Chapter 13 Koa
Koa
It’s funny that I have her brother gagged and tied up.
I did it for the theatrics, really. Because I need this girl to take me fucking seriously. If she doesn’t, then what? I’m left hooking up with easy puck bunnies swarming my lap at parties, girls who say yes to everything and mean nothing.
Can’t have that.
Not when I’ve got something far more interesting sitting right in front of me.
Lexi’s on the couch, hands clenched in her lap, staring at her brother like she wants to strangle him herself. Axel’s next to her, still gagged, eyes wide and panicked. The duct tape across his mouth is starting to peel at one corner from all his struggling.
I lean against the wall, arms crossed and cock my head to the side.
“Your brother told me some key information I really needed to know tonight,” I say, letting the words hang in the air. “Thanks, big brother.”
Axel tries to say something through the gag. It comes out muffled, pathetic.
I turn my attention to Lexi. “You’re brought here tonight to tell me what the fuck he’s talking about. You’re a narc?”
I raise my brow at her, waiting.
She looks at Axel like she could kill him. Actually kill him. Then she reaches over and rips the gag from his mouth in one swift motion.
Axel gasps for air, coughs. “Jesus Christ, Lex—”
“Drugs and alcohol make you do stupid things, you know that?” Her voice is sharp, cutting.
I cross my arms tighter, watching their sibling love play out like a car crash in slow motion.
“He should know the truth,” Axel says, still catching his breath.
Lexi turns to me. “I did call the cops in high school, but I really needed—”
“To control me,” Axel spits. “I told her not to come to this college.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “I’m transferring anyway.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
I can’t help it—I laugh. This is getting interesting. These two together are like tying grenades together. One’s about to blow up, and I don’t know which.
“Children,” I say, lifting my hands in mock surrender. “What the hell am I going to do with you two?”
Lexi stands, faces me head-on. “He’s made it clear that I’m intervening and should stop, so the deal’s off.”
I click my tongue, rub my chin. Start to laugh, then stop myself. I turn to Oxy, who’s been standing silently, and shrug.
“No,” I say, turning back to her. “It’s not off.”
“What?” Axel’s voice cracks.
Lexi just glares at me, jaw tight.
“The deal I made with your sister still stands,” I continue, taking a step closer. “But the question is... what the hell am I going to do with you, Axel?”
Lexi points at him. “If the deal stands, you’re not doing anything to him!”
“He won’t keep his fucking mouth shut.”
She spins around and kicks Axel’s shin. Hard. “See! You’re ruining everything!”
He stares at her, eyes glassy with booze and hurt. “I know what’s happening now. I can see it clearly. You’re addicted too, aren’t you?”
She rolls her eyes.
He continues, “No, that’s what this is about. You fucking—”
The slap echoes through the trailer.
Lexi leans in close to his face. “Don’t ever fucking compare me to you. You’re like the gum stuck at the bottom of my fucking shoe! Look at this fucking mess you put us in.”
I scratch my face, glance at Oxy. He’s holding in a laugh, shoulders shaking.
This has suddenly turned into a therapy session, and I’m not going to lie—this is entertaining as hell. She’s laying down the law, telling him exactly how it is. When she starts hitting him—slapping his chest, his shoulder, anywhere she can reach—I step forward and grab her.
“Okay. That’s enough.” I pull her back against my chest. “How about we find a ditch and throw him in it?”
She turns to look at me. For a second, I think she might hit me too. But then her eyes flicker, pupils dilating when I look into them.
“No,” she says, voice softer now. “Only I can do that to my brother. Not you.”
I laugh. “Okay. So I’ll make you a new deal because I’m fed up with this storyline of you two.”
I look at Axel and smirk. He’s going to love hearing this. And Lexi? She’s going to be ecstatic.
“I’ll cut him off completely.”
“I thought you said you were going to do that?” Lexi asks, confused.
“Baby, I know where all the supply comes from.” I step closer to her, close enough that she has to tilt her head back to look at me. “And your brother? If it means that much to you, he’s done. No more.”
