He starts to turn away, but then I see him do a double-take. His blue eyes drop, his dark brow furrows, and he moves my hair away to look at my neck.
I shove his hand away, baring my teeth, but he’s already seen what he needs to see.
He shoots the girl behind him a glare. The long green line inked through the word RIVER vertically down the side of my neck means Green Street.
And now he knows she asked for this.
She looks away from his stare, like she’s in trouble. Like…
He’s going to scold her.
Then it hits me. It’s not her boyfriend. This is Hawken Trent. Her cousin.
Well, well, well, Mr. Class President. Just graduated. Now I remember. He’s taller than he looks in the sports section of the local newspaper.
“Get her out of here,” the blond, whom I realize is Kade Caruthers, calls out.
Both of them are football players. Or Hawke was anyway.
Someone advances on me, but Hawke rubs a hand through his short, black hair. “Wait,” he grits out.
I watch him take out his wallet, seeing the muscles in his jaw flex.
He takes out some cash. “How much?” he asks, not looking at me.
But Dylan Trent bursts out, “Hawke, don’t pay her a cent! She sold me a broken phone!”
“You lying little shit,” I growl, peering around her cousin to her, my skin hot.
But Tommy answers him. “Four hundred,” she pipes up.
I hear him counting out the cash, but I stare at Dylan, watching her pout.
She damn well hides behind him, though, doesn’t she? Her friends crowd around her, some blonde girl shaking her head at me.
Hawke holds out his hand to Kade. “Give me your cash.”
The kid’s mouth hangs open, and Hawke arches a brow.
Finally, he sighs and digs out his money, handing it to Hawke.
He counts it out, Dylan flips me off, and I smile like I’m about to have some fun. I’m going to cut you up so bad.
Hawke shoves the money into my hand, and I look down at it in my fist, the dirt under my nails visible through the chipped, three-week-old red polish on my fingers.
“You got any more problems with anyone in the Falls,” he says, “you go through me. I don’t want to see your drugs, your shitty stolen merchandise, or your Weston Rebel bullshit in our nice town. Got it?”
The room is quiet except for the speakers still playing music, everyone staring at Tommy and me. But then…someone laughs quietly, and I raise my eyes, seeing the blonde next to Dylan covering her shit-eating smile with her hand.
The walls close in.
I’ll give her something to smile about.
I fling the money back at him, and before anyone knows what’s happening, I ball my fists and shoot out my leg, the toe of my boot landing right in her fucking mouth.
Screams erupt, I lunge, but Hawken Trent grabs me, lifting me off of my feet before I can reach his cousin next. He flips me over his shoulder, and I flail, trying to get free.
But I see her all right. On the floor. Blood spilling between her fingers as she holds them over her mouth and screams like a baby. People crowd around, trying to help her, but he carries me away, out to the sidewalk.
“Jesus Christ,” he says through his teeth, dumping me on my feet and backing away. I tongue the coppery taste on the inside of my lip. His cousin landed one good one on me during that fight.
He stares down at me, and my stomach drops a little at the color of his eyes. “You know what percentage of people in jail are repeat offenders?” he asks me. “Is that the life you want?”
Please…
Tommy comes to stand at my side, and I pull my hood back up. “You won’t be there to protect your girls this fall, Mr. Class President.”
“I won’t be far.” He looks like he’s holding back a smile as he backs up toward the club again. “I don’t want to see your ass back here. Leave!”
Pulling open the glass door, he enters the club again, and I can’t help it. I smile.
So arrogant. All of them.
I got her good, though. I got them both.
I grab Tommy and push her toward the car, both of us climbing in.
“Gotta be honest,” she says, buckling her seatbelt. “I’m a little unimpressed. So far we have no money, and two men have succeeded in shaking you down tonight. Maybe you should let me try.”
I smile, pulling out the wallet I grabbed from his back pocket when he carried me out of the bar. I hold it up, peel it open, and find exactly what I’m looking for. The key card to JT Racing headquarters.
I know all the Pirates. And what they’re good for.
“You can help.” I hold up the card to her. “Interested?”