Holly Dalvin is tired of her suffocating life, and decides to leave her dysfunctional family, failing grades and bullying peers behind. For good. While laying on Purslane Station's rundown train tracks, Holly comes face to face with the notorious He...
Boyce had driven us back in his usual silence. It didn't help to quiet my mind though.
There was a scrawny guy in the passenger seat, playing with a black face mask. He stretched it out and then folded it into a square in fast, fidgety movements. His face was half covered by a battered black baseball cap, and I couldn't see much more than his mouth, which partially opened and closed as if he was chewing on something. I wondered how he got caught up with all of this.
The radio buzzed but I couldn't figure out what was said, it was too quick. Boyce didn't react, but the other guy unclipped the small radio and held it like a trophy.
"LJ reporting from Kai's team," he said in a carefree way.
I was surprised that he sounded like a regular guy from Purslane. He sounded young too, far younger than Dad's agents. But if he was a member of the Hessians, age probably didn't matter. I guessed that the gang was a cover for Kai's real work. It was starting to make sense slowly but there was still a lot I didn't know. Everything was masked and layered, with the intent to deceive.
The radio crackled with another response, and LJ sat up straighter, even adjusting the cap on his head. LJ couldn't be older than eighteen but I was bad at guessing, and if my past guesses were anything to go by, I was hardly ever right.
"Currently on the way to HQ, over." LJ was barely able to conceal the pride in his voice, and clicked the radio back into the built-in stand. He was probably a new recruit, pumped from the fact of being able to carry out missions and fight the bad guys. I wondered if that was the reason he had joined the Hessians in the first place. I accidently caught his eye in the mirror and he turned around to face me with a toothy grin.
"You alright? What's your name?" LJ asked in a deeper voice than before. He replaced his smile with a smaller grin, and I tried to erase the image of his stained teeth. A smoker, for sure. He was probably itching for a cigarette right now, it explained the fidgeting. There was light stubble on his chin that was starting to grow out, and I wondered if he would look older with a beard.
"Holly," I replied, really hoping that I hadn't taken too long to answer such a simple question.
LJ raised his spider-thin eyebrow as if he was waiting for me to continue, and I struggled to think of something to say.
"Thanks for helping," I said as sincerely as possible, deducing that he must've been at the flat with Kai to help Dad.
"No worries, all part of the job Holl – can I call you that?" he asked easily. LJ's confident manner made him seem older than he looked, and I changed my guess to twenty-one years old.
"Uh, yeah sure, LJ."
The skin around his eyes crinkled as he laughed in one short burst.
"LJ stands for my name, Luke James, but my friends call me Luke," he said with a wink.
I blushed with embarrassment. I had no idea what to reply with and wasn't sure what his wink meant. Wasn't that flirting? I cringed internally at myself. I just didn't know how to talk to guys, especially the ones who happened to be part of the Hessians.
Luke thankfully turned his attention to Josh, who hadn't spoken since we were in the flat.
"How you doing man?"
Josh continued to stare out of the window.
I shrank at Luke's questioning look, and he shrugged before turning back around.
I was too tired to explain with answers that I didn't fully have.
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