Page 46 of Glamour and Grit

“What does that even mean?” she sputters.

“If we act casual, like we’re just a young LA couple on a drive and having a good time, he won’t notice us at all.”

We catch up to Petty again at the next red light. A homeless guy comes up to try and wash his windows. Petty flips him the bird.

“Get the fuck outta here, you smelly fuck.”

He flicks a lit cigarette at the homeless man, who flees back to the safety of the curb. I shake my head at the casual cruelty.

“Well, what did you expect from a guy who works for the mob?” she asks. “Humanitarian of the year?”

I laugh, and turn her way.

“Now you’re getting it. Laugh and joke, anything you need to do to relax and stop throwing out signals that we’re doing exactly what we’re doing.”

She blinks her soft brown eyes several times before snickering.

“I think I understood your word salad. It’s just hard to be casual and relax when I’m worried about Justin.”

“I know. But this will help us find him. Remember, the Moreno family seems to want something from you. That means they want you alive, but also that they might do something desperate to get their hands on you.”

She nods, her jaw setting with determination.

“So, you said earlier that we should pretend to be a couple.”

I stiffen up. That had sort of just slipped out.

“Yes, and?”

“And…I’m just saying if you really want to sell that we’re NOT tailing him, I should totally give you road head. No way he’d suspect us then.”

“What the fuck is road…”

My eyes widen and I glance sharply at Selene. She laughs and shakes her head, punctuating it with a sigh.

“I’m just kidding, Dane. You act like we haven’t already been as close as two people can be. What’s with you tattooed badass guys acting puritan?”

Petty pulls off the main drag and into the industrial district. I pull past the intersection and then take an alley shortcut so I can continue the tail at the next street.

“Jedi in the streets, Sith between the sheets,” I say as we pull out two cars behind Petty.

Selene laughs, a spontaneous and raucous sound. She claps her hands together eagerly and bounces in her seat.

“Oh my god, you get a million cool points for that reference.”

“I respect nerd culture,” I say after joining in her laugh.

We roll to a stop in a long line of traffic. The sun reflects blindingly off the shimmering sea of gleaming automobiles. Selene leans her head out the window and shields her eyes with her hand, peering ahead.

“Looks like it’s locked up all the way to the exit. We’re not going anywhere for a while.”

“It won’t take long to clear up. And besides, he’s not going anywhere, either.”

I glance over at Selene. She’s trying to be cool, trying not to draw suspicion but I can feel the tension inside of her. I can only imagine what she's going through. If someone had taken my sister or brother, I’d probably lose my mind. She’s stronger than me in a lot of ways.

I can respect that. It makes me want to find her brother and make this whole situation nice for everyone. The only problem with that romantic gesture is Moreno. There’s no such thing as a happy ending when you’re dealing with the mob.

Our best bet would be to make some kind of deal with them. But that may not be possible. Platinum Security is full of some of thebaddest hombres on the face of the Earth, but I doubt they would want to get into a war with the mafia.

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