Brazen Mistakes (Brazen Boys #3)

21. Clara

Chapter 21

Clara

T he small amount of Walker’s dinner I force into my stomach removes the last of the haze from my mind, and I’m once again reminded that humans need to eat.

Regularly. Even if everything tastes like dirt right now.

The last few days have been so busy, so chaotic, so full of things that I never even thought about learning to do, that I haven’t had a chance to reflect, and I’m fucking grateful. I don’t want to think about the moral implications of taking up grand theft auto over my winter break.

Instead, I’ll focus on learning everything I need to survive Trips’ party without incident. I’ll carve out a space for me in these guys’ lives, one that’s separate from the space they’ve opened in their beds.

That one is a lot less complicated. Mostly .

But even the Trips situation makes sense now. He wants me. I want him. His family is a fucking shit show and if we get involved, neither of us is safe.

The hum of my newfound anger at the injustice of it buzzes in my chest as Jansen and I pull off into a shopping center far in the western suburbs. We’ve already passed mansion after mansion, stone and iron gates following tall brick walls, near spires stretching out from the grasping branches of winter trees, lit from below with warm landscape lights. “You wore your long underwear, right?” Jansen asks as we pull into the shadows at the end of the lot.

“I don’t have long underwear. But I put on some running tights under my jeans, and the boots you got for me are cozy personified. I’m not worried.”

My phone buzzes as Jansen parks, and fear that it’s the Bryce alert has my palms sweating. Emma’s name flashes on the screen instead, though, and a grin stretches across my face. I show my phone to Jansen, who nods, letting me know that I have time to chat with my bestie.

“Hey!” I say, the phone pressed against my ear.

A moment later, I regret that move, as Emma’s squeal makes me flinch. “Oh my God, Clara, how did you know?”

“How did I know that Ramblin’ Moxie is your current favorite band? You only talk about them at least once a day.”

She continues to screech in my ear, and I can’t help but laugh.

“I take it you like your Christmas present?”

“Yes! A thousand times, yes! We are going to have so much fun at the concert! ”

Jansen takes one look at the shock on my face and immediately laughs at me. “Me?” I ask.

“Of course! You’re my best friend, you bought me the tickets, of course you’re coming.”

“Ah…”

Jansen snatches my phone and puts it on speaker. “Are you asking Clara to go to a country music concert with you?”

“Jansen?”

I go to take my phone back, but he leans away from me, keeping it out of my reach. “Yeah. Sorry. I was eavesdropping. I’m not sure Clara’s your best bet. She’ll say yes, of course, because she loves you. But if you could see her face right now, I don’t think she was expecting to be your first choice of date. If you knew my sister, I’d say take her. Ramblin’ Moxie is one of her favorites too.”

There’s a long pause on the other end before Emma responds, syrup in her tone. “Say, Jansen, is your sister hot?”

“That’s like, a peak awkward question, Emma. She looks like me, but a girl, if that helps.”

“Is she our age?”

“She graduated college last year.”

“She wouldn’t, by chance, be into girls?”

“Emma!” I shout.

“What? This sounds like the best lead I’ve had in the romance department in months! While you have likely been getting more orgasms than you can feasibly enjoy, I’ve been holding down the fort solo, so to speak. Sorry, Jansen. This part of the conversation isn’t for you. Cover your ears.”

“Too late. And as a matter of fact, she’s very much into girls. ”

I groan as Emma coos. “Any chance she’s around for the holidays and I can just happen to run into her at your place and hit it off?”

“She’ll be driving down for a show over break. I was planning on dragging Clara along to support her, but you’re more than welcome to tag along, especially now that I know you’ll like what she plays.”

“She’s a musician too? Clara, I need pictures of this girl, stat.”

“Singer, guitar, and banjo.”

“I’m swooning. It’s a date. Hopefully, we’ll hit it off. Look at this, Clara. Not only did you get me the best gift, you might have gotten me a date to go with it.”

“That wasn’t my plan, but if it works, I guess go for it?”

“You know I will.”

Jansen squirms. “Ew. Too much for my delicate baby brother ears, Emma.”

She cackles, and Jansen finally gives me back the phone. I take it off of speaker. “It’s just me, Em. If you want me to go to the concert, or if you decide Evie isn’t your type, I’m on it. And thank you for the wonderful gift. It literally made me cry too hard to call and say thanks when I got it. So, thanks.”

“Of course. Any favorite flavors?”

“Not yet. But I haven’t done a full taste test. I’ll get back to you.”

“And if you need to talk, or better yet, if you need someone to keep you company in jail, you know who to call.”

Snickering, I pull on my mittens while Jansen does the same. “Got it. I’ve got to hang up. Jansen and I were just heading out, but I’ll call you tomorrow and you can tell me all about the Johnson family Christmas, okay?”

