I frowned and swiped my hand through my hair. “Yeah, it is.”
“Well”—she clapped her hands—“congratulations on telling one piece of the truth.” She spun around, and I didn’t waste a second chasing after her.
“Please.”
She halted at the door. “Don’t you dare.” She turned her head so she could look at me over her shoulder. “I kept my mouth shut. I told no one what you are. But if you touch me, I’ll scream it from the rooftops.”
I heard her warning loud and clear.
Chapter Three
LOLA
The last day of college brought with it another piece of sadness. At least when I was there, I was focusing on my schoolwork, but now I had the whole summer to do nothing but work and think about what a fool I had been.
All I seemed to be able to do was go over and over every interaction I’d had with Brody, finally able to read between the lines of the words he was saying. I thought he’d meant one thing when it had been the total opposite.
I was naive. Reckless. Stupid.
I’d given him a piece of me, and he’d taken it without a second thought, not caring that he was going to destroy every part of it. It would be easy for me to drink my sadness away, to get high and forget all about him, but how was I meant to do that when he was still coming to the house?
Three days.
Three days and I’d be out of the house and away from Hut and Brody.
A sadness had taken root inside me, and no matter what I did to get rid of it, nothing worked. So when I walked into the house I’d called home for the last seven years, and heard the bass of the music, I knew I couldn’t hide away in my bedroom. Not this time.
One night. I was going to give myself one night where I forgot who I was and what I was going through, and just live for right now.
The house was full of people dancing, drinking, doing drugs, and for the first time in a long time, I sensed their own sadness. They were all trying to chase their own demons away, but I wasn’t sure they were being successful. Drink and drugs only ebbed the pain for a short amount of time. When you sobered up, it would still be there, chipping away at you like nothing else ever had.
I ambled through the crowd and into the kitchen, noticing Hut and Brody were both absent. I shouldn’t have felt a pang in my heart at Brody not being here, but I did. Stupid feelings.
“Hey, Lola.”
I spun around, coming face-to-face with a smiling Ford. “Hey.”
“You joining the party?” He raised a brow.
I shrugged, not really sure what I was going to do. I craved to silence everything running through my head, but the swirling in my stomach was stopping me. “Just for one,” I said, reaching for one of the beer bottles on the counter behind me. The glass was cool to the touch as I wrapped my hand around it. I twisted the cap, the sizzle of the beer breaking free, and then took a swig. I’d never liked the taste of beer. It was a means to an end, but this tasted even worse than I remembered.
“Your face says it all,” Ford said, chuckling as I screwed up my nose.
“It tastes like...I don’t even know.” I placed the bottle on the counter, regretting having opened it. I should have gone right up to my room like I usually did, but the thought of sitting on my own, yet again, wasn’t appealing.
“Come on,” Ford said, moving over to the refrigerator. He pulled it open and reached inside, revealing a can of soda. “We’re playing poker. Come and join us.” He handed the can to me, and I smiled.
“You know what?” I glanced at the people milling around the kitchen, spotting Quinn at the table shuffling cards in his hands. “I think I will.”
I followed Ford to the table and sat at the empty seat, telling myself I was only doing this because, in three days’ time, I’d never see these guys again—hopefully.
Quinn shuffled the cards and handed them out silently, his gaze focusing on anything but me. I got it—I hadn’t been the most welcoming, but they had to understand I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Hut had warned me plenty of times, but my broken heart trumped his warnings tonight, so I picked up the cards and played the worst hand of poker I’d ever played.
It didn’t matter though because I wasn’t thinking of the million things that were running through my mind on the daily. I wasn’t worrying about how I was going to get my things from here to my new apartment without Hut finding out. I wasn’t fretting about Brody still being around, and I wasn’t wondering why I felt tired down to my bones constantly, or the fact that I hadn’t been able to keep much food down since I found out about Brody. All I thought about were the cards in my hands, and the fake chips in the middle of the table.
And right now, it was exactly what I needed.
