Mrs. Lincoln could barely speak. “Get off my property, you little hussy.”
Ridley wiggled her fingers, the Binding Ring still on her hand. How about this one? She couldn’t resist flexing a little Siren power on Link’s repulsive mother.
Mrs. Lincoln’s face turned purple, but she couldn’t get out whatever hideous thing it was that she wanted to say.
Ridley smiled. “Love you, too, Mamma. Can’t wait to inherit your good china!” She blew Mrs. Lincoln a kiss and walked straight through her best flower bed, kicking up dirt as she went.
Ridley climbed back into her MINI and laughed to herself all the way down Route 9, her pink scarf flapping happily in the wind behind her.
By the time Ridley caught up to the Beater, Link was parked at the BP gas station on the edge of town and leaning on the hood.
Rid honked and rolled down her window, reaching into her ashtray to hold up the torn corner of his old Star Wars poster. “You forgot something.”
Link grinned, taking the scrap of poster from her. “I think you gave my mother a heart attack.”
“Just wanted to give her a little something to remember me by. She’s really starting to warm up to me.” Ridley smiled, pulling down her sun visor to gloss her red lips in its mirror.
“Think you overshot a little? My mom will probably be having nightmares for the next three months.”
“Only three? You sure know how to hurt a girl, Hot Rod.” She pursed her lips. Link just stared.
Bandage dress, two. Wesley Lincoln, zero.
“Speaking of good-bye, you think your mom bought it?” She looked at Link.
“Yeah, she bought it.” Link grinned. “Hook, line, and Redeemer. I’m a free man.” He had been planning his escape for months. Everything, even the fake acceptance letter from the fake church college, had been gone over a thousand times. Link’s practice at forging notes in high school had finally paid off.
Enough. It’s time. Rid snapped her mirror shut. “And what was that handshake about? Did you really think your mom would believe we were just friends?”
“Why not? Aren’t we?” Link leaned back over the edge of the car.
Ridley turned off the motor. “That all depends.” She pushed open her car door, shoving Link backward as it swung away from her. Then she sauntered around the car and untied her scarf, slowly dropping it on the backseat.
It’s like dancing sometimes. Even if only one of you can hear the music.
“Where are you goin’?” Link watched her, suspicious.
Ridley didn’t answer. She just bent over to pop open the trunk of the car, pausing to make sure Link caught the view. Tight dress. Thigh-high boots. Just the way Heaven intended her to look.
One.
Two.
Three.
Now.
Ridley pulled out three identical Louis Vuitton bags and handed them to Link, one after another. From the look on his face, she could tell he’d caught the view, all right.
She’d closed the deal. Now all that was left was to break the news to the boy.
Rid walked up to the gas station attendant and handed him her keys. “My car goes back in the carriage house at Ravenwood Manor. Park it as far away from my Uncle Macon’s hearse as possible. My cousin drives that thing like a maniac.” She grabbed his hand. “And I was never here.”
Rid didn’t even need a lollipop anymore, not for most folks in Gatlin. She had a reputation, which was even more powerful. The attendant swallowed and nodded. He took the keys and disappeared back into the garage.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” Link stared at Rid. “You’re comin’ to New York with me?”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not going to Georgia Redeemer with you.”
Link tried not to smile. “You’re serious?”
Surprisingly, Ridley found she had to try just as hard. “As the grave.”
He took a deep breath. “You and me?”
“You see another Siren standing here?” She took a steadying breath herself. “Or you got a problem with that?”
Ridley knew there were a lot of things Link could have said at that moment. He could’ve asked Rid about her change of heart. He could’ve pointed out how she had given John hell for following Liv to England. He could’ve cited their endless non-fight, their big breakup.
Breakups.
But Link didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he gave her a smile as wide as the Mississippi River.
“Well,” Link said.
“Yep,” Rid said.
“I guess we should—”
“Right.”
It only took about ten seconds for Link to awkwardly help Rid cram her three monogrammed bags into the back of the Beater.
“That’s all you brought?” Link seemed shocked.
“That’s just my underwear. One thing I know about the big city, Shrinky Dink, is where to shop.”
Well, I’ll be shopping. You’ll be doing what I need you to do.
That was the plan, anyway. Even if she couldn’t tell Link about it. Ridley felt a pang of guilt, but she pushed it away as quickly as it came.
Whatever. I’ll think about that later.
By the time they were back in the Beater, the awkwardness had passed, and all they were left with was the scandalous thrill of having pulled it off.
Ridley settled into the seat next to Link.
He turned up the music, pulling her close. “I’ve been waitin’ to do this since last night.” He leaned in for a kiss, and she felt an unexpected burst of happiness.