Hack, page 12
I tapped his shoulders and let him tackle me until he had me pinned and licked my cheek. Marigold stood in the doorway of the bathroom shaking her head while she brushed her teeth. Spock released me and curled up at the end of the bed. I stood then wiggled by M, taking one more squeeze of that ass.
With a snide glare, Marigold spit into the porcelain sink. “You know I’m not having sex with you until I hate you again. Consider it penance for being adorable.” She shivered and wiped her face with a towel then threw it on the counter.
I loaded my brush and said, “Sounds more like a reward for bad behavior. I suddenly have happy thoughts of force-feeding you vegetables.”
She scoffed. “That would probably do it.”
As she climbed into bed, I finished in the bathroom and turned out the light. It was odd having her in my old bed—the number of times I’d wondered what she had actually looked like when I listened to her videos, the fantasies I’d had about her rasping out my name with desire. For all the day-dreaming I’d done about Majel213, I’d never expected her to fit so perfectly into my life. We liked the same things, had the same warped view on the world. We even had the same dry sense of humor.
I walked over, stripped down to my boxers, lifted the covers, then slid in. She’d taken off her pants and was in just a thong and the little tank top. It was the best kind of torture I could imagine. I rubbed my hand around her smooth ass then up her stomach where I absolutely copped a feel of her left breast.
She had that sweet smell that I was beginning to suspect was just her. I nuzzled closer and there, in the safety of the dark, I had to tell her. “You’re fucking beautiful. You know that, right?”
“Shut up, asshole.” M sleeked her hand into mine and interlaced our fingers.
I kissed her bare shoulder. “You know insults make me horny.” I wiggled my dick into her ass crack. Then my mind went to all kinds of dark and wonderful places. Damn her.
Marigold flipped around and straddled me. She hovered just above my lips and whispered, “You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” She placed the softest, most gentle kiss I’d ever gotten on my mouth and held it there. The next move was for her. I had no idea what she was getting at.
Slowly, she drew back. “Now let me fucking sleep.” Off she climbed and back on her side with her ass pressed into my hip. She spooned her pillow while I laid on my back and stared at the ceiling. Had she been serious? Was it some sort of revenge compliment? Jesus, we were fucked up.
After a few hours of tossing and turning and my mind not being able to settle, I crept out of bed and went back to my place. Anton didn’t like it when no one was in the king’s castle, so it was good to be there when he got home, even if I was sitting on my ass watching sports highlights from the night before.
He tossed a key fob into a drawer and nodded his hello. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”
“Always.” I pushed the power button on the remote and hopped up. “Oh. We put Jimmy on the bench again. I’ll check in with him after we work out.”
Anton let out a slow breath then said, “He was the best choice, but I don’t trust him yet. Count everything three times.”
We headed over to the gym and went straight to the treadmill.
After five minutes, we found our strides and Anton glanced at my stats. “How’s my new business venture?”
I’d wondered how long it was going to take him to ask. “Should get payment today. We’ve already started targeting a new town.” I did my best to hide my worry. Anton couldn’t see the long game in hacking. He needed instant gratification.
Warm-up complete, we switched to weights and my lack of sleep began to show as I struggled with the bench press. Anton spotted me and the bar clanked as we put it back in its spot over my head.
He narrowed his light eyes and smirked. “You fucked Rainbow Brite.”
There was no point in denying it, but that didn’t mean I was going to talk sex shop with the bossman. Besides, I’d heard plenty through the walls of how he liked to get off. My darker side was better off in the shadows.
“This gonna fuck up your earnings?” He crossed his arms and peered down at me.
“Not a chance, boss.”
The door opened and Jackson sauntered in. He stretched and yawned. “Morning.”
“Jesus Christ, you too?” Anton shook his head. “My whole crew falling apart in front of my eyes due to pussy. For fuck’s sake.”
Jackson shot me a questioning glance and I shook it off in a ‘I’ll tell you later’ gesture that we’d come to understand between us.
