Torched by April Henry Read Free Book Online Page B

I got to the counter, he was already handing over a bill to the barista.
    “Hey,” I said, panting, “I thought I said next time it would be my treat!”
    He shrugged one shoulder, trying hard not to look pleased with himself. “I was here first.”
    The barista handed Coyote back one of his mugs, which Coyote then handed to me. “Twelve-ounce nonfat latte with a double shot, right?”
    “Right.” I forced an even bigger smile onto my face. “Hey, it’s such a nice day—can we sit outside?” I didn’t want anyone to overhear us.
    “Sure.” Coyote picked up his cup of tea. We went outside and sat at one of the two small, round tables on the sidewalk. He petted a yellow Labrador retriever tied to a parking sign.
    “So how’s work going?” I asked, casting about for a neutral topic. I wasn’t sure how to get started.
    “It’s real busy now.” He spread his grease-stained fingers out and regarded them. The nail on his right thumb was bruised. “Everyone’s getting ready for summer.”
    “Do you like working there?”
    “It’s pretty good. George is easy to work for. And I like working with my hands.” He took a sip of tea. “How are things going at school?”
    “Okay.” Since the arrest, I had gotten a D on one quiz and a C-minus on the other. “In English, we’re reading Othello. ”
    “That’s the one where Othello thinks his wife is cheating on him, right?” I must have looked surprised, because Coyote said, “Just because I got my GED doesn’t mean I don’t like to read.”
    “Yeah, Iago sets her up so she looks guilty.” That made me think of Richter. The coffee turned to acid in my stomach. I tried to ignore it and changed the subject. “Thanks for bringing the extra cup for me. Were you no longer willing to underwrite my profligate use of natural resources?”
    He grinned. “Oh, you’re already damned to hell.” He took a sip of his tea, and when he looked up again, his face was serious. “Besides, if we don’t start doing things differently, it will be too late. That’s why I’m part of ”—he hesitated—“that group.”
    I took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can I be part of it, too?”
    “Do you really know what you’re asking? It’s not a commitment you can make lightly.”
    Even though we were the only ones on the sidewalk, I lowered my voice. “You mean because you guys sometimes do things that are against the law, like freeing the minks? Well, I think there’s a higher law.”
    He looked up from his tea, and I forced my eyes not to waver from his green gaze. “It’s fine to talk about higher law, but some of the stuff we do”—he lowered his voice even further—“means we might end up going to jail. And if you get caught, being a MEDic means no plea bargains, no deals, no selling out your friends.”
    I didn’t drop my gaze. “You heard what Matt said. My parents brought me up to believe in fighting for what’s important.”
    “Sorry, we just have to be cautious,” Coyote said. “Not everyone supports what we do like your parents. They get it. Even if they are a little too old and a little too mainstream to be MEDics, they still get it.”
    Normally I would have smiled at the idea that anyone thought my parents were mainstream. Instead, I just took another sip of my bitter coffee.
    Coyote stared at his tea for a long time. And then he said, “Let me talk to Cedar. We might be able to use you.”
    I nodded and pretended to smile. But inside, I was dying.

CHAPTER NINE
    “So why do you want to join us?” Cedar asked. His face was unsmiling, all angles and planes.
    I was sitting with nine MEDics around a long picnic bench in a rundown park in North Portland. The sun was out, but we were the only ones at this end of the park. At the far end, some guys played basketball. They had tried to sell us dope when we walked by.
    Even though I was with the MEDics, it was clear that I wasn’t part of the group. The only good