SNAP (The SNAP Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

"Be careful with those, fuck face," the man from the head of the table booms causing me to jump. "You break them, you buy them. Then you can explain to my dude why we have to have double the order when we've already hit our max right now."

The man in question looks up with fear in his very dilated eyes. For all I know he could have bright blue eyes, but all I can see is blackness. He nods his head quickly and picks up a bubble envelope. As carefully as he can with shaky hands, he puts them in the envelope and writes a number in the corner before sealing it. The others vigilantly follow suit, sliding what looks like piles of precounted baggies into envelopes and gently setting them inside a plastic tote in the middle of the table. I've never been one to shy away from drugs, but I've never been inside the house of a drug dealer either. This makes me nervous.

I pull my eyes away from the table looking for Cady and Erick when a body stumbles into me. My hip bangs against the door frame shooting pain through my side. Two hands grab my hips from behind as a face appears over my shoulder. Alcohol is all I smell.

"Sorry, sweet thang," the man says as he rubs against me.

My heart pounds as I turn my head to get a look at the drunken mess that is clinging to me and see the same fool I kicked out of the bar.

"You've got to be kidding me," I growl under my breath and use my elbow to push him off.

"There ain't no need to be like that." He sounds hurt. I really couldn't care less.

I turn toward him and cross my arms over my chest. His hooded eyes follow my arms, but linger on my tits before traveling up to my face. He looks at me for a moment before recognition kicks in. I raise my brow at him as a smile spreads over his face.

"Hellcat." His words are meant to sound sexy, but they only sound like a drunken slur. He moves toward me unevenly and I sidestep his advances moving further into the dining room. The heads at the table turn toward me as I pass them and walk into the kitchen on my hunt for Cady and Erick.

I find them leaning against the kitchen counter drinking a beer and talking.

"Thanks for leaving me out there," I huff in frustration as I pull open the fridge and get a beer for myself.

"We could see you from here," Cady responds.

"I bumped into the jackass from the bar. Or should I say he slammed into me." I rub my hip knowing I'm going to have a bruise there tomorrow. Like I haven't had enough bruises lately.

"Now, hellcat. There's no need for name callin'."

I look over my shoulder at said jackass and roll my eyes as Cady and Erick laugh at my misfortune.

"Bobby, leave her alone, jackass," Erick says, still laughing.

"I'm just giving her a hard time." Bobby chuckles as he reaches into the fridge for a beer.

"You did a good job earlier. Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" I ask as he pops the tab and takes a drink from the can.

"Just having some fun." Bobby winks at me and gives me a lopsided grin. He raises his beer to me and slurs, "I'm just getting started."

I shake my head and chuckle. He's just your everyday, good-natured farm boy who likes to party. Bobby may get rowdy, but while watching him interact with Erick it's apparent he's a kind soul. He rubs a rough, calloused hand over his buzzed head and laughs at something Erick says before looking my way. His cornflower blue eyes are bloodshot horribly, but that doesn't take away from their effect. They crinkle at the sides as he gives me a lopsided grin and winks at me again. I have a feeling hellcat has become my new name and that Bobby will tease me forever.

The four of us stand in the kitchen and chat for a bit while we drink our beer. Bobby is actually a pretty funny guy. He leans against the counter next to me as we chat being flirtatious and attempting to get my number. I continuously shoot him down, but that doesn't keep him from trying. I watch as people come and go from the dining room carrying the envelopes out with them. I wonder what kind of drug it is that has so many waiting around to get their hands on it. With us living along the hub of interstate exits, we see a lot of drugs being pushed through our state heading north to distribute. This must be a new one.

The people disappear from the house as fast as the envelopes do. Within fifteen minutes the house is silent and the guy at the head of the table is the only one who remains besides us. I watch out of the corner of my eye as he counts stacks of money and bundles it. He gets up from the table and folds a stack over slipping it into his back pocket before walking off somewhere in the house. He comes back minutes later strolling toward the kitchen.

"Business taken care of?" Erick asks him.

"Yes. Now I can finally relax until dude shows up for his money. We can go do whatever after that or chill here. Doesn't matter to me," he says glancing my way and giving me the once over.

"Dustin, this is Hazel, Cady's friend," Erick says making introductions.

"Yeah, she's the hellcat that threw me out of the bar earlier tonight," Bobby tosses in, laughing.

"You deserved it, jackass," I spout.

Bobby grabs his heart as if I hurt him and I chuckle at his antics.

"Any friend of Cady's is a friend of mine. As long as they ain't a snitch." Dustin eyes me as if trying to read my mind. I stare him down giving him the same look. He isn't on the same drugs as the man at his table earlier. His green eyes are very visible and begin twinkling as he chuckles. "Good to know you can hold your own around here. You're gonna need that." He nods his head once at me before speaking to everyone in the group. "Let's go chill in the other room till dude gets here. We can dose up when he leaves."

Everyone sounds off with hell yeah's as we grab fresh beers and follow Dustin. I'm left wondering what he means by dosing up as I sit next to Bobby on the only open seat.

"We on the love seat, baby." Bobby wags his dark brows at me making me snort.