Anton turned back to me and asked, “What did you find out about the games?”
“I’ll know everything in a week.” I clasped Anton’s outstretched hand and curled up to sit.
“Let me guess. You have a cousin working on it.” Jackson smirked and reached for the jump rope from the plastic box of accessories under the wall of weights. “How you payin’ for your info this time?”
Over the years, Jackson had learned about the many different forms of currency in my family. I’d worked as a bouncer in a few bars in exchange for free drinks, I’d roughed up a few boyfriends and I’d even helped steal a car. Cash and conditions… That was how my web of cousins all over the city functioned.
“I have to go on a date and prove that I’m an ass.” I hadn’t had the courage to get back to Angela after her mildly obsessive text messages. Also, I’d been kinda busy with the woman who did know how to float my boat.
Anton and Jackson laughed.
“What?”
Jackson dipped his chin. “You, Goldie Locks. You have a type. It’s a crazy type. It’s like you can smell who will be the most jealous woman in the room, then you proceed to push on that button until the poor girl can’t take it anymore. You don’t think it’s a coincidence that you found M and now you have to go on a date with someone else. I love you, man, but your love life is based on stupid drama.”
“First of all,” I said, then stood with my hands on my hips, “I think we can all agree that I don’t have a love life—”
“Oh for fuck’s sake. I can’t listen to this girlie shit. Raf, go check in with Jimmy and text me. Jackson, warm up. I need to hit somebody.”
I fake-snarled at Jackson and left the gym without objection. After a quick shower, I dressed in the Covington uniform of black jeans and a black tank top, threw on my tattered baseball hat and took the stairs down to the second floor, not stopping to check on M, even though a part of me wanted to.
I knocked on Jimmy’s door, and when he didn’t answer, I called his cell.
“Hey, man. Had a late night. You need me?” Jimmy coughed through the phone.
“I need the money you earned and your numbers. Open your door.” I hated training newbies. Delinquents were never very good about following the rules.
“Sorry, man. I’m not home. I’ll be over in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes? Was he fucking kidding me?
“Where are you?” I kept the annoyance out of my tone. Staying calm was the only way to control the situation and show the new jerk-off how the ranks worked. He was lucky I wasn’t the bossman. Not being home when it was time to collect money would have ended with a smack on the face in front of a group of people.
But I had other motives. I needed someone to replace me on the bench. So did Scooter and Jackson. We were fucking tired of selling drugs.
“Just down the hall. I’ll be right there.”
Street smarts and intuition were muscles that strengthened simultaneously. I knew where Jimmy was. Problem was, I didn’t think Jimmy knew where he was. After a long exhale, I walked down to apartment two-twelve and knocked on Bridget’s door. The faint smell of burnt plastic seeped out and my stomach turned.
With a fist, I pounded just below the number. Jimmy’s only saving grace would be if he hadn’t used.
Bridget answered in a dirty tank top and her underwear. Her frail body was a shell of what she’d once been. It was a fucking shame.
Across the room, Jimmy stood and put his dick back in his pants.
“You think I have ten minutes to wait while you get your dick sucked?” Unbelievable.
On his way out he stopped in front of Bridget and shook a finger in her face. “Your payment is not complete. I’ll be back.”
I shoved him through the threshold and he stumbled. “Take it easy, man. My count is legit.”
It would have been easy for me to order him to forgive Bridget her debt, whatever it was. But that would have been an act of kindness when I needed to show our new recruit who was in charge.
Jimmy fished out his keys and opened his apartment. It was clean, hyper-organized even. He didn’t have a roommate. It had been a negotiated point when he’d come from Bradford.
I sat at his kitchen table, also spotless, and he went to the back bedroom. Two minutes later he came out with a wad of cash.
“Busy night.” I had to admit that I was impressed and the bossman would be pleased. Jimmy’s little indiscretion with Bridget would not get reported. Money mattered, bullshit didn’t.
