Chapter Nine
Jordy
I wake with a splitting headache and to the sound of people arguing. Reluctantly, I crack my eyes open. Trey is no longer in the bed, but Roux is. The purple hickeys on her neck are a harsh reminder that last night was not some fantasy or dream.
It. Was. Real.
Fuck.
Roan is going to murder me.
And as much as that thought makes me sick to my stomach, I can’t look away from her. With her dark lashes on her apple cheeks and her plump lips parted as she sleeps, she looks like a fucking angel.
I’m in too deep.
Staying with them is going to be too difficult. I don’t trust myself. Every time I’ve been near her, I can’t keep my hands off her. What happens when I lose all resolve? I’ll take her virginity and make her mine.
Sick, Jordy.
Wake the fuck up, man.
But I can’t. All I see is her and how goddamn much I want her. Even if I somehow could wait until her birthday to have her, it doesn’t change the fact she’s Roux. My best friend’s little sister. It’s part of the bro code: Don’t fuck little sisters.
What about love?
I’ve been loving Little Hornet for as long as I can remember.
Not this kind of love, but the powerful kind that would mean walking into traffic if it meant it would somehow save her. Sure, maybe before I was a stand-in big brother of sorts.
Now?
Everything’s changing and I don’t know how to stop it. I’m not sure I want to stop it. I want to give in to these urges between us and claim her so fuckfaces like Kayden Wheelhouse can’t.
She’s too perfect.
Too fucking pretty.
Too innocent for the likes of people like him.
Mine to protect and love.
Holy shit, I’m so screwed. This isn’t right. It’s fucked up.
Voices outside begin rising, jolting me from my thoughts. Unease flitters through me. I climb out of the bed and throw on my shoes before heading out of the cabin. As soon as I open the door, I wish I’d stayed in bed.
Rex motherfucking Wheelhouse and my goddamn brother.
Looking chummy as fuck and ready to kill the Hornets.
“Yo!” I call out, dragging the attention of all five men.
Hollis is lingering off to the side, his brows furled together in concern. I lock eyes with him and dart them to the cabin. Roux. My unspoken word is heard loud and clear because he slips past me, closing the door behind him.
“Holy shit,” Juno says, holding his arms out. “Get over here, little brother.”
I walk over to him and hug him. Rex slaps my back.
“We were just looking for you,” Rex says. “Been lookin’ all over, in fact. ’Bout time you check in.”
“Check in?” I step back, crossing my arms over my chest. “For what?”
Roan’s expression is murderous. “I told them you have a job lined out at a restaurant in town. One your parole board wants you working at. But apparently they don’t give a shit.”
Trey and Cal glower at Rex and Juno. The air is thick with tension. Over me. And my motherfucking girl is on the other side of that door. Worry over her clouds my every thought.
“What’re they gonna pay you over there, Jordy?” Rex asks. “Minimum wage? So you can wash fuckin’ dishes? Come on, man. You know where the real money is.”
Juno nods, grinning at me. “Same work as before, but we’re growing. The Wheelhouses and the Martins are business partners now.”
I grit my teeth and grunt at him.
“Like Romeo and Juliet, man,” Rex says with a laugh. “Your side and mine haven’t exactly been friends, but we’re married now, bitch.”
My brow lifts and Juno snorts.
“We’re not fuckin’ homos,” Juno says, shaking his head. “It’s figurative. This shit we’re doing—the money we’re making—it’s fucking romantic.”
“They both died in the end,” I remind them, pleased with the fact I remember something from high school.
Rex’s gaze darkens. “Not this time.”
“They’ll lock my ass back up if I violate my parole,” I say through clenched teeth. “I can’t chop cars for you, man.”
“Naw,” Rex growls. “I need you keeping eyes on my brother. Make sure no one’s giving him any shit. He’s just a kid.”
I scrub my palm down my face. “I’m not exactly your brother’s biggest fan.”
“Kayden doesn’t get a choice in the matter,” Rex growls. “I need someone I can trust keeping tabs on him and making sure he doesn’t get his ass capped. You feel me, man?”
“Yeah, I feel you.” I meet his hard stare. “And if I say no?”
He cracks his neck and Juno scowls.
“You won’t,” Rex spits out. His eyes drift to the Hornets. “Because if it’s not you, it’s one of them. I’d rather it be you, but I’ll recruit any one of these guys. Even the blond one that pussed out and went inside.”
Yeah fucking right.
The rat wouldn’t last a second working for Rex.
“Jordy,” Roan rumbles in warning.
Ignoring him, I nod at Rex. “I’ll keep an eye on him when I can, but I’m not his goddamn babysitter. I have shit I have to do to keep my ass from getting locked up. If he needs a babysitter, then you need to stop giving his ass shit to do.”
Rex’s eyes flare with rage, but he nods. “Fair enough. You’re on call, though. He’s to text you when he’s doing any big deals. I want you there. Eyes the fuck on him. Understood?”
