The Retreat by Dijorn Moss Read Free Book Online

it.
    Quincy started drifting off to sleep. He knew that tomorrow would require him to have fortitude. He would start to put the final touches on the Culver City deal and work with his lawyer to get the divorce papers filed. It was a good thing he’d had fun tonight with Candy and the roulette table, because it would be some time before he had fun again. Emptiness and heartache were what awaited him.

Chapter Six
    Stealing a car was not that difficult. Will’s father was a smooth car thief and Will had become an able apprentice. By the time Will’s father had gone to prison two years ago on a seven-year sentence, he had taught Will how to steal everything from cars to a girl’s heart. Odell had also taught Will another trick, how to be invisible, since he was barely around for Will and his two younger siblings. Will’s mother did not mind Odell’s absence so long as she was able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle that did not require her to work.
    Will got an adrenaline rush whenever he stole an exotic car. He loved to speed down the highway and test how fast a car could go before he turned it into Tony’s chop shop or his gang leader, D-Loc. The job, like all other jobs, had its down moments. Boredom grew from a lack of a challenge.
    Like this Mustang GT that Will was about to steal. It was jet-black, with gold racing stripes along the top of the car. It had R1 drifting rims to match. The owner obviously cared more about the look of the car than its safety, because Will didn’t see any car alarm.
    Will leaned into the window to double check the interior, but no red light flashed in the midst of the darkness. Will had had this car in his sights for a few weeks now. The occasion had arrived where he could finally claim it. Will removed the dealer-issued key from his pocket. It was amazing what a car thief could accomplish with a VIN and a stack of money. Car dealers were willing to part with duplicate keys to the cars Will planned to steal, which made stealing cars a lot easier, but more boring. It wasn’t the same as hot-wiring a car.
    His suspicion was confirmed that there was not a car alarm as he entered the car. After he inhaled the vanilla-scented air freshener, he revved up the V8 engine. Will pulled away and got halfway down the block before he turned on the radio and was engulfed by Kelly Clarkson.
    â€œWhat kind of crap is this?” Will said to himself.
    He scanned the radio stations and found a hip-hop station that played the latest Jay-Z song. The music put him in an aggressive mood. So he scanned the stations until he found a jazz station. Will would not consider himself a jazz fan, but the slow melancholy sound of a saxophone or trumpet was soothing, checking any adrenaline that lingered after a boost.
    Will had been a car thief since he was eleven. At fourteen he joined a local gang called the Untouchables. They found his skill helpful and lucrative. Now he was barely nineteen and he was already restless, ready to do something different. What, he was not sure of yet.
    Lost in deep thought, Will neglected to stop at a red light, which prompted a siren to flash from a police car. The police siren grew louder as it approached Will and pulled just behind his rear bumper.
    â€œOh, shoot.” Will turned off the music.
    â€œPull over!” the officer said from the loud speaker.
    Will’s size eight black-and-white shoe pressed on the accelerator. The Mustang GT went from sixty-five miles per hour to ninety in a matter of seconds. The police were in hot pursuit. The engine roared as the Mustang cleared one hundred miles per hour, leaving the scent of burnt rubber in its wake. He maneuvered around cars that obeyed the thirty-five-miles-per-hour speed limit, and cleared the intersection right when the light turned red.
    As the speed increased, so did the interest in his activities. One police cruiser quickly became three. Will’s adrenaline, no longer under the spell