Page 34 of Tear Me Down
Carter then sets his laptop down and pats me on the shoulder, clearly feeling the stress roll off me.
“Let me try.” He drags my chair towards the dealer and sits before him, looking relaxed and calm. Carter has never tortured someone that I know of, but he’s witnessed enough of my tantrums to have received a crash course. “Yousaid your dad is going to be mad at you?” he questions softly, almost as if he’s talking to a kid.
“Yyeeeesssss,” he drawls, rolling his head back from shoulder to shoulder. “He has us running all over the place making deliveries. If we don’t get them all done, he makes us snort what’s left. I just wanted to go home,” he shakes his head, looking like a child who got punished for something he didn’t do. I just roll my eyes, definitely not in the mood for this shit.
“I’m just going to kill him.” I throw my hands up and stalk back to the counter to pick up my knife.
“Jesus, take a breather. Give me a second, D.” Carter turns back to the dealer. “What does your dad have you delivering?”
“The Pixie Dust.”
“Pixie Dust?” Carter rears back, squinting his eyes and grimacing.
“Okay, now this has to be a fucking joke!” I yell. I swear to God, if Hugo named a drug after Ashia’s childhood escape, I’m carving ‘Peter Pan’ into his chest before he dies.
“No, I’m serious, man,” the dealer slurs, nodding his head lazily, “that shit will make you see stars. It’s going out for real cheap, too. I can get you some.” Now, that catches my attention and checks another box on the ‘what could piss me off today’ list.
“Why is it so cheap?” I ask, but the dealer shakes his head and snarls his lip.
“I’m not talking to you. You’re mean,” the dealer,my fucking captive, complains, and my jaw drops. Is he serious? He can’t be serious. Carter turns to look at me and grins. A cocky, playful smirk curls at the corner of his lips as true amusement sparkles in his eyes.
“Yeah, D, you’re being really mean,” he coos.
Fuck you.I mouth, and he snickers just before he turns back to the dealer.
“Come on, bud. Why is it so cheap?” Carter coerces him.
“He wants everyone to have it and everyone to want it. Anywhere popular? That's where we're supposed to go.”
“Like where?” I ask, stepping back up to him.
“You know, everyday spots. The college campus, the clinics, bars, liquor stores, gas stations, pretty much anywhere we can find a lot of people willing to have a good time.”
“Hold on, D,” Carter interjects. “That's a lot of exposure that they didn't have before.”
“Yeah, Dad wants our name out there real bad.” The dealer nods and agrees, almost like he's proudof himself.
“You'd think a drug empire wouldn't want that much attention.”
I think about that for a moment. Carter's right. Up until now, Dust has always been very discreet. Selling to only the users that prove themselves, keeping their locations hidden and out of reach—but they're changing the game by leveling the playing field, knowing that we also operate in the shadows. They may have most of the police department at their disposal now, but the few good cops that are left are another story. Not to mention the state troopers that make their way through town occasionally.
“We're thinking about this wrong,” I finally say. “We need more information, and we're not going to get it this way.” I gesture back to the dealer. My thoughts are torn again as my phone buzzes in my pocket, and when I pull it out to check the messages, my heart swells.
My Love
Zeke and I are headed to the Attic now.
Okay, baby. Be safe.
The anger fades as I read her message, leaving nothing but a warm fog in my chest. This time last year, I never would've thought something as simple as a text would fix all of my problems, but my life has drastically changed since then. Morphed into something so perfect, yet so terrifying at the same time. I know she'll be tired, and hopefully hungry, after her long day, so I need to make sure she's comfortable while we talk upstairs. She had asked that I start training her today when she got off work, but I don't see that happening. She's been exhausted once she gets here after her shifts, even napping in my lap a couple of times while I've worked in my office. She was right, it seems almost everyone was waiting for her to come back to work, so she's been really busy while she's been there.
“Go get the conference room ready, I'll finish this. Is there still fruit in the kitchen?” I should've checked once I got here today, but I was so caught up in this dealer, I had planned on telling Zeke to stop and get her something.Stupid. She's finally upgraded from puréed foods to at least solid fruits and thinly cut vegetables, and I'm determined to get her to the finish line sooner than later. Her weight is finally holding steady again, even though she lost about fifteen pounds during her recovery. Derek wants to see her hold meat and grains down before he fully considers her healed, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
“Yeah, Zander ran out this morning and restocked for you.”
“Awesome. I'll text him, thanks.”
Carter pats the dealer on the knee and stands to leave, grabbing his laptop and heading upstairs.
