Glow by Stacey Wallace Benefiel Page A

the window. There, in the backseat, was a teenage boy with caramel colored skin and close-cropped auburn hair slouched against the door, Antoine cradled to his chest. There was blood everywhere. Ben knocked softly on the window and Marcus started, turning around, his green eyes clouded with shock and fear.
    “It’s Ben.”
    Frank popped the trunk on their car and put the files from the backseat in it. Then he took out some of Ben’s clothes, a packet of baby wipes and a bottle of motor oil. He would use the oil to camouflage the blood that had soaked into the concrete. “I’ll go take care of the surveillance cameras and then get to work on the scene.” He handed the clothes and baby wipes to Christopher and set the motor oil down next to Marcus’s car. “Get the kid to leave his car keys. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.” He took off jogging for the stairwell.
    Marcus gently folded Antoine’s body forward and unlocked his door. Ben opened it and took Marcus’s hand, helping him from the car. “It’s okay. We’ll keep you safe now.”
    He looked at Ben. “I - I need to go home.”
    Christopher walked over and put his arm around Marcus’s shoulders. “I’m afraid you can’t right now. Whoever was after Antoine may still be after you. You’re safest with us.”
    “No!” Marcus wrenched out of Christopher’s hold. “I have to go home. My dad is going to wonder what happened and...Ant, I can’t just leave him!” Marcus climbed back in the car and dragged Antoine’s body to him.
    Ben heard tires squeal one floor down. Someone was coming. He and Christopher exchanged a look.
    Christopher stared hard at the boy. “I’m sorry, Marcus. Give Ben your car keys.”
    Marcus fished the keys from his pocket and handed them to Ben, who put them under the driver’s side seat.
    “That’s good,” Christopher soothed.
    Headlights flashed on the wall near the entrance to the top floor. Ben shot his hand out and held the car in place, keeping it from coming any closer. Marcus and Antoine deserved a last goodbye.
    “We’ve got to go now. I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Christopher said, focusing his gaze.
    Marcus leaned forward, tears rolling down his cheeks, and tenderly kissed Antoine on the lips. “Goodbye, Ant. I love you. I wish I didn’t have to leave.” He placed another soft kiss on Antoine’s forehead and then backed out of the car and closed the door.
    Christopher led him to their car, opening the back door for him. He set the clean clothes and the baby wipes down on the seat next to Marcus and then got in the front seat.
    Left hand still extended, Ben slid behind the steering wheel and turned on the ignition with his right. He slowly eased his left hand down and slammed his door closed.
    Ben followed the arrows on the way out of the parking garage and headed toward the rendezvous point. He could feel the control coming off of Christopher as he instructed Marcus to clean the blood off of his face and hands and change his clothes. He did exactly as he was told. Ben wished there had been another way, that what had happened to Antoine and Marcus hadn’t happened at all.
    It was their fault; he knew it with every fiber of his body. They’d led whoever was killing the boys right to them. Someone had to be glimpsing their every move.
    When Marcus was cleaned up, Christopher very gently prodded him to tell them about the attack.
    Marcus looked blankly out the window, rolling the hem of Ben’s borrowed red t-shirt between his fingers.
    “We’d gone to the aquarium and then to get some tacos. It was something we did every week, a regular date. We’d go to the aquarium and then grab some food to eat in the car and chill. The top floor of the parking garage is usually pretty deserted. We can’t, couldn’t, really hang out at my house or his, so we’d do something that two guy friends would maybe do out in public, y’know, and then we’d end the evening in the parking garage, before we