Page 83 of Jace 4Ever
“Go grab what you need, Jace. I’ll call the realtor and get Jerrod set up.”
“I’ll…I’ll help my brother.” Jerrod stood up from the couch to follow me. As much as I didn’t want him to find my hiding places, I had the feeling we weren’t going to be coming back to this apartment to live. Just to clean it out.
Inside the closet, I leaned down and rolled the carpet back after grabbing my duffle bag.
“Son of a bitch, I never even thought to look under the carpet.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Because stealing all my money and stuff wasn’t enough? Just so you could smoke it up, or go to the titty bar?”
“You owe—”
I leapt to my feet. “I do not owe you a damn thing, Jerrod. I never have. I pay the rent here. I buy the food, I keep the power on, and the internet working. You donothingfor me. You come in, eat the food, smoke up, and leave. And when you leave, you go do your route. Don’t think I’m stupid. I know you sell weed. I know you’ve peddled molly and angel dust. I’m not an idiot. I owe you nothing, ever.”
“I kept you—”
“Isold my assto pay rent, Jerrod. Literally. I was homeless for over a year because you couldn’t get your shit together enough to make sure your fifteen year old brother was safe. You didn’t even call family services and get me into foster care. You let me get kicked out and sell myself for food and shelter.” I stared at him. “If I had my way, you’d be out on your own ass, trying to avoid the po-po and the suppliers you rip off. But Nelson is a good man who doesn’t know you like I do. And you’re goddamn lucky he doesn’t.”
Jerrod stood silent, and I could see that he wanted to fight with me in the worst way. The truth was, I was right, and he knew it. There was nothing to fight about it.
The storage in the hole in the floor held some cash and a few pieces of important papers. I pulled them out and dropped them in my duffle. I covered the hole and rolled the carpet back, then moved to the other trap door I’d made and pulled out all of my private clothing, dropping that in the duffle. Once that was covered again, I pulled as many clothes as I could off the hangers and folded them into the bag. Pants, shirts, T-shirts, suits, ties—I was glad I had bought a huge piece of luggage.
Waving Jerrod out of my way, I opened the top drawer of the chest of drawers and dumped in all of my underwear and socks, and finally zipped it closed.
“I’d recommend you pack.” The words were snipped and cold. “You’re not going to be able to come back here unaccompanied, and you’ll need some basics. Take the food in the cabinets too, since you can’t manage to shop for yourself.”
“Jace—”
“Go pack. I don’t want to hear it. You left that damn door open and they dropped a dead woman’s head on my dresser. No matter how many times I told you to lock the door, you left it open, and they got in with a decapitated head.”
My brother blinked a few times, then nodded and disappeared out the door. I shouldered it and found Nelson in the living room where I’d left him.
“I have the realtor signing a lease right now,” he said. “I’ll have a car here to pick him as soon as she tells me she has the keys.”
Letting my bag drop and hit the floor, I stepped up to him. “You don’t have to do this. You really don’t. My brother is scum. He’s a criminal.”
“I don’t want him to be the victim of a hit,” Nelson answered. “You realized that it doesn’t matter how much you say he’s scum and a criminal, you still love him. You wouldn’t have taken out those sharked up loans if you didn’t worry about him. And if he stays here, he risks becoming a mafia pawn. Let’s avoid someone having an ace in the hole to get to you.”
“God, that makes so much sense.” I slumped against him. “This is worse than any of your movies.”
“Wanna write that one?”
“No!” The laughter choked the seriousness of my answer. “I don’t want to write a mafia film starring me.”
He hefted my bag onto his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go home.”
I stumbled a bit as I started to walk, and Nelson caught my elbow to stop me from falling. He studied my face and turned back. “Are you all right?”
“You called your placehome.” My voice was the barest whisper.
“That’s what it is—oh.” He cocked his head, studying me for a moment. “Oh. Well. Um. Do you…I mean…would you like to move in with me? Officially? Like the whole live-in boyfriends thing?”
Even though I’d been shocked by his words, there wasn’t a moment of hesitation. “Yes. I would. Officially.”
