Mentally disconnecting from the temporary joy I’ve found, I delete the text and pocket the fucking thing. After I bid farewell to my girls, I’m out the door to go earn a living until corporate America welcomes me into its fucked-up, twisted game. As twisted and fucked up as it is, it’s somewhat more legal than the shit I’m hustling now. The shit I plan on getting away from forever.
Eventually . . .
CHAPTER 15
Brock
“MAYBE I’LL GO get laid or something.” Attempting to piss me off, Amber stares dispassionately at her nails, her foot tapping against the pavement. “Some guy slipped me his number at the restaurant last week during my shift, and he was definitely fuckable.”
I exhale a deep breath, trying to keep my cool.
“Goddamn.” Ryder chuckles. “Talk about retaliation.”
I shoot him a scathing glare, about ready to knock him the fuck out.
Amber lifts her eyes to mine, a pseudo-dreamy sigh rolling from her lips. “Yep. I’m calling him. I’m sure he’ll find multiple ways to . . . occupy me while you’re gone. Between your monthly pickups and away games, I’m constantly being left alone. He’ll keep me busy.”
Head officially fucked sideways, I hop into the rental van and slam the door closed. “Ber, every time I leave to make a pickup, you pull the same shit. How many times do we have to go through this?”
Pouting like a child, she crosses her arms. “As many times as I feel like it, bastard. That’s how many.”
I let loose an aggravated sigh, knowing she’s as feisty as they come. Still, that feistiness was the first thing that had me falling for the girl, my existence wrapped around her finger the second she smacked Ryder. But whipped or not, Amber knows this subject’s nonnegotiable. No matter how much seeing her upset twists my head, I’ll never drag her out to West Virginia with me. Besides putting her at risk for getting pinned for something she’s not involved in, exposing her to the demented fuck I score my shit from is never happening.
Done deal. She’s wasting oxygen.
Ryder flips a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it up as he sinks into the passenger side. “At least you’re a bastard today, bro. No doubt that’s a step up from the last time you didn’t take her along for the ride.” He turns his eyes on Amber. “What was it you called him, peach? A twat-waffle?” He taps his chin, his brows dipped in mock thought. “You know my IQ’s close to genius, but I can’t say I’ve ever come across that term. Good one. But what exactly is a twat-waffle? This boy’s a very, very good student, so I promise to pay close attention while you school me.”
Amber blows him a kiss and gives him the finger. “Do me a favor and use that huge brain of yours to figure out how to go to hell, Ryder. Sound good?”
Puffing out a ring of smoke, he gives her a slow smirk. “Mm. You’re beyond goddamn sexy when you’re pissed. This student gives the teacher an A for that alone.” He reclines his seat back, tossing his feet onto the dash as he looks at me. “How do you not fuck her into submission when she disobeys you like this?”
Amber pokes her head through the window, her eyes narrowed. “Because he loves me, twat-waffle.” Smiling, she blows him another kiss. “Make sure to add that to your dictionary, Mr. Genius.”
Chuckling, Ryder shakes his head, defeat slumping his shoulders as Amber pats herself on the back.
I let out a laugh. “Ashcroft: zero. Moretti: one.”
“Seriously, Brock,” Amber continues, her pout resurfacing, “there’s no reason why you can’t take me with you. I know why you’re going down there. I know what you sell, Mr. Big, bad coke man. You act like I’m an undercover or something.” She slides into vixen mode, her eyes dripping with seduction as she gives me a once-over. “It’s not fair. I wanna come with you.”
“You came with me this morning.” I take her face between my hands, pulling her sweet mouth to mine for a soft kiss. “Did you not?”
“Very funny, wiseass,” she mumbles against my lips. “I’m being serious.”
“So am I.” I grin, slipping my fingers through her hair. “If I’m not mistaken, you came twice.”
“But, Brock—”
“But nothing.” I kiss her again and start the engine. Killing what’s about to become a fight, I back out of the parking space. “Just go upstairs. It’s too cold out here for you. I’ll call you from my burner to let you know if we’ll be back tonight or tomorrow morning.”
She stares daggers at me, her middle finger making me its second target of the day. “I’m getting sick of this crap!”
“Come on now, why you gotta get all kinds of crazy?”
“Because you suck!” She spins and stomps toward the elevators.
Her ass—hidden beneath a pair of tightly fitted pink sweatpants—instantly hardens my cock. “Love you too. And you better answer when I call, Ber. I have no problem spending the rest of my life in prison if I have to come back and put a bullet in Mr. Fuckable’s dick.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Another finger before she disappears around the corner.
Christ. She owns my heart, but my girl knows how to fuck with it when she doesn’t get her way. Guilt coats my stomach as I make a left out of my complex.
Ryder flicks his cigarette out the window, an entertained smile on his face as he slides a joint from behind his ear. “She’s no joke, huh?”
I sigh, shaking my head. “You know how she gets.”