“Well, that must suck for you.” Jared looked sympathetic. “I guess he knows that he’s a target, being a successful businessman and all.”

“Yeah, poor Daddy.” Maddie sighed. “Oh well, he seems to finally be loosening the strings.”

“That’s good. Though, I’m sure it would break his heart if anything happened to you.”

“Yeah.” She grinned. “That’s dads for you, you have to love them.”

“Yeah, we love our dad too.” Jared slapped me on the back. “Well, I better get back in and finish eating breakfast. It was nice seeing you again, Maddie. I sure hope you can convince Logan to take you with him. I think you’d both have fun.” And with that he sauntered back up to the house with me glaring at his back.

“Your brother is so nice.” Maddie laughed up at me. “And he is super cute.”

“You have a crush on him as well?” I said harsher than I intended.

“What? No.” She blushed, and looked away from me. “And what do you mean on him as well?”

“Well, don’t you have a crush on me?” I looked at her arrogantly. “Haven’t you had a crush on me for a while?”

“I— what? Who told you that?” Her face grew red, and a part of me was happy to have the answer confirmed.

“Joey and his sister aren’t exactly the best people to keep secrets.”

“Argh, I’ll kill Lucy.” She shook her head. “And it was a teenage crush, I don’t have it anymore.”

“Oh, no?” I smirked. “Really?”

“Really,” she flung her hair over her shoulder. “I’m wiser now.”

“Yeah, you’re wiser.” I laughed out loud and shook my head. “Well, are you coming or not?” I turned around and walked to the Toyota.

“Where are we going?” She hurried after me.

“To sell this car.”

“You just sell it?” She looked shocked. “Don’t they ask to see your papers?”

“They know there are no papers.” I grinned at her, all of a sudden feeling lightheaded.

“Oh.” She licked her lips and I could tell she was nervous. “Do you mind if I come?”

“Not if you don’t mind taking the bus back.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then hop in.” I jumped into the car and started the engine as she slid into the passenger seat. I looked over at her, and she smiled at me with her plate of cookies sitting in her lap. She looked beautiful and innocent, so unlike she had the first night she had gotten into the car. I stared at her, my eyes taking in the dimple in her left cheek and the way her lips had a natural curve when she wasn’t even speaking. I looked further down her and tried not to stare at the swell of her br**sts and the small rising of her chest.

“What are you waiting for? Aren’t we going?” She grinned at me excitedly.

“One would think you’d never been in a stolen car before.”

“One would think you’d never had a girl in a stolen car with you before.”

“Then one would be thinking incorrectly.”

“I see.” She turned away from me quickly, and her tone sounded hurt. Good, I didn’t want her to know that she was the first girl I’d had in a stolen car with me, and the first girl I had been on a drop with. It was crazy, and she was the last person I should be taking with me, but I couldn’t help myself. Bad move, Logan, a voice in my head whispered. Bad move. But it wasn’t a bad move if I listened to Jared and his suggestions. Maybe I was doing this because subconsciously I wanted to hurt her. I’d teach her a lesson, and she would be crushed. And then she’d be home and crying and the mayor would be beside himself. But what would that do? The voice whispered again, a little heartbreak wasn’t going to do anything to the mayor. How many times had she cried over a guy before? I’m sure she’d had her share of dalliances and heartbreaks. She certainly wasn’t some innocent little virgin, that was for sure.

“What are you thinking about?” She leaned towards the radio. “Can I put on some tunes?”

“Go ahead.” I nodded without looking at her. I could feel my heartbeat racing, and I felt uncomfortable with her in the seat next to me. I didn’t want her to be here with me, yet I felt so alive, so excited, so happy to have her here with me. And it had nothing to do with the fact that I could get revenge on her and avenge my family. The fact was, I didn’t want to hurt her. I took a quick glance at Maddie and watched as her hair blew in the wind coming through her window. Her eyes were alert and happy, and she gave me a quick smile as she noticed my stare. I turned away quickly, as my stomach jumped. I wasn’t sure I would be able to forgive myself if I hurt Maddie on purpose. And what was worse is that I didn’t know if she would ever forgive me either.

"Do you like Maroon 5?” She bobbed her head to an unfamiliar song.

“I don’t know them.” I shook my head.

“You don’t know Maroon 5? What?” Her eyes darted to me. “What about Adam Levine?”

“Who?” I laughed.

“From The Voice!”

“What voice?”

“The TV show.”

“I’m sorry, Maddie, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Wow,” she laughed. “Don’t you watch TV?”

“Not really.” I shook my head. We only had one TV in the house and my father was parked in front of it twenty-four-seven.

“That’s crazy.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Out of everything you know about me, that’s the craziest?”

“I mean, it’s a surprise. I thought everyone watched TV.”

“Even those who can’t afford a TV or cable?”

“Oh, I didn’t think …” Her voice trailed off and she blushed. “I suppose you think I’m just this privileged girl, huh? I guess I’m not helping my cause.”

“I don’t think you’re a snob.” I smiled at her gently. “But do you act like someone who comes from money? Yeah. But that’s not unreasonable, because that was your upbringing, I’m sure.”

“You’re sweet to say that,” she sighed, and I could see her twisting her hands. “I suppose I’m an utter bore to someone like you.”

“You mean the big, bad wolf of River Valley?”

“No, I mean to someone who has so much excitement in their life.”

“Excitement?” I laughed. “I think I have the least amount of excitement of anyone I know.” Aside from the night I met you, I thought to myself with a grin.

