by Maree Green
Kate nodded. I could see her mind going over the same issues I was a second ago. We spent the next half an hour going over everything the department had going on and where they were at with things coming to an end.
“We’ll get them, Kate,” I said determinedly when we’d finished.
“I know. Just stay safe, okay?” She squeezed my hand and pushed herself off the couch. I watched her throw on her robe and wrap it around her waist before coming to pull me to my feet.
I felt her standing behind me as I opened the door and walked out without so much as a backwards glance. I felt horrible acting that way. It wasn’t in my nature to be so disconnected from people, but if TJ had anyone watching me, they needed to think I was just making a booty call, and nothing else.
Chapter 21
Kaeli
Mia followed through with her promise and rang me again on Sunday. After a quick discussion, we agreed to meet at our usual spot in the park.
As I walked along the path, I couldn’t help but remember the last time we’d met like this. It was when Mia was having problems with her life, trying to work out how she could possibly fit Jace into it.
I tried to take solace from the fact that everything seemed to work out for her, so hopefully the same would happen for me. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had.
“Well, at least you’re smiling…” Mia said as I got closer.
I rolled my eyes at her. “I told you I was fine.”
She shrugged, but she was still smiling. “I’m glad you were able to get out.”
“Yeah, it feels good. I was just remembering the last time we were here.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “Oh wow. Yeah, I was a mess back then, huh?”
“Nah, you were just trying to work out how to make everything fit into your life. I think when it’s hard like that, it means it’s worthwhile. Don’t you think?”
She grinned. “Yeah, it’s definitely worthwhile.”
I laughed at her dreamy expression.
She was still smiling as she sank down on the bench in the sun. “Have you heard from Josh lately?” she asked, closing her eyes.
Josh was the only one from our tight nit group of friends, other than Mia of course, who I’d been good friends with before Mia started seeing Jace. We’d known each other since first grade, and were close friends right up until he’d left in our freshman year to pursuit a career in acting. Even though he was now pretty well-known in Hollywood, he was still very grounded and hadn’t once forgotten who his real friends were.
“He text me last week. His schedule’s pretty crazy right now. Apparently they’re behind.”
Mia nodded, peaking at me through her lashes. “Does he think he’s still going to be able to make it back over the summer?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully. I miss him.”
She hummed in agreement.
“So, what’s your boy up to today?” I asked, stretching out.
“Oh, he’s hanging with the gang back at our house.”
I frowned. Everyone was hanging out without us? “The gang? As in everybody?”
“Yeah, the band, Amber, Jess, Ryan, Amy…”
“Corey?”
She eyed me cautiously. “Yeah, Corey too.”
I studied her face for a bit. Did she think I didn’t want to hang with everyone? “Was I not invited? Is it because of what happened with Corey?”
Her eyes widened. “No! Of course not. I just thought you’d like some time away from it all.”
I exhaled heavily. “No, what I’d really like is some normal teenage shit.”
Mia smirked. “Teenage shit huh? Well, with that particular group of guys, I’m afraid that’s all you’re going to get.”
“Well then, let’s go get me some!”
We laughed and made our way back to Mia’s car, deciding to come back to get mine later.
When we pulled up at Mia’s house though, I started to feel a little nervous. The last thing I wanted was for everyone to look at me funny.
“How many of them know what happened Friday night?” I asked. I wasn’t surprised by the tinge of anxiety in my voice.
“Just Corey, Jace, and Aiden. Don’t worry. Everyone’ll be cool. I promise.”
I nodded, not entirely convinced. I hated awkward moments.
We heard the loud chorus of laughter coming from the living room as soon as Mia opened the door. The second we stepped into the room, we were met with a loud “Hey!” from just about everyone.
Jace smiled broadly, obviously happy Mia was back within his grasp, and took quick strides to pull her into his arms. “Well, hello you two. I didn’t think you were interested in hanging with the gutter trash.”
