Chapter 30

How did Joaquin constantly fuck his head up like this?

I popped three pain relievers in my mouth and swallowed them down with a giant gulp of coconut water. I was so dehydrated that regular water, even the fancy shit Kim loved, wasn"t going to cut it. I needed something better.

Coconut water was good enough for runners, it was good enough for me.

Next, I"d try some of Kim"s ginger and lemon tea.

Kim and Joaquin sat at the table, their own drinks in front of them. Beasty and Lake were still in bed. Glancing at the clock, it was almost noon. I"d have been concerned if I hadn"t rewound the footage and watched their fucking.

Jealousy bit me in the ass, but I had no energy to be irritated with him. For the first time in my life, I was drained. The urge to fuck with Joaquin was silent as was the drive to seek out a thrill.

Beasty didn"t even know that side of me yet. I wanted to get her hooked on us first.

Grabbing two other coconut waters, I took them over to the guys. Kim never drank. That he did last night...

We had to make sure that didn"t happen again. But from the looks of desolation in his eyes, it was going to be an uphill battle. Then I glanced at Joaquin.

He was so fucked, I didn"t have to do anything to help, he was taking care of it all on his own.

"Tell me what Gio said again?" Kim asked, staring at his tea with a vacant gaze. He didn"t even acknowledge the water I set in front of him.

"You watched it just like I did." I pushed my phone to the middle of the table in case they wanted to watch it again.

I wasn"t the only one who was shocked with how Beasty and Lake fucked it out. But the argument leading up to it was rough.

"Why are you asking about Gio? You know what"s really bothering you." Joaquin laid his face in the crook of his arm on the table.

Kim sucked in a breath, his bottom lip quivering. But he didn"t ask.

Not at first.

"Do you think Beasty doesn"t actually care about us?" There it was. The troubling question in his trembling voice.

A snappy retort was on the tip of my tongue. Of course, she didn"t. How could she when she left us right after she took Kim"s virginity? We wanted someone who didn"t exist.

But for once, I kept all that to myself. As much as I wanted to punish her, and I still did, I also didn't want to see her cry.

"She cares about us," Joaquin croaked as he rubbed his chest with his fist.

Kim shot a surprised look his way. Hell, I couldn't believe his words either. Not after he was a jackass to her.

"You think so?"

"You heard the rest of the conversation. I think…" Joaquin turned to look out the window. "I think we just don't understand each other, but she cares about us."

Nodding, Kim relaxed his shoulders. That was the validation he needed.

When no one reached for the phone, I pulled it back to me and turned on the camera in Lake"s room. I bet he never thought I"d use it to spy on him. Then again, he had to know if he took Beasty in there, I"d be watching.

At first, Lake was molded tightly to her back, then he rolled over and scrubbed his face. She started to stir too. Glad they got to get some rest. Assholes.

I watched as they took turns pissing in the bathroom, I watched as they brushed their teeth, and I watched them descend the stairs. Only when they appeared in the kitchen did I turn the phone off.

Lake had a determined stride and an intense look of concentration on his face as he led Beasty to the seat next to Kim, and sat her down.

He started fucking with the coffee machine and made two coffees. "We"re going to that show tonight."

"Like hell we are. The only place I"m going to is the bottom of a bottle, the Gold Room, or both."

I smacked the back of Joaquin"s shoulder. "Like hell you will."

"What happened to keeping Beasty safe?" Kim peeked at Lake.

"Change of plan. We need to clean our house up. Get rid of that fucking weasel, make the Pescis a non-issue by knocking them off the board, and squash the video footage before anymore is released." He talked like we had a game board set up with all the players right out in the open.

I turned to Beasty. She wasn"t making a fuss about going and stealing a museum piece. If she was bothered at all she hid it well. There was a resolute look on her face as she stirred milk into the coffee Lake set in front of her.

"Even if we could get tickets, we"d never be ready in time. For Kim and Atlas, that takes hours to get them styled. They need designer outfits, preferably something they or anyone else hasn't worn before. It"s too much." Joaquin fell back against his chair with a thump.

With a pained grimace, Kim shook his head. "We"re not models anymore. I"ve stocked us with enough pieces that we can go in style and not stand out, but we don"t have to live up to the same standards."

There was a but in there.

"And what?" I asked when he didn"t continue.

Beasty took a sip of her coffee, seemingly lost in her thoughts. There was something different about her. Was Lake"s brand of fucking so life changing? I almost sneered.

"I"m the charmer. People want to talk with me. Interview me. And I..." Kim sighed. "I just don"t think I can handle it. I don"t even want to go." He rolled his shoulders forward and dropped his head. He had to be as messed up as he said. There was not one lie there.

"I"ll be with you. You won"t have to talk to anyone you don"t want to."

Everyone turned to Beasty.

"You realize that we"re going there to do a job," Joaquin spoke with a measured tone. "We"re not just going to support a good cause. This is a museum where there will be lots of guards protecting the statue Parker wants us to steal for him."

Beasty closed her eyes for a few seconds, when she opened them, her eyes flared and she pressed her lips together. "I"m aware," she said in a tone that dared him to argue with her.

Then she cut her gaze to Kim, and her face softened into something bordering sweet before her eyes crinkled in pain.

Kim and Beasty stared at each other, and for the first time since we woke up, Kim took a deep breath.

"I"ve called Parker. Renegotiated the terms of the job. He"s going to help with both the Valencia mess and the Pescis, but we have to do this job and one more at a later time." Lake took his l spot at the end of the table.

"What about the video?" Joaquin"s voice wobbled, his gaze skating to me.

