Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“We were ninth then. We’re fifth now and have a shot at top four. They will listen to us now,” I argued.
Ari shook her head and ran her fingers through her long hair. “They won’t. We both know that.”
“Not unless we offer a huge amount of cash as a buy-in.” Lotto shrugged, “That’s what I gathered anyway after talking with Bruce.”
“Fucking mustache man,” Frankie grumbled.
“They care about money and fame. They might consider it if we can promise both.”
“How much are we talking?”
Lotto paused and glanced around the room. Then he shook his head and set a few fingers on his temple. “More than our fee to show up at Heathens Hollow.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Cheap bastards.”
“Then we don’t really have a choice,” Ari said.
“No, we’re back at the same damn choice.” I pointed at the bag. “And I’d rather be out of the Circuit than dealing with Scotty’s bullshit anymore.”
“But then you’d leave us.” She sounded pained at the proposition. “You need to make money.”
“Not like this, Ari. We can figure out something else.”
Lotto huffed. “It might be hard to find with our history.”
“The Circuit is our best chance. It’s only three more weeks. What if we fake taking them or selling them?” Ari offered. “That way, we can end our contract cleanly, and—”
My sarcastic laugh filled the room. “You are out of your damn mind.”
“But you’ve done it—”
Her eyes went wide. The room went dead silent. My shoulders slumped forward, and I stared at her, not knowing how to feel. Was she really using my past against me?
“That was wrong, Angel,” Lotto ground out.
“I’m so sorry, River,” she rushed to say. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just—”
“Slip of the tongue?” I questioned. “A fucked-up mistake?”
“What the hell are you three talking about?” Frankie looked between us.
Bones did the same, confusion scrunching his eyebrows. “Someone explain.”
“Well, since Ari wants to bring it up—” Ari winced at my tone, but I didn’t care. She had already stabbed my heart, so there was nothing wrong with a return blow. “I used to be addicted to drugs in high school. Got kicked out of my house and booted to rehab. My sister was the only one who would take me in after that. She helped me stay clean. Any other questions?”
A heavy blanket of silence settled on the room. No one would meet my eye. They all stared at the black bag and little vial of addiction nestled inside.
“If you go through with this, I’m fucking done. And I’ll turn every single one of you in to both the Circuit and the cops.”
“River—” Ari tried.
“No, fuck you. I got clean, and I refuse to break it for a punk felon bitch who thinks he can use us for money and clout. Or any of you.” I pointed around the room. “If this is the kind of family you have, consider me out.”
“We’re not going to do this,” Frankie answered and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “So calm down and let’s talk it through.”
I shrugged him off. “After a smoke.”
Lotto lifted a brow. “You don’t smoke.”
“I’ll make a damn exception this time. It’s better than punching all your lights out.”
I turned and headed for the door.
Ari called my name over and over, but I couldn’t hear her over the betrayal that fractured my heart into tiny pieces.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
LOTTO
“What the fuck, Ari?”
Ari hung her head low at my scolding.
She had always been headstrong and stubborn, but her insistence of staying with Scotty was both stupid and strange. It didn’t sit right with me.
What the fuck did he say to her in San Diego?
“Did you really just use his past against him?” Bones asked. “For fucking Scotty Green?”
“It’s— You don’t understand—”
“Then make us understand!” Frankie shouted.
Ari flinched back, and I hissed, “Frankie, keep your voice down.”
“Fuck no! She deserves it after that bullshit. Ari, you need to fix this or else—”
“Scotty knows about Bones’ dad!” she yelled.
The room went dead quiet. My eyes widened. Bones was statue still in his chair, the bones tattoos on his hands stretching when he gripped his knees.
“What?” I somehow managed to ask. Hard, considering I couldn’t breathe.
Tears leaked down Ari’s cheeks now. She didn’t bother to wipe them away and scanned the three of us with red-rimmed eyes.
“He cornered me in the bathroom at our fight. Told me we had to either take them or sell them to keep him as a sponsor. I told him no. When I tried to leave, he—” She paused and tugged at her long ponytail.
“Did he touch you?” Frankie growled.
“No. He would have had two broken hands if he tried.” She shook her head. “He mentioned La Suprema.”
“He knows the name of Dad’s gym?” Bones whispered.
“And where it is. He said the kids love him.”
“How does he know this?” I demanded.