He joins in the conversation as I listen and watch them interact with each other. Bobby isn't a bad looking guy, but you can tell he doesn't have his priorities straight. He's all about having a good time and is goofy as hell. No matter what's being said, he always has some sharp, witty comeback to make us all laugh. Same as Erick. They are two peas in a pod.

"You're trouble, aren'tcha?" Dustin asks me as he rests against the couch, one arm up on the back the other on the armrest holding his beer.

I didn't notice how long his dark brown hair was before. It hangs over his brows almost in his eyes that are as dark as his hair. His features and skin tone hint to a Hispanic heritage somewhere in his bloodline.

"Why do you say that?" I take a drink of my beer as he watches me intently.

"You don't talk much and you watch everything that goes on around you," he states. I can see the wheels in his head turning. "I saw you watching us in the dining room."

"I'm always aware of my surroundings. I don't walk into anything blindly. Nothing wrong with that." We sit and watch each other for a moment before he turns his attention back to Erick as if we said nothing at all.

Dustin's phone begins ringing and he exits the room to take the call.

"So, Hazel…that hot hunk of man meat say anything to you at the bar?" The smile that comes over Cady's face has Erick frowning at her. He really does like her and it bothers him that she talks about other guys this way, even if it's about someone hitting on me.

I sigh and frown a little too. "No. I'll probably never see him again after tonight. So sad. He was quite the looker."

"Yes he was. He watched every move you made. Hell, a lot of guys watched every move you made in that dress. Told you it was a good idea." Her blue eyes twinkle with laughter and she winks at me.

"The dress looked good on ya," Bobby jumps into the conversation. "It was topic of discussion quite a few times."

"They all waited for the damn thing to ride up and give them a show." I snort at my own joke.

"Hell yeah we did. What's underneath has to be way better," Bobby exclaims.

I elbow him in the side and we all start laughing. 

Dustin returns to the room and sits down. "Looks like dude isn't coming. He got into a fight tonight at Maggie's. Were you guys there when a fight erupted?" he asks as he reaches over to the side table and pulls out a wooden box.

Cady, Erick, and I exchange quick glances, but remain silent. The only fight we know of is the one between Phil and the stranger. Is Phil his dealer, or the stranger?

"No. We didn't see any fight go down while we were there. Just Bobby throwing beer bottles across the bar." Cady tosses her empty beer can at Bobby's head and laughs.

"C'mon now. It was an accident. Just got a little riled up," Bobby says setting the empty beer can on the coffee table.

"Accident my ass. You almost hit me in the head with it." I roll my eyes at him.

Dustin chuckles as he opens the box and pulls out some baggies handing them around. When he gets to me I shake my head and drink my beer. He leaves my baggie on the table, I guess in case I change my mind. That won't be happening. If this is the same shit that man was on tonight, I want no part of it.

"What is this shit?" I ask, looking at the white tablets in the baggy.

"It's called Snap," Dustin says as he pours his tablets onto the table. I look at him questioningly and he points to the pills. "If you take them in solid form, it will give you a nice, relaxing amp all day. No jitters, no shitty aftereffects when coming down. But, if you snap them…" He demonstrates by placing his thumbs on either side of the pill line and pushing down. The pill snaps in half and begins to crumble into a powder on the table. He uses his thumb nail to finish crumbling the small chunks left until there are none. "It gives you an immediate, euphoric high that lasts for a few hours. You feel like you can take over the world. If you take too much, especially with alcohol, it will feel like you're drunker than drunk and pass out fast coming to and from consciousness. Almost feels like you're in a lucid dream and all your senses heighten."

I sit there in shock listening to every word he says. Phil is his drug dealer, has to be. It all makes sense. And now I know for sure that Phil drugged me that night. That fucking bastard slipped this shit in my drink knowing I would go along with having sex with him. It had to have been a lot. I never would've gotten blackout drunk with him when I didn't even want to go to begin with. He's been in the drug game for at least the past month or two. I would guess if he were using at the time it was recreational because he was never high around me that I noticed. Now, I would say regularly, with the mostly black stares I catch when I see him.

I get a horrible feeling in my gut as I watch those around me snort powder up their noses. I've let my friend drag me inside a circle that could get me thrown in jail, or worse, killed. The things I've seen and heard tonight are more information than I've ever wanted to learn about the drug trade and it's only going to get worse from here. I can't forget what I've seen, I can't unhear what I've heard. Trying to talk any sense into Cady and Erick will be like talking to a brick wall. If Phil finds out I was here, he'll know that I know what he's been up to. This game of cat and mouse will be kicked up a notch. That worries me. I've officially jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Cash

Her car hasn't moved in hours. She walked into this house with that girl from the bar and I haven't seen her face since. I counted seventeen males walking out earlier splitting up and going separate ways. I know this is where Dustin lives. He's Phil's right hand man. The two of them have been in cahoots for a while now, sneaking around behind our backs. They've been smart about it, too, never meeting at the same place twice. We know he's up to something, we're just not sure what it is or when it's going to happen.

