CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AURYN
On my way back home I got a call from Rebel. He wanted me to go with him to do an organ drop. Our source at the prison where we obtained organs couldn’t always guarantee when he would have something available. If he called, we had no choice but to respond. Our waiting list was huge.
Changing course, I drove over to the apartment that Rebel shared with Storm. He was waiting outside for me, standing next to a gray SUV. A rental. Much safer to use a rental picked up under a fake identity than one of our own vehicles.
I got in on the passenger side. Happy to chill while Rebel drove. I was still feeling the effects of last night.
“What’s with you today?” Rebel asked after we’d been driving for a few minutes. “You’re unusually quiet.”
“I didn’t sleep much. I stayed awake to keep an eye on Ripley. She was pretty messed up.” I stared out the window, watching the streets fly by. It wouldn’t take us long to get to the meet up point to grab the kidney.
“I noticed. I also noticed how worried you were about her.” The SUV jerked as Rebel hit the brakes to avoid another car that cut us off. Beneath his breath, he muttered, “Asshole.”
I shook my head, chuckling. “Of course I was worried. I was afraid she was going to OD. Stop trying to make more out of this than there is. I know I brought this on myself by being such a shit to you guys, and now you want to bust my balls, but I’m so over it now. Can we let it go?”
Rebel was silent for a moment. I glanced over to find him looking thoughtful. Being a dramatic dick.
Finally, he said, “No, I don’t think I will let it go. You’ve been extremely obnoxious in your criticism of the rest of us. You haven’t fully paid your dues yet.”
It took a lot for my friends to annoy me. For the most part, I was a pretty laid-back guy. However, this shit was starting to tick me off.
“You’re wasting your breath,” I said. “Ripley is nothing to me other than a solid way to get my cock sucked. There’s nothing going on between us. I don’t know why the rest of you insist otherwise. Give it a break already.”
Rebel waved a hand in my direction as if fending off an attack. “Whoa settle down there, bro. Since when do you get all worked up and pissed off about some chick that supposedly means nothing? Also, we both know you don’t need an arrangement with one woman to get your cock sucked.”
“I’m done talking about this. Just drive the car and keep your mouth shut.” I shoved his waving hand away as he purposely got too close to my face.
“Watch it,” he protested. “You’re distracting the driver.”
“And you’re being a real pain in the ass today.” This was the shit one had to put up with when they were best friends with the same guy for so many years.
Rebel shrugged. “What can I say? I woke up in a good mood.”
With a roll of my eyes, I reclined my seat. Intending to relax and ignore him until we arrived at our destination. I loved Rebel. He was like a brother to me. Which was exactly why he knew how to get under my skin so easily. I refused to keep engaging, knowing that’s what he wanted.
Maybe I did deserve this. I’d been pretty hard on my friends when they gave up the single life. One by one they’d fallen in love, leaving me to live the bachelor life alone. Maybe part of me resented them for that. I guess I’d mistakenly assumed we had more time before domestic life claimed us.
That shit wasn’t for me. I was content to float through life without those chains dragging me down. My mind wasn’t on the future. I preferred to live in the moment. Focusing on now. That’s all I really had anyway.
Rebel and I arrived at the pickup point to find the guy waiting with a cooler.
We confirmed that the kidney was inside before making the call to the next buyer on our list who was all too happy to get the news.
We also supplied buyers with names of a few doctors willing to perform the surgery required using a black market organ.
One would be surprised how vast this market really was and how many people were involved.
As we drove to meet the buyer on the outskirts of town, our conversation shifted. Rebel dropped the bullshit, and we were able to have a nice time together. The entire job went off without a hitch. A nice smooth pick up and drop off.
By the time I got home, I was feeling more like myself again. Not so much in my head. I cruised down the street, turning into the driveway, ready to order some grub and chill for the rest of the night. I was not expecting to find Ripley parked outside the house.