“It’s not like I have much of a choice,” I spit out. Because if it’s not me, it’s them, and I refuse to let my friends get pulled into Rex’s bullshit.
His grin is wolfish. “I always knew you were smart.”
“Are we through here, ’cause I want to get the hell out of here and shower?”
Rex pins me with a hard stare. “Yeah, kid, we’re through. For now.”
They head back for Rex’s suped up Tahoe, taking the tension with them. It isn’t until they start the engine and drive off that Roan lays into me.
“What the actual fuck, man?” he roars, shoving me.
I get in his face so our noses are touching. “You know what the fuck.”
Panic flashes in his amber eyes. “Please don’t alienate yourself again. Please.”
“Roan…” I close my eyes, resting my forehead on his. “I just…I’ll do anything if it means keeping them away from you and Roux.”
Roan grips my shoulders, squeezing before he pulls me to him for a fierce hug. “We do this together, brother.”
“We can’t.”
“We. Can. Just… Just give me time to work some things out.” He releases me and frowns at me. “I want updates on everything he makes you do. We’re brothers. Do not cut me off again to try and protect me. I can’t deal with this shit again. You fucking include me and we figure it out together.”
My chest aches at the prospect of letting him into this fucked up world I’m still attached to. “Roan, I don’t know—”
“That’s right,” he growls. “You don’t know.”
“We could kill them,” Trey suggests like he’s recommending his favorite pie at the diner. No big deal. “Bury them here on the campgrounds. No one will ever find them.”
Tempting.
Hollis steps over to us, no longer in the cabin. “It’s amazing you Hornets lasted this long without my help. Too much brawn and not enough brains.”
Roan laughs. “Watch your mouth, rat.”
“Not today, Satan.” Hollis smirks. “I have an idea.”
“On where to bury the bodies?” Trey asks, perking up.
“Less brutal, but still effective,” Hollis says. “I need to make a call, though. Get me what you can on Rex.”
I gape at Hollis, shocked as hell. “Who is this guy?”
“My husband,” Roan says with a cheesy-ass grin. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Hollis’s ear is pressed to his phone, but he must overhear because he shoots us the bird before walking off.
“For the record, I don’t like this one goddamn bit,” I state, crossing my arms over my chest.
Cal slings an arm over my shoulders. “Too fucking bad, bro. We’re here for you. Can’t let your dumbass get sent to prison again. You’re too pretty to go back. You have douchebag college dickhead hair now. Someone’ll make you their bitch for sure.”
I shove him away, laughing. “I fucking hate you.”
“You love my ass and you know it.” He grins at me.
“Speaking of college. These two fuckfaces will go back in a week, so they’re useless,” Roan says, shoving Cal into Trey. “But Hollis and I will be here. We’ll figure out a way to get Rex off your back and Kayden away from my sister.”
I flinch at the mention of Roux.
As if on cue, she pokes her head out of the cabin. With messy hair and a sleepy face, she’s fucking adorable as hell. My gaze falls to the purple hickeys on her neck and I freeze.
Shit.
“What the fuck, Roux,” Roan snarls, no longer in a playful mood. He stalks over to her, pushing her hair aside. “Who did this? Kayden?”
Her eyes dart my way, making Trey snort. “He’s my boyfriend,” she screeches, her voice shrill. “That’s what boyfriends do.”
I should tell him.
It was me.
I’m fucking addicted to your sister, Roan.
All I can do is stare at her pretty, purple neck.
“You’re not allowed to see him,” Roan growls. “Ever. Fucking. Again.”
She lifts her chin, meeting his angry glare with a fierce scowl of her own. “Fine!”
Roan deflates, shooting the rest of us Hornets a confused look. I try not to smile, but fuck if I’m not happy about the idea of her not seeing Kayden. She catches my smile and her cheeks turn pink.
So beautiful.
And young.
Fuck.
While she and Roan bicker, I try to remind myself of the fact she’s just a teenager. It guts me I can’t have her. I’m fucking obsessing over it.
I know the law.
If I hooked up with Roux and anyone found out, I’d go right back to prison where her dad wouldn’t be so welcoming this time. He’d beat me to a bloody fucking pulp and then eat my goddamn soul or some shit. You don’t fuck the meanest guy in prison’s baby girl.
I need to stay out of prison to keep her safe.
And I can’t do that if I fuck her.
A bone-deep sadness settles inside me, weighing me down. Her amber eyes are pinning me, reading my goddamn mind before I have to even say the words. I’m practically dripping with resignation.
“I need to go,” I mutter. “Trey, can you give me a ride?”
I ignore Roan calling out for me or the way Roux’s stare bores into me.
Don’t look.
Don’t fucking look.
As soon as I get into Trey’s car, I can’t help but drag my eyes up to seek her pretty face out.
Heartbreak and anger.
I fucked up.
Again.
It’s better this way.
As we drive away, I pull out my phone and text Samantha.
Me: I need to see you.