Page 8 of Deadly Little Games

I’ve seen some fucked-up shit happen in this trailer park, and it never changes. The cops won’t even come here anymore, deeming it too dangerous for them to enter.

“What are you doing here, Gavin?” I spit, lifting my mother off the ground.

She tumbles, mumbling, but it’s all just gibberish. I manage to put her on the couch, and she falls straight to sleep, snoring her ass off. One of her arms flops to the ground, and the track marks dotting her inner elbow make me so angry. He did this, turning her into an addict. A crack whore. Gone is the mother I once had. Now she’s a shell of nothing, always begging for her next hit and selling anything and everything we have.

Turning around, I bump straight into Gavin’s chest. He runs his hands over my ass, and I shove him backward.My heart races, pounding in my chest. He grins with his smoke between his teeth.

“I do love it when they fight. Makes my dick so much harder,” he says, taking a step forward, and I don’t move a muscle.

“Piss off,” I growl, praying he just leaves, but that’s wishful thinking. When Gavin wants something, he won’t stop until he’s had it. Then he fucks off.

“Nah-uh, your mother owes me, and I’ve come to collect five hundred. Cash.” He licks his cracked lips, casting his beady eyes down my body. “One fuck, and this week’s debt is cleared.”

Sweat rolls down the back of my neck. The nerve of this guy. I swallow past the lump in my throat, ready to smash his face in.

The flywire door squeaks. Gavin’s head snaps toward it, and he takes a couple of steps back. Alec fills the door, glancing between us both with a feral look in his eyes. He raises an eyebrow at me, silently asking me if I’m okay, and I nod.

“Well, I better be off, and remember what will happen if your mother doesn’t pay up, Freya,” Gavin sneers, brushing past Alec.

Alec grabs his arm, pressing five hundred dollars into his chest.Where the hell did he get that?

“This should cover it,” he says. With a grin on his face, Gavin saunters out into the night, but not before he takes a final glance over his shoulder, giving me a flirtatious wink. My stomach rolls, and I can’t resist flipping him off.

Once he’s finally gone, the tension in my shoulders melts away, and I release a long, overdue breath. I could’ve dealt with Gavin myself, but having my older brother show up was a relief.

“You good?” he asks, shutting the door and flicking the flimsy lock in place. It wouldn’t do much if someone actually wanted to break into our trailer, but at least it’s some kind of protection.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best way to wake up, but you know Mom,” I say with a shrug, and Alec takes one look at her on the couch before shaking his head.

“I’m going to get enough money for us to get our place. Fuck her.” He unzips his little man bag that’s strapped to his chest and pulls out a wad of cash. My eyes widen before I snatch it from his hands.

“Where the hell did you get this?”

He shrugs. “Been saving up from our shifts at the diner.”

He’d have to save for a year to get this kind of dough. Memories from the party flicker through my mind. Oh, God—Hazen asked to see him.

“Alec?” I press. “Where the hell did you get this? And please don’t tell me it has anything to do with a job forthem?” I snap, running my fingers through the fifty-dollar notes.

We’ve never had money like this before. Well, maybe once when Mom won at the slots, but the next day it was gone and that kicked off her habit again.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go get some food tomorrow. This should bolster our savings,” he says, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and filling it with water from the tap.

“You know I’ll keep worrying about it until you tell me, right?” I say, placing the money on the kitchen table.

He retrieves his antidepressant medication from the cabinet and removes a tablet.

“Yes, but just let me be the big brother and look after us. You’ve got enough shit to deal with already.” Alecapproaches me, plants a gentle kiss on my forehead, and then takes the wad of money. He quickly swallows his pill, puts the pack back on the shelf, and disappears into his bedroom, closing the door.

If the source of his money has anything to do with Hazen, Gage, or Lucas, then nothing good will come out of it. Once you work for them, The Daring Brotherhood, there’s no going back. I just hope he knows what he’s getting into, and it doesn’t come back to bite him or me in the ass.

We have to get out of here so he can use his scholarship to college and make something of himself. He was able to defer for up to two years. We just need enough money to get us there, and a safe place to stay. Alec already has everything lined up for us—we just need a bit more in our savings.

Taking one final glance at my mom slumped on the couch, I pick up my water bottle from the table and make my way into the room next to Alec’s. I secure the small lock and finally unwind for the first time today.

My room’s a mess. There are clothes strewn across the floor and bed from earlier this evening. I’m too lazy to tidy up, so I just kick my clothes off the bed and let them fall to the floor. I collapse onto my narrow bed, tucking my phone into my tracksuit pocket before shutting my eyes.

The memories from earlier tonight keep replaying in my mind. The way Gage watched me intensely when he took off his wet shirt. Then when he mentioned where I live and to stay in line. Fuck. I blink my eyes open and shut a few times to erase the image, praying my thoughts will stop so I can sleep, but it’s useless.

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