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For a while, I lost myself in thoughts of Ellie and Drew’s wedding day. God, who knew what they’d want? They were most likely to want something private, but our family was pretty big, so keeping it small might not be an option unless they went for one of those close-friends-and-family-only weddings. It might be kind of nice to have one day, one moment, that was just for the people who knew them best.
No matter how much they wanted to keep their personal lives to themselves, they knew the price of Drew’s success was satisfying public curiosity, and they did so mainly through tweets. It meant people got a snapshot of their lives, so they didn’t pry quite as much. Their wedding day was different, though. That was something to keep between the people who cared about them the most.
I decided to brave the bar again to get another round of drinks. No easy task since people were now drunker and ruder than when we’d arrived. I lost count of the times I got shoved in the back as people jostled to get served. Finally, after another fifteen minutes, I managed to grab bottles of beer for all of us, pushing my way out of the crowd. As I did so, I spotted Jason.
He stood surrounded by two guys, their heads down, and one of them slipped something out of his pocket and offered it to Jason.
I had to fight hard to cling onto the bottles and stop them from crashing to the floor as time slowed, along with my heartbeat.
Chapter6
You Couldn’t Kick My Ass
No. This is not happening.
I watched, rooted to the spot, as Jason shook his head. The guy holding the tiny packet moved it toward him again and Jason stepped back. I read his lips as he told him no.
Come on, Jason. Walk away. Please. Just walk away.
The dealer took Jason’s hand and placed the packet in his palm, then shook his hand as if they were business partners.
Someone shunted me sideways into a table, and again, I struggled to hold on to the drinks as my hip bashed into the wooden surface. I barely felt the pain, though, because I was too focused on finding Jason. In the moment I’d taken my eyes off him, he was gone.
“Shit!” Turning, I rushed back to our table, where the guys were laughing about something, and I dumped the drinks on the table.
“I’ll be right back. I need to visit the ladies’ room.”
I didn’t wait for a response, darting back the way I’d come. My heart thudded in my chest as I glanced around the crowded bar, seeking Jason out.Where the hell did he go?The flashing lights made it harder to find him, and in my panic, everything became distorted. I blinked hard to clear my focus and tried again. I saw the guys who had been talking to him lurking by the door to the men’s toilets, and I hoped to hell Jason hadn’t gone in there with whatever they’d offered him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t barge in to check, and if I told Drew, he’d freak out.
Just like I was freaking out.
Shit.
I pushed through the crowds, and as I got closer to the dodgy men, I saw there was another door—a fire exit—right in the corner of the room. With my pulse pounding, I shoved people out of the way and pushed the door open, slamming it shut behind me and blocking out some of the volume of the thumping music.
It was almost completely black, aside from a sliver of light shining through the door and a couple of small wall lights that vaguely brightened the rooftop area. I blinked again, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, and my gaze found Jason crouched on the ground, his back against the wall of the club, his head in his hands.
“Jason.”
The word came out with a breath of relief, and his head snapped up. For a moment, he stared at me, and the look in his eyes made my heart ache. It was like he was relieved to see me, but panic shone through too, making his green eyes seem to flicker a little.
I took a small step closer, not wanting to do the wrong thing. What I really wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and try to take away his fear.
“Lucy.”
“Are you… I… tell me what to do. What do you need?”
He blew out a long breath, then held his hand out. I walked over to him and took his outstretched hand, lacing my fingers through his.
He was shaking as I sank down beside him. “What happened, Jase?”
“Coke. Those guys offered me coke.”
I’d learned a little about cocaine addiction over the years, and I knew that, even after a long time of being off it, it takes very little to want to use again. Especially if offered the way it was to Jason, and even more so when that person was already struggling. It must have taken every bit of strength Jason had to get out of there. To get away from something he wanted badly enough that he was trembling in front of me.
“That fucker tried to set me up. Franz.”
My brow furrowed. “What? What do you mean?”
