I slipped out of the cab and rounded the van, taking a moment to psych myself up before I left the shelter of the vehicle.
The slam of a car door had me cursing furiously under my breath even before I felt the heat of her body close behind me. The girl had no respect for personal space. Taking a generous step away, I almost growled at her.
“I told you to wait in the car.”
She winced, sucking a sharp breath through her teeth.
“Ooh, sorry. I have trouble translating dumbass into English. It’s a real problem. But since I’m here, let’s go.”
I grabbed her arm before she could step past me and ignored the look of surprise on her face as her eyes darted to the point where I held her.
“Get back in the car,” I said, keeping my voice as low and even as possible.
This was none of her business, and I didn’t want her killed on her first day on the job. Anything could happen when you walked into a drug den, and that was what this Joanna Gaines-blessed piece of architecture was.
“Calix. Can I call you Cal?”
“No.”
“Cal, I saw that little timeout you took just then. Plus, this place gives me the heebs, and I’m practically psychic so you should listen when I say don’t go in there by yourself. I’m your manager. Let me manage you.”
Manage? Did she hear herself?
Rolling my eyes, I released her arm and stepped past her to knock on the door. I didn’t have time for this shit. Toby could be in trouble. Images of him passed out, blue in the lips and pale as fuck with a needle sticking out of his arm assaulted me as I waited for the approaching footsteps to hurry up and answer the fucking…
“Wait…that came out wrong.”
Thankfully, she shut her mouth quickly as the door swung open. I was moving before I’d made the conscious decision, slamming the floppy-haired asshole into the doorframe with a satisfying crunch. Bloodshot eyes widened as I got up in Franklin Mathers III’s stupid face.
“Tobias? What…oh. It’s you, Calix. What do you want?”
“Where’s my brother?”
Chapter
Five
Tobias
Porcelain skin smeared with red,the viscous fluid welling along neatly formed lines. My heart pounded, trying to escape the squeeze of my lungs as I stared down at the pale face I see in the mirror. No breath. No warmth. My life was over.
I regained consciousness with a gasp that made my throat ache.Where the fuck was I?My mouth tasted like a robot vomited gasoline into a cocktail, and my head had its own heartbeat. The light in the room burned my eyeballs even with my lids closed. Today was going to be no fun at all.
And it was all for nothing because the dream found me anyway.
I groaned, ready to roll over and sleep for the next week when I heard voices outside.
“He’s fine, really. He just had a little blowout on the juice, but he’s sleeping it off.” Frankie’s whine set my teeth on edge. If I didn’t know how reliably he could get me fucked up, I wouldn’t associate with the blowhard.
“Juice? You mean GHB?” Shit, that was Calix.
The thump of a body hitting the wall was all the evidence I needed that I would have been better off not waking up at all today.
I considered intervening when the meaty crunch of flesh on flesh followed, but it all seemed like too much work. If my brother killed my dealer, it would be a hassle to find a new one, but not impossible. As the sounds of fighting continued, a subtle click preceded a much lighter set of footfalls.
The bed? Couch, maybe? Wherever I was dipped beneath me, and a cool hand pushed back my hair.
“You must be Tobias,” a gentle voice said.