And I sure as hell didn’t expect her to be raging with fury. As soon as I got out of my car, she leapt out of hers, storming over to me. I eyed her curiously, not sure what was going on. The sudden slap she threw shocked me.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Ripley shouted. “You had no fucking right to get involved in my business.”
She raised her hand to slap me again, and I caught her forearm. “Can you calm the hell down for a minute? What are you so pissed off about?”
With her free hand, she pointed a finger in my face. “You went after Charlie. You told him to stop selling to me. What gives you the right?”
“He’s just some shady street dealer, Ripley. You shouldn’t be getting product from him anyway. Most of that shit is garbage. You’ll only hurt yourself.” Some part of me believed the words that came out of my mouth. How could I possibly expect her to understand that I wanted to protect her?
“What do you care?” she snapped. “You and me are nothing to each other, Auryn. Remember? It’s not your place to do what you did. Now I have to find another supplier. Do you know how difficult that will be?”
I flinched, not liking the way her words cut so deep. They were true though. I’d said something similar to Rebel not long ago.
“You don’t need a supplier if you stop,” I said, releasing her arm. “Have you ever thought about that?”
Ripley’s blue eyes grew impossibly wide. She took a step back, sputtering like she struggled to make words happen. Finally, she snarled, “You have a lot of audacity to say something like that to me. A drug addict telling someone else they need to quit? You are the definition of hypocrisy, Auryn.”
She took another step backward, prompting me to move toward her. Needing to close the space she put between us, I reached for her arm, and she smacked me away.
“Have you ever thought that maybe I care about what happens to you?” I fired back. “I don’t want to see you hurt yourself. If that makes me the bad guy, then I guess I’ll have to live with that.”
“You are the bad guy, Auryn,” Ripley shouted.
“You do bad things for a living. I was an idiot to let myself forget that. You went too far by trying to control me and my life. My issues are my business. Not yours. Going after Charlie was too much. We’re done.
I don’t need a fake boyfriend after all.
At this point I would rather deal with Jamie and his bullshit. ”
She whirled around to walk away. Something wound tight inside me snapped, propelling me forward. I grabbed her arm, spinning her around. Ripley raised a hand to slap me again, and I stood there, accepting the blow.
“Does that make you feel better?” I asked, gripping her by both arms now. “Do you want to hurt me? Good. I kind of want to hurt you too.”
I smiled down at her, imagining her on her knees before me.
Oh, I definitely wanted to hurt her. Probably not in the same way she wanted to hurt me.
The venomous rage in Ripley’s eyes made me feel a twisted combination of intrigue and uncertainty.
Part of me loved seeing this fiery spirit she possessed instead of the good girl persona she worked so hard to project.
Yet I didn’t love the idea of her hating me. It made my stomach turn uncomfortably.
“Let go of me, Auryn.” She made a vain attempt at pulling free of my hold. “I’m done here. I’m done with you.”
I jerked her against me, forcing her to crane her neck backwards to meet my eyes. “Is that what you think? That’s cute. Really. Because I’m not done with you. Not by a longshot.”
Ripley froze in my grasp, our eyes locked on each other. She seemed conflicted. Trying hard to cling to her rage while wanting to succumb to the pull we both felt between us. Our lips were a mere breath apart. I ached to kiss her, holding back to drag out the moment. Making it more powerful.
“Thanks for reminding me that I was right about getting involved with someone like you,” she said, her words stinging. “Might want to let me go before the neighbors see you getting rough with me and call the cops. You guys don’t like the cops, right?”
Damn, this girl could play rough. Who knew she had it in her?
“I haven’t even begun to get rough with you, baby girl.” I leaned in to bite her bottom lip, dragging it between my teeth. “You want to hate me because I refuse to watch you spiral. That’s fine. At least you’ll be alive.”
Confusion flashed through her eyes. She battled with herself, wanting to kiss me as much as she wanted to hit me. She did neither.
“I have to go to work.” She pulled away, and this time I let her go. Without another word, Ripley beelined for her car.
I expected her to peel away in anger. To gun the engine or something. Her quiet departure as she pulled away from the house was somehow worse.