SNAP (The SNAP Trilogy Book 1) (14 page)

"Just stay back there." I point to the entrance of the hallway. "And do not come in unless I'm screaming bloody murder."

Cash raises his hands in surrender and gives me that smile I've been waiting a week to see as he slowly backs up. His shirt slips up here and there as he moves flashing slivers of his stomach. My eyes travel to the dusting of hair trailing into his pants. His hands dropping to his sides pulls my attention back to his face. He puts his hands in his pockets and leans against the wall looking as innocent as he can. I feel like a high school girl checking to see if her parents are home so she can do bad things with her boyfriend.

I shake my head and hear him chuckle as I open the bedroom door and peek in. No sign of Phil. I open the door enough to squeeze in and close it behind me. My room is a war zone. Clothes cover the floor in a lumpy layer with who knows what underneath them. My dresser, that has a mountain piled on top, has all the drawers open and clothes hanging out. An avalanche of shoes, purses, and crap is pouring out of the closet, and my bed looks like a wrestling match took place in it. All of it bad reminders of how I've been working through my madness. Making my way over to the windows as carefully as possible, I pull back the curtain to see my screen ripped and a circular mark in the corner of the glass like he tried to break it.

"That motherfucker," I growl. Slinging the curtain back into place, I turn to see Cash standing in the doorway looking around my room in shock.

"Jesus," he mumbles. The concern on his face when he looks at me has my face turning beat red. "What was he looking for?"

"I would say nothing since he never made it inside." I pull back the curtain pointing to the chip in the glass and the ripped screen, "But he sure tried to get in here."

Cash's mouth opens and closes like a fish. He's working it all out in his head and looks around not knowing what to say.

"Out," I say, moving over to him, wobbling and losing my balance on the shit under the clothes. I push him out the bedroom door and close it. Walking toward the living room, I leave him standing there staring at me like I'm an alien.

Sitting down on the couch, I light the cigarette in the ashtray and nervously puff on it. I hear Cash open my bedroom door again.

"Cash!" The door thumps closed and he's standing in the doorway in an instant with his hands on his hips and chest rising and falling in silent laughter.

I turn my head and take a hit off my smoke. The couch dips next to me as he sits and leans back against it.

"You put frat boys to shame." His chuckles turn to full blown laughter when I turn and smack his stomach with the back of my hand. It feels like I slapped a wall. The heat in my face burns like hell fire.

"Awe, Hazel." I turn away from him and he wraps his arms around my shoulders pulling me against him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you," he says into my ear. I can hear the smile in his voice and feel his breath against my neck. "What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?"

I turn my head slightly and glance into his eyes. His gaze is heating and it looks like melting chocolate. I clear my throat before turning my head back and responding. "Seven in the morning."

"Call Cady and have her come over. We can all hang out here tonight and make sure Phil doesn't come back."

Shocked, I turn to face him and his arms drop from around me. "You still want to hang out?"

He searches my face confused. "Why do you ask that?"

"I wouldn't want to, knowing some crazy ass is hanging around and after seeing my bedroom."

He leans forward and starts pulling my hair apart at the scalp and smelling me.

I frown at him and pull away. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, you smell clean and you don't have bugs in your hair." He smiles as I laugh at him then gets serious again. "That motherfucker can kiss my ass. Cleaning is definitely not your forte," he says leaning toward me, "but I didn't ask you out because I desired your cleaning skills."

I lick my lips nervously and try to keep the blush from my cheeks. He winks at me making my stomach roll harder than I've ever felt before. To be honest, I don't think I've ever gotten this excited over a man before. It's almost nauseating getting this worked up and I don't like it. The best I can compare it to is being on a roller coaster while interviewing for a huge job, after splitting your pants in front of them, and having caffeine overload. Nervous, jittery, and embarrassed about everything. It's a shitty concoction. I don't know if it's the mysterious air that surrounds Cash that has tweaked my reaction to him, or if it's those dark eyes that get more intense every time we meet, staring into mine like he's trying unlock my deepest darkest secrets. Whatever it is, it's enough for me to keep my guard up around him.

"Hazel, you gotta stop looking at me like that." His whispered groan makes me break eye contact. I turn my head away and take a deep breath. "I'm gonna make sure Phil is gone and hasn't come back. Call Cady, I'll be back in a few minutes."

I nod my head, not even sure if he saw it, as he all but ran out the door.

Cash

The door closing behind me is music to my ears as I step off the concrete slab of a porch and retreat to the side of the building. Taking a deep breath and trying to get the blood in my body to relocate to my brain, I lean against the brick wall and get my bearings.

