“Why are you telling us this?” Kreed asked. “Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could be feeding us bullshit information for your father. He could have put you up to it to throw us off.”
Jesse, despite the insinuation, didn’t flinch. “It’s no secret that my father and I don’t have a close relationship. He isn’t the most loving parent, but at least he stuck around. More than my mother did. But there was one person I could always count on, one person who showed me respect, who gave me a family, a purpose.” Jesse’s eyes found mine. “You’re dad.”
I swallowed.
“I owe him. And he would want me to do whatever I could toprotect his daughter even if it meant ratting out my old man. It’s the right thing to do, and even in the crew, we still have honor and rules. We take care of our own. You were born into the Vipers. You’re one of us.”
“As commendable as that speech was, she’s ours now.” Maddox’s voice sounded behind me. “She’s a Raven.”
I had no idea how they knew to come, and I hadn’t even noticed them until they surrounded me. Mason. Maddox. And Nash with a not-so-thrilled Poppy at his side, who looked like Nash had dragged her along.
The message was clear. Lines had been drawn. Sides had been established, and I didn’t even remember when or how it happened. Or how I felt about it.
22
KREED
The afternoon air carried the traces of spring, damp earth mixed faintly with exhaust from the buses idling in the circular drive in front of the school. Maddox had obviously gotten my text, and now Maddox, Mason, Nash, and I formed a loose semicircle near Jesse’s beat-up truck at the edge of the school property, far enough from the main entrance that our conversation wouldn’t be overheard but close enough that we could see anyone approaching.
Jesse leaned awkwardly against his truck’s rusted tailgate, hands shoved deep in his pockets, looking uncertain about whether coming to Public had been a good idea. It definitely wasn’t, but perhaps I could use this in my favor. An idea had started to form while he’d been talking tomygirl, who was eyeing us with displeasure. I took it she didn’t exactly approve of us ganging up on Jesse.
Mason grinned at Jesse. “Long time no see,” he greeted sarcastically.
“So we’re just trusting him now? Just like that? He’s Rusty’s kid.” Maddox pointed out the obvious, his eyes never leaving Jesse’s face.
I didn’t know how much they had overheard, but I assumed it was enough. “We don’t trust no one,” I replied, my confidence over the situation skyrocketing. We learned early only to trust each other.
“What’s going on?” Kaylor demanded as Poppy huffed at Nash’s side, crossing her arms.
“Jesse is giving us an opportunity we can’t pass up.” I slapped him chummily on the back as if we were old friends.
“I came to warn Bubb—Kaylor,” he corrected, seeing the slight tilt of my head.
Maddox rocked back on his heels. “We aren’t giving you a choice. You’re the only person positioned close enough to Rusty to feed us the information we need. The next time you see your old man, you text me the exact location.”
Kaylor’s head whipped from me to Jesse. “You don’t have to do that. I would never put you in the position to be forced to choose between your dad and me.”
“You might not, little raven,” I said, stepping just slightly closer, “but I will.”
“Kreed,” she hissed.
Nash expelled breath, his hand tearing through his hair. “It’s still risky as hell. He could double-cross us. Rusty’s not exactly known for being the forgiving type. If something goes wrong, and I’m not saying it will, and he finds out his son’s playing informant, Jesse here becomes a cautionary tale.”
“Not my problem,” I said with a shrug that wasn’t nearly as indifferent as it sounded.
Kaylor poked me in the chest. “It might not beyourproblem, but I’m not sacrificing anyone else. I can’t ask him to do this.”
“Jesse?” I raised a brow, throwing the ball in his court, yet the undertone was clear…he would do this, or there would be consequences.
“Oh, like you’re giving him a choice,” Poppy piped up, putting her nose in Crew business where it didn’t belong.
“He rarely does.” Jesse gave a humorless snort that made him wince and press a hand briefly to his bruised ribs. “If I do this, I become an accomplice. How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you won’t try to take me down with him?”
I studied him carefully. “You don’t.”
He huffed. “You’re not giving me warm and fuzzy feelings about helping you.”
“We’re not friends. I don’t like you, but I do believe you care about Kaylor’s well-being. For that, I’m willing to let you prove to her that you’re not a monster.” I leaned in, dropping my voice so only he could hear. “But know this, you’ll give me what I want one way or the other. It’s up to you how…difficult you want this to be.”
