Page 51 of No Saint
Those cops weren’t outside of my house by chance, but like hell, I was going to just let her get cuffed without some kind of fight. “Just…” I grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her toward the doorway. “Go upstairs, take off those clothes, get in the bed, and don’t come out of that room. Understood?”
She gave a curt nod before bolting down the hall, Dog right behind her. I had no idea how in the absolute hell I was going to get her out of that shitshow, but I had to think fast.
Fourteen
Wolf
I stood on the dark porch, waving with a smile when the cruiser pulled off. God, if Hendrix saw me doing that shit, he’d give me crap for days. I could literally hear him—You weak, stumpy sack of shit, risking your own ass for Weirdo, letting her work her Medusa-pussy-whipped powers all over you. And he wouldn’t be wrong. I’d just given a false report—with my signature—to the cops. For Jade.
I closed the door and stared at the stolen car report as I climbed the steps. God, what kind of shit had I just gotten myself into?
Jade sat cross-legged in the middle of my bed, wearing sleep shorts and a tank I could see her nipples through. Dog greeted me with a small chirp, then buried himself under the crumpled sheets.
“Are they gone?” she sniffed, wiping tears from her splotchy face.
“Yes.”
Her shoulders relaxed on a heavy breath. “Thank you.”
I passed the police report to her. “Your car was ‘stolen,’ by the way.”
She looked from the piece of paper to me, then burst into tears. “I’m so—” she pulled in a ragged breath—“sorry.”
There went that pull in my chest, the urge to wipe those damned tears away. “Look, don’t worry about it. The cop was more concerned about the signed jersey I promised to give his kid than anything else. Bribery goes a long way.”
A weak smile tugged at her lips, but the tears didn’t stop. I knew Jade. She’d been raised to hate crime by parents determined to never let her fall into it. Despite living in Dayton, and dating me, she’d always been above that shit—the occasional act of arson notwithstanding.
She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “What am I doing, Wolf?”
“The question isn’t,whatare you doing?” I sank to the bed beside her. “It’swhyyou’re doing it?”
She didn’t answer me, but I wanted to know.
I needed to know. “Jade. Why? This isn’t like you.”
“I know. I don’t want to be doing this, but…” God, those tears were killing me. “Ineedthe money. My dad’s sick. He can’t work.”
Some families could manage on one person’s income, people in Dayton…they couldn’t manage on two people working two jobs. Someone had to pick up the slack. When my mom fell ill, my criminal activity skyrocketed into the stratosphere. I couldn’t stand sitting back and watching my parents struggle. After she had died, I couldn’t handle watching my dad grapple with the medical debt. So, I did what I could. Deal and steal… I think he always knew I wasn’t just working a normal job, but he never asked questions. Never said anything other than “Be careful,” with a meaningful look.
“And you’ve been stealing stuff to try to help them out?” I gently gripped her chin and lifted her watery gaze to mine. “The drugs included?”
“They are in so much debt on the mortgage, the bank was about to repossess. The drug money bought them another month. But now my car broke down, and Dad needs new meds.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I think I’m going to have to drop out and get a full-time job.”
Like hell I’d let her do that. Jade had busted her ass in high school to make good grades. I had no doubt she’d busted her ass in college, and she was so damn close to finishing and becoming a nurse. A real job. A respectable job. Something fulfilling that paid enough to give her a good life. I couldn’t stand seeing her like this.
I wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “No, you won’t.”
“What else can I do, Wolf? I can’t let them become homeless. And I can’t even steal from an empty house.” A defeated laugh slipped past her lips. “Cassie even has to help me just to pickpocket drunks.” The hopelessness I’d lived with most of my life swam in her eyes, and damn if seeing it wasn’t a shitty feeling. “I’m tired and running out of options. I’m going to end up in jail if I keep going.”
Not all options… I pushed off the bed, went to the dresser, and got the black pair of practice socks I kept tucked in the back corner of the drawer where I hid my cash. Of course, I could have done with the money, but it had been bonus cash for me. If I left Jade to her own devices, she’d be behind bars within the next week. She was book smart, not an ounce of street smart.
I fished out the money. “It’s four hundred,” I said, turning and handing the bills to her.
“I’m not going to take money off you, Wolf.” She sniffed. “This is my problem.”
I took her hand and placed the cash in it. “If you keep trying to handle it yourself, itwillbe my problem.” Because God only knew what other hair-brained ideas she might come up with.The last thing I needed was the police going through my house. There were enough drugs in the place to fuel a small cartel.
She stared at the money like she was battling some moral dilemma by taking it.
