Page 63 of Giving In

“Ugh, sonofabitch,” he mutters to himself. He heads for the door. Before opening it, he turns to me.

“You. Don’t move an inch. I want you in this exact position when I come back. Got it?”

I quickly nod my head as he walks out of the room.

But of course, there is no way I’m going to stay still for this bastard. So, I hurry up and quietly follow him. If he thinks he can use shit against me, then why can’t I do the same?

I make sure he’s not in the hallway anymore when I get out of the room. He’s pushed closed the door leading from the hall to the main area but it’s still ajar and I can hear multiple voices coming from the living room.

I pad towards the door, the light in the hallway is off and the only illumination comes from the small gap. When I finally reach the end of the hall and look through the gap, I can see Jake talking to two guys at the door. It’s Roy and Carlo. Camila’s brothers.

Two gang members that used to work for Volkov.

And now for Samuel.

“...not picking up her phone. Any idea how long I’ve been waiting? This ain’t no gamehuérfano,” Roy complains.

“Appreciate the nickname, as always boys,” Jake replies. I can’t see his face, but I can imagine the smug smile on it.

“Where is she?” Carlo asks. “Can’t pick up without her.”

Is he talking about going to Volkov’s strip club?

Jake shrugs. “It’s not really her specialty. She’s more about the using than the dealing now.”

Carlo, the oldest and biggest of the two brothers, takes a step forward but Jake doesn’t look intimidated. He doesn’t step back and casually pulls his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms over his chest, showing off his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. Jake is taller than both of them, but Carlo looks like 200 pounds of pure muscle.

“We need a girl. Unless you’re feeling like dressing up, better tell me where your cute sister is.”

Jake lets out a short breath, halfway between a chuckle and an unimpressed sigh. “If you need a girl that bad, take your own sister. She looks great in a stripper outfit. You can take my word for it.”

My jaw falls at Jake’s nerve. Carlo takes another step, ready to punch Jake in the face but Roy holds him back and pulls him back their way.

“Drop it, Carlo. We can let Sam deal with thependejo.”

I can almost hear Jake’s smile when he replies to them. “Perfect. You do that. Great talk guys. Come back anytime.”

As soon as they’ve slammed the door behind them, Jake takes his phone out of his pocket. He taps it a few times and puts it to his ear.

After a few seconds, he runs his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Ozy, pick up your fucking phone,” he growls in the phone before hanging up.

I guess Rose decided to ignore the texts from Samuel. In that case, she also decided to ignore his threat of going to the police. I run back to the room before Jake can realize I was spying but I can’t stop wondering what he’s done that’s bad enough for Samuel to use as blackmail.

Where is Jake’s limit? Does he know when he crosses a line or is it never enough for him?

CHAPTER 13

‘You don’t belong to me

Are you gonna tell her?’

Are U Gonna Tell Her – Tove Lo, MC Zaac

Jamie

The party is raging by the time Rose and Rachel walk into the huge kitchen where Jake is making himself a drink. I’m standing a few feet away from him, the only person sitting down on one of their highchairs, and hoping, for the nth time tonight, he will leave me alone and soon let me go home. But when he turns to me and downs his I-don’t-know-how-many drink of the night I know there’s no way in hell he’ll be sober enough to drive me back. I don’t have my bike and his house is not a walking distance from mine.

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