He picked up within a second. “You need me to come? I can have backup here within a minute or two.”
These two had no idea who I was talking to. Eric did a damn good job at pretending he was an officer, though. “Possibly.”
“Roger that. Give me the go-ahead and I’ll be there in a second. I have no issues taking them down to the station.”
My eyebrows tugged upward as I watched the guy standing throw his arms up. “Fine.” He angled his chin to his friend. “We’ll be outside for five minutes. That’s all you have.”
When they brushed past me, I made sure to add, “And if you tell Tank I was here, I swear to God, you both will be in jail. Don’t underestimate the power of people owing me favors. Cops can be dirty, too, you know?”
That was the truth, although I didn’t necessarily have any cops on hand to use in a situation like this. I couldn’t even get Jim, our family PI, to step foot in this. Not after Christian snuck behind our father’s back and used him to investigate Hayley’s father a few months back.
“We got you.”
And my conquest was done. It seemed Tank’s “friends” weren’t actually friends. They’d likely throw him under the bus if it meant saving their own ass. But again, there was no loyalty when you forced people to follow you with fear.
As soon as they were both outside, I quickly lasered onto Jason. My fists ached to punch him across the jaw. My legs twitched to kick him in the stomach, especially as he sat and stared at me from his laid-back position on the couch.
“How do you feel about letting your sister fight your battles for you?” My voice was laced with something unrecognizable. My words were short, slicing through the dim room.
Jason slowly sat up and dropped his head down low. His arms came out and rested along his knees. “I hope you have a plan, because Tank is never going to let you go, man.”
I walked closer to him, wanting him to hear me loud and clear. “And yet, you let your sister walk right into his fucking hands. What were you thinking, letting her take on the responsibility of paying back your debt? What is wrong with you?” I was full-on seething. The muscles along my chest were straining. My fist squeezed so hard that my nails dug into my skin. But I just kept thinking about the pain on her face when she talked about him. The fear in her voice. “Do you understand how dangerous this is for her? Do you not understand that she is absolutely destroyed by what you’ve become? Do you enjoy knowing she cried her fucking eyes out the night she almost watched you snort that shit up your nose in that tiny fucking bathroom down the hall?”
Jason’s head shoved away from me as if he were trying to get away from my words. I half-expected him to cover his ears. But I didn’t care if this wasn’t what he wanted to hear. I kept going because he needed a little dose of reality.
“You’re a selfish prick for bringing her into this. She’s broken, and each time you run to her and drag her into your shit, she’s flooded with guilt. So much that she has a hard time keeping afloat. Your sister is drowning.”
Jason’s voice was strained. “Fuck, I know!” He threw his arms out. “I fucking get it.”
I got closer to him but quickly took a step back because I couldn’t trust myself not to knee him in the face. “But do you?”
His empty gaze found mine. “Yeah, you wanna talk about guilt? I can’t even keep myself clean for more than a day.” He scoffed, dragging his attention around the room. “It’s not like it’s easy being around these guys—especially since I know all their hiding spots.”
That could come in handy.
“So, are you going to do something about it, then?”
“Wh-what?” Jason looked confused. “Do you have a plan?”
Did I have a plan? Of course I had a fucking plan.
“Are you ready to fix this, Jason? Are you ready to stop taking from Piper and start giving? Because from where I’m standing, you owe her a lot more than just getting yourself clean.”
Jason straightened his shoulders, hope in his eyes. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. I want to take Tank down just as badly as you do—if not worse, because I know shit. He’s fucking crazy.”
I knew time was quickly running out, so I hurriedly got on with the more important part of the conversation. The plan. If Jason wanted to fix his mistakes, he was going to have to start somewhere.
As soon as I exited the trailer, the two guys from before were standing outside, smoking a joint. They tipped their chin at me as I walked by, and I hoped that meant they were going to keep their mouths shut. I couldn’t bank on that for sure, but I didn’t really have another choice.
Once I got back into my Charger and started up my engine, I checked my phone that had been buzzing since I’d last called Eric.
Eric: I assume this means you don’t need me to throw on my old cop costume from last Halloween?
Eric: Kegs are all set for Saturday. Word is that the entire school will be coming to your house for the party. My vote is we up the price.
Christian: You owe me a car wash and breakfast in bed all next week. I just covered for you with Dad. He said you’ve been dodging his calls since he left. He asked if something was going on. I assume you’re avoiding him because you’re preoccupied with Piper’s drama. Correct?
I swallowed back my guilt. That was definitely not why I was avoiding my father, but for now, one problem at a time.