I sighed. “Well, it was a toss-up between you guys or the resident flasher at the park. I’m quite fond of Harry, so it was a tough decision.”
Jace burst out laughing. “Is that why you girls like that park so much? I’m going to have to watch that Harry more closely I think…”
Mia giggled. “Yeah, Harry’s got some moves.”
“I’ll show you some moves.” Jace pulled her in then dipped her before taking her mouth with a passionate kiss. Everyone cheered and whistled at their show.
I rolled my eyes with a smile and left them to it, moving over to slump down with the rest of them. Aiden immediately handed me a can of soda and met my gaze with a serious expression. “You good?”
Aiden was a no nonsense kind of guy. He was always straight to the point. I gave him one stiff nod. “Yep.”
He nodded back. Conversation over. I almost laughed. He was the best. I sat back and listened to the banter going on around the room, relaxing for the first time in days.
Mia and Jace joined Dean and Lila on the far couch, Ryan and Amy were cuddled up together on some pillows on the floor, Aiden joined Matt and Corey, leaning on back against the wall, a beer in each of their hands, and Amber and Jess were in a fit of giggles on the couch beside me. It was perfect.
A little while later, when people started moving around and food was brought out, Corey came to sit near me. I looked up at him with a tinge of guilt.
“Hey. How are you?” he asked quietly.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “I’m okay.” I tried to give him my best apologetic expression. This sucked. “I’m really sorry about Friday night. Everything just kind of hit me at once and I had to get out of there.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get that.” I watched him fiddle with the label on the beer bottle. “I was hoping it wasn’t what happened between us…?”
God, how did I answer that? “Uh…I guess that would be yes, and no, but it’s not you in particular. I’ve just got a lot going on in my personal life right now. I don’t have time for dating.”
He pursed his lips in a disdainful way and lowered his eyes to the floor. Crap.
“Corey?” I waited until he met my gaze before I continued. “I promise you it’s not a line. I’m trying to be as honest as I can here. I really can’t do the whole dating thing. My stepdad…” I swallowed, suddenly finding myself on the high end of the emotional scale. “…it just won’t work,” I finished quietly.
He studied me for a moment, and thankfully, I saw understanding come into his eyes. I was a little surprised when he reached for my hand and gave it a quick squeeze, but the little smile he gave me was reassuring. “It’s okay. I get it. I’m a little bummed, but I get it.”
“Thanks,” I said weakly. I knew he was telling the truth when he said he got it, but I could tell he was disappointed. That just seemed to be my life lately. I felt like I was disappointing someone wherever I went. Especially myself.
“I better go see what Ry’s up to,” he said. Yep, he was escaping. Great.
I stood up to let him pass and watched him saunter off to the kitchen. The relief I was hoping for just wasn’t there. All I’d managed to do was add one more person to the downhill slide that was my life. Now I just felt tired. Tired of having no control in my life. Tir
ed of letting people down. Tired of not being able to be honest with the people that mattered to me.
My eyes started stinging. I just wished things were different, wished I could just do normal teenage things. I had no idea if Corey and I would be any good together, but I thought it’d be nice to actually have the opportunity to find out. It just wasn’t fair.
“Still holding up?”
I turned at the sound of Aiden’s voice. He was standing behind me, his gaze intense and worried. I drew in a deep breath, gauging my emotional state. It was borderline. He must’ve seen something in my eyes though, because he sighed and opened his arms.
“Come here,” he said softly.
It was funny, because Aiden and I had never had that kind of a relationship before. Yes, I’d been his twin sister’s best friend for the last seven years, but seeing as I barely stayed over, we never really got to know each other that well. It wasn’t until Mia’s accident that we formed a bond. Since then, I think he felt like I was a kindred spirit or something. Someone worthwhile of protecting. It was nice.
I went into his arms gladly, resting my cheek against his broad chest. His hand ran over my back in slow, gentle circles. “Everything’ll work out, okay?” he said softly.
