Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
She was a junkie who only cared about herself. I kept my distance. I hadn’t heard from her since I left home, and there was no love lost between us as far as I was concerned.
Drew nodded in understanding. “What’s bringing you out here?” he asked me as he leaned back against his Camaro.
“Looking for a guy named Jay.” Drew arched his eyebrows at me in surprise. “You seen him out here tonight?”
Drew straightened up a bit, his eyebrows pulling together. “Jay’s bad fucking news, Lincoln—the kind of bad that you don’t need in your life. What the fuck do you want with him?”
I clenched my jaw. “Long fucking story, but I’m not looking to be his new best friend, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You need back up?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Probably not.”
“Going to warn you, bruh, Jay doesn’t run by himself. He’s always got two or three other guys with him, and they don’t fight fair. Probably not a smart idea to go up against him by yourself.”
“Fine,” I snarled, getting annoyed. “Just tell me where the fuck he is, then,” I demanded, getting tired of this conversation.
Drew nodded. He looked over at a leggy, skinny girl with long, wavy black hair that was talking to another girl, and he told her he would be back soon and to stay with his friend, Rocco. She sighed, rolled her eyes, but nodded at him, nonetheless.
I followed Drew across the parking lot to where a guy was standing with three other guys. He turned around to face us when one of the guys nodded in our general direction. The second my eyes landed on him, rage consumed every part of me.
Not only had this fucker been causing hell for the woman I cared about, but this same mother fucker was the reason my own mother was more worried about shooting heroin up her arm than taking care of her son. He had a hand in ruining my fucking teenage years, and he completely destroyed my mother.
Before I could restrain myself, I sent my fist into his face, sending him crashing back into one of the guys behind him. I picked Jay up off the ground by his shirt, tossing him up against the side of his car. I could vaguely hear Drew telling the other three guys to stay back, that this wasn’t some shit they wanted to get involved in.
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve,” I snarled down at him.
“She’s mine, Lincoln,” Jay taunted, a bloody smile crossing his lips, his teeth stained red. “Always has been and always will be. She fucking owes me,” he taunted.
I threw him to the ground, sending my boot into his ribs over and over until he was coughing up blood. I crouched in front of him, gripping his hair and yanking his head back to look up at me. “This is your only fucking warning, Jay. You or your family ever come near my woman again, and I promise that I’ll be the last fucking thing you see before you take your last goddamn breath, you hear me?”
He coughed out some more blood, grinning up at me with a deranged smile. “You should ask her what she owes me, Lincoln. You might not want her so much after that,” he sneered.
I stood up and kicked him hard in his face, knocking him clean the fuck out. I stormed off back to my truck, speeding off towards home.
West
I jerked awake to the sound of the front door slamming closed. Jessie ran his hand over my back, calming me. I relaxed back against him until Lincoln stormed into the bedroom, shrugging off his jacket. “We need to have a talk,” Lincoln told me gruffly.
“About what?” I asked, my voice still groggy from sleep.
“I met Jay tonight,” Lincoln informed me. I swallowed thickly. “Turns out, I already knew him.” I frowned. “Found out something…interesting, though. What do you owe him?” Lincoln demanded.
I sat up, wincing in pain as I did so. Jessie pressed a kiss to the top of my head and left the room. Jessie already knew all of the history between me and Jay, and he knew this was a conversation I would prefer to have with Lincoln by myself.
Lincoln cursed softly, striding towards me, his boots thudding over the hardwood floor. “Lay back down, West,” he roughly ordered. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
I allowed him to gently lay me back down. “I met Jay at my weakest point in life,” I informed Lincoln. “I needed money. My mom had been spending all of the rent money on drugs. Our electricity and water got turned off, and we were three months behind on rent. I got locked out of the house one night, and Jayden offered me a warm house to sleep in.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Jay was interested in me instantly—said he was drawn to my innocence.” I sneered. “I was so young and naive. There was a guy—an older, hot guy—that was willing to help me get money to pay the bills if I agreed to be his girl. So, I did. I didn’t think it would be permanent, but when I tried leaving, I was already in too deep with him.”