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“I gathered,” he said with a smirk. “I know who you are by the way.” He turned his attention back to Lance and despite his smile remaining friendly, I tensed. Stepping forward, I put my arms to the side with clenched fists, tilted my chin, and puffed my barrel chest to make myself as big as possible. But Lance put his hand up to stop me before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Is that so?” he said in that dangerous calm of his.
“I grew up on St Andrew’s estate in the capital.”
That was answer enough. Half of that estate works for Syd in some way, and mid-level runners often recruit on and around the area, usually kids. Anyone with a lick of sense would pledge their loyalty to Syd, but there are a few who try to reject his authority and I am not taking any chances. I stay behind Lance’s shoulder but I fix my steeliest gaze on Hayden. He looks up at me and snorts again, completely undeterred.
“Look man, I come in peace. I don’t want any trouble. It just didn’t seem like you were announcing it to anyone and everyone, so just wanted to let you know I’m aware.”
“And what exactly are you planning on doing with that information?” Lance stayed level and coolly devoid of emotion as he spoke.
Hayden’s head reared back as though the thought of using his knowledge in any way was abhorrent. “Nothing. I’ll level with you; I don’t give a fuck who you are. I left that shithole to start a new life. The capital has given me nothing so I’m here now to make something of myself and we’re outside of your territory, so I’m hoping I will be left to live in peace?”
Lance nodded slowly, still eyeing the other man with thoughtful consideration. “I’m not here to be anyone other than another student making their way through school. I’d appreciate it if no one was to find out anything that wasn’t entirely necessary for them to know. I am nothing to you but your new roommate, that good?”
Hayden held his hand out and shook with Lance then looked to me. “Seriously, dude, you can relax. I’m just here to get an education and hopefully get laid.”
That made me bark out a laugh and I shook his hand, too, as a sign of conciliation. He seemed genuine and my instincts told me he was being truthful when he said he didn’t want trouble.
“You coming for drinks, big guy?” Hayden asked me.
“Where he goes, I go.” I gestured at Lance, letting Hayden know my role without saying it in so many words. He nodded and smiled.
“Well, I won’t be buying many drinks out, so if you fellas are interested, I have a bottle of Southern Comfort for pre-drinks. Head over whenever you’re ready.”
“You don’t want time to unpack?” Lance asked.
Hayden patted the duffel bag he’d collected from the floor. “Not much to unpack.”
I do not like Southern Comfort. I can’t thank my uncle for much in life but giving me a taste of the finer things is one of the few. Southern Comfort does not make the cut. I sat on the rickety fold out chair in Hayden’s room trying to keep still as I was fairly certain it couldn’t really take my weight. Lance stood with his own glass, barely touched. He’d changed into a blue shirt, tucked into belted jeans, and sleeves rolled to the elbows. Hayden had swapped his black t-shirt for a black button-down and a pinstriped blazer. His fingers now adorned with multiple silver rings and his eyes underlined with a smudge of black.
“Nice to see you made an effort.” He smiled at me from his lounged position on his bed and gestured to me with the half empty bottle he had been swigging directly from. I hadn’t changed from the jeans and t-shirt that I’d arrived in.
“Listen, Vampire-Johnny-Depp, I am perfectly happy letting you two show off while I drink in peace.”
Lance snorted. “Vampire-Johnny-Depp,” he murmured in amusement.
“Hey man, you just named two things guaranteed to get pussies wet, I’ll take it.” Hayden raised his bottle to me again and I allowed myself a small laugh.
“This your sister?” Lance points to a lone picture taped to the wall, an obviously younger Hayden has his arms wrapped around a black-haired girl with a missing front tooth and a wide smile.
Hayden cleared his throat and examined the label of his bottle. “It was, she died a couple years ago. OD’d.”
I tensed again. There’s only one supplier of drugs around the St Andrew’s estate. Sydney Preston. He may have many different runners, different names, different corporations, but Sydney runseverythingin the Northeast quadrant of the capital. Legal or otherwise. That’s how the city works, four quadrants, four families running their patch. Lance was to inherit the role from Sydney and Hayden had lost his sister to the heart of Preston’s operation. It would be understandable for him to hold on to resentment.
“I’m sorry,” Lance said, and he was. I knew him well enough to know he was truly sorry.
Hayden shrugged. “She made her own choices; they weren’t great and she paid the price. No one shoved needles in her arm but her. No need to be sorry.”
“My dad died because of drugs,” I offered.
“He was an addict?”
“No. He was a supplier, got shot on a routine run. Not the same, I know, but made me pretty mad at the whole industry.”
Hayden nodded, still studying his bottle and picking at the label but didn’t say anymore on the subject. “Well,” he offered, “now the mood has been brought right down, shall we go collect Elle and find a bar?”
When Elle emerged from her room, three jaws dropped to the floor. She was wearing a strapless baby-pink dress that ended just below the curvature of her arse. Despite being short, she seemed to have long legs and her soft skin was on display, everywhere. Her honey blonde hair that had previously been piled on her head was now falling past her breasts in soft waves, and her previously bare face was now perfectly made up with smoky grey eyes and hot pink lips.
