“Shut up, you big baby. You’ll be fine.”
Hot air blew in through the broken window, but he felt like he was in a meat locker. He clenched his clattering teeth. Weak. If he could make it home . . . The road swam.
“Finish the job,” he mumbled.
“God you’re even bossy when you’re shot,” Atlas’s deep voice mocked. “Stop worrying about us and get your ass home.”
“Yeah,” he croaked.
“Don’t be a pussy.”
“. . . love . . .”
“For fucksakes, you’re scaring the shit out of me. Just drive!”
Almost there.
Atlas’s voice got slow and jumbled. He turned into the driveway as his vision blurred. His ears rang. He parked then stumbled outside. His legs stopped and he fell sideways onto the grass. He looked up at the sky.
Away from the city was an endless sea of stars.
Chapter 17
“It’s getting busy out there,” Jake said as he walked into the break room.
Addison scowled at him. “I’ve got five minutes left.” Though it was true, she sipped her espresso a little faster. She wasn’t about to be a dick about five minutes, even though by the time she got into the staff room her whole break was about ten minutes long.
Her coworker sidled up to the table, fiddling with his fingers as he stared at her. Blond hair swept across his forehead, and with his baby blues and clean-shaven face, he looked like a member of a boy band.
“Yes?” she asked him, arching a brow.
“I was wondering,” he paused, looked at the floor, then back at her, “if you’re not doing anything later . . .”
Whoa.
Oh shit. He was going to ask her out. Fuck. He was cute in a baby-faced, innocent way but so not her type. Still, she was no dream-crusher either. How did she put this politely so she didn’t hurt his feelings?
“After my shift I have plans with my boyfriend,” she told him. The lie reminded her of the missed call from Fox during her shift,
and a hot stab of guilt flashed through her.
He winced, catching the hint.
“Sorry, Jake.” She stood up and smiled sympathetically. “You’re a sweet guy. Try asking Daisy. I think she has the hots for you.”
His eyes brightened. “Really?”
Daisy was a sweet, giggly girl, and totally swooned whenever Jake smiled at her. She was much more his type.
“Ask her out to TGI Friday’s. It’s her favorite restaurant.” She winked then turned for the door.
Her phone beeped in her locker and she stopped. That wasn’t Fox’s text tone. Curious, she spared a few seconds to check to make sure it wasn’t her parents with an emergency.
She dug in her purse until she found her phone. The text was from Luke. Weird.
Fox is hurt. Can you come to the house ASAP?
Hurt? Cold dread crept through her body. What had the idiot done to get hurt? Panic struck hard. For Luke to text her to come ASAP, it must have been serious.