Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

Author:Jenn Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2020-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

It’s like Summers & Co all over again, only this time it feels so much worse, because it—

Wasn’t an accident.

And it’s the boatyard window.

Not some retail object that showcases luxury goods, that can be replaced by the richest man in town with the snap of his fingers. No. The simple warehouse office window through which a big, happy family laughs.

This is personal.

An old man in a truck slows as he sees the damage.

“Hit and run!” I shout.

He pulls over at the curb, confused. I know the feeling. And that’s when I remember the black cat.

Oh no!

I race across the street, holding up my hand to stop another approaching car, and crunch over broken glass, peering into the boatyard offices. I can’t see! There are too many ambient streetlights making too many shadows. My heart’s in my stomach, thinking about the poor animal. Lucky will be devastated if anything bad has happened to it.

One of the shadows shifts—above. On a tall filing cabinet.

Thank God.

I reach through the broken window and coax it into my open arms, snatching the warm body as it tries to lurch past me in a panic. Claws dig into my shoulders, but I don’t care. “I’ve got you,” I tell it, quickly moving to the side alley where it’s less chaotic. “You’re okay. Let’s call your big brother.”

I’m shaking as I pull out my phone and scroll to Lucky. He answers on the first ring, and I bluntly say, “Come back. Adrian broke the front boatyard window and drove away. Call your parents. I’ll call the police. I’ve got your cat.”

I don’t even have to, though, as I already hear the wail of a siren competing with the shrill boatyard security alarm. I stand numbly in the dark alley, petting the twitchy black cat as scattered people begin jogging toward the dark, gaping hole in the building. And then it’s:

Evie, racing down from the apartment.

Police lights.

Lucky’s Superhawk.

His parents.

My mom.

An ambulance, which isn’t needed, but sticks around—just in case.

A city clean-up crew.

And crowds of gawking people, well past midnight.

Mom opens up the bookstore and makes coffee for the Karrases and the police. Kat is furious. The black cat is relieved to be allowed to retreat into one of the boat-repair bays, away from all the chaos. And for the first time, I learn that it has a name. Saint Boo. Boo for short. The cat with seven lives at this point.

“I was twelve,” Lucky explains when I question his name choice, the only chance I get to talk to him alone amongst the chaos for a few minutes. “And I swear to God, if Boo had been hurt by a flying piece of glass or ran out into traffic, I would’ve killed someone.”

I believe him, and we both know who that someone is.

But now that the shock of it all is fading away, there’s another emotion that’s settling in, especially for Lucky’s father: worry.

“Is it the money?” I ask. “To repair all this?”

He shakes his head. “I think it’s more about being in a fight with Levi Summers.

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