I didn't like Carlos, I decided as I pulled into what I assumed to be his driveway. I wasn't going to lie, his house was nice. Three story, a literal water fountain out front. White paint, green bushes, red roses. A circular driveway in front, which he sent me further instructions to park there, joining two expensive-looking vehicles.

It took me five minutes to build up the courage to walk over to the door. My knuckles went white from clutching the steering wheel. My face burned from the hot air I had blowing from my vents. My eyes watered, my breath felt difficult to catch. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I flipped my sun guard down to look at the mirror. My dulling red hair was curled neatly over my shoulders, ending just above my breasts. I had a full face of makeup, smokey to match my black dress up shirt. I wanted to look put together, like I meant business.

I sprayed some of my favorite perfume on myself, the best finishing touch, before I grabbed my purse and left the vehicle (after turning it off). I walked up to the huge wooden door and texted the unsaved number that I had arrived.

The door swung open all of two seconds later.

"I was wondering what you were waiting for," Carlos smiled as he opened the door. He had a crooked smile, I noticed. And a crooked nose. He also had tanner skin, like Lena, although he looked slightly paler than her. He had dark brown hair, dale blue eyes that kind of scared me to look into. He seemed to hold a lot of anger, a lot of secrets, maybe even a lot of malice.

"I was waiting for a good reason to go through with this," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, I guess you found a reason if you're here, at the door."

"Touché." I walked past him without invitation.

He turned to look at me, intrigued. I stared at the five million paintings that lined the foyer, my gaze settling on one that must've been Carlos and his siblings, all in one painting. I could tell which one was him, maybe a few years younger. Then there was a girl, younger, and a boy, older.

He cleared his throat. I turned to look at him. He beckoned me to follow with his hand and he led me through the foyer into a living room. Well, it would've been a living room if the couches weren't pushed up against the beige walls. The coffee table, made of glass, still stood in the center on the ugliest rug I had ever seen.

Lena sat perched on the armrest of one of the two couches. Two other girls sat on the actual couch, two guys stood across from them, next to the gigantic TV on the wall. They both had their arms crossed. One girl was Hispanic, like Lena. The other had dark skin. One boy was Asian wearing no shirt, the other was paler than me (which was pretty pale) and stood at about my height.

Carlos walked in, clapping slowly.

"What is this, the supervillain monologue before you kill me?" I huffed, wrapping my arms around myself.

He laughed. "No, Kassidy. This is initiation. This is the right into my group. This is your only chance at salvation."

The last word sent shivers down my spine.

"Now, since you're such a fan of violence," Carlos chuckled humorlessly, "I think I have the perfect job for you."

I felt like my heart stopped beating inside my chest. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Initiation. It's not a difficult concept. What, you think I was just going to let you in without testing you?"

I shrugged. "I guess Lena's word isn't good enough for you." I looked around some more. No paintings in this room. The ceiling was higher than Lena at Christmas the year before. And that was pretty high. A baby chandelier hung, glinting beautifully.

"Without Lena's word you would be in a jail cell."

I snapped back to reality. "Okay, what do you want from me?" I looked to Lena. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I need something. I need someone who will get it, no matter what. No matter what it costs. And if you do this for me, you have our protection. Forever."

"Okay, and just who the fuck are you that I want your protection?" I challenged, walking over to him and standing directly in his line of sight.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts. He was a real skinny guy, barely had any muscle. No wonder he didn't try to protect Lena, I realized. He couldn't.

"I'm the guy that people call when they want shit done in this town. I'm the guy that everyone listens to. I'm the guy whose bad side everyone is scared of."

I took a step back, processing. "If you're about to say you're in the mafia or some BS, I really don't care. You don't scare me."

He waved a hand. "Mafia, no. Influential, yes. My dad is the major."

The room went dead silent. Everyone stared at me like this revelation should have shooken me to my core, like I was supposed to kneel at his feet or something.

"Okay, and are you the mayor?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. Obviously not, were you not listening?"

"Your father is a civil servant. You don't get to just scare and intimidate people just because of who your daddy is. I'm here because I made a dumb decision, not because I'm going to bow at your feet. I don't really care who you are, what connections you have."

Lena stood. "Kass, he's offering you a deal. Maybe you should consider it."

I could go to jail, fight my case, maybe win self defense. On the other hand, the court proceedings could take forever. I could be in jail for a long time, not making bail. I could lose all my progress in school by getting locked up. If I lost, I would never be able to get into nursing school. It would be a hassle, especially since I ran in the first place. It made me look even more guilty.

"Okay, fine. What do you want me to do?" I asked Carlos, staring him straight in the eyes. I couldn't let him intimidate me.

"I want you to go to this address," he handed me a folded piece of paper he grabbed from his pocket, "Get this car," he handed me a set of keys he also produced from his pocket, "and don't get caught."

I gawked at him. "I'm sorry, does it look like this is Grand Theft Auto?"

"Do it, no one tells. Don't, everyone tells."

"Well, fuck."

"You said that out loud," one of the other girls said.

"Yeah, I know." I headed for the door, then turned back around. "How long do I have?"

The annoying man pulled his phone out, tapped something on it, and held it up. The timer app was on. Two hours.

"Better get going."

"Double fuck."