A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

Oh shit.

He flashed me a grin. “See you tomorrow. It’s homecoming. After the game and dance, Dylan’s having a party.”

“Who’s Dylan again?”

His grin stretched wider. “Samuel’s cousin. His parents have a house here.”

“I don’t do dances.” Brian would’ve laughed if he knew I went to a football game in the past, but I wanted to go. Then I blinked in shock. Another shit. I even wanted to go to his party. As I headed out, I couldn’t believe it.

I was becoming normal, but I needed to go see a certain gang leader first.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I stood across the alley from the Seven8. I did not want to go into that building, but I wanted to see Jace. I missed him and Brian every day, but new things had come to light. His warning about Tray. Grayley’s dad was in town, and because I cared about him, I promised myself to ask. His dad wasn’t good and if he was in town, Gray would be hurt. It always happened. I tried to calm my nerves. Jace had something to do with it. I knew it. Jace was behind everything, and so he was the one I had to approach for my favor.

The building was pumping in music, sweat, and drugs. I could hear the shouts from the crowd from where I stood. The

re wasn’t usually a waiting line, but there was one tonight, trailing around the corner.

I crossed the road. There was no issue at the door, and I was waved in. When I started to head down the hallway, I saw Krein, Jace’s second in command, walking towards me. He grabbed my arm. “Taryn.”

I frowned and pulled away, but he didn’t let go. “Krein,” I warned.

He pulled me close and yelled into my ear, “He’s not back there.” Then he let me go and nodded towards the dance floor. “Follow me.”

We moved through the crowd, and he pointed to a corner. Jace was standing in a corner with two girls pressed against him while he was nodding to another guy speaking into his ear.

Krein leaned close again. “Stay here.” Then he muscled his way over to them. A guard let them through, one that I hadn’t known was there, and the other guy moved back so Krein could talk to Jace. A second later he was pointing at me. When Jace spotted me, I saw the slight widening around his eyes. The rest of the world would see the same poker face, but they weren’t privy to the storm that was brewing in his eyes. Great. His jaw tightened and I got ready. He was pissed.

Jace broke away from the group he had been standing with, leaving the two girls disappointed until Krein went over to them. One girl glared at me, as Jace grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him. He wasn’t nice and gentle like his second in command had been. He didn’t wait for his guards. He shoved through the crowd and kept his cement hold on me. When a drunk stumbled in front of us, Jace lifted me in the air and placed me in front of him. He didn’t pause. He swept the guy out of the way, then ushered me forward and kept his arms on both sides of me until we were at the other end.

Then two guards materialized out of nowhere. They took point and led the way down a back hallway.

“Jace,” I started.

“Don’t.” He didn’t let go of my arm, but I was transferred to his side. He held onto me as we went to his office. As we neared the office, a girl left the room and ran in the opposite direction.

“Get her. I don’t want her going that way.”

The guard nodded and went in pursuit. When we were at the door, the guard passed us, holding onto the girl’s arm in the same manner that Jace was holding onto my arm.

“Hey!” she protested, trying to twist her arm free. “Let me go.”

She was ignored and then Jace had me in the office and the door was shut.

I prepared myself. He was working. I had known that the second I saw he wasn’t happy to see me. That meant I had about two minutes until he would kick me out. He’d done it countless times to Brian over the years. Jace never liked us showing up on his territory, and this was the second time I had broken that rule.

Jace kept the room dark and my eyes strained to adjust themselves. He didn’t say anything. He brushed past me and disappeared inside his bathroom. Emerging a second later, he pulled off his shirt and grabbed another one that had been laying on the chair. Pulling it over his head, I diverted my eyes when I saw his stomach muscles ripple from the movement.

Here I went. “Jace,” I started.

“What are you doing here?” His tone was all-business. There was no family warmth, and I shivered, missing it.

“I came for a friend.” My heart was pounding in my ears. “My friend, Gray—”

“You’re here about his dad.”

“Yeah.”