Turn me in if you want to, but not until we’re far away from here.”
There was a cup of instant coffee waiting for him when he emerged from the bedroom in clean clothes. She had a pair of his loose-fitting board shorts on and a tattered tour shirt. He thought she looked just like every surfer girl he’d ever known. They threw her pack beside his in the back of the El Camino and started down the winding mountain roads.
They got waved through several checkpoints on their way out of the Angeles National Forest. The first signs of civilization came into view less than two hours after they’d left. Greg was merging onto the freeway ramp when two motorcycles came speeding up behind them. Kristen dug her fingers into his thigh as he stepped on the accelerator.
“What’s the matter?”
“Magnus does business with some of the local bikers.”
The two motorcycles were gaining on them fast. Greg knew he couldn’t lose them. He reached across her legs and yanked the Glock from the glove compartment. His finger was on the trigger just below the window as the bikes whipped around them. Greg tapped the brakes and tried to steady his aim. That’s when he saw them—just a couple of cocky teenagers taking their girlfriends out for a ride on their crotch rockets.
Greg set the gun down in his lap and exhaled. It felt wrong to be leaving the mountains with Marco missing, but he needed to get Kristen out of there. He needed to take her somewhere safe, somewhere far away from Magnus and Grizzly Flats. Descendents were kicking into “Silly Girl” on the car stereo as she rested her head on his shoulder and gave a little sniffle.
Chapter Five
They’d only been home a few days, but Greg already needed to get out of the house. The Sunday night barbecue at Junior’s was the perfect excuse. Greg and his friends had started it twenty years ago, back when they were still young and thought they would live forever. These days, Greg felt like he was one of the last ones standing.
He threw the El Camino into park and climbed out. It felt just like old times walking across his high school girlfriend’s front yard. There were almost no toys scattered around the lawn now that her son, Chris, was thirteen years old.
Greg was still worried about Kristen, but felt glad she decided to stay home. He hadn’t spent much time with Junior and her family since he got back to town, and he was looking forward to catching up with her dad, Eddie. The old man had been like a father figure to Greg for as long as he could remember.
The door swung open before he even knocked. Eddie stepped out onto the porch and pulled him into a tight hug. It felt good, like coming home. His gray hair was a little thinner on top now, but he also looked healthier than he had in years.
“Greg! How the hell are you?”
“Doing pretty good, all things considered. How’s retirement?”
“I’m bored out of my mind. Come inside.”
They stepped into the living room. Greg was surprised that Chris wasn’t sitting on the ground in front of the TV playing video games. He spotted Junior in the kitchen tossing a salad in a wooden bowl. She fought off an ear-to-ear grin as he walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“I barely recognize you, stranger.”
“I was just about to say the same to you.”
Greg stepped back to take her in as she turned her attention back to the salad. Her short, blonde hair had grown out a few inches and was pulled into a ponytail now. The long summer dress she wore traced her incredible curves just right.
“Grab yourself something to drink out of the fridge.”
He leaned against the counter, considering the body he had gotten to know so intimately when they were teenagers. Hers was the first one he had ever seen naked, and also the last one he’d touched before Kristen. Greg noticed that Junior carried herself differently these days—more like a confident woman, and less like a punk-rock temptress. Although she definitely looked like she could still throw a punch.
She caught him staring, but did a bad job of pretending not to notice.
“Hungry?”
“Starving. Where’s Chris?”
She slammed her tongs down and steadied herself on the counter.
“Caught that little bastard with a bag of weed yesterday. I told him to stay out of sight until dinner tonight, or I might murder him.”
“Wow. Where did he even get it from? School?”
“No idea. I did find out that he’s been hanging around with Jeff Barrett and his crew—chasing after them like some desperate little puppy.”
That piece of information caught Greg like a punch to the gut. Barrett was a local thug turned contractor who had made a small fortune off of the booming local real-estate market. He and Greg had been at each other’s throats ever since they were kids.
“Those idiots are always looking for new recruits. You don’t think he gave Chris the weed, do you?”
“I honestly don’t know what to think.”
Greg took a moment to collect himself, controlling his anger before he went on.
“Regardless of where he got it, Chris has been through a lot in the last year. You both have.”
He put his hand on her back and waited for the moment to pass. Neither of them wanted to talk about the woman who had ripped their world apart. Greg was the one who finally broke the silence.
“Does Eddie know?”
“He knows something happened, but he doesn’t know exactly what. I’d prefer to keep it that way or he might have a heart attack.”
Junior shook her head and went back to finishing dinner. Greg wasn’t ready to let it go.
“Want me to talk to him?”
“You planning to scare him straight or something? Be my guest.”
Greg was heading for Chris’s room when Eddie stopped him. They took a seat on the couch in the living room. The old man’s knee pumped as he tried to form his words.
“I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about Marco. I always thought he was trouble, but I know he was your friend.”
“He still is. I just need to find him.”
Greg stood. Eddie stopped him a second time.
“Listen. I don’t know what you’re planning to do for work, but you’ll always have a spot at the bar.”
Eddie’s L Bar was a neighborhood institution, and Eddie was the king. He had run the bar himself every day for decades, while quietly building a North Bay real-estate empire on the side. These days, he was worth more on paper than some of the millionaires living along the beach in South Bay. But he still wasn’t willing to let the L Bar go. He’d been trying to get Greg to take the business over for almost a year now.
“I
