Chasing Sunsets Read Online Free Page A

without thinking about it. He was actually scaring her.
    Suddenly Dwayne burst through the door with a paper bag, probably full of money. He stopped, aimed his gun back toward the store, and fired. At the same time a bullet whizzed past Dwayne’s head, barely missing him. “Dwayne! Hurry!” she cried out.
    Dwayne turned and ran for the car. He jumped in and sped out of the parking lot. He didn’t look at her or say anything. His eyes were like black steel.
    Lexy felt like she was going to throw up. The wheels spunas they turned left and peeled down the street. She tried to understand. “Where you going?” Her voice was loud and frantic. She hated this. Why couldn’t he talk to her? She could hardly breathe. “Dwayne, where?”
    “I’m thinking.” He was breathing hard. He looked into the bag as he drove and let out a victory shout. “We did it, Lex . . . we got this thing. Gotta be a couple hundred dollars here.”
    “Did you . . . did you kill him?”
    Dwayne glared at her. “I missed, okay?” He kept one hand on the wheel and lunged at her like he might slap her. Instead he shoved the bag onto the floorboard.
    Lexy didn’t dare ask where they were going again. Dwayne was eighteen—he would think of a plan.
    Sirens sounded in the distance. Dwayne rattled off a bunch of cusswords. He leaned forward, like he was looking for a way out. The car’s steering wasn’t the greatest, so he took a turn on two wheels and sped halfway down the street before he pulled over.
    Dwayne dropped down in the seat and pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes. “Don’t talk.”
    Lexy wanted to yell at him that she wasn’t a baby. She could talk if she wanted to. But then Dwayne might tell her to get out and walk home. If she wanted to belong to him, she needed to do what he asked. She crossed her arms and kept her mouth closed. At his house, when they were in bed, he was the nicest guy in the world. One day he’d quit getting so angry. Maybe if he became leader of the gang. That would make him happy.
    Dwayne’s phone rang. He was shaking, looking at themoney and then checking the rearview mirror. He took his phone from his pocket and answered it. “S’up.”
    It was a guy’s voice on the other end. Lexy could hear that much. But she couldn’t make out what he was saying.
    Dwayne cussed at the guy and then lowered his voice. “You can’t keep changing the rules.”
    Lexy felt sick again. Must’ve been someone from the committee, the guys who would decide the next leader of the gang. So far Dwayne was only supposed to hit up a convenience store in the middle of the day. Nothing more. But it was never that easy, not with the WestKnights.
    Dwayne shook his head and then smacked his hand on the dashboard. He cussed under his breath this time. “Fine. Tonight.” He shook his head, angrier than before. “Later.”
    Lexy knew better than to ask. Instead she looked straight ahead, her arms still pressed against her stomach.
    He slammed his hand against the dashboard again. “Gotta kill three EastTown thugs or Marcus Dillinger. Tonight.”
    “The baseball player?” Lexy stared at him. “You can’t kill him.”
    Dwayne made a fist and then relaxed it. “Marcus is an easy kill.” Dwayne laughed, but the sound seemed dark. Almost evil.
    Lexy’s heart raced faster than before. Dwayne couldn’t be for real. He couldn’t kill Marcus Dillinger. The guy was a hero. MVP of the Dodgers. The opening of his youth center was tonight. Killing Marcus? Lexy wanted to scream. Marcus was the hottest player on the Dodgers. From everything she’dseen on TV he seemed like a great guy. Why would the committee want Marcus dead? None of it made sense.
    Dwayne picked up his phone and made a quick call. The voice on the other end sounded like the same guy. “Yo. I made up my mind. I got Dillinger. Tonight.”
    Dwayne took off his baseball cap and rubbed his head. He looked over his shoulder behind them. “Police missed us.”
    This