Hood Rat

by Geri Glenn

  Janet slowly shakes her head, her face frozen in shock as he stands before us, dwarfing us both with his size.

  “He didn’t come home all weekend,” he tells me, gently taking my arm and guiding me away from Janet and the rest of the room. “I tried being patient and waiting for him to come home, but he never did. He’s never done this before, Georgia.” His voice is steady and low, but the look in his eyes betrays him, telling me just how worried he really is. “Never. He might go out and get into trouble from time to time, but he always comes home at night.”

  I glance over his shoulder at Janet, whose eyes are bugged out. Ignoring her, I consider what Tripp has just told me. “Have you called his friends?”

  “I’ve called his friends, his teacher, the lady at the convenience store he always goes to with his buddies. I’ve called everyone.”

  I place a hand on his arm to calm him and myself. “I have…” I murmur, checking my watch, “another hour here before I have to lock up. Why don’t you take Max and Hailey home, and when I’m done, I’ll meet you there? We can go out and search for him together, okay?”

  Tripp tugs his arm from my grasp. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says, already backing away. “I just wanted to know if you’d seen him.”

  “I don’t mind helping, Tripp. I’m worried about Carter too.”

  “I said no, okay!” he snaps. “I can find him myself.”

  Wow. Okay. That was a complete and total change of attitude that I wasn’t expecting. And after the conversation I’d just had with Benjamin, I was tired of men ripping into me. “I don’t care what you think you can do,” I inform him, my eyes narrowed to mere slits. “I offered to help you look for him because he’s a sixteen-year-old boy that needs to be found. Now, I can either go with you and search, or I can do it on my own, but one way or another, when I’m done here, I am going to lock up this building and go looking for your brother.”

  His eyes remain locked on mine, a wordless battle warring between the two of us, and just when I think he’s going to storm out of the building, his shoulders drop in defeat and he simply nods. “Okay.”

  Without another word, he walks toward Hailey and Max. I watch with mounting confusion as the three of them quickly tidy up Max’s puzzle, and then walk out of the building. Okay? Okay, we’ll look together, or okay, suit yourself?

  “I’m going with you,” Janet announces, coming up to stand beside me. Turning my head to the side, I stare back at her with my brows raised high. She’s the last person I’d expect to voluntarily patrol the streets of the South Side as the sun is starting to set. “What?” she huffs, grinning at my expression. “Carter’s a good kid. I like him, and I want to help.”

  Not one to turn down an able body to join our search, I can only nod. “We’ll head out as soon as we get this place locked up for the night.”

  TRIPP

  I’m already stepping out the door when Georgia shows up with Janet at her side. I don’t know how I feel about either one of them being here. Child Services has never exactly been a friend of mine, and now that I’ve actually lost my brother, I don’t know what they’ll do to me and the rest of my family.

  “Tripp,” Georgia greets him with a small smile. “You know Janet. She wants to help too.”

  “Me too,” Zack calls from the sidewalk, and I look up just as he bounds up the front steps. “Couldn’t let ya go lookin’ on your own, now could I?” He looks toward the two women between us, and I can’t help but feel a twinge of possessiveness when he rakes his eyes over Georgia. “And who do we have here?”

  Stepping around the women, I put myself between them and my best friend. It’s not that I’m afraid he’d harm them, but Zack is way too good at enamouring women, and I suddenly don’t like the idea of him being anywhere near Georgia. “This is Janet and Georgia. They’re going to help us search.”

  “Hi,” he says, leaning past me and extending a hand in their direction. “Zack.”

  Georgia takes his hand in hers, and I try like hell to ignore the tension growing in the back of my neck. “Georgia,” she demurs.

  Zack releases her hand and holds his out to Janet. “So, that makes you Janet,” he grins.

  Janet takes his hand, a red blush searing itself across her cheeks, and Zack grins wider.

  Normally, I get a kick out of Zack’s charm with the ladies, but tonight, I just want to throat punch him. “I thought we could break off in pairs to cover more ground.”

