way he inched closer to my face, like he had other intentions, a hidden agenda I wasn’t privy to.
One thing I did know for sure. I was in over my head.
I kept my eyes on his as I wiggled my fingers, attempting to tug on the key. But he didn’t let up. “So you’re into older women?”
A muscle in Hayden’s jaw twitched. Dark cobalt replaced his clear eyes. I’d overstepped that invisible line again. “You being here…”
I couldn’t look away. I waited for whatever morsel he planned to share. Like any little crumb would be worth it.
He blinked a couple long drawn-out blinks until clarity returned. “…Is really cramping my style.” He let go of my hand, relinquishing the key and taking a step back.
A giant breath left me. That’s what I got for thinking we might’ve been getting somewhere. “Don’t let me stop you. I don’t take my aunt for much of a screamer, but I can just slip on my head phones. I won’t hear a thing.”
Hayden laughed a real authentic laugh, bringing out the dimples.
There was something victorious in knowing I caused his reaction. And with that, I turned the knob and opened the door, but not before glancing back to him. “Thank you.”
The smile slipped from his face, and he shrugged like it was no big deal.
But it was a big deal. And it meant something to me.
CHAPTER FOUR
HAYDEN
I glared down at the guy’s lifeless body, bloody and unrecognizable. I should’ve felt remorse. I should’ve felt disgusted by what I’d done to him. I should’ve felt something. But as usual, I didn’t.
Someone inside the club screamed and chaos erupted. No doubt the cops arrived with guns blazing.
My head twisted around, searching the windowless alley for an exit. With little time to get creative, I eyeballed our only option. The wall surrounding the alley.
Remy was a step ahead of me. “Over here,” he yelled from the base of it.
I jogged over, my eyes drifting up the menacing structure. Even though I stood at a solid six feet, the wall towered over me by at least four. And forget Remy. I had him by half a foot.
My eyes flashed around, searching for something to stand on. Alleys were supposed to have rats and dumpsters. I’d seen the rats. Where the hell were the dumpsters? I glanced back to Remy, but he no longer stood beside me. He’d bent down, his fingers joined together.
I shook my head. “No way, man. We got into this together. We’re getting out of it together.”
“Hate to break it to you, bro, but we’re about to go down together.”
My heart thumped like a fucking drum. I looked to the top of the wall. To the guy sprawled in an unnatural position behind us. To the club door seconds away from crashing open. To Remy’s encouraging eyes.
My shoulders sagged in defeat. “I can’t let you do this.”
“I swear to Christ, Hayden, if you don’t go…”
I glanced to the guy on the ground. The one I’d unleashed my rage on.
I’d chosen this life.
I’d chosen to be someone my mother would’ve been disgusted by. I’d chosen to destroy others’ lives the way mine had been destroyed. I didn’t deserve leniency. And Remy didn’t deserve to take the blame for my crime.
I needed to make a decision. And I needed to make it fast.
“Come on!” Remy growled.
I stepped into his hands. He struggled to hoist me up, but once my fingertips gripped the top of the wall, I pulled myself up and straddled it. “Come on, Rem.” I reached down, holding out my hand for him to grab. “I can lift you.”
Remy shook me off. “This one’s on me, bro. Now get the hell outta here.”
I stared down at my scrawny friend. My partner in crime. My comrade. Could I really leave him down there to take the fall?
Frantic sounds from the club emptied into the alley. If I waited any longer, the cops would find me perched on top of the wall. And innocent men didn’t run.
I sucked in a breath and nodded to Remy.
Then I did what only a coward would do.
I dropped to the darkness on the opposite side of the wall and left my friend alone with the body of the man I killed.
Though I was in bed tossing and turning, it hadn’t been a nightmare. I wasn’t asleep. Not since sleeping outside next to Alex.
I knew I wasn’t the miracle worker she claimed me to be, but I affected her. She stopped crying.