Page 96 of The Demons We Hide

"Answer me, Sav," I murmur. "Or I'll let Lex have his fun."

Savino pales at that threat, and after a beat of him glancing between my cool expression and Lex's ready face, he spits out another curse in Italian and glares at me. "The club ain't working too well," he says. Once the words start to tumble out of his mouth, they all come—one right after the other as if he fears if he stops, he'll lose his nerve. "Ma-Ri needed a loan, so Darrio provided. In return, she gives him some authority on the hires and she'll be turning the other way when we introduce some product in a few months’ time."

Fuck. I clench my hands into fists and flick a glance to the hallway. Why the hell hadn't she told us that the club was struggling?

"Darrio knew about the girl working here," Savino continues. "He don't like it. Wanted her gone. Ma-Ri knew this and still kept her. Darrio told her he'd demand repayment for his loan plus the interest he's owed. She couldn't pay. So, she fired the girl." Savino's face screws up and he looks like he wants to spit something else at me. I wait, watching him carefully to see what else he'll say. When he remains quiet, I kick his leg and jerk him out of whatever reverie he's lost himself to.

"What else?" I demand. "I know that's not it."

"There are other ... locations and products he's looking into," Savino murmurs, eyes sliding to the floor. "This club is just a test location."

My father has been living on borrowed time since the first time he took a belt to my backside. He's been dead since the first time I'd seen him backhand my ma. Now, however, he's a dead man walking.

Threatening Ma-Ri. This fucking club. Yeah, that's his style. But Juliet?

A wave of anger rises from somewhere inside me, a familiar old friend that I thought I'd buried long ago. But no, it hasn't gone away. It's not dead. In fact, the rage that simmers just beneath my surface feels hotter somehow than it has in the past. As if it's been waiting for me to release it.

I take a step back and then another and another. "G?" Lex's gruff voice has me looking to him. He glances between me and Savino. He's looking to me for an answer and Nolan's not around. Even if he was, though, Savino is my father's man—and my father's life is my choice. I decided it would be easier to keep him breathing, but now ... now I think his time has finally run out.

"I'm going to talk to Ma-Ri," I state. "Do what you need to." I gesture to Savino as he chokes in shock. "Don't—" I snap, as Lex practically lunges for the other man. "Kill him. Break him, fine. But do not dismember him, or so fucking help me, Lex..."

There are an untold number of threats I could use against him. I could tell Prep Girl about that room of his. All of them stick to my tongue, unwilling to be said aloud. We might be gutter rats, criminals, and assholes—but even thieves have their honor, and so do we. This is a line I won't cross for anything.

"I'll take care of it," Lex finally says in response when my words drift off and I have nothing more to offer.

I nod and turn towards the hallway. Halfway down it, I hear Savino's scream, and the sound brings a smile to my lips.

37

JULIET

The following Friday brings with it a fresh wave of icy bullshit. Winter is in full force and autumn is all but dead, barely clinging to survival by the thinnest of threads. Huh.Now, why does that remind me of myself?

“Here.” I look up from where I’m perched on the edge of a frigid bleacher seat to see Mads hovering over me with two Styrofoam cups, holding one of them out to me.

I reach for it and sigh in relief as my cold fingers immediately warm at the heat emanating from the liquid inside. Mads grins at my reaction and takes a seat next to me.

“It’s hot chocolate,” she says. “Thought you might like some—even if it’s just to hold.”

“You’re right.” My shoulders hunch inward and I burrow deeper into the hoodie I’m wearing, wishing I’d put on more layers before leaving Nolan’s this morning. I sip on the hot chocolate and relish in the warmth that spreads from my throat to the rest of my body.

“Season’s almost over, so we should be free from sitting out here in the cold soon,” Mads murmurs, drinking from her own cup.

Winds whip through the crowds around us, making some of the braver souls who ventured here in little more than body paint and skin tight leggings and skirts squeal in dismay. I roll my eyes. Roquel is one of those souls, and though I can’t hear her, I turn back and glance up the aisle to where she’s hanging out with a few of our classmates at the top, her cheeks flushed and Hudson Gray’s number displayed prominently on her cheek in bedazzled blue and black. They’re not dating as far as I know, but she still wants him.

“I don’t know what she’s thinking,” Mads murmurs, having caught what my attention is on. At first, I assume she’s talking about Hudson’s number, but then she follows up her first statement with, “it’s colder up there and windier.”

Turning back around, I shiver as another cold wave moves over me. To say that I can’t wait for football season to be over would be an understatement. Though, then I have to consider what that means for the guys. What do they do when they’re not training or playing football? Will it be more work for Darrio Vargas? Will things change?

The last half a year has been nothing but an exposé in adaptation, but I can’t help but feel a little anxious about it happening all over again.

“Oh, here they come.” Mads quickly hands me her cup and lifts her camera, pointing it towards the painted banner as the announcer’s voice crackles over the loudspeakers. She snaps a few quick pictures just as the banner rips apart and the team comes spilling onto the field.

First is Silverwood Public and then Silverwood Prep…again. Normally, the football teams wouldn’t play each other multiple times in one season, but today’s game is a special one meant to raise money for charity. I keep my gaze pinned on the field and on the numbers I recognize. First comes Nolan, then Gio, and then Lex. I don’t veer away or even glance across the field to the opposing team’s side lest I see people I really don’t fucking want to.

Mads sighs and then plucks her cup from my hand. “Thanks,” she says, taking a long gulp and shuddering before leaning into my side.

My lips twitch in a smile. “You’re welcome.”

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