“I guess the customers liked seeing a new face. Maybe some of the Bradford peeps are happy that I’m being folded in.”
His confidence, while gag-worthy, was what we needed, so I let his attitude slide.
I checked the sheet that Scooter gave at the beginning of each shift and counted out Jimmy’s share after verifying that he’d sold as much as he’d said.
“A few more pulls like this and I’ll be moving upstairs.”
He might. After all, he had all the qualities of upper management, minus some muscles.
“You need to bulk up. How often do you eat?”
“Breakfast, lunch, dinner…like a regular person.”
“Nah, man. You need to fuel the muscles every two or three hours if you want to gain weight. Until that happens, you’ll be stuck down here.”
Jimmy face scrunched up. “I need some pointers, I guess.”
I could relate. I’d been in the same boat. I’d known how to work out, but it was Leo who had taught me how to fight and shoot a gun. Jimmy was probably a good scrapper. He just was missing the power behind it.
“I can meet you at the gym this afternoon. We can write out your diet and start talking about a routine.”
“Really?”
I stood and tucked the money into my back pocket. “Yeah. Really. I don’t know how things were at Bradford, but we support each other here.”
“Three o’clock?”
“Sounds good.”
I headed for the door, I needed to get Anton his money then figure out when the fuck Zapata Falls was going to pay us. Plus, Angela… I had to deal with her sooner than later. Getting that over with would mean my end of the deal would be done. Loose strings and unpaid debt weren’t my thing.
“Raf?”
“Yeah?” I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
Jimmy rubbed his neck. He had a hellish beast with horns tattoo up to his ear. “About the Bridget thing…”
“Keep your nose clean and the money coming. That’s all I care about. But I wouldn’t make a habit of trading sex for drugs. It gets fucking depressing.”
A knowing frown crossed his face. “What about the new girl on the third floor?”
“All women on the third floor are off limits. You know that.”
“Right. I just wondered now that I’m kinda moving up…”
“You haven’t moved anywhere yet. Don’t get greedy after one night.” I glared at him.
And stay the fuck away from Marigold.
Chapter Fourteen
Marigold
Lisa and I walked along the wide path next to the river. The cool air could almost make one forget about the pollution one block east. J.J. held Spock’s leash with a massive grin, the scooter he’d brought had been long forgotten.
My new friend Lisa—yep, I was going there—carried the metal kick scooter in the crook of her elbow, admired the boy and dog in front of us and said, “I am going to be in so much trouble with Jackson. You and Spock better not leave us.”
There didn’t seem to be a point in empty promises, so I gave her a different nugget to savor.
“You want to know something sick and horrible?”
“Duh.” Lisa quirked a brow.
“Okay but girl code here. No telling the sausage stew of Covington. And no thinking shitty of me.”
Spock sniffed the base of a tree and we came to a halt. In a low voice, Lisa leaned in to me and said, “M, my boyfriend feeds the habit of the mother of the child who I love like my own. If you don’t judge me, I’ll offer you the same pass.”
I didn’t judge her. Lisa was stuck and doing the best that she could. She was a gem of goodness. I was more worried I would taint her gentle ways than think poorly of her choices.
“So, a bit of background,” I started and we walked south again.
Lisa’s eyes lit up and she let out a tiny squee. Yeah, girl-talk was dope.
I grinned. “Rafa took my phone and hacked it the first day we met. He found out my identity—everything.”
“Not surprised… He likes shit like that.”
I lifted a finger. “Here’s the thing. I’m rather vengeful. I paired his phone to my laptop and now I get all his messages.”
Lisa’s brown eyes widened. “That’s naughty. But paybacks are hell, right?”
The bile stewed in my stomach. “There’s only one problem.”
“Let me guess. It has nothing to do with Covington business.”
I frowned. Yes, it was wrong to spy on Rafa—but he’d started it! And yes, when one goes snooping around, one might not like what one finds. Blah, blah fucking blah.
