Page 7 of Burning Bridges

“Why don’t you just admit you have a thing for her? And you would let her get away with just about anything as long as she keeps looking at you like she wants to hate-fuck you.”

I narrow my eyes at him, taking a swig of my drink. He has a point. I never realized it was quite so obvious before, but after how my body reacted to her tonight, maybe I am a little too comfortable and letting myself slip. There is just something about her that takes me back to a time when things were simpler, and our lives could have been so different. “She will fix us up tomorrow or she will face the same fate as anyone else who can’t pay on time.” We will kick her out of our building and shut her business down. And that’s if I decide to go easy on her. Her brother wouldn’t have.

He gives me a nod, but I know he doesn't believe me. I don’t believe my own words, so why would he?

Once upon a time, Piper was a sweet girl, but the last time I saw any signs of her was the night my father was murdered by hers when I was just seventeen. We kept our distance for years after my father’s funeral, and the next time I saw her was at her father’s funeral. I was there alongside most of the town, just like she had been when my father died, but I didn’t attend for her. It was so I could strike up a deal with her brother Tony, known around here as Ace. And I knew from the moment our eyes met that she was not the same girl I once knew.

She wore a pretty black lace dress, her hair flowing down her back in raven-colored waves. She walked the room and did the dutiful role of the grieving daughter, as she was expected to by the rest of the family, but she didn't shed a tear the entire time, not a single one. And when her brother introduced us to each other, she shook my hand like she had no idea who I was, as if she was meeting me for the first time. The truth was only shown in the slightest tremble of her hand as it met mine. She knew who I was, she just wasn't about to admit it or show anyone else in the room who I had once been to her. Her brother knew there had been something between us, since he was the one who put a stop to it. But if he remembered, he didn’t show it.

She wasn't the only one who had changed, but at least I didn't act like I had no idea who she was. She was cold and detached, a mere shell of the effervescent, creative girl I knew. The girl in front of me just looked like Piper on the outside. Any resemblance to my girl, the one I had pined for after she walked away from me to be with her family, was gone. Maybe it was better that way. It sure made doing my job easier anyway. And now that my family has finally taken over this town and all the men in her family are gone, she will have to fall at my feet and do as I say or face the consequences.

Kobe might have been messing around, but he's right. Tonight is the last time I let her get away with deviations from our agreement. I'll make sure she knows it tomorrow.

“We had a little incident with one of the old Acevedo members today. Gator. Since we took over, he has been working as the doorman at Queen of Hearts, but security work for us might not be the only work he's been doing. Jett's done some digging, and it seems he has a hand in the drug trade as well.”

“What drug?” Kobe asks surprised.

“It seems Euphoria might not be as extinct in Palm Springs as we thought.”

“Euphoria? I haven't heard anything about it around here or at Queen of Hearts. Are you sure?”

“Not yet, but it didn't take long for Soul, who works the door the same nights as Gator, to throw him under the bus. He says Gator's been selling pills. His ties with the Acevedo family go way back, and he met with Piper today and made a call to her mother not long after. He's either getting information from them or trying to use them in some way to get the drug back on our streets.”

“Do you think Piper would get involved with all that? She never did in the past. It was all Ace.”

“Who knows what she'd be willing to do. Her financial situation isn't good. And we both know how lucrative this particular drug would be on our streets since no one else is selling it.”

“Either way, we need to put a stop to it before it goes any further.”

“Jett and a couple of the boys are paying Gator a visit tonight.”

“Good. Let me know if you need any help dealing with him. Pieces of shit like him need to be eradicated from our town,” he says with bitterness in his tone.

Yeah, my little brother might be the happy, fun-loving kind, but when it comes to the drug that took our mother from us, he becomes murderous. And he's not the only one. The first thing we did when we took over was to get rid of the Euphoria from this town. Ace had most of his men involved in his operation. At first, they weren't thrilled about the loss of income, but we showed them other ways to make money, more of it than they ever made dealing drugs. They came around. But there will always be that one rebel who thinks he knows better and can slip under the radar.

