“Don’t mistake this for something it’s not,” he says shortly, holding up a hand to block me from cuddling up to him. “I’m not your friend. I just didn’t want an outsider winding up dead at a crew party. Cops don’t give a shit if it’s one of us, but if it’s some innocent little white girl who’s not affiliated…”
“Or his stepdaughter?” I ask. “In his own backyard?”
“Yeah, that,” he says with a little smirk.
“Can I ask you something?” I say, settling in on his knee and not pressing for more intimacy.
“As long as you know this doesn’t change anything.”
“Got it,” I say, rolling my eyes. “It’s not like I think you’re my boyfriend because you pulled me off a fight.”
Maddox takes a swig of his beer. “Then shoot, little girl.”
“How’d you get involved with the gang?”
“Don’t let Lennox hear you call the Crows a gang,” he says. “We’re a murder.”
“What’s that?”
“A Murder of Crows,” he says. “Like a flock.Ourflock.”
“But it’s a street crew.”
“It’s more than that.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “So how’d you join thisflock?”
“Murder,” he corrects.
Or maybe he’s telling me how he joined. A shiver goes through me, but I don’t ask. I don’t want to know if I’m sitting on the lap of someone capable of the ultimate crime.
“You’re not going to answer me, are you?” I ask instead.
He shrugs and takes another drink. “Someone had to look out for the family.”
“It’s just you and Lennox?”
“And our mom.”
I nod. “Your mom’s Mexican?”
“Colombian,” he corrects. “Our dad was—is—a gringo.”
“He’s not around?”
“He’s around,” he says. “He just pretends he doesn’t know us when we run into him.”
“That blows,” I say. “I’m sorry.”
He just shrugs and takes another drink.
“My dad’s not around, either,” I say. “But I don’t really remember him.”
“At least you’ve got your stepdad,” he offers.
A quiet scoff escapes me before I can stop it. “Yeah,” I mutter. “At least.”
Maddox watches me with unwavering intensity while he takes a swig, but he doesn’t ask. He finishes his beer, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and sets the bottle down, his body tensing like he’s about to stand.