“Will do. Night, lady love.”

“Night night, crazy lady.”

I slump back against the seat, while Jansen pulls a thick hat with ear flaps down over his head, tucking his hair up under the fuzzy lump. I tug on the ties that dangle down. “Really? You’re okay setting up my best friend with your sister?”

“Emma’s fun. Evie’s fun. They both like bluegrass. It’s something. And maybe if Evie gets a girlfriend, she’ll stop policing my relationship with mine.”

Before I can ask what he means by that, he’s pulled a hat over my eyes, my high bun fully covered by the fabric. “Time to find a target, beautiful.”

“You don’t know where you’re going to hit ahead of time?” I ask, pulling the hat up so I can see. He leaps from the car and races around to open the door for me before I get my coat zipped up to my chin, my scarf still in hand.

“Nope. Can’t have things looking too premeditated. We’re off for a romantic walk through the snow. And Trips has asked me to quiz you on basic surveillance as we go, so pay attention.”

Locking the car, Jansen leads me into the maze-like streets, mansions winding around bays and isthmuses, streets starting and stopping at seemingly random intervals.

After forty minutes of walking, I’m getting the hang of picking out security cameras and motion sensors, as well as which trails in the snow are from hired security, which are from guard dogs, and which are from family dogs .

The sheer volume of things that I just don’t know is only dawning on me, and the luck I’ve had so far? It’s sobering to think that I may have already taken more than my fair share of beginner’s luck from the patron saint of thieves.

Strolling down another snow-laden street, the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Twisting, I squint into the dark, but see nothing. Jansen’s mittened hand reaches out and squeezes my own, pulling my attention back to our mission. “Keep walking, but pay attention to this one.”

I do, finding cameras only at the driveway, no guards, human or canine, or even a pet dog leaving a trail through the snow.

We circle the block, and I report what I saw to Jansen. “Great job, beautiful. What else would say that’s a good target?”

“The walkways haven’t been shoveled?”

“Definitely a good sign. Another would be the number of garages they had. Did you count them?”

“No. I didn’t think about that.” My shoulders drop, even though I know I’m learning, even though I shouldn’t know everything yet. I just want so desperately to prove to myself that I belong here.

“You’re good. It’s not like you’ve ever boosted cars before. There were four garages attached to the main house, as well as three more in the carriage house out back, which is two cars deep. So we’re looking at something like ten cars to choose from once we get in there.”

“How do you pick which one to steal with that many choices? ”

“I basically have a list in my head of what is easy for Tao to move. Easy to move trumps super expensive every time.”

“Tao?”

“Yeah. He’s got a chop shop that does international sales, so the parts are harder to trace. It increases the jail sentence if he ever gets caught, but it makes getting caught more difficult, because the cops have to chase international customs and property laws. He’s been at it for like, twenty years, so he’s worked out all the kinks at this point. And before you worry, I’ve been working with him since I was a kid, so it’s not like he’s going to rat me out. He’s like a big brother at this point. Or an uncle, maybe? Either way, he’s good people, and he takes whatever I can lift for him, no questions asked.”

“How did you end up lifting cars when you were a kid?”

“My cousin Austin, his friend Summer, and I all worked together as a crew. We each needed the cash, and we all were perfectly fine with the risks. Until Austin took the fall for a dumb fuck up of mine and ended up in jail. That put the end to all kinds of things for a long-ass time. But it’s good to be back at it. I’ve missed it.”

“You missed boosting cars?”

“Once you feel the rush, I’ve got a feeling you’ll catch the bug too, beautiful. Shall we?” He motions into the night, and my heart rate immediately spikes, making my legs tingle.

“I guess I have to be.”

Jansen’s mittened hands press against my icy cheeks, forcing me to look at him “There’s no ‘have to,’ Clara. Either you want to do this, or you don’t. If you don’t, that’s totally fine. You can grab the car and meet me at Tao’s if you want. No hard feelings, nothing but support here. Got it? ”

Looking into the shadows where I know his eyes glitter, I nod. “I get it. But I want to do this. I need to know if this is something I’m okay with. If it’s something I could be good at.”

He nods, planting a chilly kiss on my nose. “You’ll be good at this. I’ll bring you into the garage, but if we can’t find the keys in the garage, I’m going into the house solo. The risks are much higher in the house than in the garage, and you’re not ready to manage that yet. Then, after I kill the low jack, we’ll hop in and drive for a while to make sure there aren’t any cops after us. Once we’re clear, we’ll pick up my car and caravan to Tao’s.”

“How do you usually get your car when you do this alone?”

“Sometimes Tao’s baby sister gives me a ride. Sometimes I order a ride share. Sometimes, if it’s closer to the city, I take transit and then walk the rest of the way.”

“You’re saying that you’ve needed me?”

His lips are soft against mine. “I always need you. For this and for many, many other things.”

