“Okay.” I pushed up off my car. “I won’t tell him, but you owe me one.” I pointed at him, making sure he saw I was serious as shit until he nodded and stowed away his gun. “I mean it, Ford.”
“I know you do.” He narrowed his eyes. “And I don’t like owing people shit.”
“Tough luck, kiddo.” I grinned at the growl he gave me. “Owing people is what happens. It’s called life.” I sauntered back to the driver’s side door, pulled it open, and took one last look at him. “You kids have a nice night now.”
I slipped back into the car, glanced at the side mirror, and pulled out onto the road, speeding past his car and taking the first right turn I could. As soon as I was far enough away, I speed dialed Jordan’s number.
“Yo.”
“Jord.” I gripped the steering wheel harder as I pushed my foot down on the gas. “He made me.”
“What?” I heard some shuffling over the line. “What do you mean he made you?”
“He saw me following him and stopped in the middle of the road.”
Jord chuckled. “Looks like you need to brush up on your stalking skills, old man.”
“Fuck you.” I shook my head and laughed.
“I’m good but thanks for asking.”
“Dick.” I took a left turn, heading back toward the neighborhood. “Please tell me you found out who the girl is.”
“I did.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, tell me then.”
“What’s it worth?”
I slammed the palm of my hand on the steering wheel, getting sick and fuckin' tired of Jord’s game tonight. “What do you want?”
“Your Mustang for two days.”
“No,” I ground out. “Nice fuckin' try, Jord, but not in this lifetime.”
“Was worth a try, huh?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled and slowed down as I got closer to the apartment complex I was staying at. “You can try all you want. Ain’t no way you’re ever getting your hands on my baby.”
“Whatever.” He cleared his throat. “Girl is Jenna Ford—”
“Did you just say Ford? As in, the guy who just pointed a gun at me?” I glanced in the rearview mirror, driving around the block once more to make sure I hadn’t been followed back here. The last thing I needed was to be watched while I was watching someone else.
“He drew his weapon?” Jord practically shouted.
“Calm down,” I warned him. “I’ll fill you all in properly next week, in the meantime, who the hell is this girl?”
“Dunno.” Keys clicked in the background. “I’ll do some research, but if they have the same surname then they’re related, right?”
“Right.” I pulled into the lot and parked toward the back. “The way he was acting makes sense now. And I’m guessing that Hut either doesn’t know about her, or he knows too much about her.”
“Does this mean Ford is a problem?”
“No.” I shook my head and turned the engine off. “This means he just became an asset.”
LOLA
We had a tradition every spring that we never forgot about, no matter how bad things got. On the first day of April, we cleared out the small back yard, scrubbed the grill, and had a cookout. Friends from the neighborhood were invited, and we ate and drank, and had fun.
This wasn’t the normal party that Hut threw—this was different. It was about friendship and having a good time without getting absolutely shit-faced. Of course, drugs were in the house and consumed, but people put a limit on themselves—the only time they ever did.
I wondered whether it would happen this year, but when I woke up, and Hut was scrubbing the grill outside, I nearly broke my face with my grin. There were many memories I remembered, both good and bad, but this one was always good. I could even remember my dad being sober one year, and that was a miracle in itself.
Hut gave me money and Ford drove me to the store where I got all our usual food along with some extras to try something new. We were back at the house prepping meat before I knew it.
“Grill’s all set,” Hut announced, walking into the kitchen with his arms caked in dirt. “I cleaned off the chairs and table out there too.”
“Awesome.” I looked back at the meat I was mixing for the burger patties and glanced back up at him. “You should get a shower before people start getting here.”
His lips quirked, reminding me so much of the fun-loving teenager that he used to be. “That right?” He stepped forward. “Maybe I wanna stay dirty.”
My smile dropped, my hands stilling in the meat. To anyone else, it would have been a few innocent words, but that wasn’t how he meant them, and I knew it. I used to play pretend and act like I didn’t know what he meant, but I couldn’t do that anymore. Not after last year.
