I dropped my bag to the floor of the trailer, the shifting of the chain only a distant sound as I replayed every word said and every expression on his devastated face. I reached up to rub at my aching chest and was suddenly slammed back against the door of the trailer, a hand at my throat, and the barrel of a gun to my temple.
A stuttered breath rushed from me, and I was desperately trying to drag air into my lungs when his hand slowly tightened around his finger-shaped bruises.
I should have known.
I should have noticed something wasn’t right before I set one foot in the trailer.
But I was so focused on the pain that was reminding me of all the ways I was still alive—still whole when I was sure I’d been destroyed long ago—that I missed every sign.
AJ smiled, his head moving in fast, subtle shakes. “Don’t know what you’re up to, Jess. But I’m gonna find out.”
I gritted my teeth and choked out, “Five days.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you do.” His mouth curled up on one side, and he huffed a laugh. “What’s funny is you ain’t been on the street, so I know you ain’t been making money. If you want me to take it from you, baby, I’m already here and you got a bed in the back. I remember it well.”
I thrashed against him, my strangled scream bursting through the small space.
The other three assholes in the trailer laughed.
“Tell me where your mom is,” he demanded, loosening his hold on my throat.
“Go to hell.”
His head fell to the door beside mine, and he groaned. “Goddamn. Every time you open your mouth you make me wanna fuck you and shoot you.”
My stomach rolled and suddenly it felt more difficult to breathe than when he’d been gripping my neck.
“You’re mine, whore.”
I swallowed thickly, trying to push the memories away. Trying to get the feel of him off me even when he was pressed against me.
“It doesn’t look good when I give you a week and you don’t work. It looks even worse when you head to Wake Forest and shack up in a mansion like you’re a motherfucking queen or some shit.” He leaned back to look at me when I sucked in a sharp breath, his victorious smirk nearly a sneer. “What, you think I didn’t have guys watching you to make sure you ain’t gonna disappear on me after your cracked-out mom did?”
My mouth twitched into a smile and a wild laugh bubbled up in my chest.
For the first time, the idea of someone watching my every move was amusing.
“Keep following me, baby. I can’t wait to see what happens when my client there finds your men . . . and then you.”
AJ didn’t look fazed.
Then again, after all these years, he still thought Beck was just another one of the many dealers on the streets of Raleigh. He’d given Beck such a wide berth he didn’t know about Holloway or the monsters that resided in that mansion. I’d made sure of that.
He dropped the arm holding the gun, holding it away from us until one of the other men grabbed it. “If he’s your client, give me my money.”
Shit.
I rolled my eyes as my mind raced. “Can’t,” I said with a bored sigh. “I have this guy who gets very angry if I don’t pay him in full, and I still have five days to get the rest. So, if you’d kindly fuck off, I could get ready and hit my street.”
“Four.”
My stomach dropped. “Five. There are still a few hours until it’s even considered five days.”
“You got a mouth on you, Jess. Someone needs to teach you that your mouth is gonna get you into trouble. Four.”
A ragged breath ripped from me, and he smiled.
“Is that a problem? Are you saying you can’t get my money? Because you got a client that’s obviously fucking loaded.”
“AJ, you gave me a week. Let me have that week.”
He groaned and sank his body against mine. “Say my name again.”
I ground my teeth together.
His hand clenched tight around my throat and shoved my head roughly against the door. Pushing up on my jaw so I was staring at the ceiling, he brought his mouth to my ear. “I dream about this body.”
You’ll never get your hands on me again, you bastard.
My entire being was screaming and thrashing, trying to get away from him and his words.
From his voice.
From the memories.
“Three days.”
A strangled cry escaped my lips, and he laughed in response.
“You could always beg.” He slowly shifted my head down, his eyes raking over my face again and again. When I didn’t attempt to speak, he nodded. “Didn’t think so.”
He released me roughly and looked at me pointedly, waiting for me to move from the door.
I wanted to run.
I stared him down for a few seconds then slowly stepped away.
“I’ll give you four,” he murmured when his men headed for the door. “Every time you go back to Wake Forest, I’m taking a day off.”
I didn’t respond.
There wasn’t a need to.
I was never going back there.