It made perfect sense that Rafael had a woman lighting up his phone. He was the epidemy of a hot bad boy—the kind of asshole who fueled fantasies. It was common knowledge that bad boys were the best kissers, and well, the best kissers did other shit pretty fucking spot-on, too. Point proven the day before. Hell, I was happy Lisa hadn’t called me out for walking funny.
I scrubbed my cheeks. “It’s horrible, Lisa. The jealousy is eating me alive.”
She shifted the scooter to the opposite arm and crinkled her brow. “So you like him?”
“No! I hate him. I just don’t want anyone else to have him,” I whined.
She laughed. It wasn’t mocking or in jest. The light chuckle carried a wave of understanding. “You poor thing. You’re just as fucked up as he is.”
I fake-wept. “I know and it’s equal parts freakishly comforting and deeply disturbing.”
Lisa draped her free arm over my shoulder and tugged me close. “Consider the possibility that you’ve met your match, girl.”
I whimpered. I didn’t want to have met my match. But, what did I want?
“I hate him,” I said for good measure.
“If you say so. Come on. Let’s head back. I have to watch another kid this afternoon and I need to start lunch.” She let me go and called for J.J. to turn around.
There was a distinct feeling once I hit the territory of Covington Heights. Eyes followed me, energy hummed in my ears and the walls of the buildings seemed taller. I’d noticed it the first day, but each time I left and came back it was the same. There was nothing safe about the neighborhood.
I said my goodbye to Lisa and J.J.—who was kind enough to return my dog to me—and let myself into my apartment. Rafa wasn’t there, not that I had expected him. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t find out where he was and what he was doing.
With a little bounce in my step, I grabbed a soda from the fridge and headed to my workstation. I flopped down and cracked open my laptop. Damn it, spying was fun. All the nerves in my body lit up and tingled.
They went immediately limp with one quick read of his texts.
Stop making me wait. Besides, you promised Juliana.
Tonight?
Perfect. Will you come and get me after work?
Sure. Then we can go up the street to Manny’s. C U then.
X
I did a search for Manny’s in the city and found several, which brought an annoyed humph. Also, Rafael knew where the girl worked and the neighborhood well enough to place Manny’s just up the street from where she was.
The little strum sound my fingers made on the keyboard slowed as I thought it through. There had to be a clue in her text. Who was Juliana? Rafa talked about his cousins. Maybe they were related. I did a social media search for Juliana Santos and found a stunning brunette who had the same light eyes as Rafael and owned a hair salon not far from Covington. Then I went back to my Manny’s search and found one that was literally on the same street as the salon. It was a Cuban restaurant that boasted about its famous chicken and beans.
Boom. Mic drop and all that other shit. Jesus, I was a proficient stalker. It hadn’t even taken me fifteen minutes. Also, that chicken and beans sounded damn good. Too bad I would refuse to eat it for the rest of my life.
I spun around and around in my chair, using the table in front of me to go faster. Only children were notoriously bad sharers. One time, in a park not far from my house, my mom had offered some of my apple to a little boy I’d been playing with on the slide. According to my mother, I threw myself on the ground in a tantrum that had included me banging my fists and cheeks turning red as tomatoes. It was a pretty accurate assessment of how I wanted to react to Rafa with any other woman.
Which was utterly ridiculous. He wasn’t mine. I wasn’t his. Still… I wanted him, and he fucking wanted me.
I stopped spinning and stared at the blank wall. What did I have that Angela did not? What was my advantage? Where was my angle? I reread their exchange and a devious grin curled my lips. I had hate.
“You look fucking spooky.”
I startled. I hadn’t heard him come in.
“Bad dog,” I scolded Spock. “You’re supposed to protect me.”
Rafa leaned into the doorway. With his dark jeans, black tank and light eyes, he was the one who was spooky. Spooky fucking hot. Yeah, fuck you, Angela. I’d had a taste of him and was going back for more. No apple or dick-sharing for me.
