Birthday Surprise!
Ripley sank back into the waves, sighing as the crest crashed over her head before moving to go back to the sand. She had so needed this . . . she pushed up and above the water's surface, shaking her now lavender blonde hair out of her face as she looked over at Paul. She was so glad that he'd called and insisted she come back to Wake Beach for a few days to unwind and surf . . . even if the water was fucking freezing.
Paul looked back at her, waving as he climbed back on his board and let his legs dangle in the water. Both of them were in wet suits-because it was way too cold to just be in bathing suits- and had surfed most of the morning away already. They'd actually come out before the sun had even peaked over the horizon; riding the monster waves crashing into the beach as the sun had risen behind them. The same way they had every weekend since either of them could stand on a board.
She moved through the water, climbing back on her own board as she felt the waves get choppier. They would ride the next big crest in before going to shower and change to eat. As the water started to build, the wave gaining height as they readied themselves on their boards, she glanced back to the shore . . . and swore she saw two people standing near where they'd parked Paul's 73 Jeep . . . Which was odd because this was a private beach access for this neighborhood.
Ripley shrugged as the wave moved over their heads . . . and laughed as Paul cut through the water ahead of her; maneuvering himself just enough to keep from falling. God, this was better than boosting or fighting or anything else . . . riding waves and just being free . . . But all good things end.
As she went to turn Paul over compensated and brought both of them down and into the cold water, the lines for their boards tangling as they tried to get back above the water. When her head was up, she turned and glared at her flamboyant friend . . . only to laugh as she spotted the clump of seaweed in his blonde hair. He yelped, smacking at it as she laughed and tried to get it off. They worked quickly, untangling the ankle straps before pushing back into the shoreline.
And as soon as her feet hit sand she turned and looked at him, brow raised as she flipped her sopping curls over her shoulders.
"What the hell, Paulie? I thought you had that . . ."
He shrugged, shaking his head before nodding to the beach. And when she turned and saw what he was pointing to, she almost died. There, on the beach were Atley and Sphinx. She groaned. Great . . . .
She unhooked her strap, handing Paul her board as she crossed to the two older boosts slowly; careful of the delicate shells underfoot. It was easy to step on one and slice your feet to pieces . . . or find an almost invisible jelly fish. The latter led to beach bum First Aid- i.e. Paul peeing on your burning, aching foot and carrying you back to the Jeep. Something she didn't want to ever have to do gain . . .
When she was closer, she held her hand up in a wave before moving around them to the Jeep; grabbing her bag to dig for her brush. As she was looking, she talked over her shoulder.
"You know, when I told you where I was going for my birthday I didn't mean for you to follow me, Atley . . . You could've called the number I left you."
Atley shrugged, moving slowly and grimacing as the sand stuck to his shoes and jeans. She shook her head. City boy. He leaned against the side of the Jeep, looking over to Paul as he moved cautiously around the Sphinx. Who looked about as thrilled to be here as she was to see him.
"Yeah well, if you answered the phone I wouldn't have had to come out here. I've been calling since before seven."
She looked over, perplexed before tossing Paul a bottle of the water they'd brought. She pulled out her brush, working through the tangles slowly as she talked.
"What time is it? We've been out here since way before sunrise . . . And why have you been calling? What's wrong? Sway and Memphis about to kill each other again?"
Atley smirked, shaking his head as he glanced at his watch. He turned, looking to Paul skeptically before looking to her. She sighed, waving him off as Paul handed her the water and took the brush.
"Paulie's cool. He isn't going to say anything to anybody . . ."
Sphinx moved closer, glaring at her friend as he raised a brow at him. Atley however just raised a brow back.
"Its almost ten o'clock . . . and how do we know we can trust him? Just being your boyfriend isn't good enough kid . . ."
Ripley glared at both boosts as Paul just grinned, slinging his arm over her shoulders and pulling her into him. She looked up, grinning at him as he spoke to them for the first time. And she had to fight the giggles at the look of shock that filtered across both of their faces.
"Uh, because Chaos here is my alibi for all of my sordid deeds . . . Besides, I piss her off and she's liable to die my hair blue. Again. And let me tell you, my boyfriend would hate that . . . but nowhere near as much as my parents."
Ripley finally laughed as Atley blinked and nodded, turning back to her.
"Okay . . . Look; is there some place we can talk? Because Memphis needs a favor . . . and it's pretty big."
She nodded, going to climb in the door less Jeep. She motioned them back to the Malibu she could see parked just beyond the dunes.
"Yeah . . . follow us back to the house . . . We can talk there."
