
“We’re the Campus Drivers,” I say, and I’m waiting for her eyes to light up when she realizes I’m her sister’s mentor, but she just stares at me blankly.
Oops.
“Come again?”
It’s too late for me to backtrack now, and so I launch into the whole story—what I do, how Amy got involved.
As I watch her frown deepen, I start second-guessing myself again.
Should Firebird really be part of the gang?
My mind drifts back to the warehouse scene.
Her ass should already be fired by now—for good, this time.
But something’s stopping me from going through with it.
Last night when we had that fight in the garage, I finally got what she was looking for.
She needs a way to channel all her feelings.
That’s something I can relate to, because I feel the same.
For different reasons, sure—basketball, college… But I see her.
My heart tightens in my chest, and all I can think is how badly I want to just head back to that bedroom and fuck her senseless.
I think we could help each other out, and as for the Campus Drivers situation…
I have until June to decide. Plenty of time for me and her to get it on. And make sure Donovan doesn’t find out.
Footsteps echo down the hall, followed by mumbling, and when she comes stumbling into the living room all bleary-eyed, Amy’s still talking away to herself grouchily.
Definitely not an early bird, then.
“Hey there, my sweet little sister,” Raven says cheerily.
“Total bullshit… The hell… I’m gonna…”
I have no idea what kind of conversation she’s having with herself, but from where I’m sitting, it sounds intense.
And terrifying. I made the right call trying to get away early this morning.
“Trying” being the operative word. I watch as Amy pours herself a coffee on autopilot, then leans back against the kitchen counter, and when finally she looks up, she nearly drops her mug.
Slowly, she shuts her eyes and gives her head a shake.
“What are you doing here?”
“Wow. Morning-you looks so… different.”
Raven bristles. “You trying to say my sister isn’t rocking the natural look?”
“Nope. I’m saying she looks as sweet as pie—worlds away from the warrior vibe she’s normally got going on. It’s fascinating.”
Raven bursts out laughing, before rearranging her features back into a dead-eyed stare.
“So, I had the pleasure of bumping into this lovely young man this morning.”
Amy rolls her eyes. “What are you, seventy years old?” Her eyes widen. “Wait—is that Dad’s baseball bat?”
“I was heading for the bathroom and saw some guy in the hall! What did you expect me to do?”
“Remember what happened last time you used that to threaten someone? The piece of crap went flying through the window…”
“The dude or the baseball bat?” I ask.
“Why didn’t you just leave the way we came in?” Amy sighs. “Or—here’s an idea—wake me up?”
“It was locked, and you were fast asleep. I thought I could just sneak out.”
“I live with a human motion detector. That was never going to happen.”
“So, what did you guys do last night?” Raven starts pleasantly. “You could’ve given me a heads-up, Amy. You know how much I hate surprises.”
“Slow it down, Ravy. You might give the baby a panic attack, or something.”
“Like I said… We were studying,” I say.
“Yes, studying the app my sister told me nothing about.” Raven pouts.
Amy turns to me. “You told her about Campus Drivers? Seriously, what the fuck is going on, here?”
I wince. “Sorry! I told her we just fell asleep.”
Seems Amy’s sister is more like a mother figure, and I suddenly feel super guilty for putting her in a tight spot.
“We ‘fell asleep’?” Amy’s eyebrows shoot up.
A smirk spreads over Raven’s face. “I knew he was lying!”
“Oh my God, so you saw a guy come out of my room—somebody arrest me,” Amy drawls. “You know, you’re really reminding me of that fat-ass cop who used to stalk us back in the day…”
“You take that back!”