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The car slowed the closer we got to the meeting point—one of Carson’s clubs
—and I pulled my gun out, making sure it was fully loaded and ready to go if we ran into any trouble.
Ford pulled the car to a complete stop, but he didn’t turn the engine off as we all filed out, ready for the meeting that would take place in the back of the lot because there was no way he’d go inside and be surrounded by Carson’s men. Hut was careless at times, but he wasn’t stupid.
Jace, Ted, and Quinn pulled in behind us and exited their car, joining on the outskirts. They were there to be seen, but not overly. Carson wouldn’t like it if he felt surrounded.
None of us spoke a word as we waited, the darkness surrounding us with only one streetlight to illuminate the space. The glow from that one bulb allowed there to be areas we could see in, but my gut told me there were people in the shadows. Jord kept tabs on me through the tracker I wore in my watch, so whenever I couldn’t reach them, they all knew exactly where I was. I had no doubt they’d followed us here.
I shuffled on the spot, the gravel under my boots crunching from the force, and then finally the lone back door pushed open. Several of Carson’s guys walked out first, and then a few seconds later, Carson appeared. The smirk that seemed to be plastered to his face anytime I’d seen him was vacant, and in its place was a flat line. He wasn’t happy—that much I was sure about.
“Carson,” Hut acknowledged, not moving from his spot ten feet in front of Ford and me.
“Hut,” Carson replied, his gaze swinging around as he took us all in. He wasn’t stupid either, knowing the two men he could see clearly weren’t the only people Hut had brought with him. His pristine shoes kicked up dust as he ambled closer to us, stopping five feet away from Hut. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
I’d witnessed Carson drugged out of his mind and also sober as hell. He wasn’t like some of the guys I knew who couldn’t be a mixture of both. He knew when to stop, he knew when he was about to tilt over the edge and become an addict. He was aware of his limits, which was more than I could say for Jace.
I flicked my gaze over toward the shadows, frowning at the way Jace was leaning against a fence pole. He looked like he was about to shimmy down it and make the ground his bed. Fuck.
“Yeah,” Hut replied, his shoulders tense. “I’m not real fuckin' happy about you calling me like I’m one of your goddamn dogs, so this better be fuckin' good.”
I could hear the silent threat in Hut’s words, and I was sure Carson could too, but he didn’t mention it as he raised a brow in return.
“Your product…” He trailed off, giving Hut a chance to say something, but when he was silent, Carson continued, “I could go to five different people within a fifty-mile radius and get better shit that you’re giving me. My clients are starting to notice, and that doesn’t bode well for business.”
Hut stepped forward slowly, his body seeming to vibrate with more and more anger the longer Carson spoke. “The fuck you talkin' about?”
Carson waved his hand in the air in the same way you would swat at a fly. “I’m talking about you cutting it.”
“It’s eighty-five percent pure. That’s what I’ve always sold, and what I will always sell.”
Carson tilted his head like a dog and watched Hut for several moments, distant traffic the only sounds. “You don’t know,” Carson finally said, throwing his head back and barking out a laugh. Even I tensed at the exchange, and nothing fucking fazed me anymore. I’d seen and done enough shit to not let one meeting bother me, but there was something to what he was saying, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Know what?” Hut growled out.
“That you have someone cutting your product lower than it should be.”
Hut stared at him, his fists clenched at his sides, taking in everything he said. “I’ll fix it.”
“Yes, you will,” Carson told him, nodding, and stepping back. “I expect new product within four days. Failure to supply won’t mean good things for you or your crew, Hut.”
Unlike Hut and his veiled threats, Carson had come right out and said it. Had it been anyone else, I was sure Hut would have put a bullet in him, but this was Carson, one of the biggest buyers in the state. Hut couldn’t afford to lose his business, no matter what happened. Having dealers on every street corner was one thing, but that wasn’t enough for Hut, he’d branched out into supplying the suppliers of said corner dealers, and now there was someone in our midst who’d crossed him.
Carson spun around and waved his hand in the air like he was the king of his own goddamn country, and as soon as the door clicked into place behind him, Hut exploded. “What. The. Fuck!” He gripped his head in his hands and paced back and forth, not caring that Carson was probably watching his every move on the cameras he had around his building, or maybe Hut didn’t know he had cameras.
I shook my head. Of course he didn’t know. I’d caught sight of them the first time we’d come here months ago, but I was trained to observe my surroundings.
“Hut—” Ford started.
Hut spun around, his nostrils flared. “Don’t say one motherfuckin' word,” he warned him. “Every single one of you fuckers better get your asses back to the house.” He stormed past us, threw himself into the front of his car, and slammed the door so loud it vibrated through me.
No one moved for several seconds, each of us taking in what had just happened. Someone had cut the product more than they should have, which meant someone was skimming drugs. One of Hut’s crew had just crossed him, which could only mean things were about to get a whole lot messier than they already were.
Chapter Twelve
LOLA
I smiled wide and waved at Cade as his mom drove away, but once they were out of the lot, my shoulders slumped and my smile dropped. The last few days I’d barely had any sleep with people coming in and out of the house at all times at night. It wasn’t like usual, though. No music was pounding against the walls, no drunken parties. It was all business, and by business I meant Hut shouting the odds and telling every member of his crew that he would “find the fucker who crossed him and destroy him.”