  Georgia concurs. “Sure. Janet and I can search east of Tenth Avenue, and you guys can hit everything west.” Janet nods at her, clearly happy with that plan.

  “I don’t think so,” I inform them. “There’s no way you two are wandering around out here alone at night. Janet, you go with Zack. Georgia, you’re with me.”

  Zack’s grin is so wide, I’m worried his face might split in two. Janet looks like she’s getting ready to make a break for it, but she doesn’t complain. Zack offers her his elbow, and I watch as she hesitates a moment before taking it. “Good luck,” Zack calls back over his shoulder as he leads Janet away from the house, leaving me and Georgia alone on the front step.

  “Do you have any idea where to look?” Georgia asks, following me down the steps and out onto the sidewalk.

  I stuff my hands into my coat pockets. “There’s a pub I’d like to check out, but really, he could be anywhere by now. He’s never done anything like this before, so I don’t really have a spot I’d know to check for.”

  Georgia’s phone rings in her pocket, and I watch as she fishes it out, glances at the screen, and then rejects the call. After stuffing it back into her pocket, she’s quiet as she walks alongside me. “Look, uh…I’m sorry about being so bossy earlier. I just wanted to help, you know?”

  I smirk and bump her lightly from the side. “Hey, don’t go apologizing on me now. That was ballsy. I kinda liked it.”

  Her laughter catches me off guard. It’s not the restrained and ladylike laugh I’d been expecting, but instead comes out in a musical tone, complete with an adorable little snort that has me laughing with her.

  “You’re definitely the first person to ever say that to me,” she admits, her face still alight with her smile. “I’ve always been kind of a pushover. I normally do what I’m told, and try hard to act like the perfect young lady. It’s exhausting.”

  She says it almost like a confession. Like she’s never admitted that to anyone before. “So, why do it?” I question. “Why not just speak your mind and stand up for yourself?”

  From the corner of my eye, I watch her smile fade as we continue to walk. “You haven’t met my mother. She’s not someone that you stand up to.” Her lips twist to the side in a smile. “Well, that’s what I always believed.”

  “And now?”

  “And now, I realize that my mother lives in her own perfect little world, and I don’t want to be a part of that anymore. I want to live my own life, and that means I need to get better at speaking my mind.”

  I think about that for a moment. Her confession isn’t something I can relate to at all. I’ve had to stand up for myself, my sister, and my brothers my whole life. Staying silent would have meant the end of all of us, or, at least, the end of our family.

  We walk in silence for several more minutes, both of us lost in our own thoughts. It’s nice to be with someone that doesn’t feel the need to fill the air between us with endless small talk and meaningless conversation. Three more times her phone rings, and three more times she rejects the call, her face growing tighter with each call until finally, she turns it off.

  When we reach the front entrance of the Iron Horse Pub, I pull her aside. “Okay, here’s the deal. This place is a fucking shit pit, and is no place for a girl like you. I want you to stay close, keep your mouth shut, and don’t make eye contact with any of the men in there. You understand?”

  Her face pales, but she nods, her hand coming up to grip the sleeve of my jacket and pulling herself closer to me. My gut tw
ists. She looks so beautiful and trusting right now. I shouldn’t have brought her here. I should have argued and told her to just go home.

  Instead, I reach up, clasp her tiny hand in mine, and open the door to the pub.

  Eleven

  Georgia

  The inside of the Iron Horse Pub is something out of a bad horror movie. It’s dingy and filthy. Men sit on barstools with their pants pulled low, the cracks of their butts hanging out for the world to see. The whole thing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in real life.

  A large group of men stand around a battered old pool table, beer bottles in hand, their laughter taking over the entire room. I instantly recognize a couple of them as the guys that had been leaning against my car that day with Carter.

  One by one, they notice Tripp standing there in front of me, his hand still clasped tightly around mine, and they fall silent. Slowly, they step aside, parting the way for one man to come forward. Trey Harper. As he comes into view, I squeeze Tripp’s hand a little tighter. Just seeing him again has fear clutching at my throat.

