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Croy looked at Reaper, ignoring me completely, shoving me back in my seat when I tried to leave. “How are we gonna make it look like he snuck it out?”
Reaper scowled, crossing his arms. “No fucking clue. I don't sit around planning ways to steal our product.”
“No. But you know who does? Our resident hacker. He might have a plan in mind,” I pointed out. Tapping the side of my head, I raised my eyebrows at the two of them. “See? Drugs help me think. You should consider getting rid of that stupid rule.”
Croy made an irritated sound. “Reaper, knock his ass out. I’m done dealing with him. We’ll tell him the plan when he’s not tweaking off his ass.”
I stupidly thought he was joking, so I didn’t see it coming when Reaper’s fist came flying. He clocked me in the jaw so hard the chair tipped over and I was out of it before I felt myself hit the ground.
* * *
My brain was sluggish when I woke up. It was always like this waking up after a high. Everything felt slow, dull, and lifeless. It’d take a few days being clean before I started to feel normal again. I groaned, my whole body aching, and my jaw throbbed something fierce from where Reaper hit me. Fucking asshole.
“You should’ve called me.”
Tyson’s voice was somewhere behind me, but I didn’t want to move. I wanted to go back to sleep until I felt human again. That, or have another hit.
“Sam’s going to be disappointed when she finds out.”
That snapped me awake, and I opened my eyes to look around. I was on the floor of the guest room. Someone had tossed a pillow and blanket down there for me, but it explained some of the body aches. Sleeping on the floor was doing me no favors while coming down from a high. I rolled onto my back, rubbing my jaw to ease the ache.
Tyson was sitting up in bed, watching me with a disappointed frown. I scowled, pushing myself up.
“It’s not what it looks like. I had to.”
He didn’t look convinced, and it was more than a little annoying that I cared. But I didn’t want him to go squealing to Sam. Reaper was right to keep me from her last night. I didn’t want to bring her into my mess. I never got around to telling her what I’d need to do for the job, and I didn't want to break her trust.
“I mean it. I needed to get close to someone for a job.”
He sighed, twisting to sit on the edge of the bed, and rested his elbows on his knees, leveling me with a look. “If you’re serious about your sobriety, Clink, then this might not be the place for you. People who cared about you getting clean wouldn’t ask you to do jobs like that.”
Not this shit again. “Look, I know you’re all about that shit, but you don’t understand the half of it. And it’s fuckin’ club business, so butt out.”
All the times Tyson has talked to me before, he looked patient and he didn’t judge. But for the first time, he seemed annoyed, a dark look overtaking his face. “The shit you get up to may not be my business, but Sam is. She’s a good person, and I’m not going to stand around and watch her waste her life on a loser who can’t stay clean. She deserves better than someone who’s gonna leave her.”
Now I knew this asshole had a death wish. I pushed to my feet, glaring down at him. “I’m not goin’ anywhere, so back the fuck off. She’s mine.”
He stood, looking less like a patient sponsor and more like a pissed off boyfriend. Sam said there wasn’t anything between them, but that might’ve just been on her end. Looked to me like Tyson was taking exception to me claiming Sam, and I was starting to think it wasn’t just about the drugs.
“You say that she’s yours, but who do you think she’ll listen to if I say you’re no good for her? We’ve been through it together, and she trusts my judgment. And I’m not going to pretend you’re something you’re not and watch her suffer for it.”
I wasn’t the biggest guy on the crew, nowhere near as big as Croy, but that didn’t make me weak. I stepped up to Tyson, gripping his shirt in my fist, and let him see the truth in my eyes. If he kept pushing, I’d end him and call it an accident. Sam would be none the wiser.
A flash of her face crossed my mind, making me hesitate. She might not know who did it, but she’d be fucking devastated. She cared about Tyson, and she told me losing him would wreck her. As much as I hated him, I couldn’t take away what little support system she had left. With a frustrated snarl, I shoved him and stalked away. I paced the small space, gripping my hair roughly. I wanted to walk away, but I didn’t trust Tyson not to tell Sam to ditch me the minute I did. And I didn’t know what to say to him to get him to back off.
Spinning back to face him, I pointed at him roughly. “Look, I don’t give a shit what you think, and I could take or leave your relationship with Sam. But I’m not gonna upset her by kicking your ass. So do me a favor and stay the fuck outta my way.” Grumbling, I headed for the door. “Don’t know who decided it was a good idea to shove me in here with you. It’s fuckin’ club business.”
“You did.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I shot him a confused look. “What?”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “You did. You showed up in the middle of the night asking to crash on the floor. You said you didn’t want Sam to know.”
I didn’t remember doing that, but it made sense. I told Sam to stay in my room, and after the initial high had passed, I would’ve been clear enough not to want her to see me like that. The high was fun, but it wasn’t worth losing her over.
“Whatever.”
Tyson shook his head. “No. Not whatever. You want me on your side, you tell me why breaking your sobriety was necessary.”
