Devils Among Us (Devin Dushane Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

and
I want to hold on to the memory of us right now. Who knows, this time next year,
you could be married and getting ready to have Michael Jr.” Beth snickered at
Laney’s blank expression.
    “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You know how practical
Michael is. He won’t want to be burdened with a wife while he’s in college.”
Beth thought she heard a wishful note in Laney’s voice.
    Michael Leary was not Laney’s typical boyfriend. She liked
bad boys and fast cars. Michael was clean-cut and serious. He was going to be
the valedictorian of their class and was set on going to Virginia Tech for an
engineering degree. He had no social skills, and before dating Laney, most of
the senior class had never spoken to him. Michael’s wheat-colored hair was
never out place, his clothes were always crisply pressed, and his black-framed
glasses hid his ghostly grey eyes. But he truly cared for Laney. He quoted her
Shakespeare, picked wild flowers, and had actual intelligent conversations with
her. In fact he hung on every word she spoke. They were completely wrapped up in
each other, and for Laney it was a breath of fresh air.
    “It’s too bad he couldn’t come out with you tonight. What
was he doing again?”
    “He’s working on a physics project in the shop at school. He
says it has to be perfect by Monday if he wants to ‘maintain his academic
reputation’ and win the physics scholarship.” Laney was copying the serious
tone and expression Michael always used when he spoke about his studies, which
caused Beth to break into a fit of laughter that Laney joined in on.
    “I don’t mind that he couldn’t come. He’s planned a picnic
for just the two of us tomorrow afternoon to make it up to me.”
    “That is sooo romantic! Laney, you are so lucky to have him!
What a step up from Dean.”
    “I know. He makes Dean look like an even bigger loser.”
    Dean Delluca was Laney’s last boyfriend. He cared more about
fast engines and tight skirts than an education or planning for the future.
Laney had fallen hard for him, but her heart had been shattered when his ex-girlfriend,
Angela Pence, turned up pregnant with his baby while they were dating. Dean
swore that he hadn’t cheated on Laney and that the baby had been conceived when
the two of them had broken up temporarily in the fall. Devastated when he told
her, Laney had run into the house in tears and refused to come back out. Only when
her neighbor, Henry Maddox, had broken Dean’s nose and cracked two of his ribs
did she come back out to help her brother Bobby pull Henry off. Henry and Dean
worked together, and Henry had given him fair warning that he would kill any
man that ever hurt the sweetest girl in the neighborhood.  
    Laney flew around the curve and caught another gear. They
were within a mile of the entrance to the Summit. Beth just shook her head when
she glanced at the speedometer. She should be used to Laney’s driving by now. What
was the saying, “Drive it like you stole it”? Beth nearly laughed out loud at
how aptly that fit Laney. Last summer, before Beth had her car, they hadn’t
been able to get a ride out to the Summit for the summer kick-off party. Laney
had been furious with her brother, because he’d refused to give them a ride because
he and his buddies were watching a baseball game on television. So Laney had
stolen his car. With the help of their friends Charlotte and Ruth, the girls put
his car in neutral and pushed it out of the driveway, jumping in it as they hit
the street. There were benefits to hanging out in your brother’s garage, and
Laney was a fast study on the art of hotwiring.
    By the time Bobby hit the porch, they were down the street
and around the corner. He had to call a friend to pick them up to follow the
girls out to the Summit. Bobby arrived just in time to see his baby sister drag
racing Frank Coleman down the flats on the south side of the lake. Frank had
baited her into it by razzing her about that being way