Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Freya
M y brother jumps up, kicking back his chair, and it falls to the ground with a thud.
He takes a step toward me, and I take one back, hitting a wall of muscle. I look over my shoulder, meeting Gage’s green eyes once again. He shuts the door behind him, and I create some distance between us, stepping further into the room.
There are two rows of tables set up, one with bricks and bricks of white powder, tubs of various chemicals, and other tools. Seems like this is a little drug operation. Shaking my head, I can’t believe this. My brother is working for them and dealing with drugs that have torn our family apart. Doesn’t he remember why we were forced out of here in the first place? I can’t go back there.
It’s no surprise that The Daring Brotherhood imports and deals drugs across the two towns—everyone knows that. They are in charge of everything. The only question is why the fuck is my brother involved? He hates drugs and how much they’ve fucked our family up. It’s one of the main reasons we are moving away from here. So we can get Mom clean and give her a fresh start.
“I can explain,” he says, and that’s exactly what Mom used to say. Before I can even think twice about the consequences, I grab a bunch of already made-up baggies from the table in front of my brother and storm into the tiled en suite straight ahead.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Hazen’s deep voice follows me into the bathroom. Despite the shiver working its way up my spine, I choose to ignore him.
Alec races behind me. “Freya, no! I can explain, don’t—” He reaches for me but he’s too late. I throw the baggies into the toilet bowl and flush. The plastic swirls and disappears down the toilet. Shit. Did I just get Alec in more trouble?
“Now would be the perfect time to explain, Alec,” I say, turning around. He’s standing in the middle of the bathroom doorway, his face pale. Lucas is standing behind him, gazing at me with such intensity, as if he’s attempting to understand me. The playful signature smirk has vanished, and in its place is a furious scowl.
Alec turns around, facing him. “Give us a minute?”
Lucas scoffs. “Seriously? It’s my house, but whatever. Have your little family chat. Just don’t go flushing anything else down that toilet or there will be more than hell to pay, Freya.”
Alec closes the door, leaving them outside, and I release a long, audible breath.
“I’m doing what I have to do to get out of here. We need this money, Freya.” He steps forward, reaching for me, but I stumble backward, hitting the vanity. “Please understand.”
“How can you do this? What if it ends up with Mom? What if the next time she collapses through the trailer door, it’s all your fault?”
He looks as though I’ve slapped him, his face pale. He takes a step back, hitting the door. His fingers wrap around his necklace and mine itch to do the same to mine.
“Look, we can go tell them you’re not doing this anymore. We don’t need the money that badly?—”
“We do! I want to get you out of this place now. I want to help Mom now—not after I’ve been at college for a few months and saved some extra dollars.” He pauses, takes a step closer, then tucks a lock of hair over my ear. “I’m doing this for you, sis.”
My stomach churns. “Fuck, I know we want out, but anything but this, Alec. Anything.”
A knock sounds at the door and Alec’s body stiffens. He steps forward, his hands reaching out to grab onto mine. I look down at his big hands wrapped around mine.
“Let’s not do this here. Just let me be your big brother and look after you.”
I look up into his crystal-blue eyes, which are identical to mine. “Like how you forgot to pick me up after work tonight?” It’s a low blow, but fuck him, I can’t lose him to this shit. He’s better than that, and we have a plan.
Alec drops my hands, running one through his dark-brown hair. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Freya. I-I just had a lot on my mind with all this stuff. It won’t happen again. Promise. Let’s just?—”
The door opens and Hazen’s presence fills the space as he looks back and forth at us.
“Finished your little mothers’ meeting?” he says, and I brush past Alec, stopping in front of Hazen.
“Move,” I snap through gritted teeth. I need to get out of here. Everything’s fucked, and I need to do something. Anything to release this built-up anger.
The corner of Hazen’s mouth lifts before he crosses his arms over his chest, showing off his bulging muscles and colorful tattoos that look way too good on his tanned skin.
“I’m sorry, Freya,” Alec says from behind me, and I shake my head. No amount of apologizing is going to fix this.
