Page 3 of Dirty Martini
He looks nervous, uncomfortable, and that tugs at every protective instinct within me. Without thinking, I snap. I rush forward, the red solo cup dropping to the floor as I throw myself at Knox.
“Get the fuck off him!”
“What the hell!” Knox shouts, clearly caught off-guard as both of us stumble, falling straight into the jacuzzi tub. He’s trying to get me off him, but I’m too fired up to give a fuck that I’m damn close to beating his face in.
Who does he think he is touching Everest like that? How dare he put his hands on him? There’s no fucking way he’s not learning a lesson after messing with that kid. I raise my fist, ready to land the first punch to Knox’s irritating face, but a strong grasp on my wrist has me stopping.
“Rhys! Stop!”
“Was this piece of shit trying to force you into something?” I snarl, not taking my eyes off the trash underneath me. “Ev, go find Elton downstairs. We’re taking you home.”
Ev digs his nails into my wrist. With size and sheer strength to his advantage, he manages to pull my arm back and yank me out of the tub. “I’m not a fucking child! You have no idea what you just walked into!”
I stumble back. What the… Everest hasneverraised his voice. Especially to me. I’m momentarily shocked, looking athim like I don’t recognize the person in front of me. I don’t. He’s tense, angry, and regarding me likeI’mthe one who fucked up.
“We were just conducting some business,” Knox says, getting out of the tub as he straightens his jacket, looking annoyed as hell. “Way to kill the vibe.”
I raise an eyebrow at that, daring a glance at Everest. “Business? You were…” Everest flushes, but it doesn’t fill me with the typical warmth of affection. His eyes dart to the sink, where I see a large bag of pills. I don’t know what they are, but I immediately know it’s more than just buying and smoking weed like his brother does. “What the hell? You have to be kidding me.”
Everest snatches the bag before me or Knox can stop him, holding it safely in his hands. “Fuck off, Rhys. No one asked you to save me.”
I have no idea what to do with the scene in front of me. This sweet, innocent kid, caught in a bathroom with Knox, who obviously wanted more than to just conduct business, buying drugs. Pills, of all things. “Does Elton know about this?”
His eyebrows pinch, irritation evident on his face as he looks to the side. “There’s nothing to know. Can I go now?” Before he realizes what I’m doing, I steal the bag from him, pocketing it, and placing a hand on his chest when he tries to reach for it. “The fuck? Give them to me.”
“No,” I state clearly through gritted teeth. “We’re taking this shit straight to Elton, and you’d better pray he doesn’t beat your ass for being so stupid. What were you thinking, Ev?”
He opens his mouth to answer, probably trying to defend himself or tell me to fuck off, but he’s interrupted by the sound of chaos erupting downstairs. It’s muffled behind the closed door, but I can clearly hear the sound of furniture being knocked around and a stampede of footsteps racing through the house.
“Cops!”
“Shit!” I yell, a bag of pills in my fucking pocket. I turn to Knox, ready to shove them in his hands, but he’s already bolted. Slimy weasel.
Everest reaches for them, but I snatch the drugs away. Fuck that. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him take them.
I grab him by the back of his neck as I drag him out of the bathroom. “Keep your head down and run once we get downstairs. And Ev?” I spin him so I’m looking him dead in the eyes, hoping the seriousness of my message is conveyed. “We’re not done talking about this.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t argue with me as we continue downstairs, racing through the couples still lingering as they all try to descend at the same time. We make a beeline to the side door, jumping over the armchair, and stumbling into bodies as we do. I know we need to haul ass as we escape through the back door, flashing blue and red lights illuminating the sky once we’re in the thick humid night. We manage to snake by the cops, narrowly avoiding getting stopped by a few of them as they sniff the contents of scattered red solo cups and joints. I think we’re almost in the clear when we round the block and see Elton waving frantically at us to hurry up.
I push Everest ahead of me, instinctively protecting him from the cops at our back, planning to follow him, until?—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I wince as the cop squeezes my wrist tightly, smelling the air around me for booze. Turning to look at him over my shoulder, a placating smile curls my lips as I subtly try to inch away from him. “Officer, I?—”
He jostles me a bit and the soft thud of something hitting the pavement sounds loud through the night. “And what’s this?”
My blood runs cold when he picks up the bag of pills that fell out of my back pocket, dangling them in front of my face. I openand close my mouth, all the while shaking my head as the denial sits on my tongue. “I—no—those aren’t mine.”
“Right,” the cop deadpans with an eye roll. “They never are.” He reaches behind him for his cuffs. “Come on, kid. Let’s go. We’re taking you downtown.”
“What? Wait! No!” But my pleas fall on deaf ears, and I automatically look to where Everest and Elton are standing, observing the scene. Elton, like the dumbass he is, runs toward us and tries to argue with the cop, begging him not to take me in, but Everest just stands there.
He stands there, swallowing thickly, eyes zeroed in on the handcuffs being slapped onto my wrists. I beg him with my eyes to say something,dosomething, but I get nothing in return. With wide eyes and trembling fingers, he spins on his heels and runs away like a fucking coward.
Like a fucking traitor.