That was quite a moment. I've never been at a loss for words when it comes to women, but I can't even explain that to myself. There's definitely chemistry between Hazel and I, can't deny that. She's going to make my mission here difficult. As much as I tell myself I'm not to get in too deep with her, I can already see it happening. It doesn't matter how hard I try to stop it, she's reeling me in without any effort at all. We haven't even really talked yet. I've stayed silent for a reason. For this very reason. The only reason I'm speaking to her now is because I've got to get inside her head. Yep, that's the only reason. Get inside her head, weed out her knowledge, learn Phil's secrets, take Phil down. Simple as that.

If life was only that fucking simple.

I pull my phone from my pocket and hit Dale's number.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

"Not too busy to answer on the first ring," I growl back.

"Some of us have actual
work
to do around here. Don't tell me shit's gone south already."

"Actually, he was making a move as I rolled into town," I admit with a sigh. All noise in the background goes silent alerting me that Dale has went somewhere private.

"What happened?" No anger, no sarcasm, straight to the point seriousness.

I explain it all to him as I walk around the back of the building checking for any sign of Phil.

"Son of a bitch. She has something of his, or knows something he doesn't want her blabbing. There's no other explanation for this kind of behavior, Cash. He's risking a lot trying to break into her house in broad daylight. Sounds as though he's getting desperate."

"Would seem so. I gotta go. I'll try to get some info out of Hazel. Hopefully we can start piecing this shit together," I tell him as I make my way back toward her building.

"As long as you're working on piecing together the story more than you're trying to break off a piece of her."

I actually snort into the phone and get a chuckle in return. "I'll do what needs done."

I click the phone off as I get to Hazel's window and stop to inspect the damage done to the glass. The screen has been cut at the bottom and pulled back diagonally. Probably done with the dame knife he slit her tire with. The glass is double pained, heavy duty industrial glass. There's nothing heavy enough on the ground nor any tools nearby that could've busted out the window. A palm sized rock lays on the ground by the foundation and I squat to take a look. It's chipped on one side like something hard smashed it. Grabbing it, I rise up and place it against the window. Perfect fit for the small indention left behind. Her landlord is going to be pissed when he sees her front door. This can be written off as a rock hitting the window while someone mowed.

Movement inside catches my eye and I notice a crack in Hazel's curtains. They must be caught on the pile of shit laying on her floor. The closet door is blocking almost all of her from view, but I can make out clothing flying over her shoulder to add to the mess around her room. The woman is a tornado. I've never seen such destruction in my life. It's not dirty, really, but unorganized and cluttered as fuck. Watching her is amusing as hell, though.

She steps back from the closet and I freeze. Her dark hair swings over her shoulder brushing her bra straps and my eyes keep traveling down eating up every inch of skin displayed before me. As my gaze reaches her hips and backside, I bite my lip to keep me grounded and centered. Pain shoots through my mouth as she pulls a denim mini skirt over her ass and I groan for two reasons. One, because I want her ass to stay uncovered forever. Two, if she wears that tonight there won't be much talking going on, and we need to talk. She angles her body back and forth before sliding the skirt off and tossing it to the floor. She bends over to grab a pair of jeans from a pile and my already stirring cock kick starts to life.

I force myself away from her window and put much needed distance between myself and her. Jogging around her building to her porch, I plant my ass on the concrete and try to forget the way her ass looked. And the way it looked bending over. I run my hand through my hair and tug on a tuft painfully trying to think about something else while I wait for Cady to arrive. Because when a man's hormones say pull the trigger, it's all his dick wants to listen to. My dick doesn't need to be hard when her friend gets here.

Hazel

After calling Cady, I rush to my room to find something to wear besides my worn out pajamas. I'm shocked that Cash still wants to hang out with me and that he's considerate enough to hang here after the stunt Phil pulled. Going out on a date is not at the top of my list right now and he understood that without even asking. He knows I need to be comforted and feel safe, and suggesting that I call Cady to come over and wanting to hang out here with us to keep an eye on me tells me a lot about the kind of person he is.

Cady and Erick should be here in a little bit. It'll be nice to have both of them here. If Phil comes back for round two, he'll have Cash and Erick to contend with. But I don't think he'll be back tonight. At least, I'd hope he wouldn't be stupid enough to come back after Cash chased him away. If I were Phil, I'd be terrified to see Cash advancing on me. With Phil's almost scrawny frame, Cash is double his size. Hell, Phil's legs are smaller than Cash's arms. He could easily snap Phil in half.

Yanking on a t-shirt and blue jeans, I rush to brush my teeth quickly in the hopes that Cash and I can play a round of getting-to-know-you before Cady arrives. But when I step into the living room, he's nowhere in sight. Peeking out the window, I see him sitting on the slab I call a porch leaning back on his palms with his long legs kicked out in front of him as he checks out my neighborhood.