Now that I"d had time to sit on it, I was fine. But Joaquin never handled this shit well.

Lake hesitated, watching Beasty. "I called in a few markers to track down Donnie and the reporter he was speaking to."

"Do we know who she is?" Kim asked.

"No, but we will. What we do know is she works for the news station that"s playing that video. Apparently, they were given exclusive rights to the footage."

That helped but I was sure people were sharing and resharing the video as we spoke.

Checking his watch, Lake rubbed his eyes. "We have two hours before we have to leave."

Tonight called for one of our stretch SUVs. These events were predictable. The only thing that mattered was who had the newest cars, the best outfits, the deepest purses. Basically a dick measuring contest in style.

There was no music and no conversation. Everyone was dead quiet.

But we looked good, not like we hadn"t had our life upended for the fifth time last night, and got barely three hours sleep on the hardwood floor. Probably because it was the first time we all slept close to Beasty.

And partially because of what fashion had taught us. Or Kim, more specifically. How to hide our sins and secrets with highlighter and contour.

Beasty glanced up, catching me watching her. But I wasn"t ashamed. This was my life"s work. I"d do it until the day I died. She didn"t look away. I narrowed my eyes and she responded in kind.

"What"s this shit show of a plan? Do we even have a fucking plan?" Joaquin griped as he reached for the bar on the side. I smacked his hand and glared at him.

Last night was his pass. It was a pass for every single one of us. Now he was officially cut off as he dried out.

Lake pulled up a document on his phone. A map. "There"s a statue in the Grecian room. Parker sent over pictures of the item, the blueprint, and guard rotation schedules. He"s thorough." Lake sounded begrudgingly impressed.

He would hate that. He didn"t like thinking anyone was smarter than we were.

"You all have it in your email."

I opened the doc on my phone to see if this was as detailed as Lake said it would be. It was and more, along with a write up of two different scenarios of the best way to get the statue out.

"Gio and his friends will be here?" I asked. They hadn"t parted ways on the best terms this morning.

Lake snorted and Beasty shot him a glare.

"They didn"t want to be, but when I spoke to Parker before we left, he assured me they would be there. Along with a couple friends of his to make sure we aren"t caught with our asses out. He also said he'd take care of surveillance."

"Comforting," Joaquin snarked.

Kim didn"t seem to be listening. He gazed at Beasty as if he was trying to figure her out, but also like he didn"t believe she was really here. He was sitting so far from her, he was smashed up against the window.

Beasty had to see it, but she didn"t address it.

Whatever. What was one more piece of dysfunction in our group?

Everyone read the write up. It was surprisingly simple. Parker had paired Beasty with Kim as if he knew they would be safer together. Lake was the bad guy, actually stealing the statue.

Then Joaquin and I were the distraction, starting an argument in the reception. Not a stretch, considering how much of an ass Joaquin had been lately.

We fell back into the awkward silence that was getting more uncomfortable each time. Like we were growing apart right in front of our own eyes.

Eventually, the car pulled up to the cue line. We could already see reporters camping out on the sidewalk. Flashes from cameras went off outside the car, along with questions from the reporters.

Beasty tensed and seemed to stop breathing. This wasn't even the entrance and she was nervous. I reached across the space and touched her knee. When she looked at me, I nodded. "It"s going to be okay. You"re worth ten of any of these assholes."

A ghost of a smile coasted across her face. Then she shook her head. "They"re going to ask about the video."

"Let them." I shrugged. I didn"t give a shit what they said. Although, I reached in my pocket and pulled out a box. Opening it, I dumped the contents in my hand and handed two to Joaquin and two to Kim.

You know what? Fuck it. I handed two more to Beasty.

"Earbuds?" Kim whispered, glancing at me.

"They"re going to yell nasty shit to catch you off guard and get a reaction. We"re pros, but we"re also fucked up from last night. Take the earbuds and you can take them out as soon as you get inside.

The queue of cars wrapped around the corner, but when we reached it, our car didn"t turn.

Instead, we started going faster.

Beasty, Joaquin, and Kim didn"t notice as they put on their earbuds.

But Lake did. We exchanged a glance, then we each dove for doors on opposite sides of the vehicle. They were locked.

"God damnit!" Lake shouted. Beasty and Kim yelled as Lake laid over their laps to bang on the door.

The car sped up even more.

We all smashed our fists against the windows but they were bulletproof. The top of the line vehicle was to protect us. And fucking hold us prisoner.

Beasty had her hands up like she didn't know what to fucking do as Joaquin curled his body around hers.

Lake sat back up and tried to throw himself against the door, but it was pointless.

Kim started hyperventilating, and keeping a solid train of thought was getting hard for me too. I hadn"t been trapped like this since...

This was not the fucking time.

I collected myself enough to notice we were on an empty road.

Trees passed and that rickety house in West Virginia flashed before my eyes. I shook my head.

A few buildings were here and there, then once again my vision was filled with Gate's house. What it looked like to stand just inside the front door.

Fuck! I didn't need this.

The buildings around us were all industrial, and all I could see was that damned chain-link fence.

There was no way in hell I could go back there. No fucking way. I couldn't.

Slouching down, I tried to kick at the glass on the other side of the car. It didn't work. Why the hell did my limbs feel like they weren't working?

I needed to get out of here. We would never go back there!

The car turned into a parking lot, as it started to pull through a bay door, a weird smell started seeping through the vents.

I glanced back, and every single one of us had drooping eyes.

This couldn't be happening. Not again…

"They"re drug–" Lake tried to say, but I lost it as I fell into the darkness.