Shadows of New York Read Online Free Page A

getting kinda late.”
    “But my bedtime isn’t for almost an hour, and I finished all my homework. Please?”
    “Well,” Aiden drawled. “I guess so.”
    “Yes!” Josh went to the hall closet to grab his light jacket.
    Once out on the sidewalk, Aiden turned in the opposite direction from the one Josh expected.
    “That’s the wrong way,” Josh said, confused. “The store is right over here, remember?”
    “I thought we’d try a different one. There’s another store two or three blocks this way.”
    “How’d you know that?”
    “I took Jackson on a walk while you guys were at school today, got the lay of the land.”
    “Oh.” He started after Aiden. “I really think we should go to our normal store. Mrs. F-G really likes that one.”
    “This one will do just fine.”
    After a quick visit to the store—which was a little smaller than their usual place, but Josh had to admit, smelled a lot better—they headed right back home. Josh, carrying the bag from the store, walked along in silence. He was disappointed the he didn’t get a chance to “gather intelligence,” as Rosemary would say.
    Absorbed in these thoughts, Josh didn’t notice the group of men approaching until they were almost in front of him. Their loud, raucous speech blended in with the background noise. There were five of them, taking up the width of the sidewalk.
    “’Scuse me, fellas,” said Aiden as he tried to move around them.
    Their laughing stopped for a second but started back up right away, even louder than before. The one closest to Aiden replied in an exaggerated Southern accent, “Not a problem, pardner.” His friends guffawed.
    “I don’t want any trouble,” Aiden said calmly. “We’re just headed home.”
    “Where’s that? Okeefenokee?” This resulted in another round of laughter.
    Aiden didn’t respond. He put an arm on Josh’s shoulder and started moving him toward the curb. “Let’s cross the street.”
    The Ringleader, as Josh thought of him, stepped between Aiden and the street. “Hey, you brought something to our hoedown?” He grabbed the bag before Aiden could stop him, peering inside. “Organic yogurt? You some kind of hippy hillbilly? Like, a hillhippy?”
    Again, there was a chorus of laughter. The others shouted out other possible combinations, such as billhippy or hipbilly. This egged on the Ringleader.
    Aiden glared at him as he snatched back the bag. “I’m gonna ask you one time to get out of our way.”
    “Or what? You gonna lasso me?”
    Taking a deep breath, Aiden turned around and started walking back the way they came, putting an arm around Josh to bring him along. The gang moved to block their path.
    Josh glanced up and down the sidewalk. He saw other people, but they were on the other side of the street or crossing to get there, avoiding whatever trouble was brewing.
    “Josh,” said Aiden quietly, “you should always try to talk your way out of situations like this.”
    “I know.”
    “I tried to. I tried real hard.”
    “I know.”
    “It’s just that, sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. And for the people you care about.” The way Aiden said it told Josh they were more than just words; he was dead serious. “Now close your eyes.”
    “What?” Josh asked, surprised by this last bit.
    “Just close them.” Aiden’s tone of voice left no room for argument.
    Josh did as he was told and felt Aiden’s arm leave his shoulder. The laughing stopped instantly. The next thing Josh heard was one of the men saying, “What the—oof!”
    He had seen enough karate movies to know what a fight sounded like. This was kind of like that, but different. There was no “hi-yah” to signify a punch. There were only grunts and random nonsensical yells. Heavy thuds made Josh picture bodies hitting the ground. Is that what was happening?
    When things went silent again, Josh felt safe to open his eyes. Aiden was the only one left standing. Josh did a doubletake, realizing that it