The Runaway (Barrett Boys #1) - Jordan Ford Page 0,1

grip the wheel and make the drive a smooth one. I’m always more tense when Sloan joins us. Usually I’m sent off with Johnny to take care of Sloan family business. I’ve been driving and delivering or collecting packages for nearly two years.

When I first scored this job, I thought I was the luckiest guy on the planet.

I’d been caught pickpocketing Sloan’s sister, and I thought for sure I was a dead man. But she took a shine to my skinny, underfed ass, and her older brother reluctantly let me into his crew. It’s pretty impossible to say no to Chanel Sloan.

I did everything I could to prove myself worthy, and he’s kept me around.

But now I want out.

I can handle collecting and delivering bags of money, and dealing with wrapped packages that I can pretend I don’t know the contents of. What I can’t stomach is the retribution Sloan dishes out to anyone who doesn’t do what he wants when he wants. He usually gives the brutal jobs to Luis and Buster, because they don’t have hearts.

I thought for a while that maybe I didn’t either, but watching Jena get beat today…

I can’t do that again.

I’ve gotta get out of here.

2

It’s Time to Go

We arrive at the storage warehouse, and I park in the usual spot around back. Sloan struts into his empire while I take my time getting out of the SUV. Maybe if I sit here long enough, Luis will leave and I can floor it to the exit. But he stays in here with me, slapping my shoulder. “Let’s go, Mike.”

I slam the door behind me, my mind churning with escape plans. I’m a good runner. I always have been. It’s my MO, and it’s kept me safe in the past, but I’ve never worked for a guy like Marlo before. I’ve never been part of a crew, and I highly doubt they’re just gonna let me wave goodbye and saunter out the door. I’ve seen too much. I know how illegal their entire operation is. I may not have graduated high school, but I’m not stupid. I’ve got eyes. I know exactly what’s going on in this place, and if they thought I was gonna rat them out, they’d kill me before I could open my mouth.

Besides, I need some resources. I learned years ago that you can’t make it on thin air. I’m a pretty good pickpocket, and I have shoplifting down to an art form, but I haven’t had to do that in a couple of years, and do I really want that life again?

Not knowing where my next meal is gonna come from?

Wondering if I’ll be sleeping on the street that night?

Shit!

Maybe I should just stay.

Without warning, a vibrant image of Grandpa Ray illuminates my brain. His wise old face that I adored more than any other takes me out. I hover in the doorway, frozen by memories of a past life. A big ranch house that was my everything.

I usually avoid thinking about it at all costs, but the yearning inside of me is so strong my chest hurts.

“Michael Barrett,” Grandpa used to say. “That’s who you are to me.” He’d muss my hair and smile like he was proud to call me his own.

What would he say if he saw me now?

“Mike! Let’s go!” Luis raises his hand and beckons me to follow.

I shuffle after him, walking past the green storage lockers and down to the back end of the warehouse.

He turns left at the end of the corridor and I take a right, heading for the bathroom. My mind is ticking over as I pee, dangerous plans whistling through me.

I could steal a car no sweat. Hell, I could climb out the bathroom window and disappear right now.

The door behind me opens, and I glance over my shoulder to see Johnny walk in.

“Hey, bro.” He swaggers up to the urinal and I move to wash my hands, catching my reflection in the mirror and hating the guy looking back at me.

Jena’s whimpers echo through my mind, blending with Mom’s and making me want to puke all over again.

Johnny finishes up and joins me at the sink. “Sloan’s gonna send us to the club tonight. I heard him telling Chanel about it.” He wiggles his eyebrows, then grins. I nearly check his butt for a wagging tail. He’s an excited puppy dog, and while I don’t have to ask which club he’s talking about, I do anyway.

“Which one?”

“Jupiter.” His smile