The party slowed down after a couple of hours and then picked right back up somewhere around 2 a.m., and still, Hut and Brody hadn’t come home. But I didn’t care. I was winning at poker and laughing my ass off as Ford grumbled over a woman beating him.
“You’re cheating,” Ford accused, his brows pulling down into a frown. “You’ve got to be.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I’m just that good.”
“Nope. You lost your first hand, and now you won’t stop winning.” He leaned back in his seat and looked under the table. “I bet you’re hiding cards under there.”
I laughed, so loud and carefree that, if I really thought about it, I’d be shocked. “Yeah, because I carry extra cards with me on the off chance that I’ll play poker somewhere.”
“Aha!” He pointed at me, his face screaming victory. “You just admitted it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I was being sarcastic, Ford.” I placed my cards on the table facedown and stretched my arms above my head. “You’re such a sore loser.”
“No, you’re a cheat—” His ringing cell cut him off, and I glanced over at it, seeing Hut’s name flashing on the screen. He picked it up, his shoulders pulling back as he did. “Ford....yeah, okay. We’ll see you there.” His eyes glazed over as he stared at Quinn. “We gotta shut the party down. The new meet is on.” Quinn stood, already shouting that the party was over as Ford picked up the cards and tied a band around them to keep them together.
“Next time, I’m gonna beat your ass at poker,” Ford warned me, a slight grin on his face.
* * *
BRODY
I’d always been good at compartmentalizing. I had the ability to push things to the back of my mind and concentrate on whatever task I’d been given, no matter what.
But it was different now.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Lola’s face. I couldn’t stop hearing her words ringing around in my head like constant church bells.
I should have been in the here and now as I drove Hut from Carson’s to a new meeting point, but I wasn’t. I was in my own head, and I had to get out of it quick. This was a potentially dangerous situation, not only that, but it could mean the end of the case. If the buyer wanted his product tonight, we could take Hut down without a second thought.
“Did you hear me, Brody?” Hut growled from the passenger seat.
“Sorry.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter and followed the navigation system’s arrow. We were meeting the buyer in his territory, which meant we had no idea what we were getting into. “What did you say?”
“I said did you and the guys find Jace?”
I frowned but smoothed it out as soon as I realized what I was doing. How the hell did he know we’d been looking for him?
Hut huffed and leaned against the passenger door. “I keep telling you I know everything that happens, but you never seem to believe me.”
“It’s not that…” I had no answer for him. It wasn’t like we’d been quiet about searching for Jace, but he hadn’t seemed bothered in the week I’d been back.
“Well, did you find him?”
I shook my head and took a right turn. “No. We have no idea where he is.”
“Probably snitched to someone.” Hut laughed. “Not that
they’d be able to pin anything on me.”
I flicked my gaze over to him and gritted my teeth at the smirk on his face. He may have thought he knew everything that went on, but he had no idea. Nothing had been able to stick to him yet. That was about to change. “He wouldn’t dare,” I said. “He knows what would happen if he did.”
Hut shrugged like he didn’t have a care in the world. “He’s old news now anyway. I’ll have someone find him and fix it.”
Fuck, if the guys had gotten there faster that day, they could have tracked Jace down and got him to safety. I shook my head. No, there was a reason I hadn’t told them right away. Jace had hurt Lola, and I wanted him to feel what she’d felt when he grabbed her. It was a stupid reason when I thought about it now in the grand scheme of things, but that was what happened when it came to Lola. I didn’t think. I only acted on instinct.
The navigation told me we were about to reach our destination, and I glanced around. We were in the middle of nowhere, but it didn’t faze Hut as I pulled the SUV to a halt. He sat there like he was king of the fuckin' world until a car pulled up behind us, and Ford and Quinn stepped out. The back doors opened seconds later, and they slipped inside, both of them looking around at the empty space and the lone road that had led us here.
“What is this place?” Quinn asked.
