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“We’re getting into some bigger shit. Huge fucking money and a lot of goddamned heroin. You’re going to be the one to pick it up, and you’re going to be the one to move it for us.”
Fuck. Drugs. That would get me a whole hell of a lot of time if I got caught. And the thought of that shit on the streets…it made me sick. That wasn’t who I wanted to be anymore. This community was already so lost to drugs, the last thing they needed was even more of it on the streets. “Why me?”
“Again, because I can. And because you owe us.” He wanted me to have to do something I hated. That was really all he cared about. Being shitty to me.
“I do this, and we’re done,” I confirmed. “I don’t even want any of the money.”
“You weren’t getting any anyway. This is all out of the goodness of your heart,” he sneered. I hated this man.
“When and where?”
All of them laughed.
“Slow your roll there, kid. Like I’m going to give you all the details now so you can rat us out. Just know it’ll be big and it’ll be soon. When I say it’s time, I expect you to fucking go, and if shit goes wrong, what happens to them will be on your hands.” He pointed to the house and garage. “And if we get into trouble, something will happen to them. I promise you. We’ll be in touch.”
He tossed me a burner phone, and then they walked away, through the woods, leaving me alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Parrish
“Ouch! Motherfucker!” The hammer clattered to the ground as Riven shook his hand. He kicked the tool across the floor of the house, giving me his back as he walked away.
For what was likely the hundredth time over the past week, I frowned when it came to something he did. I couldn’t explain exactly what it was, but he’d been on edge since we’d gone bowling. I thought the evening was perfect, and from what I could tell, he had too, but when I’d woken up the next morning, he was distracted and distant.
Wayne looked in my direction, and I shook off his concern before following Riven.
“You okay?” I asked when we were outside and standing beneath a tree.
“Yep,” was all he said before lighting a cigarette. That was something else that was different. He’d been smoking like a chimney lately.
“Is that all I’m going to get?”
“I hit my finger with a hammer, and I’m fine. I don’t know what else you expect me to say.”
I sighed. This had been the extent of our conversation for days. Riven was always a man of few words, but not like this. “Did I do something wrong? Is this about Friday night? Was it too much?”
He dropped his head back, showing me his neck, and I watched as he swallowed a lump there. “Shit. No. It’s not you. I just have stuff on my mind.”
“Like what?” I stepped closer.
“Nothing.”
“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have both nothing and stuff on your mind.”
“It’s not you,” he reiterated. “Sometimes I feel like you’re the only reason I’m hanging on.”
Hearing that made the best kind of warmth flood through me, knowing that I was giving Riven something he needed. “Hey, we’re okay. You’re okay.” I went to him, wrapped my arms around him, and kissed his sweaty neck. “Nothing has happened. My family is leaving us alone. Let’s not dwell on the negative until there’s a specific threat chasing us down. We’ll enjoy the downtime until we don’t have a choice.”
He stiffened at the mention of them, which made me want to fucking kill my dad and Rex. He was worried about what they would do, we both were, but Riven wore his stress like his skin.
“As long as we stick together, we’ll be fine.”
Riven nodded, then pulled away. “You should go back in there. I’ll finish this cigarette and meet you.”
“How’s your finger?” I reached for his hand, but he shook off my concern.
“It’s nothing. Really.” But it felt like he was talking about more than his finger. And it didn’t feel like nothing.
“Is he all right? Did something happen?” Wayne asked when I got back inside.
I didn’t know if he was all right, but I wasn’t telling Wayne that. “It’s all good.”
But something in the back of my mind was telling me it wasn’t good at all.
*
I woke up in the middle of the night to find that Riven wasn’t in bed with me. That wasn’t abnormal because of his insomnia, but the heaviness in my chest was different.
I got out of bed, went to the door, and pulled it open, expecting to see Riven sitting there chain-smoking again. “Riv?” I called softly. When he didn’t respond, I went out onto the concrete and looked around. “Riven?” Only the sound of the woods greeted me, which increased the heavy thump of my heart.
