Free Anatomy of a Girl Gang (9781551525303) by Ashley Little

here? Have you lost your mind? Get rid of that fucking car! Get it out of here!
    I—I have to clean it first. There’s some blood on the hood.
    Well, go do it somewhere else. Get that car the fuck out of here right fucking now! You can’t have that car anywhere near this place. Are you insane? Take it down the street, clean it off, and go drop it off at the port. I’ll be waiting for you at the gates.Here. I handed her a towel. Go!
    Okay, okay. She hurried out the door.
    Christ’s balls, what was this, amateur hour? She must be in shock. I gathered a couple of old sheets, some garbage bags, and a cardboard box. I went back to my room and kissed Z on the cheek. I gotta go out for a bit, baby.
    She moaned. Why? Where’re you going?
    I just gotta take care of something quick. I’ll be back real soon.
    She moaned again and rolled over.
    I grabbed my gun and a hacksaw, then got into the Honda and drove the thirty seconds to meet Mercy in front of the entrance to the port.
    She got in, her big deer eyes all glassy and wide.
    You drop the car?
    Yeah.
    You didn’t say anything to them, right?
    No.
    You get the blood off?
    Yeah. But … there was a little dent.
    Shit. Well, nothing we can do about that. Maybe they won’t notice and think it happened in the shipping yard. Let’s find your guy.
    I drove over to Pender and saw a dark lump in the middle of the street. I pulled over and scanned the area, looking for any signs of activity. There was a little bit of movement in the alley to the west, but no one was on the sidewalk or the street. Except for the lump. It was crack hour; everyone was holed upwith their pipes or sleeping off a heroin binge.
    That where you left him?
    She nodded.
    No one has moved him? No one has touched him?
    I don’t think so.
    A black Durango cruised by us. Fuck! But they didn’t slow down. They probably thought the body was a garbage bag. That’s what it looked like.
    What should we do?
    I think we should move it.
    Why?
    Why? So the cops don’t come sniffing around trying to find out what happened. So there’s no investigation, no tie-in to an illegal car-theft ring. This is serious, Mercy. If we get caught over this, and Lucifer’s Choice gets busted, we’ll all be killed.
    I know! God! I’m sorry, Mac. I’m so sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hit him! She began to cry.
    I know you didn’t. Let’s just deal with it, okay? I grabbed the garbage bag and sheets and got out of the car. We gotta move fast.
    We walked over to the body. He had a gnarly grey beard and a dirty face. He reeked of booze. He was probably homeless. His icy blue eyes stared up at us, and his mouth hung open, as if he was about to ask a question.
    What are we going to do with him?
    I laid the sheet down on the road. We’re gonna hide him in plain sight. Here, help me roll him onto the sheet.
    Once we had him cocooned in the sheet, we half-dragged,half-heaved him up onto the sidewalk and into the entrance of the nearest alley. There were a couple people in it, further down, but they were wrapped in blankets, sleeping. Okay. I ripped the cardboard and put it down on the ground. Then we rolled him off the sheet and onto the cardboard. I covered him with a garbage bag as if it were a blanket and adjusted his arm, which was bent at a sickening angle.
    Alright, let’s get the fuck out of here, I whispered.
    Wait. Mercy pulled her sleeve over her hand and knelt beside the man. She brushed her hand over his face and closed his eyes. Then she closed hers. She took a deep breath and let it out slow. Okay, she nodded once, and we walked back to the car with our heads bent to the rain.
    We’re not gonna mention anything about this to the others, I said as I started the ignition.
    Okay. She stared down at her hands.
    The less they know, the better.
    She swallowed, nodded.
    I don’t trust them yet, I said. Do you?
    No, but I will.
    When