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“Shit changes,” Rex said, and my dad swatted him on the back of the head again. Dad liked to be the one in control and to do all the talking, and Rex was the same with anyone other than Dad.
“Seems Riven is a little upset about your brother and Becca, plus the fact that we never saw him when he was inside. Don’t know why he would expect us to. He’s always been selfish, though. Thinks he’s too good for where he came from now, thinks he’s too good for us. He’s getting a little too big for his britches. If he says anything you think we need to know, I expect you to tell us. Keep an eye on him, Parrish. Let us know how he’s doing.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so. I don’t ask shit from you. You’re just like him, thinking you’re too good. You do this for me because I told you to.” Dad took a step closer, and it took everything in me not to do the same to him. Still, I straightened my back, made myself taller, not backing down.
Rex laughed. “You’re like him in more ways than one. Is he fucking you yet?”
“He’s straight, you asshole, and we hate each other.” Well, he hated me. I wasn’t so sure I hated him anymore—or hell, if I ever really had. I’d wanted to.
“No, he’s not. That’s not what he said when we paid him a visit yesterday.”
My gaze snapped to Rex’s. Riven was queer? Or was Rex just giving me shit? Not that it should matter one way or another. Me and Riven wouldn’t ever happen, and I shouldn’t want us to.
It took me a moment to process what he’d said—when we paid him a visit yesterday. “What did you do to him?”
“Tsk, tsk,” Dad said. “What makes you think we’d do something to him, and why would you care if we did?”
Shit. I was messing this up. “I care because I don’t want to clean up Rex’s mess and because Riven works with me. My crew need the help…unless Rex wants to get off his ass and get a job other than selling drugs.”
“Fuck you, Parrish.” Rex shoved me.
I shoved him back. We were dysfunctional as hell and always would be. Dad got between us, knowing neither of us would lay a hand on him. “Stop acting like idiots!” he cursed. “Get out of here, Parrish, and you keep us posted on what Riven’s up to. That’s all you need to know, and I expect you to fucking do it.”
No way in hell was I doing that, but still I said, “Yes, sir,” to keep the peace, and then did exactly as he said. I got out of there while I could.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Riven
“You thirsty? I have some extra bottles of water.” Parrish held out a drink for me, while I stood there staring at him like he had fifteen arms or something.
“What’s wrong with you?” He’d been acting differently all week. He went out of his way to be nice to me, said good morning, asked me how I was liking the job and shit like that. I still did my best not to engage with him because I didn’t trust a Hunt as far as I could throw them, but his sudden insistence on reaching out made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“What do you mean, what’s wrong with me? I’m simply offering you water.”
“You didn’t offer me water last week. Then all of a sudden you’re driving my paperwork to my house, and this week you’re acting like we’re best friends.”
Wayne had already left for the day, again asking me if I wanted to hang out. I was hot as shit, sweat running rivers down my face, and I was out of water, but no way would I take any from Parrish.
He didn’t answer right away, just stood there looking at me, dissecting me with those big, steel-gray eyes of his that always looked like they were trying to see more than most folks tried to see. I didn’t like them on me, made me feel like Parrish could find all my secrets. It was that thought that made the truth hit me like a bolt of lightning. My insides frosted over, like a sudden blizzard had swept through. “They tell you to be nice to me? Are you supposed to try and be my friend?”
“No…I mean yes, but that’s not…” He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back, but it fell forward onto his forehead again.
I hadn’t expected him to admit it, but all that did was make the ice in my veins melt and my blood boil. “Fuck Rex. Fuck Frank, and fuck you too. I quit.” I turned on my heel, storming toward my vehicle before I did something stupid…well, stupider. I needed this job. Quitting was going to get me in a lot of trouble, but what was I supposed to do? Sometimes it felt like there was no use in trying, that no matter what I did, I would never get ahead, never be anything other than the Riven I’d always been.
