Cover of Lights Out

Lights Out

by Navessa Allen


Genre
Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Fiction
Year
2024
Pages
373
Contents

21. Aly

Overview

Aly and Josh return to her freshly cleaned house only to find her cousin Junior waiting with a new demand: Josh must help hack Brad's computer that night during a stealth break-in. Aly insists on coming, and Junior reveals the cleanup details—Brad's car is being scrapped and his body permanently disposed of by Nico's specialists. Junior also delivers Nico's price: mandatory monthly family dinners, cementing Aly's deeper entanglement with the mob.

Summary

The day after their shower encounter, Aly and Josh drive back to Aly's house with her cat Fred. Aly is sore, distracted by lust, and increasingly aware of how deeply she's falling for Josh. They flirt about birth control and discuss how their relationship began—Tyler had shown Josh her drunken text, and Josh spent hours reading her comments before deciding to pursue her. Josh admits he wanted more than a hookup from the first night he watched her at the hospital.

They arrive to find an unfamiliar SUV in the driveway. Inside, Aly's cousin Junior—Nico's son—is waiting. Josh notes the car's hood is still warm and warns he'll need to sweep for trackers. Junior reveals he needs Josh to hack Brad's computer remotely while a stealth team breaks into Brad's house that night. Josh insists he must be on-site, and Aly demands to come along.

Junior balks, claiming it's no place for a woman, prompting Aly's anger and Josh's gleeful encouragement (complete with popcorn). Junior relents but insists Aly stay in the van. He explains the cleanup: Brad's car has been taken to a mob-owned chop shop, and Brad's body has been disposed of by two specialists whose methods even Junior doesn't know—deliberately, so no one can testify.

Junior also delivers Nico's terms for the favor: monthly family dinners, starting soon. Aly reluctantly agrees, and Josh insists on attending with her. Junior rushes them, explaining the operation must happen before sunset, posing as a service call. Aly resigns herself to delaying her plans with Josh, taking comfort in his embrace and his reminder that they'll have two weeks together once this is done.

Who Appears

  • Aly
    Sore and smitten, she insists on accompanying Josh on the hacking job and reluctantly agrees to monthly mob family dinners.
  • Josh
    Aly's new boyfriend; agrees to hack Brad's computer on-site, defends Aly against Junior's sexism, and commits to attending Nico's dinners.
  • Junior
    Aly's oldest cousin and Nico's son; arrives to recruit Josh for the hack, explains the cleanup, and delivers Nico's dinner demand.
  • Fred
    Aly's cat, transported home in his carrier and treated as Aly and Josh's playful surrogate child.
  • Tyler
    Mentioned only; he showed Josh Aly's drunk text, possibly knowingly setting them up.
  • Nico
    Aly's mob uncle; offstage, demands monthly family dinners as payment for handling Brad's disposal.
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