King of Forgotten Clubs Read Online Free

killed. I’m safer on my own.”
    “You don’t have to be on your own.”
    She slid her hand over to mine slowly. “I know.”
    I ran my fingers along hers. “Irma.”
    “Call me Kali.”
    I smiled. “Is that your real name?”
    “I’ll never tell.”
    I wanted to capture the way her lips tilted in strings and notecards, so I’d never have to be without it again. My cell phone buzzed in my pocket.
    “You should get that.”
    I leaned away to yank it out and snapped open the ancient flip screen. If I’d checked the caller ID first, I’d never have answered it at all. “What?”
    There was a breath-filled pause. Then, “Pak.”
    The sound of Mom’s voice went straight to my gut. “No.”
    “I need to talk to you,” she pleaded.
    “Yeah, well, you should’ve thought of that two years ago.”
    “Pak, please.”
    I ended the call.
    Kali sat watching me. “Who was that?”
    “No one.”
    “Funny. From the look on your face, I’d say it’s the very definition of ‘someone.’”
    It was easier to lie than tell the truth, to keep people out, to put up glass walls so they only think they’re sitting right next to me. But sooner or later, I just can’t resist throwing a stone. “My mom isn’t someone anymore.”
    “Harsh.”
    I tried not to stare at the way her eyes reflected the lamplight. “No. Harsh is sending me to an entire other country to get away from me.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “Some boarding school in France. I left. Didn’t exactly ask permission first.”
    “Does she know where you are at all?”
    “No.” I stirred what was left of my meal with a fork.
    She shuffled notecards. “You should talk to her. I mean, if I could talk to my parents, I would.”
    “That’s different.” Her parents hadn’t forgotten she existed once she got too old to be a stylish accessory.
    “It really isn’t.” A strand of hair tumbled over her shoulder. “I could try here.” She pointed at a scribbled location on a notecard. “Hide out until the trial is over.”
    “What happened to all those words about going on the offensive?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t see how I could get anything through. They’d snatch me, and it’d be over before it began.”
    “Not necessarily.” I leaned forward, eagerness beginning to break through the frustration. There was nothing better than planning a job. “Find something they need, like a point in the supply chain. Hit it when it’s unguarded and run. Chaos ensues. Further attempts to find you are delayed. Everyone wins except for them.”
    “These aren’t the kind of people who leave things unguarded.” She rubbed her wrist. “Are you sure we shouldn’t move somewhere else? If they spotted us together they could figure out where we are.”
    “Please. The only thing we’re in threat range of is flying pizza from my roommates.” Something thunked into one of the cardboard walls and caused them all to shake. “Like that.” I pushed back against the wall. “Get your own room!”  
    Instead of the chorus of stoned laughter I expected, there was dead silence. Something red was leaking through the cardboard. “Shit.”
    Kali was already on her feet and lunging for the window. I scrambled after her. The wall fell away.  
    The fake policeman stood there, his cropped hair giving off an aura of deadly competence. All he needed was a leather jacket to complete the image. Sadly, the heat seemed to have prevented it. “Freeze.”
    My long history of ignoring authority finally came in handy. I jumped out the window after Kali, shielding my head with my arms. My shoulder hit the sidewalk hard.
    “Move!” Kali screamed, grabbing my hand and yanking me to my feet.  
    I stumbled across the pavement, hunched against the pain trying to crawl up my spine. A car screeched to a stop inches from my foot. The street and sidewalk formed a confusing mesh in my tilted vision.
    The snap of a gunshot brought me back to my senses.
    I was never harboring a