Stepping closer, he pulls me flush against him, layer upon layer of nylon and stuffing between us, but still somehow warm. Yanking off his mitten with his teeth, he spits it onto the curb and slides his hand under my scarf, warm fingers seeking my skin, my already amped-up system lighting with his touch.

Leaning into the kiss, my fear fades into the background.

This. This is what I want. I want Jansen, I want to understand how he does what he does, why this brings him joy. I want to see if we match up in ways I didn’t expect, just like we do every time we fall into bed together .

After too short of a time, he pulls back, pressing our foreheads together. “You make me forget what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“With this, yeah.” He presses a kiss to my lips once again before scooping his mitten back off the ground, his warm palm vanishing from my neck.

“Back to business?”

“For now, beautiful.”

“Later?”

“Later. Epically, but later.”

I laugh as he leads me to the shadow of an old maple, hoisting me up to the lowest branch. I barely pull myself up in my mittens and boots, but when I climb higher, Jansen takes a run at the trunk, bounding off of it and swinging into the tree like it’s a circus trick, quickly passing me and shimmying out on a thicker branch that reaches over the back wall of our target. More slowly, I follow, the rustling of my coat a roar in my ears.

Jansen drops past the wall, catching me when I fall with not an ounce of grace from the tree, slamming my elbow into his shoulder on the way down.

“Sorry!” I whisper as he grimaces and shakes his head.

“I’m okay. It happens. Stay in my footsteps exactly. Only one trail in, no trail out, got it?”

“Got it.”

Focusing on where I put my feet as we stick to the shadows has my thundering heart physically attempting to leave my chest. It’s so loud in my ears that by the time we reach the carriage house, I’m surprised Jansen hasn’t needed to shush it.

After a few flicks with bare hands and his lock picks, he tucks them into his coat, pulls on his mittens, and opens the door.

For some reason, breaking into someplace wearing mittens catches on my nervous energy, and I choke on a laugh, coughing into my coat to muffle the sound.

Jansen’s face asks what made me laugh, and I motion at his mittens, but the humor of it must not translate to hand gestures, because he twists awkwardly to kiss me before stepping into the carriage house. With three quick taps on my thigh to settle myself, I follow, staying in his footprints until we enter the cavernous space, moonlight weakly streaming through mullioned windows.

Inside, cars two deep greet me, just like Jansen guessed we’d find. Sleek sports cars, convertibles, looming SUVs, the whole of car-hood waits hunched in the darkness for us.

Jansen takes my hand, leading me through the monstrous lumps, stopping beside a blocky SUV. He tries the door, and I hold my breath, waiting for an alarm to sound, but it opens without incident. Climbing into the vehicle, he digs through the cup holders and console, and pulls down the visor, but no key appears.

Leaving the car open, he leads me to the door at the front of the garage, closest to the house.

The moon strikes his face as he searches the wall, cheekbones shadowed, face set in concentration, the giddy goofball I know so well morphing into a sculpture of a Viking warrior, his expression a mixture of motion and fierce strategy, an image I wish Walker were here to record.

I swallow back the discomfort, the surge of unfamiliarity coupled with the urge to kiss him to make sure he hasn’t turned into a stranger in the darkness, causing me to shift my weight from foot to foot. The squeak of my rubber soles on the finished concrete cuts the silence, making my body still.

He glances at me, and his familiar grin causes my breath to huff out, the strange anxiety lingering under my skin.

Two breaths later, he’s opened a lockbox on the wall, riffling through keys on hooks until he finds what he’s looking for, then closes the box, like we were never here at all.

Back at the blocky SUV, Jansen rushes to open the passenger door for me, shutting me in before crawling under the vehicle. Sooner than I thought, he hops in on the driver’s side, taking time to adjust his seat and mirrors. I try to catch his eye with my curiosity over his choice to not just get out of here, and he whispers a reply. “If we run into trouble, I’m going to need perfect control to get out of it.”

“Makes sense.”

The SUV Jansen chose is close to the garage doors, and I hold my breath when he hits the button. With a grumble, the door behind us lifts, so slowly I can measure the inches by my heartbeats as I crane over my shoulder, hands clenched around the seat belt.

“Are you ready for this? If the garage door didn’t send an alert to the owner and the security company, the front gate opening will for sure send one. ”

A grin steals across my face as fear flutters behind my ribs like a trapped bird. I flick a glance at Jansen. “Ready for a police chase? Hell no. Ready for a joy ride? Hell yeah.”

His muted laugh fills the small space as he reverses out, closing the garage door as he does a sliding about-face, skipping the circle drive and aiming straight at the gate, punching buttons on the visor. Nothing happens, and my panic has me ready to jump out and sprint down the road if we need to.

The gate gets closer and closer, and still, it’s not opening.

Shit shit shit. Not good.