The breath whooshed out of me in a rush as I stared at his hazel eyes. What I thought would be a day to forget everything and just be the way we used to, was vanishing before my very eyes.
“I’m joking, Lola.”
I chuckled, but it was forced, and he knew it. “I know.” I lifted my fingers out of the meat and moved to the sink.
“You know—”
“Hey, Hut?” Ford called from the living room. “We need some more beer.”
Hut huffed and stomped into the other room, leaving me on my own to prep the food. I didn’t mind doing it, and if it meant being away from him for a while, then I’d stay in this kitchen for as long as possible. Anything to keep me from remembering that night and what he’d tried to do.
The time flew by as soon as people started arriving, and Hut set about starting the grill up. The house was a hub of activity as I cut chicken breast and pushed them onto skewers with some vegetables.
“Looks like you’re having fun there, kid.”
I rolled my eyes at the name and twirled around to face Brody. His jaw was covered in light stubble, showcasing his infectious grin. “So much fun that I can’t even contain myself.” I held up the skewers in front of me. “I’d ask you to help, but I know you’d rather go drink beer with the guys.”
He tilted his head, his dark eyes watching me the same way they did when we were at the pancake house over a week ago. I hadn’t seen him since then, at least not enough to talk to. He’d been in the house when I left yesterday morning, but I was running late and didn’t have time to say hi. Plus, I didn’t want Hut to think we were talking behind his back. He was paranoid, and it would only set off his alarms. That was the last thing I needed.
“I can help,” Brody announced, pulling his leather jacket off and placing it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
“Oh, no.” I chuckled, nerves flowing through me at being so close to him again. “I was just joking.”
Brody shrugged, causing his muscles to dance from the move, and dammit, I was mesmerized by it. How the hell did he walk around looking like that and not know it? Or maybe he did know it and used it to his advantage. Maybe I was becoming one of those girls.
“Where do you want me?” he asked, moving to stand next to me. It was a loaded question, one that I wasn’t sure I could answer. “You cut, and I’ll skewer?”
All I could do was nod and pick the knife back up. I was back in seventh grade when my crush said hi to me for the first time in the hallway. My voice had disappeared, and my movements were jerky, something that really wasn’t good when handling a sharp object.
Brody washed his hands, and then he placed two vegetables on the skewer followed by a piece of marinated chicken. “So how’s classes?”
I halted in my movements, the knife halfway through a chicken breast. “Classes? How do you know I go to class?”
“Because you told me.”
I tilted my head to make eye contact and blew out a breath. “Right. Sorry.” I was on edge and needed to calm the hell down. “Classes are good.” I smiled wide and placed some cut-up pieces of chicken on the edge of the board. “I spoke to an advisor on Friday about what classes I needed to take to become a teacher.”
“Yeah.” I shuffled on the spot and cut the last pieces of chicken. “I started tutoring recently and…” I bit down on my bottom lip and flicked my gaze up to him. His attention was fully focused on me. My skin buzzed, liking the way he stared. “I realized that’s what I want to do. I want to help kids learn and be there when they struggle. I want to help them work it out on their own, and have a positive impact in their lives.”
He blinked several times. “Well, shit, Lola, that’s as good a reason as any.”
My shoulders slumped, and my face broke out into a smile. A smile that only seemed to break free when it was meant for Brody.
“I thought so too.” I picked up my board and knife and moved over to the sink. “I just want to be more than”—I waved my hand in the air, signaling the house—“this.” I turned the tap on, waiting for the warm water to replace the cold. “I want to be more than Hut’s stepsister. I want to be Lola Martin. Only Lola Martin.”
