Free Pretty Sly by Elisa Ludwig

a newbie, after all. I didn’t know whether to be glad or terrified.
    Aidan stuffed the supplies into his pockets. “I think I’ve got it. Fingers crossed.”
    “Fingers crossed and legs broken, man. We’ll wait here,” Tre said.
    We watched him slink toward the parking lot entrance. I wished Tre were doing the car stealing—I would have been much more comfortable knowing we had an expert on the case—but I understood why he wanted Aidan to do it. Besides, Aidan claimed to be good with technical things. He should be able to figure it out.
    “Look, I’m sorry I had to do this to you, with Aidan and everything,” Tre said, breaking the silence in the car. “But I really think this plan will be better in the end. You really don’t know what’s waiting for you onthe other side there—you need someone with you. I’d go myself, but you know . . .”
    He couldn’t go. Not with his record. And he was right. I did need help, even if I was reluctant to admit it.
    “Plus the driving . . . don’t even try to front,” he laughed. “When you get back I’m signing you up for driver’s ed.”
    “Whatever,” I grumbled. I looked out the window into the inky darkness. Planes were taking off overhead from the nearby airport, huge and roaring as they rose above us and lifted up into the night.
    He leaned back and his leather seat creaked a little. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but is something up with you guys?”
    “I mean, we kissed or whatever,” I admitted. “I don’t know what’s going on, though.”
    My face flushed. Maybe I was having a panic attack, or maybe Aidan was making me into a crazy person. And talking about it with Tre was uncomfortable. I felt certain he could see right through me to how I really felt—and I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know all of this. I barely understood it myself.
    “He’s a cool guy,” Tre said softly. “But I think he has a reputation. You know, for getting around.”
    “Like I said, I don’t really think . . .”
    “Just be careful, okay? I think he can help you out. Don’t let the emotional stuff get in the way.”
    “I will,” I said. “I mean, I won’t.”
    I stared into his brown eyes and saw the genuine concern there. Also, something else, something fierce and protective just swimming underneath the surface.
    “I want you to be safe, Willa.” He gripped at the steering wheel, alternately tensing and releasing his fingers, and then turned away so I could no longer read his expression.
    Just then we saw the headlights flaring out of the lot. They came toward the Audi, suddenly and straight on.
    Everything behind that was dark, but when the car stopped short in front of us, I could make out the silhouette of a man chasing after it on foot, yelling, “Stop! Come back here!”
    Aidan rolled down the driver’s-side window. He was terrified. It was all over him. “Let’s go!”
    “Did he see you?” Tre demanded.
    “I don’t think he saw my face,” Aidan rasped.
    Tre looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Get in the car, Willa,” he said slowly and evenly.
    I looked from Tre to Aidan, hot with confusion and the chaos of the moment. I felt paralyzed by indecision. To go meant getting into a stolen car that was about to be reported. To stay meant risking getting Tre into trouble. Meanwhile, the guy was coming closer, yelling and panting. “But—”
    “Just do it!” Tre bellowed. “Get the hell out of here!”
    I did as he commanded, grabbing my bags and hopping into the passenger seat of the Volvo.
    “We’ll call you from the road,” Aidan said.
    “Don’t call me unless it’s untraceable,” Tre said, sounding almost disgusted. He hit the gas pedal and tore out of there, the Audi fishtailing down the little street as he swerved away from the running man.
    Aidan and I sped off in the opposite direction, heading back toward the highway. I watched in the side mirror as the silhouette of the man got tinier and