Axel tries to jump to his feet. The rope around his wrists throws him off balance, and he falls back onto the couch, rolls onto his side. “No! Fuck no!”
Lexi looks at him for a long moment. Then her eyes fix on mine.
Fuck.
They’re big and brown and glistening. Like she’s about to cry from happiness and relief but won’t let herself.
“Are you serious?” she asks.
I nod. “Very.”
“In return for what?” she questions like the smart girl that she is.
I lean in, close enough that my breath ghosts across her cheek. “Everything.”
Her breathing changes. I can see it—the way her chest rises and falls faster, the way her lips part just slightly. She’s remembering what it felt like to have my hands on her. I can see it in her eyes.
“What if he can get it elsewhere?” she asks, voice barely above a whisper.
Oxy laughs from the doorway.
I smile. “Baby, do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?”
I turn to Axel, who’s still struggling on the couch. “You’re fucking cut off. And if you go out of town, I’ll know.”
Axel shouts, “You literally fucking sell it! You know how it is. I can’t just fucking quit!”
Lexi walks up to him, gets right in his face. “You told me you were only using a little bit, you fucking liar! You’re just like Dad! You piece of shit!”
She starts hitting him again—fists to his chest, his arms. I grab her around the waist, lift her off the ground, and carry her toward the door.
“Get him the fuck out of here!” she screams, still kicking. “I can’t handle this shit!”
I set her down outside, hold her shoulders. “You’re not transferring to another college unless I say so.” I’m too hard over this girl right now. She hates everything I stand.
“What?” She gasps, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“I’ll have Oxy take him home.”
“Oxy?” She looks back at the trailer. “Even your friends are named after drugs?”
I almost laugh. “Maddox. Ox. Oxy.”
She blinks. Processes. “Oh.”
Oxy steps out, and I toss him my keys. “Take Axel home. Search him for his shit, take it all. No one is to sell to him. Spread the word.”
Oxy nods, catches the keys mid-air. “Got it.”
He walks back inside. Moments later, he comes out dragging Axel, who’s fighting the whole way. Oxy shoves the gag back into his mouth, ignores his muffled protests, and hauls him toward the car.
Lexi watches, fascinated. “So he just... does whatever you say?”
I nod.
She starts laughing, but it’s not a happy sound. “If you think I’m going to obey like that, you have some adjusting to do because I will not—”
I brush her hair out of her face and that quiets her. I let my fingers trail down to her lips and trace the bottom one with my thumb.
“Now,” I say, voice low. “Are you going to let me kiss you?”
Her eyes blink up at me. Wide. Shocked. “You can’t be serious?”
“I cut your brother off for good. He won’t be able to buy from anyone.”
She narrows her eyes, scoffs. “Because you’re the big bad drug dealer? I am not—I absolutely fucking refuse! Guys like you belong behind bars.”
“Because?” I question, dropping my hand.
“You sell drugs!”
“I distribute. It’s like any other business.”
“No, it’s not!” Her voice rises. “You’re hurting people, ruining lives.”
“Is your life ruined?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“Yeah!” she shouts. “It is!”
“Your brother is cut off. Is it a little less ruined now?”
She glares up at me, defiant as ever.
“He hates me,” she says quietly.
“Can’t change who he is, Lexi.” I lean against the trailer, arms crossed again. “Either accept him and his new fate or continue to have a horrible relationship.”
“Oh, like you would know?” she scoffs. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I have no respect for you.”
“Because of the—”
“The drugs, yes! Zero fucking respect.” She lays out her hands flat in front of her to physically show me what she means.
I straighten up, take a step toward her. “Fine. I’ll give your brother an endless supply.”
She turns to me, venom in her eyes.
“I expect some respect from you,” I say, voice dropping lower. “If you don’t care about my job, fine. But zero respect? After what I just did for you?”
“For me?”
I hook my finger through her jeans belt loop and pull her toward me. Close. So close I can feel the heat radiating off her body.
“For you,” I repeat.
“That was your own choice.”
“Still no kiss?” I ask, testing her.
She shakes her head at me.
Damn.
