Could that be part of her hesitation? My family’s fucked-up drama? I guess it’s possible. And if that were the case, I wouldn’t blame her. Because that would make sense. This whole afraid-of-being-in-love shit is total nonsense.
Ten minutes later, we’re checked out of the hotel and on our way to my uncle’s house. My theory about Drew being there could be wrong, but my gut says otherwise. My gut says that once we get to Uncle Brent’s house, my brother will no longer be missing. But my gut also says that finding Drew is only the beginning.
21
Jenna
Last night was out of control.
I had hot, rocking sex with Jack, where I was definitely not in charge, and I liked it. I liked it a lot. But more than that, I felt connected to Jack the entire time. He wasn’t just a warm body giving me pleasure. He was Jack. And somehow that made every touch, every kiss, every heavy breath and heartbeat so much sexier.
Even thinking about it has my heart pounding like a drum. Jack and I drive along the streets of New Orleans toward his uncle’s house as my mind races with a tangle of unfamiliar emotions and desires.
Did Jack ask me to be his girlfriend? Is that what he meant this morning while we were lying in bed? I inwardly scoff. I don’t do boyfriends—and he knows that. I do sex, not relationships. And yes, I know that makes me sounds like a douchey frat boy but whatever. Relationships aren’t my thing—and certainly not with Jack. If I started dating Jack, then I’d start sleeping with him all the time, and if I started having nonstop sex with Jack, I’d keep feeling connected to him and get all emotionally mushy, and if that happened, well… I’d be a goner. I’d be hopelessly stupidly in love.
And I can’t afford to be in love.
I have a future all mapped out for myself. I’m going to finish college and get a great job. I’m going to make good money and never rely on anyone else for anything. I’m going to have my own house, my own car, my own everything. And no man will ever knock me up and break my heart and leave me high and dry. No man!
Glancing over at Jack, I try to envision what it would be like to have him leave me. The pain. The heartache. The angry bitterness.
But none of those emotions come because all I see when I look at him is loyalty and love and safety. I can’t picture Jack leaving anyone he loved—ever. And that puts an ache in my heart like no other.
Here’s this great guy who would do anything for the people he loves—even deal drugs and make scary pacts with gangsters—and all he wants is for me to admit that I care about him and give him a chance.
What is wrong with me?
We pull up to a small house in a quiet neighborhood and exit the car. Jack’s shoulders are tense so I don’t say a word as I follow him to the front door. He knocks three times. No answer. He knocks again. Still no answer.
My hope starts to deflate as we stand on the front porch, but Jack keeps his chin held high as he waits. Just when I’m starting to think it’s time to give up, the door cracks open a few inches and an eyeball looks out at us.
“Jack?” says the eyeball.
“Drew!” Jack sighs in relief. “Thank God. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Opening the door all the way, Drew glances at me before looking back at Jack and yanking him inside. “Hurry and get in here, before anyone sees you.”
We rush inside and Drew quickly locks the door behind us.
He’s a completely different version of an Oliver brother. Jack and Samson are both tall and broad, with shaggy dark hair and pale skin, and muscles creating curves all over their bodies, while Drew is shorter and more clean-cut. His dark hair is short, matching a set of perfect arched eyebrows over a pair of baby blue eyes, and he’s built like a surfer—and has a tan like one too.
He says, “Am I glad to see you,” before throwing his arms around his brother, then pulls back in a panic. “I’m in a lot of shit, Jack. I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s okay,” Jack says. “We’re going to figure everything out.”
Drew nods and gestures for us to follow him into the living room, where none of us take a seat, probably because we’re all too nervous.
“God, Jack. I’m so sorry. So sorry.” Drew runs his hands through his hair and starts pacing. “It’s such a mess.”
Jack nods. “Just start at the beginning and tell me what happened.”