I nodded against his chest. “Yeah, I know.”
When he pulled away, I sighed. “I should get home…”
Aiden frowned slightly. “You should stay. Relax. Have fun.”
I quirked my eyebrow and returned his gaze. Aiden was a damn good looking guy. Of course I’d noticed before. It was an observation that was hard to miss. He and Mia shared the same black, wavy hair, tanned skin, and baby blue eyes. But where Mia was crafted with feminine delicacy and beauty, Aiden was tall, broad, and everything masculine. Or, put more simply, damn hot.
Fortunately for me, there was no attraction between us. After Mia’s accident, he was just like I’d imagine a brother would be. A good brother. Not like the stupid step-idiot I had.
“I’d like to, but I really need to go.”
He didn’t like it. He didn’t even try to hide the scowl that told me so, but he didn’t say anything. “Alright. Let’s get someone to take you back to your car then.”
Chapter 22
Noah
TJ was pissed. Mac had arrived back to the house after a wild night out and informed him that he’d heard another dealer was selling low quality stuff in his territory. After sending Pock out to investigate, he discovered his new competition was a guy he used to sell to. The word on the street was he’d started manufacturing his own low quality ecstasy tablets, taking advantage of the contacts he’d made while in TJ’s loop. Needless to say, TJ was ready to rip heads off.
“Pock, take Mitch and Vinnie and teach that fucker a lesson! Tell him if I so much as see him at the fucking grocery store, I’ll break his fucking legs!”
I knew why he chose the three of us. Both Pock and Vinnie were well known for their short fuses and violent tempers, and after Davo’s and my visit to Delaney, he now thought I had a violent temper too. I didn’t mind so much, because every person TJ wanted us to beat the crap out of was a low life criminal, and if I wasn’t undercover, I would never be allowed to touch them the way I wanted to. It was the only satisfying part of my job.
The three of us checked our guns in silence then filed through the door.
Pock turned the radio off when we were a few blocks away from Hal’s Bar. “Jay’s been here since midday so he should be just drunk enough not to put up too much of a fight. We’ll take him out the back. There’s enough coverage there that we won’t be seen from anyone passing on the street.”
Vinnie grunted his agreement. I just nodded.
Not having seen Jay before, I followed behind Pock and Vinnie as they sauntered into the bar. They caught sight of Jay the second they set foot in the door and didn’t stop for niceties.
“Hey there, Jay,” Vinnie said, pulling the guy to his feet and draping his arm over Jay’s shoulders. He patted him firmly on the back while discreetly directing him towards the back exit. “It’s good to see you again, man. We hear you’ve been busy.”
Jay was stunned for the first part, but then he became panicked. He tried to shove Vinnie off him, but it was too late for that. With one hard shove, Pock had him out the door.
Jay started swinging and kicking. Just the way I liked them. Before Vinnie released him, I lashed out with a swift punch to his gut. He hunched over, winded as Vinnie dropped him to the ground. But the guy was quick. Before anyone of us had the chance to pull out our piece, Jay had one in his hand.
Instincts kicked in, and I lurched forward with a sharp block, knocking his arm sideways as I threw another jab into his stomach – this time with my left, and finishing with a swift elbow to his jaw with my right. As he went down, I locked his arm in an arm bar, hyper-extending it with a satisfying crack.
Jay screamed out in pain as I held his arm at an unnatural angle. His gun fell from his grip, scattering across the pavement. Vinnie jumped in with a couple of hard kicks to his ribs, while Pock shoved his gun hard into Jay’s temple.
A voice called out from somewhere inside, alerting us that we’d been seen.
“Vinnie, go get the car and bring it to the end of the alley,” I ordered roughly. The last thing we needed was to get caught in this bullshit. It would mean an extended period of time lying low, and I didn’t want this operation to go any longer than it needed to.
Vinnie glanced at Pock, but disappeared without another word.
