Rules of Survival (Entangled Embrace) by Jus Accardo Page A

it. “Not in my world.”
    He considered it for a moment, then nodded, sitting back in his original position. “Yeah. I guess I can see that.”
    I should have left it there and closed my eyes. Drifted to sleep and let the conversation die. But I was starting to realize something about myself. I liked having someone to talk to. It was nice to finally come clean about my life. It didn’t matter if I told Shaun the truth. He wasn’t there to judge me. I wasn’t trying to win him over. We were just two people stuck in a bad situation together. When we got out of it—and we would—I would disappear and never see him again. It might have sounded cold to a normal person, but to me it was sort of freeing. For the first time in my entire life, I had no reason to hide.
    “My mom did what she had to do, I get it , but it sucked,” I said. “I never stayed in one school for more than three months. I never had any friends. There was no control. I felt like a ping-pong ball.”
    He stretched his legs. “You never had any real structure.”
    Shaun was irritating. He was arrogant and spontaneous, and didn’t seem to think anything through, but he was also real. There was a good chance someone else would have felt sorry for me. Pitied me for all I’d missed out on and everything I’d gone through. Not him. There was no sympathy in his voice, only understanding.
    “Planning things out is the only area of my life I’ve ever felt like I had any control over. I try to stick to little things. I learned early on that bigger plans—what you were going to be when you grew up and where you were going to live long-term—tended to fall through. But the little things? Those I can have more control of. Even if it’s as simple as making a plan to get from point A to point B.”
    “That makes sense,” he said. “Control is an illusion, though, you know that, right?”
    “Maybe,” I said, forcing a smile. The wind outside kicked up, seeping in through the cracks and chilling the air. I shivered. “But the illusion helps me get through the day. Sometimes I need that.”
    He reached across and pulled the far corner of his jacket tighter around my shoulders, his finger brushing my cheek accidentally. “Yeah. Me, too.”
    I shifted closer, until we were shoulder to shoulder, and closed my eyes. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. It was just for the warmth.
    Just for the warmth…

Chapter Ten
    “Friends” was a loose term when it came to con men. There were a few Mom considered trustworthy, but she made sure I knew that “trustworthy” only went so far. One of the most important of her rules— always remember there was no honor among thieves. Even your friends would sell you out if the price tag was right—not that I’d ever had friends.
    I figured my best bet at getting some information on who Mick might be was Gerald Collins. I’d never met the guy, but Mom told me all about him. She knew him from time spent in Kansas City long before I was born. He’d retired from the game and had hoarded his stash to buy a beef farm in upstate New York. He was the nearest, and also the most off-the-radar, so naturally, he was our first stop.
    “And what makes you think we can trust this guy?” It was early afternoon and Shaun had been on edge since we stepped off the bus. He insisted he wanted to call Patrick again, but every time I pointed out a pay phone on the way over to Gerald’s, he made up an excuse.
    It wasn’t a safe place to stop.
    Too many people around.
    Patrick was probably sleeping…
    He wouldn’t admit it, but he was rattled about what happened in the mall parking lot. He might not believe that Patrick was the one who ratted us out, but he couldn’t deny the facts.
    “Trust is a relative term,” I said with an offhand wave. “He won’t narc on us, though. No way would he bring the cops that close to home.”
    “Comforting,” Shaun huffed. He knocked twice on the screen door, then adjusted the hoodie to cover