Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,15
his eyes were dancing all over the place and his skin was shiny. When Freddie finished retching, Jasper grasped the bucket and carried it out. My stomach lurched, but this wasn’t the worst I’d seen.
I caught Rome staring at me, and then I glanced back at Freddie. He was a mess.
“I have Narcan,” Doc said. “But I don’t want to use it without knowing what you did.” His focus remained on Freddie.
“Went to get food,” Freddie said, the fun in his voice plummeting toward misery. “Sorry, Boo-Boo, got a little turned around. But we didn’t have shit in the kitchen, and I can’t cook anyway.”
“It’s fine,” I said, folding my arms. “Though I hope you weren’t picking up the drugs for me.”
“Nah,” Freddie said with a crooked grin that was all bad boy sass, like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “Unless you wanted some. ’Cause I know some places to score.”
“No, she doesn’t want you to score,” Jasper snarled as he clapped Freddie in the back of the head and slammed the bucket down next to him on the floor. “Tell Doc what the fuck you took, then what the hell they gave you before we got there.”
“You know, Hawk, you’re an asshole.” Freddie glanced up at him, not even an ounce of remorse in his expression. “We all know you got a crush on Boo-Boo, so be nice to her, ’cause she’s pretty and she’s nice. She smells good too.”
I cut my gaze away and caught Liam rolling his eyes, and I swore for just a moment, the corners of his lips twitched. A hand danced against my back, and I glanced over my shoulder to find Rome holding a hand out to me.
Jasper glared down at glassy-eyed Freddie, and for once, Doc wore a similar expression. Compassion infused that anger, since they needed more information if they wanted to help him.
Taking Rome’s hand, I let him pull me toward the kitchen. Doc and I had only gotten back minutes ahead of Jasper. We’d barely even made it inside before he’d arrived, dragging Freddie with him.
“Get him ice,” Rome suggested. “The crushed will help.”
That was a good idea, especially since he was sweaty. I opened the freezer and stared at the nearly empty appliance. There was an entire bag of crushed ice already there, in addition to the cubes in the ice marker. He turned the sink on while I filled an oversized tumbler with the ice.
When I turned around, he had a pair of washcloths soaked and squeezed out in his hands. Without a word, he passed them to me.
“Rome—” I started, but he pressed his fingers to my lips. Cool and still damp from the sink, they sent a chill through me. The calmness in his eyes washed over me, and he just gave me the barest shake of his head. I frowned until his gaze flicked past me.
Liam stood in the doorway, staring at both of us. To be honest, my hand still hurt from where I’d punched him. Not that it appeared I’d done any damage. His faint smirk and shake of his head seemed more aimed at his brother than me. In fact, they were both just staring at each other, and yeah, that was my clue to get out of the way.
The last place I needed to be was trapped between them. If they told Jasper I was gone, then they told him. I’d deal with that fallout.
Freddie was sitting alone and miserable, while Doc and Jasper were locked in a hushed if intense conversation. Pale and wan, Freddie’s sad condition tugged at my heart as I perched on the sofa next him. With care, I traded him the bucket for the ice chips.
“Oh, Boo-Boo,” he said with a rough groan. “You’re a goddess.”
“Uh huh.” I nudged his chin to face away from me so I could wipe his brow and then his cheeks. “Don’t breathe on me. You reek.”
He grimaced. “I’m a mess.”
“Apparently,” I said, agreeing with him. At least he’d gotten most of the vomit into the bucket and not on his clothes. “Did you have to dumpster dive while you were at it?”
He let out a weak chuckle before he tucked his head against my shoulder. Ice dribbled from the corner of his mouth toward the round neck of my leotard. I hadn’t really changed since I’d put on the dance clothes and used them to disguise my intentions earlier.