“Really? I figured stealing cars would be like a drug.”

“Not really.” I turned onto the highway and checked the rearview mirror to make sure no cops were following me. “Maybe when I first started, yeah, there was a thrill of excitement, a hint of danger and exhilaration. Now it’s mundane.”

“Mundane, now there’s a word.” She looked over at me.

“I learned it when I was studying for the SAT.” I laughed.

“You took the SAT?” She looked surprised.

“No.” I shook my head, mad at myself for letting that slip. “I never took it. They made us study for it in school. I may have glanced at the words once or twice out of boredom.”

“I see.”

“So you’re studying history?”

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to bore you though.”

“You won’t bore me, I like history.”

“You do?” I could hear the shock in her voice and I laughed.

“No, not really.” I accelerated and switched to the left-lane of the highway. “I was more of a science guy myself.”

“Oh, I sucked at all the science subjects.”

“I doubt you sucked at anything.”

“You would be surprised. My dad had to get me private tutors. It was awful. I was the only person in my dorm who had two tutors.”

“Dorm?” I looked at her, puzzled.

“When I was in boarding school.”

“Oh, yeah. What was that like?”

“Fun,” she giggled. “At first it was weird, and I didn’t understand why my parents wanted to send me away to school. But it was a small school, and there were only like fifteen of us who were boarders. We went from form to form together and became really close.”

“I see. That must have been cool.”

“It was okay, it was all-girls, so we didn’t really have a chance to get up to anything too bad.”

“No late night make-out sessions in the dorms?”

“Well, not really.” Her voice was squeaky and I saw her turn her face to look out the window. Something about her tone piqued my interest, and I decided to press the subject.

“What do you mean, not really?”

“Well, we didn’t have real live boys to kiss, but we had posters to practice on.”

“Oh.” I laughed. “Like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and stuff?”

“You could say that.”

“Who were the actors you guys practiced on?” I asked curiously.

“I never said we practiced on actors.”

“Oh, I just assumed. Who then?”

“You’re going to think I’m a psycho.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“Now you have to tell me,” I laughed. “And I already think you’re crazy, so no need to worry about that.”

“You’re mean.”

“Ha, ha, tell me, Maddie.”

“Well, I really don’t want to tell you this, but we used to kiss posters of you. Well, not all of us, but a few of us did.”

“Posters of me?” I turned towards her. “What posters?”

“Okay, now I have to go into Fatal Attraction territory, but one summer I was over at Lucy’s place and we were going through Joey’s yearbook, and well, there was a photo of you in there.”

“My high school pic?” I raised an eyebrow.

“No, there was a photo of you posing on a motorcycle, I guess it was a candid shot, and you had your shirt off …” Her voice trailed off.

“Oh, when I was in eleventh grade?” I thought back. “I think I was deciding if I wanted to steal it.” I laughed. “But then someone took a photo and I knew I couldn’t, as that photo would definitely serve as incriminating evidence.”

“Well, you looked super hot,” she continued. “So I borrowed the yearbook and I took it to Walgreens and got it blown up, and then the girls and I ordered posters.”

“The girls?”

“In my dorm, when I got back to school.”

“Ah, ok. So I was your first kiss?” I grinned at her and winked.

“I guess,” she laughed. “Though the physical honor goes to Matt Devoir.”

“I see.” Jealousy churned through me at the thought of Maddie kissing another guy.

“He wasn’t as good a kisser as you, though.” She reached over and touched my arm. “Who was your first kiss with?”

“Judy Hamilton,” I answered quickly.

“Judy Hamilton? No way.” Maddie laughed.

“Yup.” I grinned over at her. “She was experienced and I was eager.”

“Isn’t she like five years older than you?”

“Something like that.” I laughed. “What can I say, I like older women.”

“I guess that’s why you don’t like me, then.” She sat back in her seat with a wistful tone, and I was jerked back to reality. Maddie wasn’t just some regular girl, and we weren’t on some regular ride. If I took one wrong turn, this whole thing could explode on me.

“Hey, this is our exit.” I quickly pulled back over to the exit lane and we sat in silence, as I navigated the unfamiliar streets. “So how was your first kiss?”

“Which one?”

“With Matt?”

“Oh, it was okay. Nothing earthshattering. I didn’t tremble with passion or anything.”

“Because you normally tremble with passion when you kiss?”

“When you kiss me.” Her voice was sweet and confident and I wanted to shake her for being so forward. Didn’t she know that girls were meant to play coy? Especially with guys they didn’t really know.

“I suppose the poster knew a couple of tricks, huh?”

“No, but you do.” Her voice was lower this time, and I glanced at her quickly, wondering if she was trying to seduce me.

“You’re trouble, Maddie Wright.” I shook my head. “You make me look like a good boy.”

“What fun would a good Logan Martelli be?”

“Behave.” I laughed and pulled into the Walmart parking lot where the exchange was meant to take place. I parked and turned to her with a serious expression. “Stay in the car when the guy comes. I don’t want you getting involved with this.”

“Do you have a gun?” She looked at me, slightly worried, but there was a glint in her eyes.

“This is not the movies, Maddie. I have no gun, and I don’t want one either.”

“What happens if the deal goes wrong?”

“I’ve never had a deal go that wrong. I’m dealing in Japanese imports, not diamonds from South Africa.” Though maybe if I was part of something a bit bigger, my family wouldn’t be so broke.