He glances at me over his shoulder as I step out on the porch, his gaze taking in my change of clothing. I pretend not to notice and take a seat beside him. It's warm out today, but not nearly as hot as it has been. At least you can breathe without drowning on the humidity. The kids across the street are playing in their sprinkler. I hope to God they weren't outside when Phil was banging on my door. I voice as much to Cash as they prance around in the spray.

"No. They weren't outside when I got here," he reassures me.

"Good. I would hate for them to see that." I pick up a stray rock and roll it in my hand. "Cady and Erick will be here in a bit."

His questioning gaze turns to me. I forgot he didn't know who Erick is.

"Erick is Cady's…boyfriend, I guess. They are seeing each other. He's a nice guy. You'll like him." At least I hope he'll like him. Cash is kind of hard to get a read on, but they seem to have a few similar qualities.

Cash nods his head but remains quiet. Guess if I'm going to learn anything about him, I'll have to start asking questions that'll give me more than a bob of his head.

"Since you're new in town, I assume you are here for work. What do you do for a living?"

"Transporting and distribution."

I raise a brow thinking about his answer and try again.

"So, you're a truck driver?"

"Yeah. I go where the work goes. Right now it's here," he says, as he turns to face me.

"Oh." He searches my face as I try to mask the disappointment I'm sure was clearly visible. "That must get lonely at times, being in different cities and not knowing people."

"No, not really." He shrugs his shoulders. "I enjoy being alone."

I nod my head not really knowing what to say. What can I say to that? Hey, I know we just met, but I have the hots for you and you seem to always be in the right place at the right time to save me from the crazy bastard I previously dated. I'd like you to stick around for a while to see if this works between us. Or, hey, I know you're not going to be around for long, so let's call it quits now and walk our separate ways. Because if this goes any further somebody's going to get hurt, and it's a ninety-nine percent chance it's going to be me.

"Since I'm going to be around for a while, and I've already stepped in the middle of it, why don't you tell me about Phil."

Cash's words have me tensing up. A pain shoots through my palm and I look down to see my hand clutching the rock. I loosen my grip and the rock drops to the sidewalk by my foot, my palm red with indents. Turning toward him, he's watching as my thumb rubs my palm nervously. His dark eyes meet mine and he raises a brow expecting an answer.

"There's not much to tell." I tuck my hair behind my ears and lick my lips. "He bugged me for a while to go out with him. I caved and went on a few dates. That's it. The dude's nuts." I wrap my arms around my knees and silently beg him not to ask any more questions.

"How many dates did you go on?"

Cash's eyes never waiver from mine, staring intently waiting for me to answer. It's too much to handle and I break eye contact with him, letting my gaze drift to a much safer place. One where someone isn't trying to see the truth in my eyes and in the words I'm not speaking.

"Four too many." I laugh dryly. "I should've trusted my gut."

"Was he always like this?"

My eyes jump back to his and hold them. "No! Well, not that I ever witnessed. He was always quiet, well mannered, and nice." I shake my head trying to make sense of it all. Looking away again, I whisper, "It seemed as if
something
was changing him, though."

Cash

I don't like her body language. She's emitting all kinds of vibes that don't settle right with me. With how Phil acts toward her, I can only imagine what he's done to her. Fury begins boiling inside me and I have to keep my hands from forming fists to control the sudden anger consuming me. She doesn't need to see me pissed off right now. I've seen a lot of shit over the last year trying to get Snap on the streets. I put blinders on to most of it, and try to push the rest of what I've seen out of my mind. What people do is their own business as long as it doesn't affect me or what I'm doing. This is different though. All of those people live seedier lifestyles. They ask for what's coming to them. Hazel is a hardworking woman. She's optimistic, kind, and always has a beautiful smile on her face. There's no way she's part of whatever Phil is doing.

Hazel withdraws, watching the children play. Probably wasn't the smartest thing to tell her on our first "date," but I want her to know I won't be here for good. Plant that seed now so it will grow. It's as much for her as it is for me. We don't need to be getting attached to one another. But the way she acted while talking about Phil, I wanted her to confide in me. Not just because she has info I need to bring him down, but I want her to know that all men aren't like him. He's hurt her, and before this is over I'm going to find out how. I don't ever want to see that vexed look in her eyes again. What the hell could've happened between them for her to disappear so deeply into her mind?

Standing up, I hold my hand out to her. Thankfully, patience is a virtue of mine. It's going to take a lot of it to get through to her. Like a timid dog, she stares at my hand as if determining if I'm safe or not. Whatever Phil did to her, it flips a switch in her brain when she dwells on it. I don't want her to think about it right now. It pulls her away from me and I need her to feel safe enough to spill secrets.

I smile at her in the hopes it helps her feel more secure. Her eyes flicker over my face before smiling back. Taking my hand, I help her stand and pull her toward the door. It's too hot to stay out here any longer. We go inside and I sit on the couch as Hazel locks her door. She must be scared if she locks the deadbolt while I'm here.

