![\"Caller_Chap1\"](\"https:\/\/www.matthewcoxbooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Caller_Chap1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNote: The below excerpt contains strong language. If you can’t handle it, don’t read \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In time, the pack slowed to a quiet walk and came to a halt just shy of where the glow of streetlamps invaded the alley. Natalie covered her mouth with her left hand, both to shield herself from some awful smell in the air and to quiet the sound of her breathing. The others leaned against the wall of an old brownstone. Each time a car went past, she froze as if the driver might hear her over the sound of his engine.<\/p>\n What the hell am I doing here? Mom is gonna lose her damn mind if I get caught. <\/em><\/p>\n Jason, despite his size, had a boyish face that made him seem less like a criminal than the rest. If there was any of this lot of misfits she trusted, it would be him. Most nights, he had a harmless, urgent look to him that felt at odds with everything the others were doing. Tonight was no different. This was, however, the first time he had squeezed the feeling out of her hand. She tugged at her arm, wanting to sink into the cover of darkness against the building.<\/p>\n He thinks I\u2019ll run. <\/em><\/p>\n Kevin, white-painted face aglow in the streetlights, shot a hard look at those assembled. Natalie cringed inside, trying to evade his glare. The last time he had that glint in his eye, he almost stabbed some kid from Long Island. He peeked out of the alley, looked around, and came back pacing.<\/p>\n \u201cYo, where\u2019s Etan?\u201d Cory emerged from a sunken stairwell on the sidewalk, as calm as if he owned the basement apartment. He paused at the top, a red glowing dot brightened in front of his face for an instant before he entered the alley through a cloud of cigarette smoke. \u201cHe was supposed to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone tensed at his sudden appearance; a few knives got put away when they realized who it was. Natalie shivered. Cory had a deep voice that sounded ten years older than he looked, the kind of voice they use to sell stuff on TV. He took another drag, laughing the smoke into a cloud. The collar of his long, dark coat flapped up against the back of his neck in the breeze; his eyes stood out against his dark face. He was either going for Wall Street or Blade.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s in fuckin\u2019 Jersey, trying to score some rocks. We need a cash infusion.\u201d Kevin tapped his fingers on his arm as if prepping a vein.<\/p>\n Natalie flattened against the wall, heart pounding. She looked at Kevin, at his shitty impersonation of The Crow <\/em>with spiked hair. Jason had the face paint too, but he skipped the overdone bit around the eyes. Cory frightened her more; he never liked her, too young, too white, too Jewish.<\/p>\n Jason pressed her into the cold brick, kissing. The smell of his makeup teased her anxiety into full-blown nausea. Neck, cheek, lips. Hand on her shoulder, down her side. She stood stiff as a mannequin, palms flat against cold stone.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you, Nat? You need some E? Relax, girl. It\u2019s not like Rosario\u2019s gonna call the police coz we hit his stash.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026 If my mo\u2015\u201d A loud wooden bang from the street made her jump. She buried her face in Jason\u2019s chest, trembling.<\/p>\n \u201cJay, man. You don\u2019t got the green, man. That scrawny little JAP can smell your poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie gave Cory the finger. \u201cFuck you, Blade<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Her trembling lofted audible in her voice. Again, the group laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo thanks,\u201d said Cory. \u201cIf I\u2019m gonna bite on jailbait, it\u2019s gonna have a shape. Ain\u2019t suckin\u2019 on four-to-ten for some flat-ass white bitch that thinks she\u2019s street.\u201d He whirled on Kevin, pointing two fingers. \u201cNo tits, no ass\u2026 shit, she wouldn\u2019t know what to do with this monster.\u201d He gestured at his crotch.<\/p>\n For an instant, she thought he went for a gun and gasped. Then she wanted to die of embarrassment.<\/p>\n Cory made a dismissive \u2018pff\u2019 sound, sidestepping. \u201cShit, man. Why the fuck you even bring her here? Bitch is gonna be nothin\u2019 but trouble. She ain\u2019t even real.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin leaned at him with a scowl. \u201cYou were a scared little punk \u2018fore you stole that Brooks Brothers coat.\u201d Cory glared. \u201cEtan wants her to get her hands dirty. Gave her a choice of bendin\u2019 over or pull a job, and she\u2019s stiff as a rod. She ain\u2019t wanna put out, she\u2019s gotta do something serious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think I had to steal this?\u201d Cory pulled at the lapels of his coat as he stepped up on Kevin. \u201cNone of you motherfuckers knows a damn thing about distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie folded her arms and shivered into the wall, ignoring the continuing argument. I\u2019m no whore, I\u2019m not gonna be another Traci. I\u2019m not like Mother. I can do this. Just stealing drugs from a drug dealer, not like anyone\u2019s gonna get hurt. Maybe they\u2019ll respect me if I\u2015 <\/em><\/p>\n Jason ran a thumb over her bottom lip, no doubt removing a smudge of his black lipstick. \u201cRelax, kid. No one\u2019s home. We\u2019ll be long gone before the cops even know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie met his gaze, calmed by the image of a gothic prince staring down at her. The look her mother would give her if she showed up with face paint and black lipstick would make just about anything worth it. All she had to do was find the nerve to actually do <\/em>it. \u201cCops got me twice at the mall already, if this goes\u2015\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t.