Page 49 of Last Man Standing
I reach around and take her wrists in my hands, then pulling them to the front, I pluck my shiny credit card from the tight grasp of her fingers and exhale a soft chuckle. “I’m proud of you, babe. You didn’t let me down.” I snatch the last remaining jumbo bag of chips still on the shelf and press them gently to her chest. “Time to go. The cops’ll be here soon, and I don’t plan on sticking around to chat with them.”
“What?” She stumbles forward as I herd her toward the front doors. “We’re not staying to make a statement?”
“Fuck no.” I wrap my hand around her wrist and get her moving. Already, the clerk has his phone in hand. “We’re leaving. And we’re not paying for these, either.” I snatch a twelve-pack of water bottles stacked by the door, and the bottle of soda Scarlett already picked and dumped earlier.
“I’m calling the cops!” he screeches. “They’ll find you.”
“No, they won’t.” I drag Scarlett out of the store and onto the smooth driveway. Cameras face every pump and document license plate numbers and the make and model of every car filling up. They’ve probably got facial recognition technology, too.
“We can’t steal!” Scarlett’s feet move at an almost run just to keep up with my stride. “Sebastion! The cops will—”
“Nothing. The cops will nothing.” I unlock my truck and swing the driver’s side door open. Tossing her forward, I guard her back as she climbs in, then I lob our water into the back and slide into my seat.
“Sebastion! You can’t—”
“Seatbelt.” I peel out of the gas station driveway and drop my phone into the cradle on the dash. While I wait for it to connect, I snag Scarlett’s seatbelt and fasten it for her. “That place is older that Noah himself, and their cameras ain’t shit.”
“Even shit cameras will—”
“Hush.” I unlock my phone and tap on Mav’s name. Hitting the highway in seconds, I blindly reach into the back seat and find my hat, then pulling it low over my eyes, I glance up again as our call connects. “Mav?”
“You’re not very subtle, are you, Bas?” He shakes his head. I can’t see him. Obviously. But I feel it. “Hanging up the way you did got me a little curious, so I called tech and had her pull up the security feed for that gas station you were at.”
“Good. So you know what I’m telling you to do.”
He scoffs. “It’s already done. We watched you destroy a couple of Richards, save the damsel, bitch out the cashier, and steal… vodka?”
“Water,” I snort. “And the damsel can hear you. You’re on speaker.”
Scarlett stares across at me, her breath still racing, her heart still pounding. And fuck, her jaw still quivering.
“It’s not often Bas is assigned the really pretty ladies, Ms. Castro. You okay after that nonsense?”
“Y-you saw what happened? With the guys—”
“The guys who wouldn’t take no for an answer? Yeah, I saw. You don’t own a knife or anything? You were within perfect striking distance to addle that motherfucker’s brains. Little twist to the left,” he sing-songs. “Little thrust to the right. Swirl it around…”
Scarlett’s face turns green.
“That’s enough,” I snicker. “She’s not interested in your tutorial. Footage is deleted?”
“Yeah.” From whimsical to business, his tone changes. “It’s done. La Bruja’s gonna be pissed. For more reasons than one.”
“It happens. I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Yep.” He doesn’t bother saying goodbye. Not while we have an audience. He simply ends our call, so my stereo goes back to playing music, and in my peripherals, Scarlett brings her feet to the chair and her thumbnail to her lips.
“Don’t do that.” I tug her hand down again and swap it with a pen, then when I’ve put about ten miles between the gas station and us, I tear the truck onto the shoulder, skid to a sharp stop, unsnap my seatbelt, then I jump out and move to the back.
“What are you doing?” Warily, Scarlett opens her door and leans halfway out. Though her seatbelt stays on. “Sebastion? What are you—”
“Swapping my plates.” I unclip the old, just in case that clerk memorized the numbers, fold it in half so I remember they’re spent, then I toss it, grab a fresh set, clip them into place, and stride to the front. “We’re good to move again now.” I zip away from the side of the road and increase my speed until we’re moving with the traffic, sliding amongst family cars and contractor trucks brimming with ladders and all the shit they need for a day on the job.
“So you just…” Nerves pulse from the poor, traumatized woman like waves in the sea. “Th-that’s it? You assault those men, destroy the store, steal things, and we just leave?”
“Yep.” I settle back and rest my elbow on the door frame, tugging my hat lower over my eyes. “I don’t know about you, Princess, but I don’t make a habit of committing crimes and then chatting to the cops about them.”
“But you have to!” she exhales explosively. “That’s the law.”
