AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grinding my teeth, I glowered at him. “That’s club business.”
He didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow at me. He wasn’t going to back down about this. There was even the potential that he’d start squealing to the pigs if he got it in his head that we were dangerous. We were, but we hid it well enough. The pigs would take a witness statement as fact and cause trouble for us.
“Fine, asshole. But you tell anyone and I’ll end you.” I waited for him to acknowledge me with a nod before continuing. “The guy who stuck you is an old rival. He’s caused a lot of trouble. Stealing, poaching buyers, the works. He’s attacked a few of the girls, too. Last time he was in town, one of our own got killed. When you saw us talkin’ at the diner, he wasn’t just offering me drugs. He was trying to get me to switch sides and join his crew. He’s an idiot. Everyone knows my brotherhood is my family, but we decided to lean into it. The asshole is good at hiding, and we need to figure out where the hell he is. So Prez decided I should take his offer and get his location so we can finally handle him. I’m doin’ it to keep Sam safe. If he finds out about her, he’ll hurt her.”
“Shit.” Tyson sat heavily on the bed, rubbing his face roughly. “She wasn’t wrong when she said she trusted the wrong guy.”
That hurt, especially since Sam was the one who said it, but I didn’t let it show. She wasn’t wrong. If she’d steered clear of me, she wouldn’t be on Hammer’s radar for being connected to me.
“I’m gonna watch out for her, Tyson. Even if I gotta get high to do it. Once we find this fucker, he’ll stop being a problem for her and she’ll be safe.”
An annoyed look crossed his face. “Sure, because you’d say no to getting high. Did you volunteer for this job?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, asshole. I didn’t. He approached me, remember? I don’t know who told him I was using, or that I was trying to get clean. I’ll figure that out later. Right now, I need to know you’ll keep Sam out of this.”
He looked pensive, his eyes moving back and forth. I didn't want to have to kill him, but if he threatened my crew and what I had with Sam, I wouldn’t hold back. I wasn’t going to let him cause problems for us.
With a frustrated sigh, he stood and glared at me. “Fine. I’ll accept that you did it for a good reason. But if you want me to have your back with Sam, you need to promise me that after you deal with this guy, you’ll get help. I know a good outpatient program. You said you had to do it for the job. Once he’s gone, that excuse is out. You get clean and you treat her right. She’s lost enough people in her life. I’m not letting her get close to you just so you can overdose and force her to lose more.”
After this job was done, I had to get clean anyway. Croy wasn’t going to let me keep using. And since everyone already knew, I didn’t have to lie about going to get help. Didn’t mean I liked him pushing me around. With an irritated glare, I thrust my hand out at him.
“Deal.”
CHAPTER 30
SAM
Clink warned me he’d be gone for a while, so I wasn’t expecting him to join me in bed. That didn’t mean I wasn’t disappointed. He was flirtatious and his kisses made my knees weak, and I wanted more. I was hoping he’d at least be back to sleep at night between whatever he was doing for work. I tried not to think about that part. I knew it wasn’t legal, but Clink was sweeter to me than any of my family ever was, and they were the epitome of church going good guys. Being a criminal didn't automatically make him a bad person.
Clink said that a few people would go with me to work to pick up the stuff I needed for the job. I’d given Russel an order list and it should be there by now. I got dressed, figuring I’d check in on Tyson before heading downstairs to see when I’d be able to head into work. I knocked on Tyson’s door, pushing inside and coming up short when I saw Clink standing there, shaking Tyson’s hand.
“Oh. I thought you were working?”
There had been a dark look on his face when I came in, but Clink wiped it away and smiled at me, releasing Tyson and reaching for me instead.
“Job got pushed a few days. You look hot.”
Scrunching my nose, I glanced down at my outfit. I was wearing jeans and a company long sleeved polo. It wasn’t a sexy outfit in the slightest.
“Uh… Thanks? Why are you in here?”
He raised an eyebrow, and I could tell he was going to say something cocky and probably stupid, but Tyson interrupted him before he had a chance.
“He had a slip. Came to see me and I convinced him to crash on the floor.”
Clink’s eyes bugged out, and he spun around with a snarl. “What the fuck? Why would you–”
Tyson shot him a dirty look. “Because you said you didn’t want to lie to her. She knows users have slips, she’s been volunteering with me for years. You were smart to come to me instead of trying to stay with her. She knows that.”
True. And while it sucked that Clink had a relapse, it wasn’t something I wasn’t expecting. Getting sober was hard, and relapses happened. Especially in the first few months.
“He’s right, Clink. I’m not mad at you. You came to Tyson, and that’s a step in the right direction.” I stepped closer, putting my hand on his chest. He still looked pissed that Tyson told me, but there was a layer of embarrassment underneath it he couldn’t quite hide when he was so angry. I tipped my head to grab his attention. “Thank you for thinking about me and staying in here to keep me safe. You can tell me if you’re worried, though. I could’ve sat up with you until you fell asleep.”
Clink’s face softened, and he drew me closer, resting his hands on the sides of my neck and stroking my chin with his thumbs. “You’re awesome, you know that?”
“Remember that when I’m refusing to let you go get another fix. You have to start from scratch again, and it’s going to suck.”
He snorted. “You’re telling me.”