Pock sneered at Jay and started searching his pockets, pulling out a number of baggies. “TJ sends his regards with a message. If he so much as fucking sees you at the shop buying fucking milk, we’ll break your fucking legs. Got it?” He pushed the gun harder into Jay’s temple to reiterate his point.
Jay merely groaned. I knew he was close to passing out.
We heard a car screech to a stop further down the alley. Damn, Vinnie had some speed moves. Pock slammed the butt of the gun down hard on Jay’s head before kicking him a couple more times.
I released Jay’s arm and we took off down the alley to where Vinnie was waiting. Leaning back in the rear seat of the Camry, I clenched my teeth. That hadn’t been nearly as satisfying as I thought it’d be.
“What the fuck?”
I looked up at the sound of Pock’s voice to see him inspecting the baggies he’d pulled off Jay.
“What’s up?” I asked, alerted by the sharpness of his tone. He held one up for me to inspect, and I squinted at it, taking in the pale blue tablets with the dark blue X on them. “What the fuck?”
They looked exactly like TJ’s brand, only slightly bigger. The difference would be hard to make from a buyer’s perspective, but to us it was obvious.
Vinnie grunted. “TJ’s not goin’ to be happy about this.”
No crap.
And he wasn’t. The second he saw the counterfeit pills, he let loose with a string of curses that went on for a good half an hour. The fact that someone was trying to pass off crap product as his sent him into a black rage. Whoever was responsible would be dead the second they were found.
With the big delivery coming soon, it wasn’t the best timing. All of a sudden, everybody was under suspicion. To make matters worse, TJ’s cell pinged, announcing Ken was requiring another three bundles.
“I don’t like this,” Davo said with a growl. “He’s been increasing his purchases too much lately.”
I frowned, mulling it over in my head. “It doesn’t make any sense. You’d think if someone was selling these fakes in our territory, Ken’s sales would go down, not up.”
TJ nodded, the crease between his eyebrows deeper than I’d ever seen. “You’d think. That’s what I don’t get. We need to start doing some recons. I need to find whoever’s behind this, and they need to be taken care of.”
They sure as fuck did.
Chapter 23
Kaeli
Driving home from the park, I couldn’t help but feel
so incredibly grateful for the group of friends I’d found over the last few months. I was always so amazed at how much they all really cared about one another, and it was nice to be a part of something like that. It felt good.
My body hummed with it as I parked the car, and I found myself smiling. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d come home smiling, but I liked it.
Unfortunately, it only lasted until I made it inside and saw Aaron standing in the living room with Ken’s brown bag by his feet. As Mia would say: Reality was a serious bitch.
Aaron smirked when he saw me. “Good timing, sis. Daddy dearest has a job for you.”
My stomach dropped and my hands clenched into fists at my sides. I didn’t want to do it.
I shook my head.
Aaron’s eyebrow went up slowly. “No? Okay then. Let me just text Dad and let him know he’ll have to get someone else.” He pulled out his cell and started tapping away.
Fuck! I clenched my teeth together hard. “Fuck off, Aaron. Just give me the god damned bag.”
He lowered the cell and smirked at me again, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked me over. “They fuck you real good there, don’t they? Bet you love it too, don’t you, you little slut. Maybe I should try you for myself.”
I paled a little at that. I knew we weren’t blood relatives, but the thought of anything intimate with Aaron was so wrong, it made my stomach revolt. “Don’t even think about it, you disgusting pig.” I picked up the bag and glared at him. I had to get out of there. Like now. “I’m not catching the bus either. I’ll drive myself.”
He shrugged. “Whatever. Like I give a shit.”
I gave him one last hard stare before turning on my heel and storming out.
Throwing the bag on the backseat, I pulled out onto the road. I was probably driving a little too fast, but I was so god damned angry, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
It took half a dozen blocks later for me to realize how stupid I was being. If I got caught speeding or something else, I would be screwed. What if they searched the car? What if they found whatever was in that bag?