He grits his teeth and I can see the flex in his jaw.

“I’m sorry. Please hang out with me tonight.”

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll think about it.” Then I turn and head up toward the apartment building, leaving him standing there without an answer, hopefully feeling as lost and desperate as I felt two hours ago.

Logan

This girl is impossible. Here I thought she was an innocent spring breaker, but I can already see the potential for her to really put me through hell. I’m glad she’ll be with me tonight, but more than anything, I need to keep her as far away from Hale as possible. Whether he knows about her connection to me or not is not a risk I’m willing to take. I’ve pissed him off enough this weekend, so I don’t need him taking that out on her.

In one week, she’ll be gone, and I won’t feel so responsible for keeping her safe. Then, I can really focus on getting clean…if that’s what I choose to do by the end of the week. I have a bead of sweat on my forehead and an ache in my stomach that says otherwise.

I pull behind the shop to park my bike, and not surprisingly, Hale is waiting there for me. He has a completely different expression on his face than when I saw him ten minutes ago trying to sweet talk his way into Sierra’s pants.

He almost always comes alone, which is surprising to me. How can this guy think he is so powerful and above the rest of us that he can just show up without any backup and think he’s big enough to take me on? Because he sees me as a piece of shit addict who needs him too much. I can’t fucking wait for that to change.

I scowl at him as I dismount the bike and walk over with my shoulders back and my chest puffed. He won’t intimidate me, and the more I think about him putting his hand on Sierra’s back, the more I want to punch my fist through his face.

“Where the fuck is my money, Logan?” he says, lifting his chin toward me. I glance down at his coral-colored shorts and leather loafers, and I hate him even more for the way he can skate by any suspicion or trouble just because of how rich and perfect he looks.

“No one was buying,” I say, flat and expressionless.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Then, give me back the product. Someone else is going to sell it.”

“I can handle it.”

“Are you fucking with me, Logan? Do you really think that’s wise?” He steps toward me, a smug look on his face, and I can see his sandy-blond hair fall into his eyes.

“What are you going to do if I am, Hale?” It’s a blatant threat and a stupid one. I’m a cornered animal, and my only line of defense is to attack, which never really works out for the prey.