Atley watched Paul and Ripley move around the small kitchen, trading utensils and pans as they cooked together. He had to admit, the boy was actually turning out to be okay . . . but damnation if the two of them together weren't almost nerve racking. The boy was tall, almost his height with blonde hair that-now that it was dry- was spiked to stand up at the front with a dark tan and friendly blue eyes. He was moving around in a pair of dark board shorts and a tight black tee shirt, the leather anklet on his right leg matching the one on Ripley's left.
He turned back, nodding to the pan of eggs he was scrambling as he looked to him and the Sphinx. Who was seated at the tiny table and glaring at the linoleum. He hadn't wanted to come . . . but he wasn't going to show up here to ruin Ripley's vacation alone . . . and the man really did need to get over whatever he had against the kid. So she'd almost hospitalizedthem . . . big deal.
"You guys want eggs with your pancakes?"
Atley nodded as Sphinx rolled his eyes, shrugging out of his pea coat and cracking his neck before nodding once. Paul turned back; bumping Ripley's hip with his as he moved around her. The girl however just smacked him with the spatula as she rolled her eyes. She'd donned a pair of tiny cut off jean shorts and a long heather mauve tee shirt that hugged her figure and gathered on her hips, her charcoal hoodie on over it and sleeves pushed up as she cooked.
But Atley was amazed at her hair. Her normally platinum blonde hair had been tinted to what she'd called a 'lavender blonde' . . . with this one streak of black to the left side of her head while her bangs had been cut into an almost fringe and swept over the right side of her face. She'd pulled it back into a high ponytail, letting it curl wildly after she'd brushed it out on the beach. Her skin was a darker tan . . . and made her eyes seem almost too light for her. She glanced back at him, smiling brightly before handing Paul the bowl with a warning.
"Can I trust you to do this without burning the house down? Because last time we almost had to call the fire department . . ."
Paul glared, shooing her away from the sink and to the other chair.
"Ha ha. You don't have to be so bitchy. I said I'd fix it and I did . . ."
She rolled her eyes, sinking into the seat as she looked to Atley.
"Yeah, by smothering it out . . . with my brand new coat. A coat I only got to wear once because of you . . ."
He shook his head, moving the eggs to the larger plate before pouring the batter for the pancakes. And Atley had to admit that it smelled divine . . . But he almost choked as the man spoke again just as he went to take a sip of his juice.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch. I swear. You move away to the damn city and all you do is bitch. You never used to be so damn tense when you lived at the beach . . ."
She rolled her eyes again, turning to Atley as Sphinx reached out and patted his back, shaking his head.
"So . . . what did you guys need? Because while its great to see you and everything I know you didn't come just to tell me Happy Birthday."
Atley shook his head, leaning forward. He hated to do this but they needed the help. This sheet they'd been given was pretty substantial . . . with a large bonus in the form of a prized and hard to swipe Bugatti.
"Actually, Memphis wanted to know if you'd do us a favor and help out on a run tomorrow night . . . We've got a Bugatti to land and the rest of us are going to be busy with the others. Would you mind cutting this short to help us out? We fumbled it last time because of Eleanor . . . and we really need to stay in this guy's good graces."
Ripley shrugged, taking the plate of pancakes from Paul with a smile before she turned to him. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before she glanced back at her plate. Finally, she looked at him hesitantly.
"Does . . . Is Otto okay with this? I mean, he isn't going to freak, right?"
Atley shook his head, reaching across and patting her hand as he smiled at her. He'd known that would be her biggest issue . . .
"He suggested it, Buttercup. And you wouldn't be going out with Frankie so . . . will you help us?"
She nodded, smiling at him as she squeezed his hand before taking it back and starting to eat. She glanced over at Sphinx as he eyed the runny eggs in a basket Paul placed at his spot. She grimaced, pointing to the plate.
"He loves those damn things but I hate them. They just look so . . . gross."
Sphinx nodded before scowling as he realized that he'd actually agreed with her. Ripley however just grinned, winking at them before scrunching her nose at Paul's breakfast. The boy however was nonplussed and took a huge bite of his dripping eggs. She made a face, turning completely as Atley laughed. She kept her head turned, a hand over her eyes as she talked to Atley.
"I have plans that night . . . but I can leave early. What time do you need me to be at the garage?"
Atley grinned, shrugging as he leaned back into his seat to watch the other boost with him. Sphinx was eating the blueberry pancakes they'd set before him with zeal, glancing over at the girl and the happily munching boy as he shoveled food into his mouth. He'd grabbed the man as soon as he'd gotten off his shift at the morgue, not even letting him change before he'd shoved him in the passenger seat of the Malibu and started the drive to Wake Beach. Junie and Otto had the address to where she was staying . . . and after he'd stopped to ask for the final directions, they'd made their way to the small bungalow house.
