King of Forgotten Clubs Read Online Free PDF Page B

was to say.
    “They told me you wandered off this way. Just so you know, I’m not stalking you.”
    “I didn’t think you were.” I wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let go. But that would be weak, and I wouldn’t let myself be weak in front of her.
    “I have some money. In a savings account.” A piece of Styrofoam fluttered to the ground. “I was keeping it for college, but it’s my money. I can take it all out if I need to.”
    “You don’t even like Kali.”
    “I’ve never really met her.” She turned to me. “Does she matter to you?”
    “Yes.” The word came out raw and bloody.
    “Then she matters to me. So. You going to fill me in on this plan, or what?”
    “I won’t lose your money,” I said. “I’ll make sure to get it back. You’re getting out of here and going to college.”
    She bumped my shoulder. “Eh. I have a feeling no matter how far I go, I’d get pulled back into one scheme or another.”
    We smiled at each other, for all the world like a pair of idiots in love. “Let’s go fight some drug dealers.”
    “Wait. Drug dealers? No one mentioned drug dealers. I’m out.” Her lie was ruined when she burst into laughter. “Your face . Okay, let’s go. For real, this time. Blond damsels don’t rescue themselves.”
    “Maybe they could if they had a sword.”
    She shrugged with one shoulder. “Maybe. But it’s more fun to make the prince do it for them. That way they get a marriage out of the deal.”
    “I am not marrying Kali.”
    If it was anyone but Annabelle, I might have said she relaxed. “Last one to Cheesey’s actually has to eat there.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
How to Execute

    Exhibit J: Bingo.

    It had been a while since I’d been to the western side of L.A. Even the gleaming buildings tried to tell me I didn’t belong here as I strolled down the street in tattered jeans and an old T-shirt. Luckily, I still had enough contacts to get what I needed: a phone number.
    “I’m here,” I told the earpiece I’d borrowed from Madison. I’d never have been able to juggle the bag of money at my side and Birdie’s smartphone. I hadn’t had time to get myself a new phone after the loss of the old one.
    Oh, who was I kidding? I couldn’t afford a new one.
    “Set the money down,” said the diluted voice on the other end.
    I dropped the bag. I was scoring the last box of rap sheet bingo: making a drug deal. Then again, my goal was not the acquisition of drugs, but the tracking of whoever was selling them. I’d needed to offer big money to make sure it was management biting and not a two-bit dealer who wouldn’t know anything.
    “Walk away.”
    I did. Birdie, on the other hand, stayed in position.  
    I switched calls. “Are they approaching?”
    “Not yet,” she said. “Give it a minute.”
    I switched back.
    “Reach under the trash can. And that concludes our deal, Mr. Higgins.”
    A shot of cold fear snapped my spine straight. I’d never given them my real name. “What’s under the trash can?”
    The line was dead. No, no, no ! This couldn’t go wrong, not already.
    I reached blindly under the next trash can I passed. My fingers hit a square of paper. I pulled it out.
    It was a rectangle of stationery with three words written on it: Let her go.
    No.
    I flipped channels. “Birdie?”
    “The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected,” a mechanical voice answered.
    But that had to be wrong. Entire lines didn’t just disappear. I pulled at the earpiece and fumbled with it, trying to find a button I could press to make everything go right.
    I had to keep calm. If I panicked, it was all over.
    I made a sharp left and took off down a side street. I needed to make it to the emergency meet-up point. The rest of the team would be waiting there. We’d figure out how to handle this. It could still turn out fine.
    No one was at the meeting point. I slowed until I came to a stop in front of the swing set. No one was there, and I had no idea how to