“What?” he looks at me, mystified.
Colin and I laugh.
He mumbles his last sentence. “Keep you out of … Trouble … oh, shit. That’s wrong. That’s just wrong.” Mick grabs a beer off the bar, but I can see the smile he’s hiding behind his mug as he takes a drink.
“Okay, so we leave this Friday,” I say, feeling very proud of myself. I am not going to just sit around and let some asscheese take my best friend’s father or business from her. Those lawyers aren’t doing crap. It’s time for someone to do something real for a change. I don’t mind taking a risk for Teagan. She’s my best friend and she’d do the same for me. So what if it’s a little harebrained? I can’t just do nothing.
I ignore the thoughts niggling at the back of my mind that are telling me I’m biting off more than I can chew, that I’m doing something completely out of character for myself, that I could very well be doing stupid things just because I’m trying to prove a point - what that point is and who I’m proving it to, well, that’s a complete unknown. And besides … it doesn’t matter. I’m going to put my conscience in a time-out for the next seven days. After that, it can come out and berate me all it wants. Until then, I’m a free agent, baby. And I’m about to have a little fun and take a few names while I’m at it.
Colin hands me a full mug of bubbly yellow awfulness and raises his in the air. It hovers in the space centered on the three of us. “Here’s to fighting crime.”
We all touch glasses. Someone’s beer sloshes out onto my hand.
“Here’s to keeping your asses out of trouble,” says Mick. “And not out of Colin’s dumb ass, but actual trouble … the kind people go to jail for.” He glares at me.
“Here’s to making things right,” I say, refusing to acknowledge his bad fortunetelling. Just before I take a drink from my mug, I finish my thought. “And here’s to raising a little hell along the way.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ALISSA HAS HER NOSE UP in the air and is blinking her eyes. “Like I said. Either you take me with you or I tell Teagan what you’re doing.”
I huff out a burst of annoyed air, hoping Teagan and Rebel won’t get home prematurely from their house-hunting trip and catch me getting ready to kick a pregnant girl’s ass. “God, this is so ridiculous. You’re pregnant!” I gesture at her belly with disgust. It’s not that she’s ugly or anything, it’s just that I cannot believe someone carrying a baby around inside her thinks joining our adventure would be a good parenting move. I can’t be in the middle of that bad decision.
“So?! Pregnant doesn’t make me handicapped.”
“Uh, yes it does.” I roll my eyes in Mick and Colin’s direction, but it doesn’t do any good; neither of them will look at me or her.
She hikes her backpack strap up higher on her shoulder. “Whatever. I’m packed and I’m ready to go and I know you are too. So let’s do this.”
I glare at Mick. “This is your fault.”
“How is it my fault?” He finally looks at me, throwing his hands up in the air. “You were the one blabbing every day this week about our plans. Just cuz she was sitting there staring at her damn book reader thingy doesn’t mean she’s deaf.”
“Exactly,” Alissa says, very satisfied with herself. “So I know everything you have planned, and I’m totally on board.” She changes her attitude in a flash, downshifting into pitiful pleading. “Please, Quin? I really want to help Teagan. She’s doing all this for me and all I’m doing is spongeing off her. I want to do something to contribute. I want to help her get her life back. Let me do this. I could be very helpful, I promise.”
The pregnant pleading is getting to me. Round bellies are like Kryptonite. I try to harden my soul and adjust my tone to make it meaner. I need her to hate me so she’ll just drop this nonsense and go away. “No. You’ll just slow us down.”
Instead of scaring her, I think I accidentally gave her false hope. She sounds way too excited. “No, I won’t, I promise. I’m perfectly healthy and everything is fine with the baby. And I’ve been in drama club for six years. I can totally pull anything off you need me to.”
“What do you think, Colin?” I look over my shoulder at him. I know what he’s going to say, so I’m using him to bolster my arguments. No one can stand having Colin angry at them. She’ll run to the bathroom crying.