Page 8 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

The girl stared at me from the middle of the room, wide, green eyes amidst a mass of soft brown waves. I kept my expression calm, but inside I was anything but.

I had no idea how someone who looked like her could possibly get caught up in this kind of shit. She looked so innocent, so clean. Why would she willingly do something so dirty?

But I knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving. I’d come across a few people in the drug world who I never would’ve thought would be there. I studied her, trying to see underneath the obvious, but there was nothing. She honestly looked like she had no idea how she came to be there either.

My head spun. All I could think of was how I was going to get her out of this. I knew from experience that once you saw what was going on inside TJ’s house, you were there for good. It was like the fucking Hotel California.

I watched her back up until she was pressed up against the wall. She was like a caged tiger, all tensed muscles, coiled, ready to spring. Her eyes flickered nervously from me to the door, and I knew she was calculating her chances of escape. I saw her eyes quickly shine yet again, and I knew she’d realized her chances were slim to none.

I sighed. I needed a drink.

Walking over to the small table I’d set up under the window, I poured myself a glass of bourbon – straight. Turning so my body was half facing her, I lifted the glass suggestively. “Want a drink?”

Her eyes darted to the glass then back to me. She shook her head. Once.

I sighed again and sank into my armchair, sitting forward and leaning my elbows on my knees, caressing the glass between both hands.

“You can sit if you want,” I said, nodding towards the bed.

I watched as her breath froze inside her chest. “No, thank you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

I needed to get to the bottom of how she came to be here. I just couldn’t understand why someone like her would willingly come. Maybe she liked a little party drug every now and again. “Do you want something to help you relax? Weed? Ecstasy? Coke?”

Her eyes widened with shock. She didn’t say anything, just shook her head again. Fuck. She really was as innocent as they came. I needed to get her some protection.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

She swallowed, seeming to consider my question. I guessed she was deciding if she should give her real name. “Kaeli,” she said quietly.

I couldn’t be sure if she was telling the truth. “Interesting name. How do you spell it?”

Her eyebrows creased. “K.A.E.L.I,” she said quickly. Too quickly to be false.

“Is it the money, Kaeli?”

I had to ask. Ninety percent of the time it was the promise of big dollars that enticed people into the drug game. Who knew? Maybe she had some college fees she wanted to pay off.

But I saw the confusion in her expression instantly. “What money?” she asked.

Damn it. What the fuck was he holding over her head? “Ken’s not paying you to come here?”

Her expression cleared with understanding, then soured into a very spiteful look. “No. He’s not paying me,” she said with a clipped tone.

I felt like I was getting nowhere. Maybe I just needed to be direct. “So, you’re not doing it for the drugs, and you’re not doing it for the money. What are you doing it for?”

Her eyes dropped to the floor, pain and distress clearly evident within her. She knotted her fingers together in front of her. Something inside my gut twisted with her sunken demeanor.

“Tell me,” I said soothingly.

She glanced up, meeting my gaze. She looked so vulnerable right then, I wanted to fold her into my arms. What the hell? ‘You’re a bad ass drug dealer, Noah. Not a sympathetic guy!’ I warned myself.

“He threatened to hurt my mom.” Her voice was so soft, so delicate and fragile.

I instantly felt my jaw clench. “Does he know your mom?”

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “He’s her husband.”

Oh, fuck no. That couldn’t be right. “He not your-”

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