Drew swallows a few times then wrings his hands together. “Well… Dad called me a few months ago, out of the blue. I thought he was dead. I mean, we all thought he was dead, right? After everything went down, he just disappeared and I was sure he was taken down by some gangster or something. So when he called I was—I was just so surprised. And then he said he wanted to make things right with me. He said that he’d made a lot of mistakes and hated losing you and Mom and Sam, but that he didn’t want to lose me too. Dad never paid attention to me, you know? Even when he was around, he didn’t make time for me. You were his favorite. You know, firstborn son and all. Jack the smart kid. Jack the strong kid. Jack the kid who made Dad proud. And Samson was a mini version of you. But I—I was different. Weaker. I was the son that Dad didn’t give a damn about, so when he called and said he wanted to make things right…” He shakes his head. “I just gave in. I wanted to believe him so badly that I just didn’t care what it cost.” He sighs. “So we started meeting up every now and then. I never told you guys or Mom because he told me not to and, honestly, I liked having Dad all to myself.” He snorts. “God I’m an idiot.”
Jack crosses his arms. “What happened?”
“Dad asked me to get him back in the business. When you broke things off and got the family out, Dad lost all his ties and loyalty. And he wanted me to help him rebuild. At first I refused. I saw the shit you went through to get us out and I didn’t want to betray you and Mom. But Dad… he got under my skin, you know? He started promising me things. Money. Power. He said he and I would start up our own syndicate, just the two of us, and he wanted me to be in charge.” He looks at Jack desperately. “I’ve never been in charge, Jack. I’m the baby. The reckless kid. I’ve never been trusted like that before. I couldn’t say no.” He runs his hands through his hair and stares at the ground. “I should have said no but I couldn’t.”
Jack quiets his voice. “What did Dad make you do?”
Drew’s eyes are wide with panic when he looks up. “He had me set up a deal between the Royals and the Northmen. You know the Royals have been wanting to buy product off the Northmen for years, but after you busted Dad a few years ago the Northmen refused to keep working with the Royals.” He shakes his head again. “But I guess Dad worked his way back into the Northmen’s good graces and made some contacts there, which is how he was able to set this whole thing up. He knew the Royals would never meet the Northmen in person for an exchange because they’re afraid of being taken out. So Dad’s solution was me. The deal was, I would go pick up the drugs from the Northmen, deliver them to the Royals, pick up payment from the Royals, and then deliver the payment back to the Northmen. Everyone would get what they wanted and no one would have to risk their life—”
“Except you,” Jack says, his eyebrows knitting together.
Drew slowly nods. “Yeah, but only me. I’d be the only person in danger. It was low risk for everyone else. Dad thought it was the best way to open a truce—and the Royals and the Northmen agreed.”
“Of course they did,” Jack mutters darkly. “So what went wrong?”
Drew blinks a few times. “Nothing—at first. I picked up the drugs and threw them in the trunk of my car then headed to Crowns for payment. When I got there, Dad was waiting with Clancy to check out the product. They were both beyond pleased. Clancy even laughed about how much profit they were going to make on such high quality cocaine. He handed the drugs off to Dad and told him to put them away, then handed me the cash to drive back to the Northmen. Halfway there, I get a call from Dad and he’s all stressed-out and panicked. He starts going on about how he’s afraid the No
rthmen are setting me up and want to kill me. I was so confused. Why would the Northmen have a beef with me? It made no sense. But Dad was freaked and kept saying how he didn’t want to lose me and he couldn’t live with himself if something happened to me. So he tells me to pull over and wait for him at this run-down rest stop. A few minutes later he shows up, still flustered, and begs me to let him finish the delivery. He said the Northmen wouldn’t hurt him so it was the best plan, you know, to keep me safe. So I gave him my keys and we switched vehicles.” Drew looks to Jack with wild eyes. “He just kept talking about how he wanted to keep me safe…”
Jack nods understandingly. “And then he stole the money.”
Standing silent in the corner, I choke on my own breath.
“Yeah,” Drew says in disbelief. “He got in my car with all the Royals’ cash in the back and drove away.”