“Fuck knows.” Hut turned to look at him. “But this dude is gonna buy twice as much product as Carson, so if he wants to meet in bum-fuck-nowhere, then that’s what we’ll do.”
My cell vibrated in my pocket, but I didn’t pull it out. I’d contacted Jord to tell them Hut had received the call to meet his new buyer, so I knew it’d be him letting me know they were ready and not far away. All I had to do was give the signal when it was time, and all this would be over. Done. Finished. And I could get back to my own life and start over.
Headlights flashed twice ahead of us, and Hut whistled. “Well, shit, they came out of nowhere.” He pushed open his door, jumping out like a kid who was about to go into his favorite candy shop.
Quinn followed, but Ford and I stayed put for a fraction of a second. He hesitated, probably knowing tonight was going to be the night. The guys hadn’t let him know when they’d take Hut down, but Ford had instincts that had never served him wrong—the kind of instincts that would be served even better on the right side of the law.
“Come on,” I said, needing him to act like he normally did. The last thing we could afford was for Hut to find out he was an informant. It wouldn’t bode well for Ford or his cousin, who was now tucked away in a safe house. Once Hut was in custody, she’d be given a new life, a new name, and she’d be able to start over with Ford in tow. They’d both get out and start fresh.
My boots sank into the soft grass of the field, mud squelching as I stepped forward and behind Hut. Ford took up the other side of his rear, while Quinn stood by his side.
A door opened, and a second later, legs appeared. I narrowed my eyes to try and see better, but all I could make out was a tall guy with a goon beside him.
“Emerson Hutton,” a deep voice announced. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
Hut pushed his shoulders back, his carefree, easygoing attitude slipping away from him. “You have?”
The guy moved closer, and as soon as his face was lit up, I swore under my breath. This wasn’t your average buyer. No, this was the buyer. Eduardo Garza—head of the Garza cartel—supplied all the cocaine in the neighboring state, and if he was now buying off Hut, that meant he’d gained control over part of this state too, which could only mean bad things for everyone involved.
“I’ve heard many tales,” Eduardo said, his gaze flicking over each of us in turn. “Both good and bad.” He stepped closer, his goon not following him this time. “AlI I need to know is if you can supply the correct amount.”
“I can,” Hut said, his voice higher pitched than usual. “You want to—”
“Good.” Eduardo nodded. “The figure we agreed upon is confirmed.”
“Yeah, I—”
“Excellent.” Eduardo spun around. “I’ll be in touch.”
None of us moved as he walked back to his car, not caring that he was kicking up mud on his expensive suit that probably cost more than six mortgage payments. The goon got into the driver’s seat, the lights switched off, and then he disappeared.
“What the fuck was that?” Hut asked, staring at the space Eduardo had just been standing in. “And who the hell was that guy?”
“That,” I started, “was Eduardo Garza, head of the Garza cartel.”
“The cartel?” Hut asked, spinning around. “The motherfuckin' cartel wants to buy from me?” His lips slowly morphed from a straight line into a smirk. “Well, hot damn, looks like we’ll be getting a huge payday then!”
He skipped to the car—literally skipped—and pushed into it, slamming the door behind him. I stared at where Eduardo’s car had been parked. He was most probably still watching Hut to see how he reacted. Guys like him didn’t get to where they were by not knowing everything about who they were dealing with, which meant he now knew my face.
Shit.
I pulled my cell out, shooting off a message to Jord to tell him what had happened, and then glanced over at Ford. From the paleness of his face, I was guessing he was thinking the same thing as I was.
You didn’t mess with the cartel and get away scot-free.
Chapter Four
LOLA
I waited for Hut’s door to close and for his snores to ring out in the house. Once I was sure he was asleep, I ventured downstairs as quietly as I could. The last thing I needed was for one of the guys to be here and catch me in the act.
I had to channel my inner ninja to make this work.
I slowly walked down the stairs and around the house. I even checked out back in case someone was roaming around. For the first time in days, it was empty, and it was the perfect time to get this show on the road. The weeks had turned into days, and now it had morphed into hours. Hours until I was out of here and all alone.
