Hood River Rat (Hood River Hoodlums #1) - K Webster Page 0,45
the back of my neck. “You can’t get involved in that shit, man.”
He scowls at me. “I already am, Roan. I’ve been helping him because what choice do I have? But it’s never ending. Renaldo pays him good for this crap, so the jobs keep coming. But so do his asshole friends.”
“Are they giving you trouble?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Do we need to kick anyone’s asses?”
Jordy snorts. “And risk you losing Roux? Fuck no, man. Why do you think I’ve left you out of it? You have enough to deal with just trying to keep food in her mouth. And now with you two staying here, it’s too much. I’m not getting you involved.”
“I can help,” I mutter, though we both know I can’t.
“I don’t want you to.” He levels me with a firm glare. “You take care of Roux. She’s the most important thing to me. To us. I’d do whatever the fuck I had to in order to make sure she’s far away from this crap. She needs you. I’ve got this.”
But he doesn’t.
He’s barely hanging on by a thread here.
“What if you just quit working there?” I ask. “Maybe we could find a job together someplace else. The tire factory with your dad maybe? I need to figure out a way to pay Mike back for all this.”
Jordy’s anger melts away and he just stares at me. Like a father would his son who doesn’t understand the complicated ways of the world. “I can’t untangle myself. But you haven’t been to the shop in ages. Just stay away, okay? Keep doing what you have to do for Roux.”
“I don’t like this,” I growl, irritated that he’s going to take on this burden himself. “It’s fucked up.” It’s driving him to places I never thought Jordy was capable of. Like pushing some kid into a frozen river, hoping he would die.
A shiver runs down my spine as I remember how fucking cold that river was.
“I don’t like it either,” Jordy mumbles. “But I’ll figure it out. It’s what we do. We’re Hoodlums. We don’t let life fuck us. We get on our feet and fuck life.”
I pull him to me and hug him. “Don’t push me away. If you need help, you know where to find me. I have Mike and the station. He has connections. If we need to get the police—”
“Don’t. Don’t ever say that.” His voice is fierce and hard. “They’ll fucking kill you. Just don’t.”
And as much as I hate to, I know I’ll never mention it again.
“I can’t keep Roux safe if I’m worrying about you,” I tell him. “Take care of yourself. We need you.”
“Like I said,” he growls. “I’ve got this. Now let’s go pick up Little Hoodlum and grab lunch. I’m fucking starving.”
Conversation officially over.
But no matter what he says, I know he doesn’t have it. He’s barely holding it together. Just another goddamn thing to stress out over.
“Who the hell is Kayden?” I demand, tossing my sister’s notebook onto her bed.
She pushes her glasses up her nose and rolls her eyes. “A boy.”
“No boys. Ever.”
“Why not?” she demands, her brows furling angrily.
“I don’t know. Because you’re thirteen.”
“Almost fourteen.”
“Big fucking whoop. Fourteen is still too young for boys.”
“You’re not my dad.” She grabs her notebook and shoves it into her backpack, tears welling in her honey-brown eyes that match mine.
Guilt nearly knocks me the hell over. I’ve been a mess this weekend. I’m worried about Jordy. Stressed over Roux’s and my living situation. And then there’s Hollis.
Fuck.
I’ve been trying to push what happened far into the back of my mind. But the last two nights, it’s all I can think about. I lie awake thinking about how terrified I felt when I saw him go into the water, which makes no sense since I barely know him. Mostly, I think about kissing him. His hot, urgent tongue. The way our bodies rubbed together. How he came all over me and then used his fucking cum to jack me off.
Two nights in a row, I jerked off to that image.
Why?
I don’t even like guys.
Except him.
Hell, I’m not sure if I even like him.
But I like the way he felt. The way he tasted. Each sound that rumbled up his throat. It’s maddening and addictive. I want more, yet I want to run away. Today, at school, I’ll have to face him. He didn’t try to message me all weekend, or if he did, I don’t know because my phone was ruined in