Jack’s jaw is clenched so tight I can hear his teeth grind against one another. “That son of a bitch. I can’t believe he would do that to you. Leave you indebted to the Northmen like that.”
“And that’s not all,” Drew adds. “He stole the drugs too! When Clancy handed them off at the bar, Dad didn’t put them in the safe. He must have stashed the coke somewhere else.”
Horror fills Jack’s face. “Dad took off with the drugs and the money?”
Drew nods. “So now the Royals and the Northmen are at war with one another and—”
“They blame you for their losses and both want you dead,” Jack says in a low voice. “There’s not just a price on your head. There’s a fucking race to cash it in.”
Silence falls over the room. I swallow and the sound echoes in my ears along with my pounding heart.
“That’s why I took off and didn’t call you guys. I couldn’t have them thinking you were hiding me. I couldn’t risk either side hurting you or Sam or Mom to get to me,” Drew says, his voice rising in panic. “But now it’s only a matter of time before they find me and kill me. And they will find me. I’m going to die, Jack.”
“No, you’re not,” Jack says, clenching his fists at his side.
“Yes, I am!” Drew cries. “Oh my God. I should never have trusted Dad. I’m going to die. I’m going to die—”
“You are not going to die!” Jack shouts, and Drew jumps back. Jack stalks over to his little brother, looks him in the eye, and quietly says, “There is nothing in this world that I won’t do to protect you. Do you understand?”
Drew slowly nods.
Jack continues, “I know Dad treated you like you weren’t important, but you are. To Mom. To Samson. You’re important to me.” His voice is steady but his eyes are a silver storm. “And I won’t let anyone hurt you. Ever.” They stay like that, eye to eye in tense silence for several long seconds before Drew nods.
Jack leans back. “We need a plan.”
“I’ve been trying to think of a plan nonstop since I took off,” Drew says. “But I’ve got nothing. There’s no way out.”
“There’s always a way out.” Then the storm in Jack’s eyes fades away as he paces the room in thought. “If Dad had taken just the money, that would be one thing, but he took the money and the drugs, which means he plans on selling. This is a good thing.”
Drew frowns. “How is that possibly a good thing?”
“Because it means he needs a buyer.”
I watch him rub his mouth in thought and my nerves stand on end. I fidget with the rings on my fingers and shift my weight. This new Jack… or I guess it’s the old Jack—whatever, this Jack that I just recently discovered is so fierce… and kind of a badass. And while that’s very, very incredibly hot, it also scares the crap out of me.
I don’t want Jack to take any unnecessary risks. I don’t want him to get any more wrapped up in all this danger than he already is.
His eyes dart from side to side, the wheels in his head clearly turning at Mach speeds, and I know I’ve already lost him to whatever he’s cooking up in his mind.
Jack stops pacing. “As far as I know, there are only two buyers in the area that are greedy enough to buy a hot shipment from a guy who no longer has any ties. The first is Raymond Lotts, but he’s currently in prison. There’s no way Dad would risk all the time and middlemen it would take to complete a transaction with Raymond.” Jack drops his eyes to the floor with a frown.
“Then who’s the second person?” Drew asks.
Jack looks up and a shadow crosses his face. “Alec.”
22
Jack
Motherfucker.
My father is the lamest asshole to ever walk the earth. I can’t believe he did this to Drew. How dare he come back into his son’s life and manipulate him like this? Mother. Fucker.
“No way.” Drew shakes his head. “Dad stole money from the Vipers. Alec would never do business with him.”
I clench my jaw. “He would if it meant lots of money. And I’m willing to bet the profit on Northmen coke is pretty hefty. The Northmen are picky about their coke. They only move the pure stuff. And Alec knows that.”
Pulling out my phone, I dial a number and hold it to my ear.
“Who are you calling?” Drew asks.
“Alec,” I say, though that’s not strictly true.
Jonesy answers on the second ring. “Vipers.”
“Jonesy,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Jack?”
It never fails to surprise me, Jonesy’s knack for identifying people’s voices with just one word.