“We’ll talk tomorrow afternoon,” I say, pushing Hazen aside, and I stride back into the drug den.
Gage is blocking the exit, and Lucas looks bored with his phone in his hand where he sits on one of the tables.
I need to get out of here. As I approach the door, Gage stands in my way, running his fingers along his jaw as he watches me. With a deep exhale, I forcefully barge into him, causing him to move aside as I stumble into the hallway. Without warning, Gage, Hazen, and Lucas close in on me, trapping me in the hallway.
“You’re not going anywhere, Freya,” Gage growls in a gravelly voice, and my knees become weak.
“Yeah. Seems you owe us about a hundred grams of coke. How are you gonna pay for that?” Hazen asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ve got an idea,” Lucas counters with a wicked glint in his eye. Midnight deeds flash in my mind before I can stop them, and I blink them back because it doesn’t matter how attractive these three are—they’re trouble, and that’s the last thing I want.
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have flushed their product down the toilet.
No, fuck them and fuck the consequences.
“If your idea has anything to do with you shoving your dick down my throat, forget it. I’d rather choke on a cactus than have your cock.”
Lucas laughs, running a finger down my cheek, then my neck. Goosebumps scatter over my arms and my belly tightens. “It didn’t seem that way earlier when I had you on my bed, ready to drop my head between your knees and?—”
“Enough,” Gage snaps, moving closer until his knees hit my thighs, and he wraps his hand around my throat.
My eyes widen and I stumble backward until my back slams into a wall. They all surround me. My underwear soaks and I hate myself for it. Why do I get so turned on when a guy wraps his hand around my throat? I have no fucking idea, but there’s just something between pain and lust that gets me off.
“You know we’ve gutted guys for less than this, right?” Gage says, tightening his grip and cutting off more of my air supply.
“Do it,” I say, my voice coming out all husky.
Gage’s eyes darken and Lucas kneels at my feet. He runs his hand up my leg, getting higher and higher. My breath hitches and Gage moves my head back to him. Hazen has a pocketknife in his hand, flicking it open and closed. Shit.
Lucas’s hand disappears up my dress until his fingers run over my soaking underwear. My eyes close for a second before I snap them back open.
“What the fuck is going on here?” someone yells, and Gage curses but doesn’t move. Not until my best friend Amirah pushes us apart. I gasp in several deep breaths, rubbing my sore throat. Fucking Gage.
“Thank God you’re here. Let’s go,” I say, moving toward her and grabbing her hand .
“What have I told you? Stay away from my friends,” Amirah says, glaring at her brother.
Gage laughs. “Hey, she came to me and caused problems. Like usual. Keep your girl on a leash from now on or you won’t see her again.”
A sudden chill sends a shiver cascading down my spine. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he can and will get rid of me if he wants to. They rule everything and everyone. You are stupid if you go up against them. Guess I’m the stupid bitch here.
Gage disappears back into the room, with Hazen and Lucas following closely behind him. Lucas throws me a wink and I shake my head.
“Don’t tell me you’re fucking my brother again?” Amirah asks, tugging me through the hall.
“Fuck no, you know that won’t happen again,” I say, shaking my head.
“Okay, then what the hell was that?” she asks with a sigh.
“I’ll fill you in later. I’ve gotta get out of here,” I say, pulling my hand out of hers and running down the remainder of the stairs.
Amirah yells something, but I don’t hear her over the ringing in my ears. I kick off my heels when I reach the front door and stumble out into the cool, crisp night.
I need to release this built-up tension and there’s only one way. Goosebumps scatter over my bare arms and I don’t think twice as I run to the edge of the cliff face that surrounds Lucas’s mansion. When I was a kid, I’d come here with Amirah, and the landscape feels familiar to me. Like coming home in some crazy fucked-up way, even though this place hasn’t felt like home for years.
Angry waves crash against the rocks and it’s like music to my ears. Thunder booms from somewhere in the distance. The night sky lights up with a crack in the air. My heart pounds faster and faster. Don’t do it. Part of me screams, but the other part eggs me on.
I need this.
My toes curl over the edge of the rock. Closing my eyes, I jump.