He nods only once. “But if you fail me again…”
“I won’t.”
“Oh, you definitely will. You’re a fuck up, Poppy. It runs in your veins, much like your addiction that keeps you going.”
I bite my tongue before it can betray me.
“What do you need me to do?”
He smirks. “Nothing too hard. I just need you to light a little match for me.”
“A match?”
He texts me an address.
“Yup, go to this address and burn the motherfucker to the ground. Do this for me, and you’ll be back in my good graces.”
“What’s the catch?”
Still smirking, he sits on the edge of the table, holding up his hands innocently. “No catch. All I’m asking is for you to start a little fire. A giant burning M will do.”
“For Moseley?”
He laughs. “No, bitch, for the Misfits. You think you can do it without getting caught?”
I nod. “Yeah, I think I can.”
“Good. I’ll have Arturo make Moseley pay you for your troubles.”
“Why won’t you pay me?”
He shrugs. “When Moseley pays you, you can give the money to me. Consider it a way to pay me back for the drugs you didn’t sell. Now go before I change my fucking mind.”
“That’s not fair—”
He cuts me off, eyes sliding into slits. “That’s business, baby. Do as I say or find out the hard way just what happens to bitches who betray me.”
They let me leave, but I can feel their filthy eyes watching my every move as I go. I know this address. I know it far too well, and the fact that he’s sending me there to do this has everything to do with what happened today. But I can’t refuse. Refusing will only end with me winding up face down in some river or desert abyss.
They were supposed to be gone longer.
I barely have time to light a match before I hear their bikes roaring up the road.
Adrenaline takes over as I drop the flaming matchstick onto the ground, the vibrant ‘M’ taking shape. The flames flicker and dance around my feet, the heat gnawing at my face as the gasoline ignites, almost burning away my eyelashes.
Part of me wants to step into the flames and let the fire burn away all this emptiness inside of me, but like a coward, I run, slipping through a loose fence board just as their gates open and their club rides in.
For one second, I dare myself to look back, my heart clenching when I realize that the guy on the first bike looks pretty damn familiar.
Wesley.
Holy shit! Seeing him again only makes those strange, wayward feelings come rushing back. He’s fucking hot as fuck on the back of a motorcycle, arms holding the handles above his head, a cute little helmet slammed down on his skull. It’s sexy and a huge turn on… but I can’t fall victim to my stupid desires. If I do, I’ll lose the only family I have.
Eddie and Rich ride in behind him, and the second I see Eddie, all of that vengeance I’ve been harboring inside bursts, burning through me much like the inferno that’s now going after his vehicles. The first car explodes, sending some dude flying into a stairwell, just as car two burst into flames.
The blast brings me to my knees, and I quickly scramble to get back on my feet, breaking off into a sprint in the opposite direction of their club.
“Hey, where the fuck do you think you’re going?” a familiar voice shouts after me, his footsteps slamming against the rocky earth as he races to catch up.
