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I nod. “Even before we moved to Honeyton, my dad hung around with a bunch of sketchy people.”
“Yeah, I know. I also know that your dad is in a lot of trouble with not only my father but Axel. And, if anyone here realizes who you are, shit’s gonna hit the fan.”
“Again, I can handle it.” I sound a bit less confident this time.
“You can, huh?” His condescending tone makes me want to hit him, but I’m saving my punches for if we run into trouble while we’re inside. “Do you have any clue about the things my father and his employees do to traitors?”
I wrap my fingers around my bandaged wrist. “I might have a vague idea.”
“I’m sure you do.” His gaze briefly drops to my wrist. “But the thing is, that burn on your wrist is just the start of a lot of shit you’re going to have to deal with. That is, if my guess is right and you are working off your father’s debt to my father.”
I roll my tongue in my mouth and stare out at the fire. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He inches toward me, his breath hot on my cheek. “I’m sure you do, but I’m not going to press you for info because I have a feeling you’ve probably been threatened by my father to keep your mouth shut. And I don’t like giving my father the pleasure of punishing people. Plus, my brothers like you for God knows what reason, and they’d probably kick my ass if I ratted you out.”
I roll my eyes. “And here I was starting to think you weren’t as big of an asshole as I first thought.”
He smirks. “Oh honey, I’m an asshole all the time, and if there is ever a point when you don’t think that, it’s only because you’re getting caught up in my asshole charm.” He flashes me an arrogant grin.
“God, you’re so full of yourself.”
“I know who I am, so why would I deny it?”
I want nothing more than to put him in his place, and I think I might have a way to do it. I just have to feel around and get a vibe off him, find his weak spot.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe to cover up the truth.”
Curiosity twinkles in his eyes. “What truth?”
I shrug. “The truth you’re hiding behind your asshole façade.”
“There’s no façade. With me, what you see is what you get.” A cocky grin rises on his lips. “Nice try, though.”
I’m about to keep going, try to dissect him and find out what he’s hiding, because I really think his cocky, asshole attitude is his way of covering up something. Trust me; I know all about façades. But then I notice a guy walking around in the kitchen, handing out pills, and I become distracted with more important things.
“Shit, I need to get my sister out of here.” I reach to open the door, but he captures ahold of my hand.
“Dude, I’m seriously going to kick your ass,” I warn, reeling toward him.
He lifts his hand in front of him. “Will you chill the eff out? We’re going to go inside, but I need to go over a few rules first.”
I blow out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Just hurry up.”
His gaze wanders to the sliding glass door, then he steps closer to me. “You need to play it cool while we’re in there. No freaking out. No throwing punches. If you do, it’s going to be a hell of a lot harder to get in and out without being noticed by too many people.”
“Okay. That sounds doable … But all bets are off after we leave. And if I find out this Jay guy or any of his friends have done anything to my sister, I’ll fucking castrate them.”
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, biting back a smile. “I’m sure you will.”
“I will,” I promise.
“I know you will,” he assures me. “I have no doubt about that.”
“Good.” I grin, pretending to be way calmer than I am.
Inside, I’m getting more worked up by the second. Fear lashes through me as I keep thinking about how Payton is in this house with all these questionable people doing who the hell knows what. What if they found out who she is? That she’s the daughter of a guy who screwed over two of the most powerful men in town? What if she’s popping those pills being passed around?
My fear only grows as we enter the house and everyone glances in our direction. To add to the uneasiness, some people start whispering, but the music is too loud to hear what they’re saying.
