He looks me up and down before spitting at my feet. “Thought you rich kids did the prescription thing.”
“Not that kind of purchase.”
The man narrows his eyes. “Only kind of thing I’m offering.”
“You haven’t even heard my deal yet.” I drop the duffle onto the top step and nudge it forward with my toe. “Take a look.”
Curiosity takes hold, and the door opens wide enough for my bag to fit through. One tug and the duffle disappears inside. I wait, my hands in my pockets, and count backwards from ten. I’m on two when the door reopens, this time wide enough for me to see that my guy is alone.
“What’s this supposed to mean?” He shakes the piece of paper in my face.
“Just what it says. I want to buy Terrance Frame from you. I think his nickname is Two-faced Terry since he ratted out his cousin to the feds and sent his cousin’s gang to prison for ten years. According to my research, he hooked up with you all about three months ago promising a big score but hasn’t come through.” I read off the details from the email I received from my high school trainer, who has been buying steroids on the sly for years. He hands them out to the team like candy. I never took any because I had no desire to shrink my dick in exchange for bulking up. “Anyway, rather than get you all in trouble for just making a living, I figured I’d take him off your hands.”
“What do you mean by trouble?”
“I take a lot of video around town and accidentally caught this.” I hand him my phone so he can see four members of his gang, including Two-faced Terry, talking to the feds. The guy starts cursing and bangs down the steps, pushing past me. He arrows to the third trailer and throws open the door. I hear crashing and banging, and then Terry appears, boots over ass, as he’s thrown out of the trailer.
The head of the gang picks Terry up by the collar and drags him across the dirt to throw him at my feet. “How long do I have?” the gang leader asks me.
“Probably thirty minutes.”
“Fuck!” he shouts, but he doesn’t waste time. He runs toward his bike and guns the engine. So much for solidarity.
I call my uncle. “The leader just left. Heading south on Fifty-five.”
“Thanks. We'll pick him up.”
The others are slowly trickling out. I wave to them and shout, “Feds are coming.”
They scatter like startled birds. Terry tries to crawl away. I step on his back. “Where’re you going?”
“Get off me, you little prick.”
But since we both know I can beat him up with one hand, he doesn’t move. “Here’s the deal. After you threatened the boys, I had a bunch of people watching you. There isn’t much that goes on in public these days that isn’t on tape. We caught you selling drugs to teens as well as ratting your friends out to the feds. I provided that footage to my uncle, who is the mayor. You’re going to be put away for a while, and either 1PC or your cousin’s friends are going to take special care of you in prison.” I ease off his back and lean down to dust my footprint off his shirt with the tip of my hat. “Next time don’t fuck with me or my loved ones and you won’t cause these problems for yourself.”
I slap my hat back onto my head and amble over to my truck. The video is still running. I shut it off and send myself the file. Taking random video all over the city seemed like worthless fun at first, but I have so much blackmail material these days that if I ever have to protect Rory and her brothers again, I’ll have the ammunition to do so.
No one is going to hurt her or her family—not her mom or this random drug dealer. Not anyone.
twenty
RORY
“Thank you again for everything,”I tell Cherie as I sip on the hot chocolate she made for the two of us. It’s been so nice spending time with her.
Both of my brothers are passed out cold in the game room. They hadn’t lasted long after they’d eaten dessert and gotten back into the pool. They tried to stay awake, but the second they sat down on the giant comfy sofa in the massive game room, they were out. It’s nice knowing they’re safe and that I will have peace of mind tonight when I lay my head down on the pillow. Even though right now sleeping is the last thing I’m thinking of.
They were quiet for a bit after Sheila tore out of here, but there is something about Cherie that draws you out and makes you feel comfortable around her. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this wasn’t always her life. That she knows what it’s like to have nothing. It makes her more relatable. Plus, there’s the fact that she loves Tyson and it shows.
“If you really want to thank me, don't break my boy's heart.” There she goes again, always looking out for Tyson. That’s the way a parent is supposed to be.
“I think I’ve always been worried that’s what he was going to do to me,” I admit.
“You might think Tyson is rash in some of the things he says and does, but when the dust settles, he’s always still standing behind what he said.” I know every word that she says is true. No matter how many times I tried to turn Tyson away, he never gave up. He’s always been there for me.
“I don’t doubt Tyson would marry me.”
“And I don’t doubt he’s been planning to marry you since all the way back in high school. He didn’t come up with that thought tonight. Like I said, he might seem rash at times, but he’s always got a plan and is further ahead than most think. He gets that from his father.” Cherie smiles, clearly proud of the men in her life.