and a tear leaves her eye when she turns back to me. “I told you to stay away from me. I’m nothing but trouble.”
“You aren’t. Stop saying that. Stop doing that. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s those who you used to associate with.” She pulls her arm free, opens the door, and steps out.
I take a minute, putting my shoes on before I join her. When I do, Noah and Rylee’s sister are standing at the kitchen counter talking while Rylee makes a coffee. After she’s done, she hands it to me then goes back to make a cup for herself.
“How are you feeling today?” Noah asks, nodding to my shoulder.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good to hear. Because the station has already called asking when you’re going to be there.”
My phone starts ringing. I didn’t even realize I had it with me.
“Noah grabbed it,” Rhianna says at my look of confusion.
Picking it up, I answer the call. “August, oh, good. I’ve been calling, but you haven’t been picking up,” Paige says. “Are you at Rhianna’s?”
“Yes.”
“I’m at the door.”
I hear a knock, and Rylee opens the door to her brother and Paige standing there. Paige runs inside and wraps her arms around my waist, hugging me tight.
“Where does your father think you are?”
“With Beckham,” she says, pulling back. “Technically, I am. I am not lying.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” I look over to Beckham who’s talking to Rylee. “Take her home.”
Beckham glances at Paige. “I told her she wasn’t allowed to come. Her father even said so,” he states, making my eyes go to Paige.
“This is what got you into trouble last time.” She glances down at my words, avoiding eye contact. “Take her home, Beckham,” I tell him. “I’ll call you later, Paige.”
She nods and says no more, then marches out with Beckham.
“That was a little harsh,” Rhianna says.
I ignore her and ask Noah, “Should we go now?”
“Yeah, if you’re ready.”
My answer is a nod.
Once we get to the parking lot, I watch Paige get into her boyfriend’s car and drive away.
“You can ride with me,” Rylee says, coming up behind me.
“No.”
“You will ride with me, August Trouble. Get in my fucking car. Now. So we can talk.” I hear a faint giggle and know it’s her sister, so I sigh and get in. When we’re both buckled in, she starts the car and takes off with a squeal of her wheels.
“What do you want to talk about?” I ask, checking her out in my peripheral vision, while both of her hands are on the steering wheel and she’s clenching it tightly.
“I want to know what the fuck is going on. Tell me… who those men were, and why they were at your house.”
I scrub my hand down my face.
Fuck! I’m still so tired, even if it was one of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time, lying next to her. I wonder if it was her bed or her.
“What?”
“Why did those men come into your house? Were they going to kill you?” she asks, her knuckles now white as she grasps the steering wheel.
“No. They came to hurt me. Scare me into doing what Josh wants me to do.”
Her eyes flick to me. “Josh, the guy from the bar? What’s he got to do with anything?”
“Yes, him. He runs the drugs in this city. No one can sell without going through him for product. There are other things he does, too.”
“Did you deal?”
“Yes, amongst other things.”
She nods at my answer. “Thank you for that. Now… tell me… what does he want you to do?”
“He wants me to work for him…” I pause as we pull up to the police station. “He also wanted to teach me a lesson for the last time I told him no.” She takes a heavy breath. “I ended up in prison,” I say while getting out and shutting the door and rushing off.
Before I reach the steps, she runs up beside me then blocks my way. “He set you up?”
“Of course he did.”
“You never robbed that store? Stole all that money? Hurt that man?”
“No. I was there, but no, I didn’t do any of that shit.”
“I believe you.” She says the words with such conviction and without a shred of evidence. Not once have I had someone believe in me so blindly—simply by my word. I’m not sure what to do with that.
“Thanks,” I manage to say. I push past her then head up the stairs to the police station.
I didn’t find out