  “Was wonderin’ when you’d show up, Fletcher. And you’ve got this hot little piece with you too.” He grins at me, his teeth bared. “Hello again, Georgia.”

  The sounds of chuckles and jeers come from all around us, and my gaze darts about the room, the realization that nobody is going to do anything to help us if needed finally sinking in. Even the bartender is leaning up against the counter, a vicious grin spread across his face.

  “Where’s my brother, Trey?” Tripp says, not moving an inch as Trey draws nearer.

  Trey comes to a stop just in front of him, and I watch from behind Tripp as he shrugs and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket. “Around.”

  Tripp stiffens. “I’m not here to play games, Trey. Where is he? And don’t give me that around bullshit. Carter will be getting caught up with the Vipers over my dead body.”

  The name flows through me like electricity. The Red Vipers, a street gang known for terrorizing the South Side and anybody that dares to come inside of it. I’d been warned about them several times since I’d started here, but I hadn’t realized Trey and his men were a part of the Vipers.

  Trey puts a cigarette to his lips and lights it. “That can be arranged.”

  Tripp pulls me closer until by front is pressed against his back. “Tell me where he is and we’ll go, okay? I just want to make sure he’s all right.”

  Trey twirls his finger in the air, and the sound of chairs scraping all around us assaults my ears. Men begin stepping closer in all directions. “Who says we want you to go?” Trey asks. “I thought you and your lady here were lookin’ for a party.”

  Tripp takes a step closer, his face just inches from Trey’s. “I’m not here to fuck around, asshole.”

  Arms close around me from behind and a dry, calloused hand comes up, covering my mouth as I scream out in surprise. With wide eyes, I watch as Tripp whips around to face us, his hands already formed into fists. “Let her go.”

  Trey steps around him, a gun now dangling from his hand. “It’s cool, Tripp. We’re not gonna hurt her. Not as long as you listen to what I have to say.” Tripp stands frozen, watching with rage flashing in his eyes as Trey approaches me, his gun coming up, the muzzle of it scraping against my nipple through my coat and sweater. I hold back a sob as I keep my eyes locked on Tripp, determined to stay strong for him. To let him know I’m okay.

  “Carter came to me with a problem,” he continues. My stomach churns as he presses the gun into my belly and leans in, his nose buried in my hair. “He needed money. I offered him a job and he took it. Simple as that.”

  Trey pulls away and winks at me before turning back to Tripp, who’s vibrating with an anger I’ve never seen a man possess before. “He took the job of his own free will, Tripp, and you know what that means.”

  Tripp’s jaw hardens.

  “It means that Carter is a Viper now, and you can’t just walk away from being a Viper, can you, Tripp? You know that better than anyone, I think.”

  “Why hasn’t he come home?” he grinds out, his gaze focused on where Trey has the gun pressed against my sternum.

  Trey pulls the gun away and shoves it into the back of his jeans. “He’s doing a little delivery for me. He should be home later. No big deal, right?” He looks at me.

  With the smelly man’s meaty hand pressed against my mouth, I can’t tell him what I really want to say. So, instead, I focus on attempting to shoot laser beams from my eyes. That just makes Trey chuckle.

  “Let her go,” he tells the man behind me. The man drops his hand, shoving me from behind, and my body goes sailing across the room.

  Just when I think I’m about to land face-first on the disgusting floor, Tripp catches me, pulling me to my feet and wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me close. “If he’s not home tonight, Trey, you and me are gonna have a problem. A big one.”

  Trey grins, like it’s the best news he’s heard all night. “I’m counting on it, big man.”

  TRIPP

  Georgia’s body is trembling as we step out of the pub. Taking her arm, I hurry down the street and around the corner until the Iron Horse is out of sight. “Are you okay?” I ask, finally pulling to a stop. I place my hands on the sides of her face and look her over.