He'd seen no one was home and had guessed they would be at the beach, lucking out as he'd seen them playing out and in the water. He sighed, shaking his head. He wasn't going to tell either Ripley or Sphinx that he was pairing them together for the boost. The others would need to focus and while he trusted San and Donnie with the girl, he knew Frank would pitch a fit. Sway would be too likely to get distracted if he let them stay together right off the bat. So, besides Memphis or himself-who both needed to focus on other marks- Sphinx was the only other choice. And if they thought it was the luck of the draw then maybe they wouldn't freak so badly.
Hopefully . . .
Ripley sighed, moving around the club with Paul slowly as she glanced at her watch. They'd met their other friends here in Long Beach at Rage and had been dancing and partying for the past two hours . . . and arguing with her ex for the at least one. But now she really needed to be on her way as soon as possible. She still had to change when she got back to the garage . . . and she knew that the dress she was wearing was going to cause enough problems. The black satin mini-dress was practically painted on, clinging to her curves as it fell to just below her thighs. The black lace trim at the bottom hem made it seem a little longer . . . and the turtleneck and the long sleeves to her knuckles covered her enough that she wouldn't freak when the others saw her.
Her asshole of an ex had already filled her freak-out quota for the year with his little spectacle . . .
She turned, smiling at Paul and the others as she grabbed her purse. She kissed Paul's cheek, waving to their friends as she went to leave. She still needed to get to the Testarossa before she could even begin the ten minute drive to the shop. Thank God she parked close enough that walking in these heels wouldn't kill her feet . . . too badly anyway.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, nodding to the bouncers as she made her way out and into the brisk air. She glanced down at her watch as she pulled her keys from her clutch.
Crap . . . she was going to be so late . . .
Sphinx quietly made his way into the darkened boost office, trying to get away from the ruckus the others were causing in the larger office. He rolled his eyes, propping against the darkest wall in the room and leaning his head back against the wall. The sounds of the others mere muffled now . . . and as he closed his eyes he prayed that no one would come looking for him until it was time to head out. Because he hadn't had enough sleep in the past three days to even attempt to deal with this.
Atley had grabbed him as soon as his shift for Thursday night/ Friday morning had ended, tossing him in the side of his own car and telling him they were going to talk with Otto's goddaughter . . . Which in itself would've been enough to aggravate him but he had gone into the morgue early, straight from his last hellacious round of finals. On virtually no sleep because he'd helped Memphis with a solo score the night before and then come back to his apartment to study . . .
He growled, running a hand over his face. After this tonight, he was going home and sleeping until the next meet . . . And killing anyone who tried to disturb him. Though-as he heard Frank and San's laughter echo next door- he might start that earlier if anyone opened their mouth one more damned time. Seriously, it had been almost a fucking week . . .
While he could admit it was impressive what the brat had been able to do scared, it wasn't damned funny enough to continuously pester him and Atley about . . . They both still had bruises and the healing cuts above their eyes to remind them that the tiny little git had tried to kill them. And Atley-the damned traitor- was laughing about it! He still thought it was funny! Had even gotten the girl some small trinket for her birthday . . .
He rolled his eyes before smirking as he heard Memphis's voice cut through the others and the noise all but die. Thank God for the man's sour mood or they weren't likely to get anything done tonight . . . He was serious about getting every car on this sheet for Cacuzza if they possibly could . . . but Sphinx knew that had very little to do with the attitude Raines was dishing out in buckets. Not that he could rightly blame him.
He still couldn't believe what Memphis had told him the night before last . . . as they worked to get the Hemi Cuda to crank. His mother had asked him to leave Long Beach- to completely abandon her and his cherished little brother- and to not come back so long as he was boosting . . . Sphinx shook his head. The woman was fucking daft. He knew that Memphis's boosting paid for most of what her and his brother had, that the man had worked himself to death legally with Otto for months before finding a way to keep the debts from his father's death from eating them alive. And now that they were back in the black, she had found fault with his methods of providing for them. He snorted. Telling Raines to leave was a slap in the face . . .
And speaking of slaps in the face . . .
He still couldn't believe the fact that Otto and Atley were sticking him with the bloody brat tonight. They were picking up a 'new' Bugatti for Manday to ship to Cacuzza . . . while the others were going after the easier domestics and imports. And while the Bugatti wasn't technically on the list, he knew that the crew needed to grab it to keep the grace of the crime boss further north . . . Especially with the way that Raines had lost the 67 Shelby GT 500 Mustang late last year. He'd rolled the thing on the freeway, barely getting out of it before the cops and the fire dept had gotten there.