"You want a drink?" she asks as she heads to the kitchen.

"That would be great," I tell her as I watch her bend over to grab something out of the fridge. Distracting myself, I flip through the channels on the TV when a knock sounds at the door.

"Can you get that, Cash? It should be Cady and Erick," Hazel says, making our drinks.

Unlocking all the damn locks, I open the door to a fire breathing redhead, overly eager to get to her friend. She looks me over quickly and as I'm about to say hello and step out of the way, she shoves past me almost knocking me over.

"Hazel?" Her worried voice yells out.

"Right here," Hazel responds walking out of her kitchen into the living room.

Cady grabs Hazel by the shoulders sloshing the drinks in her hands and checks her over from head to toe. She's a tiny, angelic little thing, but I'm learning fast not to ever fuck with her. I swear there's a demon peering out of her glowing eyes.

I glance back to find Erick standing next to me in the doorway looking just a wary as I feel. He turns toward me and raises his brows letting out a quiet whistle. Unspoken man talk for, "Damn, I'd stay out of her way right now." Yeah, I'm totally feeling it too.

Erick walks the rest of the way into the room carrying a case of beer and I shut the door locking it back; all three locks so Hazel feels secure.

"You must be Cash," Erick states setting the beer on the counter that separates the two rooms. He looks over at the two women who are busy talking before turning back to me. "Thanks for being here, man. I don't know what happened, but Cady was fit to be tied because we couldn't get here fast enough."

"You don't have to thank me," I reply. "No one needs to deal with the shit she's going through."

He nods in agreement as he breaks out the beer and hands one to me before turning back to ladies.

"I brought wine. You want some?" Cady asks Hazel as we walk over and sit on the couch.

"Yes, please. Then I'll fill you in what happened."

Cady grabs the wine and goes off into the kitchen and Hazel follows dumping out the drinks she just poured. She comes back and sits on the floor next to the coffee table. Everyone is quiet, but it's a comfortable silence. Hazel peeks over at me, I assume to make sure I'm fine with the situation, and I wink at her letting her know everything is okay. She smiles at me, her blue eyes twinkling from the overhead lighting making me smile in return.

Cady returns interrupting our moment and shoves a wine glass in Hazel's hand. "Take a drink and start talking," she demands, taking a drink of her own.

Hazel does as instructed then begins to retell what happened with Phil earlier. Erick leans forward listening intently looking between the women. Cady doesn't have to explain how she feels, it's written all over her face. She is fucking pissed.

"That motherfucker," Cady spits venomously. "I'm gonna kick his ass. Who the fuck does he think he is anyway?"

"A man of means." Hazel's snide answer has my brow rising. She takes a drink of her wine and almost chokes on it when Cady starts yelling in her ear.

"Means my ass! Living off a trust fund does not make you a man of means, especially when you're dealing dope. Fucking hypocrite."

"Cady," Hazel reprimands her, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

"What? You know it, we know it," she says motioning between her and Erick, who remains quiet through this ordeal. Smart man. "Now Cash knows it. He needs to know what he's jumped into here, Hazel."

This is an interesting turn of events. The shock on my face as they look at me is not forced. I figured it would take longer to get information from them. How wrong I was. Hazel locks eyes with Cady in silent conversation before shaking her head and rubbing her face with her hands. She exhales deeply before beginning.

"I–We didn't know he was dealing until recently. Hell, we don't have proof." She looks over at Cady who is rolling her eyes. "We don't know for sure, Cady."

"Yes, we do. You heard Dustin. He said his dude couldn't come pick up the money because he was in a fight at Maggie's. The only fight that happened was between him and Cash. Unless Cash is his dope dealer?" Cady turns to me and raises a brow while pursing her lips.

Fuck. They would freak out if they knew why I was here. Most drug lords who send men in to discover the rats usually take out anyone who knows too much. That would mean them. People aren't ignorant to this knowledge. They've seen documentaries and movies about cartels, mobsters, and drug dealers. That's not what our organization is about. Have we had to deal out some beatings to make a point? Absolutely. Have we killed anyone? Not yet, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'm not going to say people haven't been killed over Snap since it hit the streets. There have been a few. But they were killed by the hands of their dealers for reasons that don't matter to us. Once it leaves our facility and we receive payment, it's theirs to distribute as they see fit.

"No, I'm not." Which is exactly as Cady assumed.

"See." She shrugs her shoulders and takes a drink of her wine. "Maybe you'll get lucky and Phil will be busted and go to jail."

Hazel snorts. "Yeah, right. Daddy will bail him out before he spends five minutes behind bars. It wouldn't surprise me if his father has saved his ass before." Hazel sighs then stands up, collecting her empty wine glass from the table. "Enough about Phil. Can we just pretend he doesn't exist for the rest of the night, please?"