  I know she wasn’t physically harmed, but that little show Trey had just put on must have scared the shit out of her. It did me, and I don’t scare easily. Just seeing Trey with that gun in his hand had brought back so many memories of the night he’d killed that family. That little boy. It had taken every ounce of self-control I had in me to stay cool so Georgia didn’t end up just like them.

  “I...I think so,” she stammers, her shaking hands fluttering up to land on mine. Tears swim in her eyes as she stares up at me, and the only thing keeping me from storming back into that bar and kicking the fuck out of that son of a bitch is her warm hands pressing mine to the sides of her face. “Is it true?” she asks. “Is Carter a member of the Vipers now?”

  I sigh and drop her hands before turning to head back home. I want to put as much space between her and Trey as humanly possible. “He wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t.”

  Georgia is quiet for a moment as she struggles to keep up with me. “You sound pretty sure about that.”

  Fuck. I’ve never felt so ashamed of my past as I do in this moment. “I am. I know Trey. We have a…”—I search my brain for the right word that won’t give away too much information—“history.”

  Georgia walks alongside me in silence.

  “I just don’t know what the hell Carter was thinking, ya know? Was it the money? Was he looking for a place to belong? I just don’t get it. I mean, sure, we don’t have a pile of money to buy the shit he wants, and I’ve never really given him a ton of rules to follow. But we have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, and we’re together. I can’t understand when that stopped being enough for him.”

  Georgia loops her arm through mine, her side pressed against me as we walk, but she doesn’t reply. Just her presence is enough to calm my anger and allow me to think this through.

  “Carter’s a good kid,” I tell her. “I know you haven’t seen that. You’ve just seen him being a little shit, but he hasn’t always been that way. He loves his family, and he draws the most amazing pictures.” The frustration builds inside me to the point I feel like I’m about to explode.

  Pulling in a as much air as my lungs can handle, I slowly let it all out and glance over at Georgia. “You must think we’re pretty messed up, huh?”

  Georgia’s lips twist into a smile. “Not at all. Every family has problems, Tripp. Yours is not the exception.”

  I watch her from the corner of my eye as we move. Something about the way she said that tells me she has a whole lot of family drama of her own. Maybe being the privileged white girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Georgia continues to keep her
arm threaded through mine as we get closer to home. She’s so tiny compared to me; the top of her head barely meets my shoulder. Even bundled up in her fall coat and scarf, her warm, fresh scent reaches my nose. It’s subtle and light, and all I can think about is pressing my lips to the top of her head to breathe in her sweet scent.

  “How are we going to get him out of there?” she asks, oblivious to the way my gut is twisting with every second she spends pressed against my side.

  “What?”

  Georgia’s worried eyes meet mine. “How are we going to get Carter away from the Vipers?”

  Her question stops me in my tracks. Pulling my arm from hers, I turn to face her head-on. “We are not going to do anything. Did you see how crazy that motherfucker is? Were you not with me a few minutes ago when he had a fucking gun pressed to your chest?”

  Georgia blinks, fresh tears forming in her eyes. I hate knowing that those tears are on me, but she’s off her fucking rocker if she thinks I’m letting her get any more involved in this shitshow than she already is.

  “I’ll handle it, okay?” I insist, my tone softer this time. “I already have Carter to worry about. I don’t need to worry about Trey getting his hooks into you too.”

  “Okay,” she replies.

  Before I can stop myself, I bring my hands to her cheeks and look deep into her gorgeous brown eyes. “I’m going to fix this, and Trey will never lay another hand on you again. Not ever.”

  Georgia nods, her face so soft and vulnerable, with total trust shining through her gaze. I’m a goner.

  Slowly, I lower my head and press my lips against hers. She tastes even better than she smells. Her kiss is hesitant and warm, and I’m helpless to do anything but pull her closer and deepen it. The entire world around us falls away. We kiss slow and soft, the passion I feel for her burning brighter inside me with each passing second.