“What’s wrong?” he says in a tone I know is typically reserved for drug runs gone bad.
He’s not entirely off track.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I say, then pause. “Not really. I just have to talk to Alec about something and I need him to be in a… conversational mood when I do.”
Jonesy curses under his breath. “He’s still pissed about Samson coming in here the other night. He’s not gonna want to talk to you.”
“I know,” I say, my tone unflinching. “But this is business.”
He scoffs. “That’s even worse.”
“It doesn’t have to be—as long as Alec’s in the right frame of mind when I talk to him.”
A pause.
“Let me guess,” Jonesy says. “You want me to rile him up?”
“Exactly.”
I can almost picture Jonesy nodding as he says, “All right. Who do you want Alec pissed at?”
I clench and unclench my fist. “My father.”
Silence meets my ears for a long moment. “Shit, Jack…” he murmurs. “What the hell is going on?”
Taking a deep breath, I feel a sense of justice seep into my lungs. “Payback.”
I hear him take a breath. “All right.”
Jonesy doesn’t ask for any more details before leaving the line quiet to go to talk to Alec. I can only imagine how their conversation is going. Jonesy is a decent guy. A good bad guy, if you will. But his forte, aside from tending bar, is running interference—or stirring it up, if need be.
Several minutes pass before I hear rustling on the other line and then a heavy sigh. “What?”
“Alec,” I say.
“Hello, Jack…”
Goddamn his greetings.
Alec huffs. “If you’re looking for a drunk sibling of yours, I’m fresh out.”
“I’m actually looking for my father,” I say.
“Tommy?” He scoffs. “Haven’t seen him in years.”
“Cut the shit, Alec. I know you’re buying some product from him.”
Alec pauses. “What do you want, Jack?”
I inhale. “I thought you might want to make a deal with me instead of my old man.”
“And what makes you think I’d want to make a deal with you?”
“Because unlike my father, I’m good for it,” I say. “And because I know you hate my dad for stealing from you and would rather watch him go down in flames than turn a profit on some coke.”
Alec pauses for a moment. “Okay, you have my attentio
n. What do you propose?”
I quickly go over my plan with Alec and, after hashing out a few details, we come to an agreement.
“This better work, Jack…” Alec says, in that damn unresolved tone of his.
“It will,” I snap darkly, and end our call before looking at Drew and Jenna. “Okay, the first thing we need to do is get the hell out of this place. Drew.” I turn to my little brother. “Do you have a car?”
He shakes his head.
I exhale. “Okay. Pack up all your stuff as quickly as possible. Jenna, can Drew use your phone?” She nods. “Perfect. Drew, call Samson and have him come to New Orleans as fast as possible. We’ll need a car three hours from now. I’ll fill him in on all the details later.”
Jenna pulls out her phone and Drew dials Samson’s number before stepping out of the room when he answers. I hear Drew smile when he says, “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry, bro. I didn’t mean to freak you out. No really. I’m okay. But hey, listen. Jack needs your help…”
I look at Jenna’s big eyes and my heart stops for a split second. Why do I keep allowing her to be dragged into all this?
“Drew and I are going to drop you off at home and find a ride with someone else,” I say to her. “Maybe Samson, if he gets here in time.”
“What? No.” She puts a hand on her hip. “You’re not dropping me off at home so you can go off on some vague drug mission.”
I blink, frustrated and terrified. “Why do you always argue with me?”
“Because you’re always trying to keep me out of things.”
“For your safety,” I snap. “You can’t come with me. It’s too dangerous.”
She shrugs. “If it’s too dangerous for me then it’s too dangerous for you.”
I stare at her. “That’s not even remotely logical.”
“Yes, it is—”
“No, it’s not, Jenna! These are real bad guys. Professional criminals and drug lords. I’m not going to let you tag along simply because your pride won’t let you stay at home.”
“Uh… Jack?” Drew steps back into the room and holds up his phone with a frown. “She might have to.”