Page 6 of Addicted

“Chill. Stone said don’t touch them till he get here.”

Gold Teeth backed off, but the look he gave me promised pain later.

They all left the room, closing the door behind them. I heard a lock click into place.

And then it was just me and Ish, tied to chairs in an abandoned warehouse, waiting for a drug kingpin to decide our fate.

Chapter 2

Indie

“Indie—”

“Don’t,” I said, cutting Ish off before he could start. “I don’t want to hear it right now.”

But he kept talking anyway. “I’m sorry. I know I fucked up. I know I should’ve listened to you.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage that was still burning in my chest. When I opened them again, I looked at my little brother. He was terrified. I could see it in his eyes, in the way his hands were shaking even though he was trying to hide it.

And despite everything, despite how angry I was, my protective instinct kicked in.

“Why, Ish?” My voice came out soft. “You got your whole life ahead of you. You smart, Ish. You could go to college, be something better than this.”

“With what money?” he shot back. “You think I don’t see how hard you work? You think I don’t know you working at that strip club, dealing with drunk niggas grabbing at you every night, just to keep a roof over our heads? I was just tryna help. I wanted to take some of that pressure off you.”

“By selling drugs? That’s your solution?”

“It’s fast money, Indie. Real money. I could’ve made in one night what you make in a week.”

“And you could’ve ended up dead or in jail!” I was yelling now, unable to keep my emotions in check. “Is that what you want? You wanna end up like Mama? Youwanna throw your life away?”

“Don’t compare me to her,” Ish said, his jaw clenching. “I ain’t nothing like her.”

“You’re right. You’re worse. Because at least she was just hurting herself. You out here putting both of us in danger with your stupid decisions.”

“I was tryna help!”

“Well, congratulations, Ish. Look where your help got us.”

We were still arguing when the door opened. And that’s when I saw him for the first time.

This nigga fine as hell.

That was my first thought, which was absolutely insane given the circumstances. But it was true.

The man who walked through that door was easily six-five, built like he spent every day in the gym. His skin was a smooth medium brown, and he was covered in tattoos. They ran up his neck, down his arms, probably all over his body under the black tee and jeans clinging to his frame. His face was all sharp angles. He had a strong jawline, high cheekbones, dark eyes that seemed to look right through you. He had a neatly trimmed beard, and his hair was cut in a fade with the top slightly longer.

He looked like he could kill you with his bare hands and not lose a second of sleep over it.

Behind him came three other dudes, including Gold Teeth, who was now holding a rag to his head where I’d hit him with my gun.

The fine-ass man, who I assumed was Stone, looked at me and Ish with an expression that gave away absolutely nothing. His face was blank, emotionless, like he was looking at objects instead of people.

“Shut the fuck up,” he said, his voice deep and cold.

Ish immediately went quiet. I, on the other hand, screwed up my face.

“Excuse me?”