“I get it,” Brody said, his voice rougher than usual. “You want to create your own path. Ain’t nothin' wrong with that, darlin'.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach at his words, and I glanced up at him, finding his gaze glued to me. There was something behind his dark-brown eyes that I couldn’t place, but I was witnessing it more and more. Maybe I was imagining it, but my gut told me I wasn’t. Something was fizzling between us, a spark wanting to come alight.
“Brody…” I switched the tap off and turned to face him fully, those butterflies becoming even stronger now. “I—”
“Lola?” Hut shouted, his footsteps stomping into the kitchen. “We ready to start grilling yet, or what?”
The butterflies disappeared, seeking refuge from the one person they hated the most. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Burgers are on the table.”
“Cool.” Hut stepped past us, picked up the burgers, and walked across the kitchen. “Come on, Brode, I have some peeps I wanna introduce you to.”
When he was back outside, I raised a brow. “Brode?”
“I know.” Brody chuckled and switched the tap back on to wash his hands. “I hate it.”
“Yeah…” I leaned my hip against the counter. “Makes you sound like a soda brand or something.”
Brody snorted and then snapped his head to face me. “You didn’t just hear that.”
“Oh, but I did.” I grinned and stepped back. “Brode the snorter has quite a ring to it.”
“Don’t you dare, kid.” He pointed at me, but even he couldn’t pull his face into a serious mask.
“Don’t I dare, what?” I continued to move backward until my back hit the edge of the table.
Brody grabbed some paper towel off the counter and dried his hands, all the while staring at me. “You act all innocent, Lola”—he raised a brow—“but I see that little devil fighting to get out.” He threw the paper towel into the trash and took two backward steps. “I kinda like her.” He winked, spun around, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
I had to admit, I was starting to like the little devil too, and she certainly liked him.
LOLA
Everyone loved the food. The afternoon sun had given way to evening, and the slight cold had set in, but that didn’t force any of us inside. Hut had found a cord to bring some of the house lamps outside, so we weren’t in complete darkness. It was a hack only people like us would think of, but it did the trick just as well.
The laughter mixed in with the low music, and people were shooting the shit and generally having a good time. It was such a contradiction to Hut’s usual parties, which was why I was still out here along with everyone else.
Brody hadn’t talked to me since he left the kitchen, but I’d felt the burn of his eyes on me several times. I didn’t want to admit that I liked it, but it was getting harder to deny. I tried to tell myself that nothing could happen between us, but maybe I was getting ahead of myself? He was sixteen years older than me and liked to remind me that I was a kid in his eyes all the time. But maybe he was trying to remind himself, too, because I hadn’t imagined the crackling air between us, I was sure of that.
I took a sip of my water and scanned the backyard, finding Brody and Ford sitting next to each other in deep conversation. Hut was having the time of his life with Jace, Ted, and Quinn, downing drinks as they played some game they’d made up on the fly. And for the first time in a while, I felt like I belonged here.
Until I heard his voice.
A voice I hadn’t heard for months. A voice that had abandoned me in every way possible.
“Oh look, both kids are in one place.” His slurred croak wasn’t how he’d always sounded. There was a time when his deep voice rang safety, but that was when I was a little girl, and he wasn’t addicted to anything he could shoot himself up with. “Having a family party without all the family, huh?”
“Told you they were up to no good, Gus,” Crystal sneered.
I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath, already feeling a tension headache forming. Of all nights, they had to turn up tonight.
“Maybe they both need to be taught a lesson,” my dad growled, or at least, what his version of it was. He sounded like a madman.
I opened my eyes and went to turn my head, but a hand pushing through my hair stopped me. It pulled, just enough to tell me not to move, and from the nails scratching against my scalp and the musty smell surrounding me, I could tell it was Crystal.
“You got ten seconds to get the fuck out of my house before I make you leave,” Hut threatened as he stepped forward, all five of his guys closely behind him.
“Yeah?” Dad laughed. “You can try, but then you’ll never know what happened to your stash, will you?”
“You piece of fuckin' shit!” Hut lunged forward and pulled out his gun, pointing it at my dad.