\u201d Jason winked. \u201cTraci babysits for them, knows they\u2019re out of town this week and right where they keep the shit. Dude\u2019s got two pounds. Word is he\u2019s the source for his whole damn brokerage.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason laughed. \u201cAnd they got the money to get the good <\/em>shit.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin stepped over and wadded her shirt into a fist, then lifted her on tiptoe. \u201cLook, kid. This is big-girl time. You wanna go home to your mother, do it now before we get started.\u201d<\/p>\n She punched him in the gut.<\/p>\n His lip curled into a grin. \u201cCute.\u201d<\/p>\n Her boot scraped on glass as she shifted her weight.<\/p>\n \u201cAny part of your leg comes within six inches of my junk, your face and that wall are gonna be good friends. We copacetic?\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie glared. \u201cYeah\u2026 asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n He let go; she stepped back and adjusted her shirt.<\/p>\n \u201cDude, what\u2019s your problem?\u201d Jason got between them.<\/p>\n Kevin shifted his eyes. \u201cJust a bad feeling. She won\u2019t put out, won\u2019t touch any shit, got trashed on two drinks, and almost coughed herself puking when she tried weed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell is wrong with you? She\u2019s no cop.\u201d Jason laughed. \u201cShe\u2019s a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie stepped up on Kevin. \u201cWhy do you think criminals always get caught? Coz they get fuckin\u2019 high and then do stupid shit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCut her a break, she\u2019s thirteen.\u201d Jason pulled her back.<\/p>\n \u201cTraci knew her way around a dick pretty good at that age,\u201d said Ernesto, the grin of a fond memory on his face.<\/p>\n Corey made a dismissive wave. \u201cYeah, but that bitch from Jersey, not uptown like this J\u2015\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething\u2019s fucked.\u201d The tip of Kevin\u2019s finger hovered at her nose. \u201cShe\u2019s just usin\u2019 us to piss off mommy and daddy. She don\u2019t wanna be <\/em>here, just wants to be seen <\/em>here.\u201d<\/p>\n A boy leaning on the other wall stepped into the light. \u201cEtan said it was time to\u2015\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, everyone just shut up.\u201d Kevin spun with enough force to flare his leather trenchcoat. He pointed at her again, then the street. \u201cSince you\u2019re still a child<\/em>, you get the easy job.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie bristled. Indignation did little to trap the butterflies in her gut.<\/p>\n \u201cYour skinny ass is goin\u2019 through the window and lettin\u2019 us in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear,\u201d said Lucas, from the street.<\/p>\n The others moved around front, leaving her and Jason alone in the dark. I\u2019m gonna throw up. <\/em>She shivered, huddled against the wall as he attacked a street-level window. The taste of freezer-burned meatballs and cheese came back. Natalie cringed each time his boot hit the glass, every crunch felt like it hit her in the stomach. Jason scraped his foot across the bottom to chase away the last of the shards and covered the lower edge with sheets of cardboard from the dumpster.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re up, kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie wiped a line of bile from the corner of her mouth, and approached the window where\u00a0she sank into a squat by the small opening. The butterflies got bigger as she peered into a half-basement full of dusty things covered in cloth. With one shaking hand on the cardboard, she slid her head through the gap and looked around. The floor waited about six feet down. It was dark, scary, and the opening was a tight squeeze, even for her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure you wanna do this?\u201d Jason held her hand.<\/p>\n She peered into his eyes, closed hers halfway, and kissed him. No. <\/em>\u201cY\u2026 Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Find Caller 107 on Amazon<\/a>:<\/p>\n Note: The below excerpt contains strong language. If you can’t handle it, don’t read \ud83d\ude42 roken glass crunched underfoot; every third step, her foot slipped to one side or the other almost sending her to the ground. Natalie stumbled through … Continue reading ![\"big_B\"](\"https:\/\/www.matthewcoxbooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/big_B.jpg\")
roken glass crunched underfoot; every third step, her foot <\/strong>slipped to one side or the other almost sending her to the ground. Natalie stumbled through the alley behind the others, struggling to keep the pace demanded by the hand around her wrist. The clamor of boots on the wet pavement made her feel as if the eyes of the entire city fell on her. Something bad was in the air tonight, something worse than ripping off the corner store or pinching a Beemer for a joyride. Wet brick and fire escapes, highlighted in moonlight, passed overhead; she ran through the shadows to a part of the city she had never been.<\/p>\n![\"AmazonSml\"](\"https:\/\/www.matthewcoxbooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/AmazonSml.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"