Page 108 of Chaos Kills

She maneuvers her attention to Ozzy, who appears at our side, and I’ll give this silent asshole credit, it’s taking a lot for him to do what he’s doing now.

“What?” she presses, forcing him to speak. Since Bay hasn’t been around him as much as we all have, she needs words over actions right now. And I’ve been trying to explain that to Ozzy. He may talk to us, and I say lightly, but she’s a woman who needsreassurance when she hasn’t seen all the background moves he’s making and has made.

“Please.”

Bay erases space and puts some between us. “I have pasta to eat. Are we done?”

I bow my head because any more of this conversation is going to push her away.

She needs time to think, process, and make a decision.

Pivoting, she walks back toward the house and gets back inside, leaving me with my brother who only watches her every move.

“She’s terrified,” I tell him. “You need to be at the house more.”

“Wallace has it covered when he’s there,” Ozzy mutters. “I don’t want to step on his toes.”

Because he might kick him out.

“Where is he?”

“Gone,” my brother replies. “Out on a run to make them money so they can head out.”

“I need to speak with him.”

Ozzy nods. “I can ask.”

“We need to get that video. I need Torin to get on board. Reeve needs to come back.”

“I’ve already begun working on it.”

I lightly smack the back of his shoulder. “Good man. It’s time to start taking these motherfuckers down.”

TWENTY-SIX

bay

The streets arethe only thing I have where my brain will shut off, my anxiety will chill, and I can fully function as a human being.

While Levi is out making money for our family, I’m pulling my weight and doing a few test runs against folks to get Dad’s Nova in line. Normally, I don’t do this out in public to show off what the car can do. So, I’ve been pretending nothing’s quote, “wrong with it”, and racing for a bit of money to test the car out and adjust where I need to.

It’s been working.

I’ve won my first two races while Hot Rod and I tweaked a bit here and there. Ellie brought Peter to show off what I can do, but the kid looks bored. When I went over there to check up on her, he could barely hold his excitement about when we’d be done.

Because I’ve put restrictions on how late Ellie can stay out, blaming it on finals coming up to finish out the school year, and my sister bought it.

Meanwhile, Mae is always in the way. So I put her up in the driver’s seat to pretend she’s racing so Rod and I can work.

It still doesn’t stop her cute and annoying neediness, though.

“Bay, I need tunes.”

Music.

“Turn the key forward once,” I tell her underneath the hood and over the noise of a car burning out at the line. “And the radio will pop on.”

“I dunno how to do that.”

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