I ran up the stairs, my breath coming in pants and my head spinning slightly.
It was about to happen.
Everything I’d planned for the last few years was finally coming true, and I’d done it all on my own.
My room was bare, everything packed into three trash bags and a backpack, but it was all I needed. I didn’t want any piece of this house coming with me, not when I was starting fresh. I called the cab company and sat on my stripped bed, biting the side of my thumb and listening for the tires to squeal to a stop outside. My stomach dipped, my hands shaking, and every little noise I heard I was sure was Hut coming to find me.
Maybe he’d come out at the last second and see me hefting the bags down the stairs. He’d catch me, and then he’d lock me in the house, and I’d never be able to escape him. I had one shot at getting this right, because if I failed, my life would never be the same again.
The thrum of an engine came closer, and I jumped off the bed to stare out of the window, spotting the cab idling at the curb. I took one last glance around the room, silently thanking it for becoming my safe haven, and then grabbed two bags and walked out. I’d have to take another trip to get the last of my things, which I told the cabbie and he just nodded, retrieving the bags off me.
With my backpack slung over my shoulder and my last trash bag clutched in my hand, I stared at the living room and kitchen.
This place held so many memories, both good and bad. It was just a shame the bad outweighed the good. My life could have gone so differently, but every action, no matter how big or small, had led me to this moment.
With a final inhale, I pulled the front door open and stepped outside. I thought I’d feel a sense of freedom surround me when I walked away, but all I felt were nerves. I still had another couple of hours until I was fully away from him and planted firmly in my new life. Maybe that was why I didn’t feel the rush of relief. It would come though, I was sure.
<
br /> The cabbie took my final trash bag, placed it in the trunk, and I slipped into the back, refusing to look at the house. I was leaving it behind, and I didn’t have a single regret about it.
The guy drove me twenty minutes outside of town, where he dropped me off at a gas station, and I proceeded to wait for a bus. The bus was due fifteen minutes later, and I hopped on when it pulled up, struggling with all of my bags but a huge smile on my face.
Step two of my journey was underway. The closer I got to my new life, the more weight was lifted off my shoulders. It didn’t matter that I was leaving the only family I had. It didn’t matter that the motion of the bus made my stomach roil and my gag reflex come to fruition. All that mattered was that the thirty-minute bus ride got me one step closer to my final destination.
The bus halted, and I stumbled off, dropping one of my bags on the way, but when I looked up, Sal’s grinning face was staring at me.
“You made it,” he said, his voice sounding like a proud father’s.
“I did.” I sighed. “I actually made it.” The three bags surrounded me, holding everything that meant anything to me, and I couldn’t have been happier.
“Well, let’s get this last leg of the journey completed, huh?” Sal stepped forward, picking up all three bags with ease, and moved over to his truck. He placed them in the bed and pulled the passenger door open for me, holding his hand out to help me up.
I still couldn’t believe this was happening, not even when we pulled up in the lot to my new apartment block and we jumped in the elevator to the sixth floor.
“If you smile any wider, you’ll break your face,” Sal said, grinning down at me. He was more than a boss to me. He was a friend who’d do anything to help me, and that meant more than he’d ever know. I’d had friends come and go over the years, but as soon as the going got tough, they were out of there.
Much like Brody.
Things had become complicated, but he’d not seen me since he returned on the first day. He’d stayed away, listened to my warning. I shouldn’t have felt dejected, but I did. I’d had this quiet voice in the back of my mind whispering that he’d come back. That he wouldn’t take no for an answer and tell me everything I craved to hear, but it was just that—a voice of something that wouldn’t happen. I was leaving Brody behind with Hut. What would he do when his undercover status came to an end? He’d go back to his wife. That thought sobered me, and I shook my head, trying to concentrate on the here and now.
Down Fall: Fallen Duet: Book Two Page 3