What’s it going to take? I solve her biggest problem, and it didn’t make her like me even a fraction more.
She shivers. The night air is cold, biting through her thin shirt.
I open the trailer door and gesture inside. “Come on.”
She hesitates, then steps in. I follow, close the door behind us.
I grab a water from the fridge—an ancient thing that hums too loud—and hand it to her. She takes it, unscrews the cap, drinks.
“Whose place is this?” she asks, looking around.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
She laughs. “It’s not exactly five-stars.”
“It gets the job done.”
We sit on the couch. She’s on one end, I’m on the other. The springs creak under our weight.
We stare at each other.
A minute passes.
Then another.
“Are you just going to stare at me all night?” she asks.
I shrug.
She rolls her eyes, but there’s something softer in her expression now. The anger is fading, replaced by exhaustion.
“Why are you doing this?” she asks quietly.
“Doing what?”
“This.” She gestures between us. “All of this. You could have anyone. Why me?”
I lean back, let my head rest against the couch. “Because you’re interesting.”
“Interesting,” she repeats, like she’s tasting the word. “That’s it?”
“That’s enough.”
She’s quiet for a moment. Then, “What do you want from me?”
“I told you. Everything.”
“That’s not an answer.”
I turn my head to look at her. “It’s the only answer you’re getting.”
She stares at me, searching my face for something. I don’t know what. Trust, maybe. Or proof that I’m not as bad as she thinks.
She won’t find it.
“You’re terrifying,” she says finally.
I shrug.
“And dangerous.”
“I know.”
“And you don’t care that I hate what you do.”
“Not even a little.”
She laughs—short, humorless. “You’re unbelievable.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Another silence. This one longer.
She finishes the water, sets the bottle on the floor. Pulls her knees up to her chest, wraps her arms around them.
“My brother’s going to hate me forever now,” she says.
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Her voice cracks just slightly. “He said I need to stop trying to fix everything.”
“He’s right.”
She looks at me, surprised.
“You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved,” I say. “Trust me. I’ve tried.”
“You have?”
I don’t answer. Just stare at the wall.
She doesn’t push. Smart girl.
“What happens now?” she asks.
“Now?” I turn to look at her. “Now you stop running. Stop trying to transfer. Stop pretending you can fix your brother.”
“And do what?”
“Whatever I tell you to.”
She scoffs. “You really think I’m just going to—”
“I think,” I interrupt, leaning forward, “that you’ve been trying to control everything your whole life. And it hasn’t worked. So maybe it’s time to try something different.”
“Like letting you control me instead?” Her voice is sharp.
“Like letting go.”
She stares at me. I can see the war happening behind her eyes—the part of her that wants to fight, and the part that’s so fucking tired of fighting.
“I don’t trust you,” she says.
“Good. You shouldn’t.”
“Then why would I agree to this?”
“Because you’re out of options.” I lean back again, casual. “Your brother’s cut off. You can’t transfer. And whether you like it or not, you need me.”
“I don’t need anyone.”
“Everyone needs someone.”
She’s quiet. Thinking.
I wait.
“What if I say no?” she asks finally.
“Then I walk away. We’re done.”
“And if I say yes?”
I smile. “Then things get interesting.”
She bites her lip. I can see her weighing the options, calculating the risks.
Finally, she speaks. “No kissing.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s your condition?”
“Not until I’m ready.”
“Fine.”
“And no... other stuff. Until I say.”
“We have time.”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re agreeing too easily.”
“Because I know you’ll come around.”
“You’re so fucking arrogant.”
I half nod, not disagreeing.
She shakes her head, but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. Just a hint.
“So?” I ask. “Do we have a deal?”
She takes a breath. Holds it. Then exhales slowly.
“Yeah,” she says quietly. “We have a deal.”
I extend my hand. She looks at it like it might bite.
Then she takes it.
Her hand is small in mine. Warm. Soft.
I squeeze once. Seal the deal.
She pulls her hand back, tucks it under her knees. “I already regret this.”
“You will,” I say. “Multiple times.”
“Great.”