She shook her head. “I don’t need you to come along and save me, Brody.” She stood straighter. “I’m doing this on my own.”
I nodded, just once, to show her I understood. She wanted to rely on herself, and there was nothing wrong with that. I’d pulled myself from the gutter when I was eighteen, and she was trying to do the same.
“And us?” I asked, already regretting it. I sounded like a teen with a crush.
“We can figure out what is happening.” She paused. “If you want to?”
Nothing could have stopped the grin spreading across my lips, and splitting my face in half. “Damn straight I want to.” If I was going to hell for the things I’d done in my life, then I was going to make damn sure I enjoyed every single second of it.
Chapter Thirteen
LOLA
It had been two days since I’d told Brody I planned to leave the house and get away from Hut and his crew. When I’d first opened my mouth to tell him, I wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Sure, we’d slept together, had touches and kisses here and there, but at that stage, he didn’t owe me a thing.
It didn’t matter that I was falling for him because I hadn’t a clue if he felt the same. At least, not at first. His body and eyes screamed at me to believe he felt the same way, even though he was adamant that he shouldn’t, but he wasn’t denying it.
I’d stayed at his place again last night, and he dropped me at the station this morning so I could make it to my morning classes on time. It didn’t matter how much the teacher droned on about something I’d most likely have to look up later, or how busy the diner got with the influx of kids coming out of school, he was never far from my mind. He’d burrowed his way into my heart, and there wasn’t a thing I wanted to do to stop it.
The age difference was one thing, but keeping it from Hut was another. He wouldn’t be happy—that was an understatement, he’d be fuming. The few times I’d had a boyfriend, and he found out, the guy either mysteriously disappeared, or he broke it off with me while nursing black eyes and a broken nose. And I didn’t want to remember the things Hut had said and done to me when he’d found out.
But Brody wasn’t those guys. He was strong—so freaking strong—and he didn’t take any shit. He knew what he wanted and took it without a second thought.
I huffed out a breath and walked down the darkening street. I’d had an earlier shift today, which meant I’d be home before the darkness really settled in. However much I craved to be back in Brody’s apartment, his body against mine, his lips fluttering against my skin, I knew I had to show my face at home. If Hut hadn’t noticed I wasn’t home the first night, then he would the second, and there was no way I’d be giving him the upper hand, not this soon anyway.
There was a lone light on in the house as I walked past the car, and the closer I got to the door, the more silence greeted me. Hut’s SUV was parked out front, so I knew he was there. The door creaked as I opened it, but I didn’t look up until it was closed behind me.
Hut sat on the sofa, his face a mask I couldn’t interpret as he stared at me. “Where have you been?”
“Work,” I answered, trying to keep my voice even. “Where is everyone?” I stepped forward, my palms starting to sweat at being the center of his attention. It was bad enough when other people were around, but when it was just him and me, it was a thousand times worse.
“I need your help.” He didn’t expand on it as he stood, not making a move to come closer to me.
“Okay.” I dragged the word out and raised a brow. “What do you need?” I wasn’t stupid, I knew outright refusing wouldn’t do me any favors.
“I need you to come with me to a meeting.”
My head reeled back, and my bag dropped off my shoulder and to the floor, the thud not registering. “Wh-what?” He’d never asked me to attend a meeting, and I’d never wanted to. I didn’t want to be involved in his business, and all this would do was drag me farther into his world. I wanted out, not in.
His jaw ticked as he ground his teeth together. “Some shit has gone down, and Carson isn’t happy. I need you to be a buffer.”
I pointed at my chest and blinked rapidly. “Me? You need me to be a buffer?”
“Jesus fuckin' Christ, Lola. Just get your shit and come with me.”
I couldn’t move, afraid I’d say or do something he wouldn’t like. I didn’t understand why I needed to come with him, and Creepy Carson? I shuddered at the thought. That was his nickname for a reason, and Hut knew that. We’d joked about it when he first met Carson all those years ago, but as time went on, Hut and I talked less and less, and now we were here. Him telling me what to do and me feeling like I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
“I don’t understand—”
“Fuck’s sake!” Hut exploded, stomping toward me and only stopping when he was a foot away. “Just do what I fuckin' say for a change!”
I raised a brow, feeling my fight waning, but I had to hold on to that last little bit. “I don’t want to.” I sounded like a sulky six-year-old who didn’t want to go to school.
“Tough fuckin' shit.” Hut’s hand wrapped around my bicep, squeezing over the thin jacket I was wearing. “You’re gonna help me out of a tight spot. God knows you don’t do anything else to help around here.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go fuck himself, but I managed to bite it back. I’d never been fully involved in Hut’s business. Sure, I ran for him to begin with, knew what he did, and who he surrounded himself with, but once I’d realized what was happening, I stopped. Since then, I’d never been knowingly there. I was about to cross a line, and I wasn’t sure there was anything I could do about it.
Hut pulled me to his SUV, and I wondered where Ford was. Hut barely left the house without Ford at his back, but he was nowhere to be seen, much like the other guys.