Page 50 of My Brother's Bad Best Friend

Jonas

Lizzie tries to get Ezra on the phone, but I knew he wouldn’t pick up. We try a couple of spots first, the bar on the edge of La Jolla he likes to go sometimes to try and pick up rich sluts, and this warehouse party I heard about out in the suburbs. He’s not there, but Lizzie gets her first taste of the real San Diego.

“I didn’t know places like this existed,” she said as we stepped into the drug-fueled rager. Some guy with spiked hair bumped into her, grinning like a moron, high out of his skull.

“This is the real California, little rose.” I led her around searching for her brother, but nobody had seen him, so we left after a half hour.

The third place we try is a little house party near the skate park. Don told me about it, said a bunch of pro skaters and their groupies were going to be there. Ezra loves hanging around that crowd ever since I dragged him into it, and I figured he might make his way over at some point.

We get lucky. Lizzie stumbles in the door behind me, into another raging party. Maybe a hundred people are packed into what looks like it was once a pretty nice Airbnb, but is now pretty wrecked to hell. I spot Don and the guys in the kitchen, drinking beer and pretending like they’re not staring at the girls around them.

“Hey, boss!” Don says as I approach the group. The other two grin and I shake hands all around. Lizzie smiles, hanging around my shoulder, sticking close like she’s never been to a fucking house party before.

There’s no way the girl’s that inexperienced. I mean, she hung around with the rich assholes back before her accident, or at least that’s what Ezra told me. Maybe those rich kids don’t know how to have fun, or maybe little rose just isn’t used to crowds anymore.

“Have you seen E?” I ask Don.

He frowns and trades a look with Vinny. “Uh, could have, boss.”

“Don,” I say, “tell me where he is.”

“Out back.” Shrink speaks up, jerking his head toward the back door. Don and Vinny glare at him but he just shrugs. “He’s going to find out eventually.”

“Find out what?” My eyes are narrow, watching the three skaters.

“Selling,” Don says simply, since he doesn’t need to say more.

I groan. “Come on.” I grab Lizzie and storm through the crowd, parting the assholes like an iron ship bursting through an ice sheet. Lizzie lets herself get pulled along in my wake, which is good, because I’m not slowing down for anyone.

I push out the back door, scattering some girls taking selfies on the steps. “Watch it,” one of them says but I ignore the duck-lipped idiot.

Ezra’s standing over near the back fence, talking to this tall guy with a mustache and skinny jeans. They shake hands and I spot something pass between them. The girl hanging on the mustache guy’s arm giggles and leans toward Ezra, saying something as she slips some cash into his palm. He smiles back as the two leave and he quickly counts the bills before slipping them into his pocket.

“Amateur,” I grunt.

“What?” Lizzie looks up at me, eyes wide.

“He gave them the drugs before taking their money. That’s some fucking amateur shit. I thought I taught him better.”

She stares at me for a second before laughing. “You’re pissed he’s not selling drugs good enough? I thought we were here to stop him.”

“We are. But if he’s going to be a dickhead, he might as well do it right.” I move off again, heading straight toward him. Ezra doesn’t notice me until we’re right on top of him, and by then it’s too late.

He looks like a dog caught with his face in the trash. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s what he fucking is.

I bull right up to him, not stopping. “Hey, Jonas, man, I didn’t know—”

His eyes go wide in surprise as I grab the front of his shirt and ram him backward, sending him stumbling into the fence. I growl and follow up, slamming my forearm into his chest just under his throat and pinning him back.

“What the fuck?” he grunts, fear all over his face.

I feel Lizzie on my back, coming close.

“You’re selling fucking coke at a skater party,” I growl in his face. “Are you fucking stupid?”

He shakes his head, fear not abating. “I know what I’m doing, asshole. You don’t have anything to do with this.”

He doesn’t try to fight me. He knows it would be pointless even if he did. Ezra isn’t a small guy, although I’m definitely bigger, but that’s not the real issue.

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