Page 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

RIVER

A ri set a small black shoulder bag down on the desk in front of her.

I eyed it before staring at her. Ever since our match in San Francisco, she had been acting weird. I tried to crack a few jokes on the plane ride back, but she’d brushed me off. She’d brushed all of us off. Bones, Lotto, and Frankie were just as worried as I was.

Especially because she was already trembling before she even spoke.

“It’s from Scotty,” she mumbled.

“Great. Just what I want. A gift from that guy.” I snorted, “I hope it’s a car key.”

Bones turned around in his chair to look at me. “You think he can afford a car? He could barely afford the budget seats to San Francisco. I had to pay my own luggage fee.”

“Better than driving,” Frankie said.

“And better than Ari’s road-trip playlist,” I added.

I didn’t even get a chortle. Or a smirk or a laugh or any reaction at all. Ari simply pointed to the bag.

“Open it.”

Lotto leaned over Bones to grab it. As soon as he opened it, his face paled. From out of the bag, he pulled a vial and a syringe.

“Oh, hell no,” I said immediately. “Is that fucker kidding?”

“Give it back to Scotty,” Bones demanded. “What the fuck is he thinking?”

“So, this is what that bastard wanted?” Frankie stood from his chair and snatched the vial from Lotto’s hand. “Guinea pigs for his drugs?”

Lotto’s lips thinned. “We have to tell the Circuit.”

“We can’t!” Ari blurted. Her shaking was even worse. “We… can’t. We need to keep this between us for now.”

I set my hands on my hips. “Why?”

“Because he—” She swallowed and shook her head. “There aren’t any other sponsors. If we lose Scotty, we’re out of the Circuit.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, Ari. This shit’s illegal. I’m not messing with it.”

“We don’t have to mess with it ourselves. Just?—”

“Just what?” I yelled and threw up my hands. “Sell it to someone else? Help others fall into drugs?”

Ari stayed silent. The rims of her eyes shimmered with tears. Even at the sad look, the anger within me wouldn’t abate. She couldn’t be fucking serious. PEDs?

Bones held up a tattooed hand. “Scotty wants us to shill his shit?”

“He said we have a choice,” Ari answered quietly. She couldn’t meet our eyes. “Either take it ourselves or give it to someone who will.”

“That fucking rat bastard.”

“Put it back in the damn bag, Lotto,” Frankie growled. “And then we’re going to drive down to his auto shop and?—”

“I think we should think about it!”

Ari’s high-pitched call echoed in the ceiling and rattled my brain. Think about it? What the hell was there to think about?

“ Why? ” Lotto sounded as flabbergasted as I felt.

“Ari, what the hell did he say to you?” Frankie demanded. There was a lilt in his voice that gave away his barely controlled anger. “Did he threaten you?”

“No, he…” Ari dabbed at the inside corner of her eyes with the pads of her middle fingers. “We’ve already come so far. Been through so much. If we lose Scotty now, we won’t make it to Vegas.”

“Who cares about Vegas?” I asked.

“We all do!” She pointed at Bones. “Bones has been working so hard to rehab and bring us back. Frankie pulled long nights to train him. Lotto went through hell and back to keep our spot and find us someone else. And River, you were the only reason we didn’t go 0-3 in so many of those matches. I don’t want it to be all in vain. It can’t.”

“It won’t be.” Lotto sighed and threw the bag on the desk. “The Circuit will understand if he’s up to illegal shit.”

“But Lucien was up to illegal shit.” Bones sighed, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. “And we were still almost kicked out.”

“We were ninth then. We’re fifth now and have a shot at top four. They will listen to us now,” I argued.

Ari shook her head and ran her fingers through her long hair. “They won’t. We both know that.”

“Not unless we offer a huge amount of cash as a buy-in.” Lotto shrugged, “That’s what I gathered anyway after talking with Bruce.”

“Fucking mustache man,” Frankie grumbled.

“They care about money and fame. They might consider it if we can promise both.”

“How much are we talking?”

Lotto paused and glanced around the room. Then he shook his head and set a few fingers on his temple. “More than our fee to show up at Heathens Hollow.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Cheap bastards.”

“Then we don’t really have a choice,” Ari said.

“No, we’re back at the same damn choice.” I pointed at the bag. “And I’d rather be out of the Circuit than dealing with Scotty’s bullshit anymore.”

“But then you’d leave us.” She sounded pained at the proposition. “You need to make money.”

“Not like this, Ari. We can figure out something else.”

Lotto huffed. “It might be hard to find with our history.”

“The Circuit is our best chance. It’s only three more weeks. What if we fake taking them or selling them?” Ari offered. “That way, we can end our contract cleanly, and?—”

My sarcastic laugh filled the room. “You are out of your damn mind.”

“But you’ve done it?—”

Her eyes went wide. The room went dead silent. My shoulders slumped forward, and I stared at her, not knowing how to feel. Was she really using my past against me?

“That was wrong, Angel,” Lotto ground out.

“I’m so sorry, River,” she rushed to say. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just?—”

“Slip of the tongue?” I questioned. “A fucked-up mistake?”

“What the hell are you three talking about?” Frankie looked between us.

Bones did the same, confusion scrunching his eyebrows. “Someone explain.”

“Well, since Ari wants to bring it up—” Ari winced at my tone, but I didn’t care. She had already stabbed my heart, so there was nothing wrong with a return blow. “I used to be addicted to drugs in high school. Got kicked out of my house and booted to rehab. My sister was the only one who would take me in after that. She helped me stay clean. Any other questions?”

A heavy blanket of silence settled on the room. No one would meet my eye. They all stared at the black bag and little vial of addiction nestled inside.

“If you go through with this, I’m fucking done. And I’ll turn every single one of you in to both the Circuit and the cops.”

“River—” Ari tried.

“No, fuck you. I got clean, and I refuse to break it for a punk felon bitch who thinks he can use us for money and clout. Or any of you.” I pointed around the room. “If this is the kind of family you have, consider me out.”

“We’re not going to do this,” Frankie answered and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “So calm down and let’s talk it through.”

I shrugged him off. “After a smoke.”

Lotto lifted a brow. “You don’t smoke.”

“I’ll make a damn exception this time. It’s better than punching all your lights out.”

I turned and headed for the door.

Ari called my name over and over, but I couldn’t hear her over the betrayal that fractured my heart into tiny pieces.