CHAPTER 10
AXLE
Listening to her berate me instead of cowering means she’s legit about dealing with guys like us before. Her brother is a junkie and dealing drugs, so maybe I jumped to conclusions, but it’s clear she’s privileged. She has a trust fund, for fuck’s sake.
I’m struggling to believe she singled me out as the one she wanted. I’m usually the last resort kind of guy, since I’m not exactly the cuddly, pretty boy type. There’s an angle, but I didn’t understand it until she said Sarah promised her I’d never let anyone else touch her.
She turns and walks out, slamming the door behind her, and I try to figure out what we missed. I looked into Lathan and her after all that shit happened six months ago, but only found privileged, boring, private school bullshit. Nothing linking her to this world except the trust fund boy turned drug dealer.
The door swings open again, and I try not to smirk when she grabs her roller skates from the floor. She points a finger at me. “And for the record, you have to be badass to wear this outfit in front of guys like you and not feel the need to explain yourself.”
She spins and walks out again, slamming the door once more.
I can’t help but be intrigued. And a little amused.
Sarah knows something.
I call her, but she doesn’t answer. I also get to thinking about Eve coming in during our meeting, worrying it might have been Herrin setting us up. Eve always knows the details of the plans, and she would do anything at all to keep Drex safe.
No doubt she called Sarah and told her about this meeting days ago when Drex wouldn’t take her worries into consideration.
We’ve all gotten cocky. We’re lethal, but our names were forged under Herrin’s rule. It makes people more afraid of Herrin than us. We need to remember that and start being smarter, so we don’t become too fucking easy to kill.
I walk out onto the landing, looking down at the warehouse below from my metal balcony perch. My eyes immediately land on Maya as she sits down on a chair and starts tugging her skates back on.
Every pair of eyes down there—at least twenty or so—are looking at her. I bristle a little, but try to shrug it off.
I glance up, seeing Drex standing on the balcony and staring down too, and I make my way around to where he is.
“Where’s Eve?” I ask him, propping up beside him.
I don’t miss the fact his eyes are on Maya.
“She’s in the shower. I just filled her in on everything,” he says, his attention not shifting.
Why does that bother me?
“She told Sarah about that meeting,” I point out.
“Figured that much out already,” he says quietly. “She was worried about me, and she knew Sarah would take her more seriously than I did. I won’t make that mistake again. Eve has good intuition for the most part. And I’ve gotten too reckless. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we need to be more cautious going forward. I overestimated our fear factor.”
I gesture toward Maya. “Why’re you looking at her like you want a piece?” I ask, my tone not as bored as I’d aimed for. The question comes out like an accusation instead of curiosity.
His lips twitch as he shifts his eyes to me. “Trust me when I say I have zero interest in getting a piece from anyone except the girl in my shower with my name on her arm. I’m not looking at Skater Girl like I want a piece. I’m trying to figure her out and what her role is.”
He looks back at her, and I follow his gaze, watching as she skates across the concrete floor to the bar and starts searching for something. She’s pissed. I can tell by her very expressive face.
It’s a good look on her.
My eyes refuse to move from her ass when she bends over, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. It’s been a while since my cock jumped at the sight of a girl. Been a while for a lot of things.
“I took this meeting at face value. I trusted the sources we’ve had for years,” Drex goes on. “I’m no longer taking the surface as the entire package. Your girl stood in the middle of a massacre and wasn’t at all affected.”
“She’s not my girl,” I say gruffly, clutching the railing in front of me when her tongue darts out to lick some liquor off her finger.
I also bite back a few threats when I see the others take notice. She doesn’t seem aware of anything but the task at hand as she pours another shot and tosses it back.
Drex ignores me.
“Eve threw up the first time she saw a guy die in front of her. Your girl was picking the pockets on what I assume was Sarah’s request. Despite appearances, she’s been around this type of thing for a while.”
I tense a little, thinking of how she alluded to as much. She basically said it, actually. It just seems absurd to think a girl in roller skates and a pink Bubble Gum shirt is anything less than good.
“Jude had a gun to the back of her head, and she wasn’t even the slightest bit scared,” he goes on. “That means it’s likely not the first time a gun has been at her head, and she knows that just because a gun is trained on you, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get shot.”
“Her brother took her at gunpoint six months ago,” I remind him.
“Her brother is Lathan, and Lathan is a junkie,” he says, more to himself than me. “A dealer. And a rich boy turned bad. Maybe the world doesn’t know who he really is. Neither of them. And there’s a reason they’d keep it secret. A junkie must really be scared of a secret if he doesn’t share it when he’s too high to think.”
I watch as Maya pours a fourth shot, downing it with ease, and then her neck rolls around as her eyes close. It’s like she’s slowly releasing all her tension.
“Sarah apparently likes her,” I say quietly. “She told Maya about us—detailed stuff. She doesn’t do that usually.”
Or didn’t. Sarah is a mystery to us these days.
“Sarah loves her strays,” he muses. “She took Eve in without question. Saved her life. Put me in debt to her. Eve is loyal to Sarah. Almost as loyal to her as she is to me. And now Sarah wants this Maya girl protected.”
He again gestures to Maya as she sways with the music. She doesn’t seem to realize that has even more eyes on her now. Dash is suddenly at the bar, and her eyes open like he’s just said something to her.
When she smiles, I want to punch my friend in the fucking face.
This is probably not a good sign. At all.
“Sarah is still a sore subject for Jude. I trust her, though. But if Maya has a story, she needs to tell it. We don’t have time for surprises,” I tell him tightly.
He nods and looks back to me. “Let’s find out who exactly Maya is.”
I start to walk away, but he turns to go back to his room. When I give him a questioning look, he grins. “Eve’s out of the shower by now. I’ll be down in a minute…or thirty.”
I roll my eyes and walk down the stairs, hearing a loud, feminine giggle erupt from Eve before his door shuts.
Maya has skated around to the front of the bar, a foot of space separating her from Dash as he says something. She turns and leans over the bar to grab the tequila, and Dash leans back to get a look at her barely-clad ass in those fucking short shorts that might as well be underwear.
His eyes catch mine, and he winks at me as I make my way toward him. His smile falls as he tilts his head, studying me. My fists clench and unclench at my sides as I try to get my temper in check.
“Drex wants a meeting,” I tell him, glaring a little.
Maya stiffens in front of me as she pauses her shot-pouring. She doesn’t turn around as she finishes her task and tosses another shot back.
“Okay,” Dash drawls, arching an eyebrow. “About?”
I gesture to Maya, and he grins. “I was trying to talk her into staying in my room for a while. Drex can’t free up any rooms, even though he wants to.”
My muscles all tense at once, and my jaw grinds. Didn’t take her long to go after someone else.
His expression changes, sobering, and his eyes widen fractionally.
“But she turned me down,” he says slowly. “She’s considering staying in the hangar with the bikes, because she thinks we keep them safer than girls. Not really the worst conclusion ever drawn,” he goes on, standing up.
Maya says nothing as she takes another damn shot. Holy shit. How much has she had? And how is she still standing? In roller skates, for fuck’s sake.
My hand snakes around the bottle, halting her from pouring more. She stares at my hand with a scowl, but refuses to turn around.
“Set up the room and grab the others,” I tell Dash without taking my eyes off Maya.
He walks away without a word, and I press in closer behind her, feeling her shudder. I assume that’s from fear, but with her, it’s hard to be certain. I can’t even remember the last time a girl wanted me—really wanted me. If ever. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t the only option remaining.
I also wonder if Maya’s reasons are only because she thinks I’ll keep her safe.
Fuck me. This is not an issue I need to have right now.