The first step was to get Hut and his crew out of the picture.
Chapter Eleven
LOLA
It had been three days since I’d seen Brody. Three days since his lips were pressed against mine. Three days since he finally relented and gave in to what we wanted.
I’d heard him in the house but resisted going down and seeing him. I didn’t know what we were doing or where we were going. The only thing I did know was that I had to finish my assignment. And after several all-nighters and hundreds of pages of research, I’d completed it with an hour to spare.
Now I was ready to crash and sleep for several days, but the sounds of a party were echoing off the walls, terminating that idea. I wanted peace and quiet, but there was no way I’d be getting that in this house, so I dragged my ass off my bed and slammed my laptop closed. The thing had been my savior these last couple of days, but I didn’t want to have to look at the screen ever again—at least, not until I had to anyway.
My hair was a greaseball pulled into a bun on the top of my head, and my skin was crawling. A shower was the first port of call, but as I stepped into the bathroom and tried to turn it on, nothing happened. I cursed and closed my eyes. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
I stomped back to my bedroom, slipped on my slides, and pulled a hoodie over my comfy shorts and tank. There were times where I kept my mouth shut and did what everyone said. I was the good girl—the dependable one. But not when I needed a shower. I had my limits, and this was one of them.
The music blasted louder as I jogged down the stairs. The living room was half full of people, smoke misting in the air, but Hut was nowhere to be seen. I moved into the kitchen, spotting several more people milling about as well as Jace and Ted. They were sitting around the kitchen table, splitting a block of cocaine into baggies, ready to sell to dealers who’d pick them up throughout the night. They didn’t care one bit that they were doing it out in the open.
“Where’s Hut?” I asked, halting next to the table.
Jace flicked his dark-blue eyes up to me and shrugged. “Out.”
My nostrils flared, and I gripped on to the back of one of the chairs. “Out where?”
“How the fuck am I meant to know?” he fumed, throwing a baggie on the table and standing up. “Do I look like his fuckboy Ford?”
I raised a brow and looked up at him. He may have towered over me in height, but that meant nothing to me. He was just another crew member. They’d come and gone over the years because nothing was permanent when it came to Hut. “Does Ford know that you call him Hut’s fuckboy?” I tilted my head and smirked. “I’m guessing he doesn’t because you wouldn’t be walking if you did, huh?”
“You little bitch.” Jace grabbed my arm, and I gritted my teeth from the force. “Ain’t no one here to save you. You think you’re hot fuckin' shit, but you ain’t.” I cringed as each word sprayed spittle in my face.
“Let go of me, Jace.”
“Why?” He stepped closer to me, his eyes wild. “Is Hut the only one allowed to touch you?”
I took a deep breath and placed my hands on Jace’s chest, pushing as much as I could, but the force behind it wasn’t enough to break him off me. “I’m fuckin' warning you, Jace. Let. Go.”
He pushed his face closer to mine. “Or what?”
“Or I’ll break your fuckin' hand,” a deep voice threatened.
I flicked my gaze over Jace’s shoulder, my heart speeding and pulse spiking at Brody’s fierce face.
“Fuck off, Brody,” Jace ground out. “Go back to being the watch boy and leave the grown-up things to the real men.”
“Real men?” Brody asked, his fists clenched at his sides. “Real men don’t manhandle a woman.” He stepped closer to us. “Real men let go when a woman asks.”
“What the fuck ever.” Jace let me go, but put more force into it than necessary, and I stumbled to the side. Brody’s arms clasped around my waist as he righted me.
“You’re a dick,” I spat at Jace who just shrugged and sat back down, snorting a line of coke and bagging up more of the white power. I pushed out of Brody’s hold and moved back into the living room and up the stairs. Home shouldn’t be a place you want to escape from, but that was what it had become.
“Lola?” I ignored Brody and walked down the hallway, intent on locking myself in my room again. “Lola.”
“What?” I spun around. “What do you want, Brody?”
His gaze flicked over my face and down to my arm. “You okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m good.” I huffed out a breath. “I just need a shower and my bed. I’ve been working nonstop on my assignment.”
His lips quirked on one side. “Is that where you’ve been then?”