Page 115 of This Life and All the Rest
“Well, you might not remember them, but you should definitely remember Fuller’s girlfriend.”
Chase nods to the big guy on his left. I look him over, but he doesn’t jog my memory.
“I didn’t hook up with anyone at that party, Chase,” I drawl, bored. “What are you getting at?”
“You gave her that shit,” the guy, Fuller, speaks, and I sit up straighter. “You gave her that fucked-up shit that killed her.”
My stomach starts to swirl, and I shake my head.
“I was slinging Chase’s drugs, and as far as I know, I’m the only one who got a bad dose.”
I try to keep the bitterness out of my voice, but I fail. I was there to peddle the pills, not pop them. Fucking Chase.
“You were too busy dying,” Chase says, and I sneer at him. “But Fuller’s girlfriend was right there with ya. She took what you gave her, and even though you walked away, she fell into a coma and died a month later.”
Every ounce of chill I had moments earlier disappears.
This isn’t a favor shake down. Chase isn’t looking for someone to sell his shit.
He’s looking for blood.
“Those were your drugs, Chase,” I say clearly. “I didn’t dose them.”
Chase doesn’t acknowledge my words as he stands from the car, and the other two dicks follow. Then it dawns on me.
He’s passing this on me.
He brought these fucks here, to me, to get them off his back.
“Those were Chase’s drugs, Fuller. You too afraid to fuck with a senator’s son, though?
You’d rather come after the runner? You want justice for your girlfriend, then go after the source. I was just doing what he told me to, and I almost died in the process.”
I try to spin it in my favor. For a minute I think it worked. I see Chase’s shoulders tighten. Watch Fuller and the other guy give Chase a sidelong glance. Then Chase smirks.
“I’m aHarper, Davis. I’d never be responsible for something like that. My dad wouldn’t allow it.”
Fuck it.
The fucking threat in his words is obvious, and the goons he’s with hear it loud and clear. If they want blood, I’m the best they’re gonna get.
“Where’s that little stepsister of yours, Davis?” Chase says casually. “I think Fuller would like to meet her.”
I shoot to standing and clench my hands into fists. I breathe through my nose. Don’t do anything impulsive. This could go bad fast.
Fuck, it’s already bad.
“Don’t go there, Chase,” I say calmly.
“You think it’s a fair trade if we just fuck her, or should we kill her too?”
“You stay the fuck away from her.”
I force the words through my teeth as the visual of what Chase is capable of invades my brain. If he touches her, I will kill him.
“Bet we could make her scream,” the other guy starts to say, and I snap.
I see red, and I launch myself at him. It’s the way it was heading anyway. I might as well get the jump. A jab to the nose, a knee to the gut. I swing twice at the prick’s jaw and land both before I’m pulled off of him.
