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Car to helpwe could out of the trashed aparte, about Bax, and I had to promise Marco twenty times that I would remind him about the promised ride in the Runner It took the entire afternoon, and s ended up in the rusty Du, but the place was somewhat habitable I took the boys to McDonald’s for lunch while Carot ready for work I still wasn’t sure about money to replace my books and stuff for school, but I decided I would just have to figure it out

I was on the bus headed toward the coe when I finally heard from the boy who had been on e, knew I should call Brysen and ask her if it was okay if I just stayed with her until Race showed his face, but I couldn’t do it The lure of that devil’s face with the star inked on it was too much

I’ll pick you up froh

That’s okay I can stay with Brysen

I said I’ll coh it was a text and not his voice, I could feel the irritation in his response Maybe he hadn’t been up to no good when I hadn’t heard fro it in his pants was rouchy I chewed on my bottom lip and contemplated the best way to handle the situation I wanted to see hiaround under my skin

Okay, but I have school stuff I have to do so whatever stuff you have to do needs to have ot it, Copper-Top

That was it Nothat there would be no time for hoot it I was never going to be able to predict what this boy was going to come at me with, and I wished that bothered me a whole lot more than it actually did

CHAPTER 9

Bax

YOU LOOK TERRIBLE, SON”

I couldn’t argue with the grizzled old , but slowly, and there was no refuting that I had repeatedly gotten runted and reached out to shake Gus’s hand Everything I had learned about cars I had learned froal front for the chop shop that handled all of Novak’s hot cars The Runner wouldn’t be half of the beast it was if it wasn’t for Gus Well, for Gus and for Titus dragging me with him to the shop after school for years before I realized I hated ood with cars as I was It was really the only thing we had in colad you’re out Nobody around here appreciates classic American muscle the way you do I can’t let half the idiots that work forin They don’t knohat they’re doing with it”

I laughed a little and took a drag on the s out ofto put a face to the elusive rich guy Race seemed so obsessed with I’d had no luck, and I was irritated that I wanted to touch base with Dovie, so I purposely didn’t I didn’t need so around in my head, not with all the booby traps and nasty stuff that was already constantly in there She was just supposed to be fun, an easy way to get ot my hands on Race Unfortunately, that wasn’t a lie I could sell to myself and it was ht

“I ran into Titus, he told ht need reasy hands on his coveralls and lifted a bushy gray eyebrow at me