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“I need to leave.”
“Fox!” he shouted, wincing as he pushed to sit up. “Don’t make me get out of this bed and run after you.”
I marched over to the table of medicine and filled a syringe with enough sedatives to knock him out. As I approached him, I cocked my head to the side, staring at my idol.
“I’m really sorry about this.”
“Fox, get that fucking needle away from me.”
“I really don’t want to hurt you, but Cash will pay for what he did. I’ll be sure of it.”
“I swear to God, if you?—”
I lunged, plunging the syringe into his arm before he had a chance to stop me. Of course, he was weakened and barely moving, so that didn’t surprise me.
“You son of a bitch,” he muttered, his eyes already closing.
“Sorry about this, but I can’t have you chasing after me in your condition. Don’t worry. I’ll make the son of a bitch pay.”
I stared down at my brother as he finally drifted under. Then I pulled out my phone and called his other best friend. I didn’t like to acknowledge that he had one, but now more than ever, I needed his help.
“I’m going to have to break my promise to Kate.”
“Fox, what the fuck are you talking about?” Hunter snapped.
“Cash shot him. Sorry, but I have a few things to take care of. Watch over him for me.”
“Fox—”
I hung up and bent over, whispering in The Kamau’s ear. “Revenge is mine.”
44
IZZY
A week passed. I refused to fall into a black hole I couldn’t pull myself out of. It didn’t matter if Jason couldn’t trust me. The only important thing was that I could take care of myself, so that’s precisely what I did. I had little experience with work, but if I was going to be independent, I needed to start somewhere.
I was able to get a job at the bank working as a teller. It was nothing glamorous, but just the idea that I had somewhere to go every day and a paycheck at the end of the week brightened my spirits. After that, I went shopping for new clothes, hauling Eva and Vira along with me for their knowledge. I had no idea what was considered in fashion, but I wasn’t about to go to work in sweatpants.
I felt considerably better when all was said and done, but even as I stared at my new outfits hanging in my closet, I realized nothing would ease the ache in my chest that formed after my conversation with Jason.
“You have a visitor,” Vira said from my doorway.
“Eva?”
She shook her head. “Carli.”
I sat up as hope filled my chest. “Jason’s here?”
“No. She ran over here on her own,” she said with a smirk. “Should I tell her to leave?”
“No.” I wouldn’t turn her away. Even if Jason and I weren’t together at the moment, I would never hurt Carli like that. “I’ll come down.”
My nerves were jumping like crazy as I descended the stairs. Carli sat on the couch, swinging her legs as she waited, and the moment she saw me, she jumped up and ran over to me, smiling like crazy.
“I missed you!”
I nearly fell backward as she plowed into me. “Hey, I missed you, too.”