Page 178 of There's No Us Without You
It was her I called in the first place, only I got Brady and not Gabby.
Will may hate me if he finds out, but I’ll hate myself even more if I don’t get my team through to finals.
“Fine,” I say, sniffing.
“Meet me at the Bunker in half an hour?”
“Seriously?” I shake my head. “Just because Will isn’t there right now doesn’t mean he doesn’t have eyes everywhere.”
Gabby sighs. “Do you want the drugs or not?”
Fuck it.
“Fine. Half an hour. Don’t be late.”
The phone goes dead, so I throw it on the passenger seat next to my bag and take one last glance at the house.
Is Eden okay?
Is Will okay?
I start the car and hope to hell I haven’t just destroyed the most important relationships in my life.
Gabby is waitingfor me in one of the booths at the back of the bar when I enter. I keep my head down and slide through the crowd as inconspicuously as I can. I gain a few knowing looks, but most people ignore me, too interested in their conversations.
When I reach the booth, Gabby grins at me, a straw between her lips as she sips on some sort of clear, bubbly liquid. A lime wedge sits on the edge of the glass, and she pulls it free before sucking on the sour fruit.
When I slide onto the bench opposite her, she pushes a glass of beer towards me. “Drink?”
I wrap my hands around the cold glass, the condensation on the outside cooling my too-warm skin. “Thanks,” I say, before sculling down half the contents.
“So,” Gabby says, licking her lips and setting her glass on the table in front of her. “I’m doubling the price.”
“Of course you are,” I grit out, pushing my fingertips into my burning eyes. “How much do you want?”
“Five hundred.”
I blow a breath out my nose and run my tongue over my top teeth as I stare at the woman in front of me, then pull my wallet from my back pocket.
To think I almost felt sorry for her when Will dumped her arse.
Once I discreetly count out the money, I fold it up and slide it across the table, glancing around as I do to make sure we aren’t being watched.
This is the stupidest shit I’ve ever done, but I’m desperate. And desperate men take desperate measures.
Gabby pretends to caress my hand as she takes the money, quickly replacing the notes with a clear zip-lock bag. I snatch my hand back and shove the bag into my pocket with my wallet.
I chug the rest of my beer and push myself up.
“Wait.” Gabby reaches out a hand to me. “Have another drink with me?” Her eyes search mine, but they do nothing to my heart.
Not the way Eden’s green eyes do.
“Sure,” I say, sinking back into the booth. “Why not?”
If I’m going to hell, may as well go down numb and unconscious.
This is the lowest I’ve ever been, too far gone now to turn back, so I may as well keep walking that damn yellow brick road.