And while Cacuzza had been understanding, he hadn't sent them an exclusive set to boost since . . . handing the orders down to Manday to let the crews bid and war over like he had before they'd been in his favor. So he was being stuck with the rookie brat to babysit. Memphis and Atley wanted to see if she could hold her own with the luxury car . . . and while Otto had assured them she was more than capable, he himself wasn't going to believe it until he saw it . . . If she ever decided to show up, that is.
Atley had told her to be here before midnight, despite the plans she'd confessed to having when they'd surprised her in Wake Beach, and it was almost twelve thirty and she had yet to appear. Otto had no clue where she was, telling them at fifteen after that she was out with her friends from home . . . and Junie was refusing to elaborate.
Sphinx snorted. The girl was probably at the bloody library or some nonsense and they were left here waiting for her to remember her obligations. Typical bloody woman.
A noise right outside the main door into Otto's office brought him from his grousing and back into the present. He watched the door creak open and rolled his eyes. Where he was, no one would see him . . . and he was far too comfortable to move. But he had to wonder who was coming into Otto's office. He rolled his eyes before closing them again. Probably Sway dragging Memphis in here to yell at him for his attitude. Again.
Needless to say when he opened his eyes a few long seconds later, he was very shocked to see Ripley slide in as she talked over her shoulder to Atley. She apologized for being late as he waved her off, telling her to change before they tried to find him to set out for the evening. And when she turned, he had to shake his head, closing his eyes to open them again. What in the hell was she wearing?
This was worse than the damned wet suit or the shorts and tee shirt from yesterday . . . The black dress was tiny, barely grazing her thighs as she moved deeper into the office, closing the door behind her. She turned, dropping her bag on the desk before stepping out of the tall satin black heels and kicking them to the side as she sat on the desk. Her hair was down and wild, falling in a mass of lavender and platinum blonde curls with the new black streak sticking out against the almost white sea of ringlets. That, coupled with the dress and her makeup-something he'd never seen her in- was throwing him.
This was the bratty little kid that had beat the shit out of him earlier in the week?
She sighed, her glossy lips parting as she blew up at the bangs falling in her face before shaking her head. She flipped her head, gathering her curls into a knot at the base of her skull before grabbing a pair of worn jeans from the bag beside her. She popped them out, eyeing them critically before shrugging and stepping into the denim, shimming them up and past her hips. Allowing him to see more of her tanned skin than he ever wanted . . . or would be likely to be able to forget.
The dress-all softly glistening satin- was bunched enough now to pass as a long shirt and he honestly thought she would leave it. So when the material was up and over her head, showing off the black lace bra and the straps of the matching thong underwear peaking above the low slung jeans- he suddenly found himself praying for a distraction. Or he was going to do something very stupid. He sent a silent halleluiah skyward as she pulled a black Henley styled long sleeved shirt from the bag, slowly pulling it on and buttoning it to well past the cleavage the black bra had brought his attention to.
She folded the dress, carefully stowing it into the bag before tossing the cowboy boots she favored down beside her discarded heels. The heels followed the dress into the bag before she started pulling the boots onto her feet . . . and both of them jumped when the door burst open; Frankie pouring into the room with an oily smile. Ripley rolled her eyes, turning to finish pulling the first boot on and tugging the jeans down over the top before moving on to the other foot to repeat the process.
Frank came to stand beside her at the corner of the desk, smile still in place as he looked her over. And Sphinx was suddenly very glad that the girl had already changed . . . and understood fully why she'd finally said something to Atley about the way the man acted with her. He knew now-courtesy of Atley's gossip- that the girl was actually eighteen as of today . . . but Frank was a year younger than him. And while the four years wouldn't be a huge issue to anyone if they ever dated, the girl was apparently not interested.
"Hello, Gorgeous. Miss me on your little vacation?"
Ripley snorted, straightening to her full height. Which still only put her to about Frank's chin; but she gave him a deadpan look before she turned to close her bag.
"Yeah, like another whole in my head . . ." She turned, looking at him as she sighed. "What do you want, Frankie?"
The blonde boost leered down at her, leaning in until his cheek was almost touching hers and Sphinx felt his skin crawl with the man's words. He and Atley would deal with this . . . as soon as they got back tonight. This was not going to continue.
"You sugar britches."
The girl however just glared up at him-the same way she'd glared at him before- and didn't appear the least bit fazed. Which made Sphinx wonder just how often she'd had to deal with this before she'd actually said something to someone.
"Fuck off, Fish boy. I don't want you."