Crystal yanked harder on my hair, the force making my body move into a standing position as she used me to shield her and step in front of my dad. They knew exactly what to do to not be in the firing line.
“I wouldn't do that if I was you, son,” Crystal warned. “Not unless you want your little pet to get hurt.”
“I’m not his pet,” I spat, and yanked away from her, but her grip was too strong.
“Of course you are. He tells you to stay, and you do just that.” She pushed her face closer to mine, her rank breath fanning across my neck. “You’re still here, ain’t ya?”
She had a point, but fuck, it wasn’t because he controlled what I did, right? My gaze clashed with Brody’s, and the usual calm demeanor wasn’t evident. His eyes were wide and so dark you could barely see the beautiful brown they were.
“What do you want?” Hut asked, his voice sounding bored now, but we all knew he was affected by these two people. They’d been the only people I’d ever seen influence him and his decisions.
“Who said we want anything?” Dad asked, but the hitch in his voice told me that he wouldn’t play this game long. His high was nearly completely worn off.
“Name your terms,” Brody interjected.
Everyone was silent, not believing that he’d spoken, but he didn’t seem to give a shit as he stepped forward. Crystal’s hand tensed in my hair, and my back bowed from the force.
“Who the fuck are you?” Dad sneered, his shoulders pushing back.
“Your worst fuckin' nightmare,” Brody told him, his voice dead serious. “Name your terms.”
“We want snow.”
“How much?” Hut asked, seeming okay with Brody having stepped forward. He stood in line with him, shoulder to shoulder.
“Kilo,” Dad answered immediately.
Hut laughed. “Fuck you. I ain’t giving you shit.”
“Yeah?” Crystal turned, her other hand moving behind her, and then cold metal was being pressed against my throat. Hut had picked up his love of knives f
rom her, so I should have known she’d have one on her.
I blinked, my eyes filling with tears, but it wasn’t because I was scared. I was angry, so goddamn angry that a volcano was about to erupt inside me. A small trickle of blood flowed down my neck and onto my chest as I stayed as still as I could. I focused on the two men in front of me. Hut was losing his control, his passive mask slipping off his face and giving way to the rage.
“Crystal? That’s your name, right?” Brody asked, stepping forward, now only a couple of feet in front of us.
“Yeah, what’s it to you?”
“I just wonder if you have the balls to slit her throat.” Brody shrugged and took another step forward. “And if you do have the balls, whether you’ll be quick enough.”
Crystal scoffed. “Quick enough for—”
Brody lunged forward, grabbed her wrist and yanked it toward him and to the right. I stumbled to the side, my knees smacking off the concrete ground. A clump of hair ripped out of my scalp, but I didn’t care about that right now. The knife had slipped as he grabbed her, and she cut the side of my neck. My palm slapped against the stinging cut, but I knew on instinct that she hadn’t done much damage.
Shouts rang out around me, shuffling of feet, and then hands gripped under my arms and pulled me into the house. “You’ll be okay, Lola,” Ford said, his voice as calm as always. It was the same calmness he’d exuded when he caught Hut in my bedroom, holding a knife to my neck much the same as Crystal just had. Only that time, Hut had gone too far by ripping my jeans off me and tearing my T-shirt.
People grunted around me, and I saw a flash of silver coming toward Brody from Crystal. He let his grip on her wrist go so he could back away from the knife, but in doing so, she managed to disappear in the crowd of people.
I nodded at Ford, not quite sure what to say as I tried to find my feet. Apparently, my body had rid itself of any adrenaline, and I was now firmly in shock. I stared at the clock on the wall, watching the seconds tick by as people walked through the kitchen and out of the front door. People milled about, shouts mixing in with pounding on walls, but all the while I sat there, my hand glued to my neck and my thoughts a mile away.
Fallen Duet: Brody & Lola: Free Fall & Down Fall (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 1) Page 8
