Page 40 of Colton’s Inferno

But he wanted to impress Lucy.

Standing outside of Prime, he leaned against the wall. The bricks had been warmed during the day. Even though the sun had set, they still radiated heat. Main Street was filled with cars and pedestrians both. Classes at the university started on Tuesday and most of the students had returned.

A group of young women, their arms linked into a chain, walked by laughing.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. 7:05 p.m.

He was supposed to meet Lucy at 7:00 p.m. Five minutes wasn’t really late, he reminded himself. The street was clogged with cars. She lived miles out of town. She was on her way. Or so he hoped.

“Hey,” called out a familiar voice. “Aiden.”

He turned to see his sisters, Kelly and Matti, walking up the street. They were dressed for a night out. Matilda wore a blue sundress. Kelly had on jeans and a blazer.

“Hey, you two.” He hugged Matti and then Kelly. “What are you doing?”

Kelly pointed to the door to Prime. “Going to grab a drink and then dinner.”

“What are you doing?” Matti asked.

“Going to Prime, too.”

“We planned this dinner weeks ago. How’d you get a reservation?” Kelly asked.

And at the same time, Matilda said, “You look nice. Who are you going out with?”

Aiden was a T-shirts and jeans kind of guy. But for tonight, he’d put on a button-up shirt and khaki pants. He ignored their questions and asked instead, “Where’s Ryan and Sammy?”

“Ryan’s working and Mom came over to stay with Sammy. When I left, they were cuddled up on the sofa, eating pizza and watching a movie.”

Aiden scanned the street, looking for the truck from the Five Steers Ranch. It wasn’t there. He refused to look at his phone again, even though he could feel the seconds slip away like grains of sand through his fingers.

Finally, he asked, “Either of you have the time?”

Kelly wore a smartwatch. She rotated her wrist and numbers appeared. “Ten after,” she said. And then, “Who are you meeting?”

“Someone new,” he said. “I don’t think you know her.”

“But someone you like,” Matilda guessed.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure if she’s even coming.”

“We can keep you company,” Kelly offered. “Our reservation isn’t until seven fifteen.”

“And if she doesn’t show, then you can hang out with us,” said Matti.

“Thanks guys,” he said. “You’re the best.”

And really, his family was amazing. But what he really wanted was to see Lucy again.

“So.” Kelly stood next to him, leaning a shoulder on the wall. “Have you talked to Dylan lately?”

Dylan was Aiden’s twin brother. He was the one who left Red Grove. After joining the FBI, he started working as an undercover agent. It meant that the family went for long periods of time without any word. “I haven’t heard from him in weeks,” said Aiden. “A month maybe.”

“I just thought that maybe he would call you after what happened last night,” said Kelly.

Like a lot of twins, they knew things about each other. Felt each other’s pain. There was a time when Aiden’s shoulder started to hurt, only to find out that Dylan had torn his rotator cuff.

“Or maybe his head hurts and he thinks I should be checking on him,” Aiden joked.