Chapter 5

PIPER

Sometimes,Iwonderwhatit would be like to see the world through rose-tinted glasses—rainbows, and butterflies, and all that nonsense. That's how it must feel for girls like Jasmine Harper, with their shiny blonde hair and their pretty faces. She seems like a delicate bird, flitting around without a care in the world.

I've been sitting in my car for over ten minutes, mesmerized by her playing with my daughter, Hannah. The two of them have picked roses from the front yard and arranged them in a cut-crystal vase. Hannah has just returned home from school, and Jasmine is glowing, with her tiny baby bump peeking out from under her ribbed maxi dress. Hannah pats Jasmine's belly with so much warmth and adoration for her soon-to-be stepmother that I feel it in my chest. It's an ache that someone who hasn't been in my situation couldn't understand. Hannah leans in closer, and it looks like she's saying something to the baby. The two of them giggle together like they're mother and daughter.

I know seeing this should sting a little, make me jealous or angry, but it doesn't. I know that Jasmine is a much better mother than I could ever be. She has the warmth that I had beaten out of me as an adolescent. Maybe that's why my chest hurts so much—I never stood a chance of having my own happily ever after with the family I grew up in. The sun shines behind Jasmine, making her look like some sort of angel. And maybe she is, a blessing sent from God to take care of my family while I can't. At least that's what I have to tell myself.

I don't stop my engine like I should, or get out of the car and walk up the driveway to ask Axel for the help I really need. It's the reason I'm here. Instead, I pull back onto the street, knowing I need to find another way to come up with the extra cash. I can't ask him, it's too humiliating, knowing he has this new perfect life while I'm just hanging on by a thread. If one more thing goes wrong, I might fall apart completely.

So instead, I take a right turn and head for the industrial part of town. It's the only logical thing to do right now. This car is the last one of Tony's expansive collection that I have left. It kills me to sell it, especially knowing I won't get close to what it's worth, but it's the only way I can see myself getting the cash I need today so I can keep Leo off my back.

I exhausted all other options yesterday, short of giving in to Gator and bringing Euphoria back to the streets of Palm Springs. I don't even know why he thought I would be able to. I don't have any of Tony's connections; they all turned their backs on me just like everyone else when Leo took over. Even still, there's no way I would sell my soul like that. I know how dangerous it is. I've seen friends overdose on it; people you would never think would be interested. They took it just that once, and it was all it took to end their lives. The police have tried to ban it countless times and have had no effect on sales whatsoever. But Leo did. Part of me can't understand why it was so important to him. I know Tony was profiting heavily from the sales, but Leo put a stop to it immediately. And until yesterday, I hadn't even heard the name Euphoria mentioned again.

I come to a halt at the traffic lights, pressing my fingers against my throbbing temples. This morning, I woke up with a massive headache, regretting my decision to keep drinking once I got home last night. However, after my conversation with Leo, I had to speak with my mother about selling the house. I tried to present it as a way for us to move on and start fresh, but she didn't see it that way.

The light turns green, and I accelerate forward. The conversation with my mom was even worse than the one with Leo. She completely lost her composure, throwing and smashing anything she could find in her rage. She doesn't comprehend how dire our situation is, but I do. Tony really screwed us over, there's nothing left. As much as I loathe Leo for taking the businesses off my hands, I couldn't have kept running them. They were hemorrhaging money in every way, and there was no way to keep track of what Tony had been doing. The only person who had some insight into it was Leo. I wish I had kept better track of everything, but I had my own concerns to attend to and a salon to run. Tony always assured me he had it under control, and I was naive enough to believe him.

As I pull into the lot, I glance at the time. I have an hour before I need to meet with Leo. I had color clients at the salon all day, and this was the earliest I could get out to take care of this, even though it's been making me sick to my stomach. I understand that Leo's patience with me can only last so long.

I close my eyes and silently pray that this guy will take the car and give me what I need. If he doesn't, I'm truly screwed. Part of me believes that Leo would never treat me the way he does other people, but I also don't want to discover exactly what he's capable of. Someone like him can go from intimidating to homicidal in a matter of seconds, and while my life may not be going in the direction I would like, I still have plenty to live for, my little girl the most important thing.

---