Page 57 of Beneath the Surface

It was time to get rid of the one Big Dog had wrapped around me.

“Catch you guys later.” I brought my pointer and middle fingers toward my forehead and saluted them.

I was surprised by how calm I felt as I stepped into the small building that Big Dog had called headquarters. My nose scrunched as the smell in here was no better than outside, plus the heady scent of sex and mold added to the mix.

It cemented the fact that this was not the life I wanted to live.

Big Dog was in the back. I could see his office door open. For a second, I thought he was sleeping when I noticed his head thrown back, but a groan soon followed it.

Great, even Big Dog was getting more action than I was nowadays. The only thing I had going on was my left hand.

“I want out,” I said as I ruined his blow job.

His head swung my way as I pushed the door back, letting it slam against the wall. The poor chick who had been on the floor quickly got up. Her eyes were glazed, and she used the back of her hand to wipe the saliva from her mouth. She didn’t look back at Ricky as she hurried past me and exited through the door.

I might not be on my knees blowing Ricky, but the asshole got off on the fact that he owned me—or so he thought.

“There’s no out,” he spat as he fixed his zipper.

“I’m. Out.”

He jumped up from his desk, put his grubby little hands on it, and leaned against it as he glared at me.

“You do what I say. And you don’t drop me; I drop you.”

At this, I smiled.

“You sure you want to force me? One wrong move on my part, and I can bring this all crumbling down.”

Ricky pointed his finger at me.

“You don’t want to find out what happens to those who cross me!”

“One more job and I’m done,” I told him as I turned around, prepared to walk out.

He cursed and then let out a slow whistle, knowing someone would come and heed his call.

“Three,” he replied. I was about to tell him one, or I could go to the cops and lock us all up when he spoke again. “One for each of your new little friends. You wouldn’t want them to get hurt, would you? Although that skater is a pretty little thing.”

My mistake was turning around to glare. Big Dog was smiling, his yellow teeth on display. His eyes went past me before he spoke to me again.

“No one leaves me,” he said, and then I felt a blow to my back, making everything go black.

34

GRAYSON

Irubbed at my face, blinking as the numbers on my phone came into focus. Why the fuck was I awake so early? Practice wasn’t for another couple of hours, which meant I still had an hour until my alarm went off. My brain didn’t want me to go back to sleep, though, my mind racing. All the shit we were going through was weighing so heavily on me, it felt like I was suffocating.

Since I was awake, I might as well text my parents for my fortnightly check-in. My mum was still back in England, so it would be mid-morning for her, and my dad was an early riser, always telling me he liked to get ahead before the official workday began so he could make sure he was finished in time to enjoy whatever leisure pursuits he was currently focused on. Golf. Tennis. Dating.

Blearily, I reached for my phone, propped up on my nightstand, and as I swiped the screen to open it, I noticed the text message alert blinking at me.

I scanned the words, a dawning horror rolling over me as I took them in.

“You absolute fucking idiot!” I shouted, launching myself out of bed, instantly wide awake. I pulled on the first pair of sweatpants I reached, throwing a Barracudas hoodie over my torso without bothering with a T-shirt. I only paused to swipe a pair of socks and my phone before I ran for it.

“Stupid…fucking…idiot…bastard…” I growled as I started up the ignition of my SUV, adrenaline racing through my body. “If anything happens to you, I’ll kill you myself.” Backing the car out of the driveway, I swung onto the road and hit the gas, heading for the lake.

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