Takedown Read Online Free Page B

need a gas mask to put up with your stank.”
    Cam laughed.
    After we did the final exchange of the night with Vinny, we headed to the party. The apartment was jammed with people. It was dark, lit only with purple lightbulbs, and the air reeked of weed and cognac cigarillos.
    Cam saw a pothead friend and said, “Catch ya later.” Then he headed for one of the bedrooms. I grabbed a bottle of Scotch off the dining room table. White Chris always said it was your choice of liquor that separated the men from the boys. Too bad I had to drink it from a red plastic cup.
    A cute Vietnamese girl caught my eye, and I smiled at her. She smiled back, then whispered something to her friend, who seemed to be urging her to approach me. I wanted to tell her friend not to rush it. I hadn’t scoped the whole place yet.
    I made my way to the kitchen, where a bunch of people were talking about last night’s game. Vinny was already there, no surprise. He showed up anywhere that people paid attention to him, even if it was a party of mostly high school kids. Maybe he was looking for a new girl. Or, if the rumors were true, two or three girls.
    Vinny saw me and gave a shout-out. I raised my cup to him.
    Eventually I went back to the living room. It was too loud to talk much, so I just stood next to Smalls and we watched the girls dancing.
    Then I spotted Jessica sipping from a shot glass. It was too dark to see the look in her eyes when she saw me, but I knew the second she did—something in her posture changed, like she’d suddenly snapped awake. I liked that I had that effect on her.
    The music pumped through my veins like a drug. My foot moved forward as if to go to her, but I froze. It wasn’t the best time to start something with Jessica. I didn’t need anything, or anyone, taking my mind off the game, and school was enough of a distraction.
    But the part of me that had been locked up for two years said she was exactly what I needed.
    The next thing I knew, I was right in front of Jessica. Her eyes were level with my chest, but she tipped her head up. The makeup on her eyelids sparkled.
    She might’ve said, “Hi,” but I could hardly hear anything. The throbbing music had vocals—loud, heavy vocals.
    She went on her tiptoes, and I felt her breath in my ear. “I was hoping you’d show up.”
    I raised a brow. “You wanted to see my dance moves.”
    Jessica laughed and flipped her hair. She usually straightened it, but tonight it was big and curly. As usual, she smelled like heaven. “You learned some new moves in juvie?”
    â€œYeah, total dance party. Makes you never want to leave.”
    Her smile faded. “Everyone was pissed off that you got putaway for so long.” I thought she might say more, but then she shrugged. “You’ve got some partying to make up for.”
    â€œI’ll need your help for that.”
    The outside world vanished, and it was just me and her. She did most of the dancing, but she let me move with her. We kept looking at each other and smiling, her eyes the only real light in the darkness.
    I had the urge to laugh. Four months out of juvie, and here I was dancing with Jessica Thomas. I couldn’t believe it.
    I’m not sure when it all ended, but in the early hours of the morning, I dragged myself home with Jessica’s number programmed into my phone. And I fell asleep in my clothes, covered in the scent of Jessica.

PERSONAL DEMON
    S unday afternoon I met up with Prescott at the Shanghai Palace in the fancy Yorkville shopping district. I didn’t think he had a shift today, but it didn’t matter. He was a twenty-four-seven kind of cop.
    The restaurant was half-full, and everything inside was red and brassy. There were five dishes of food on the table. He’d already started eating when I got there. Still, it was better than the cookie and iced tea he usually got me.
    â€œI need a favor, Darren,” he