Frank's face darkened as she turned to move past him and when his arm shot out, grabbing hers hard enough for Sphinx to see his knuckles were fading white he stepped towards them. But neither of them noticed his presence as Ripley reacted. Viciously. She jabbed her free hand into Frankie's throat, using the bend between her index finger and her thumb to strike him hard in his Adam's Apple. The man dropped like dead weight, gasping and clutching his darkening throat with both hands as he tried to breathe. While Ripley looked down at him like she was watching an insect writhe on the floor and not another boost.
Finally, she shook her head and stepped around him, stopping as her hand hit the door knob. She never glanced back as she spoke to him . . . and Sphinx could feel the frost and wrath literally falling from her words. She was deadly serious as she promised him what would happen.
"I do not like to be touched without my permission. Ever. And if you even think of touching me again, Frankie . . . I will gut you like your namesake."
And with that, she was out the door and gone, leaving it swinging lazily behind her as she descended the steps. Leaving him with a very large problem. He had never-not in his entire fucking life- had to admit that his perceptions of a person were incorrect. At first glance-before she'd proven to be trouble and he'd decided to tolerate her for Atley- he'd thought she needed to constantly be taken care of; that she was sheltered and-while not spoiled- obviously hadn't had to defend herself. After her little stunt earlier in the week, he'd chalked it up to the adrenaline and a strong survival instinct finally emerging in the face of a perceived threat.
But now . . . now he knew that the girl wasn't all she appeared to be. She was dangerous and capable of defending herself against most things that could pop up. And that alone bore watching . . .
Ripley walked into the group, grinning at Sway as she raised a brow at her new hair. She knew it was different but that was why she'd done it. She'd gotten tired of seeing her father's hair and her mother's curls every time she looked in the mirror . . . so she'd goaded Paul into helping her change it. She'd always loved lavender blondes anyway . . .
She stopped beside Donnie, reaching up to tug on the rim of his hat as he reached out and flicked her ponytail. She laughed as he shook his head, inspecting the change critically while Memphis made his way from the far side of the bay. She watched the lead runner move and knew almost immediately that something was wrong. His steps were measured and controlled while his face was almost eerily blank . . . but the set of his shoulders screamed his anger. He moved past Sway, barely sparing her a glance as he stopped in front of her. And she could see how upset he was in his blue eyes. Normally, the blue were warm and joking-not to mention an interesting mix of cockiness and uncertainty- but tonight they were cold.
She let her smile fall, dipping her head before reaching up to fiddle with her ponytail. A tactic that worked as he seemed to remember himself just enough to smile at her wearily. Something bad had happened in the few days she'd been away . . . but what? She glanced over the others before looking back at him as Frankie walked up. And she did a little victory dance in her head as the weird boost refused to even glance at her as he moved to stand with San. He had apparently gotten the message. Finally. That settled it, nothing could ruin her good mood now . . .
"Sorry about being late, Memphis. I had a little trouble getting away from my group . . ."
He nodded, waving it off as he raised a brow at her hair before shrugging, laying a hand on her bangs and ruffling them.
"Not a big deal kid. I'm just thankful you showed. We need to get all of these ladies in safely tonight . . . Think you can help us do that?"
She nodded, glancing to the side as Sphinx emerged from the shadows. Where had he been hiding? She turned back to Memphis, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Sure. Atley told me you want me to bring in a 55 Bugatti Type 251 Roadster, right? For the private order?"
He nodded, pulling his hand away as she went to fix her hair. She could do that . . . Her Dad had taught her all about the Bugattis and Bentleys a few months before he'd been killed, wanting to branch out what he was showing her to incorporate more than what they'd originally discussed. Thankfully . . .
"Yeah. You'll be picking up the prized Lady while we handle the rest . . . And you're going to drop it Manday's like the rest of us. Got it?"
She nodded then stopped, perplexed. They usually went for separate scores but were they really going to send her off on her own? For what all of them-save Sway- thought was her first boost?
"Sure, sure. Um . . . am I going solo or should expect company?"
Memphis grinned at her apologetically, and she was suddenly wondering if Atley had lied to her. That look meant he was sending her out with someone she couldn't stand . . . and the only person who really fit that bill was Frank. Oh shit . . .
"Sphinx is going with you . . . to help out should anything go south. He can handle a system like that in a pinch if he has to . . ."
She turned slowly, looking at the glowering boost as he nodded to her once; obviously resigned to his fate. She looked back to Memphis with a tight smile. Great . . . he wasn't sending her out with someone she couldn't stand, he was just sending her out with the only one that seemed to hate her on sight. She suddenly knew why they were all so understanding about her tardiness. They were going to send her out with the golem back there to dispose of her body after he dismembered her.
"Great."