I stretch the best I can inside the tiny rental car. Switching out vehicles while I'm here is imperative so no one gets suspicious. I wish I had driven this to the bar earlier instead of the truck because I'd have more room now. The seat is beginning to feel like a cement block beneath me causing me to fidget to find comfort. My cell phone vibrates in the cup holder taking my attention away from my discomfort. Picking it up, I look at the screen to see Dale calling.

"Yeah," I grumble into the phone.

"Any news?" he asks.

We're all nervous right now. Snap is in its trial run and it needs to be successful. This drug can make us all very rich. It takes very little to produce it, it isn't addictive like most drugs so it'll stay off the radar longer, and it burns up quickly in your system to not be detected easily. It is every drug dealers dream being able to expand their clientele to businessmen and soccer moms.

"No. This trip is just as confusing as the last. He approached the girl tonight, though. I'm beginning to think she has nothing to do with this. I had to pull him off her when he wrapped his hands around her throat. He was hopped up on something. I'd say he was using the product, but his side effects are different." I shake my head thinking about earlier. The guy had no fear. None. He was ready to take me out and walk away whistling. Number one rule in the business: Do not use the product. He crossed that line. At least I thought he had until I looked into his eyes.

"Different how?"

"I'm not sure yet," I tell him, just as confused as he is.

"You were not to engage with them, Cash. That was the agreement," he says, getting shitty.

"I know what the goddamn agreement was, Dale. I had no other choice. No one else was around."

"He knows what you look like now." I hear something crash in the background and squeeze my eyes shut.

"Pretty sure. I was up in his face and knocked him the fuck out. Unless my punch knocked some screws loose, he'll know I'm the one who put his ass in place tonight."

"Goddammit, Cash. This isn't going to work now. You need to pack up and come back. Immediately." He's very pissed off and very serious. There is no way I'm coming back right now. There's too much I still need to find out. Samuel wasn't able to bring info back. Phil's been covering his tracks meticulously.

Headlights appear in the rear view mirror. I watch as they get closer and pass me, parking across from Dustin's house near Hazel's vehicle. I incline my seat a little more to get a better view.

Dale begins to say something and I shush him. "Hang on a second. Someone just pulled up in front of the house. I think it's our guy."

I watch as Phil gets out of his car and does a double take looking at the SUV. He walks over to it and appears to check out the license plate before shining a light through the windows and trying to open the driver's side door.

"What are you up to, fucker?" I mumble under my breath.

"Is it him?" Dale asks.

"It is. He's walking around her vehicle and trying to open the car, but it's locked."

Phil steps back and looks up and down the street. He stands there for a moment staring at the house like he has x-ray vision before crossing the street and entering the yard. He peeks in the windows as he walks down the side of the house and pauses for a moment as he stares through one. I can't make out much more than his body shape in the shadows, but it looks like his head is shaking. After a few seconds he is gone.

"He just walked around to the back of the house. I'm worried he might attack her again," I growl into the phone.

"What if it's all for show? What if they are in on whatever it is together and they just want people to think they aren't?" Of course he has to be the sound of reason.

"I doubt it after what I saw tonight. She was terrified. All those times I followed him past her house or saw him drive by while watching her…I'm beginning to think he's stalking her. With the way he was acting tonight and the vice grip he had on her throat pinning her to the back of my truck, he's going to end up hurting her. I can feel it in my bones, Dale." I sigh thinking about the incident.

"Fuck! You need to back off and come back before he recognizes you. We will send someone else up in a few days to keep an eye out."

"No fucking way. We've sent Samuel up here for months trying to gain intel on this prick and he hasn't been able to tell us shit. For all we know, he's been caught and could be working with him now. He's fucking smart, Dale, but I'm smarter. This ends now before shit blows up in our faces and we all end up in jail."

"That's not gonna happen. Bring your ass back tomorrow. Do not make me come up there and collect you. It will not end pretty," he yells through the phone. I laugh at him which gets him screaming curse words at me. I've never heard him this upset before.

Movement in the shadows by the house catch my attention. I go silent as I watch.

"Cash? Are you listening to me? You better not have hung up on me, asshole," he growls.

"Shut up. He's back."

Dale quiets down waiting for me to relay what I'm seeing. Phil stares through the same window as before. If I hadn't seen him moving, I wouldn't have even known he was there. What happened inside that house? He walks back across the street and stops next to Hazel's car. He pulls something out of his pocket and squats down near her tire. I sit up the rest of the way to get a better look, but it's hard to see exactly what he's doing. A minute later he stands and walks back to his car. He peels out of his parking spot and disappears down the street.

"He just did something to her car and drove off."

"You better not be getting out of your car," he seethes.

"I know better than that. You act like I've never done this before. What kind of idiot do you take me for?" I ask and get a sigh of relief in return. "I'm going to wait a few minutes then go look."

"Mother fucker!" he yells through the phone at me making me chuckle. "You are going to get caught. I knew better than to let your ass go there. Now they know who you are and they will find out why you came."

"Calm down. I'm going to look and I'll stay on the line with you."

I open my car door thankful to finally stretch my legs. A tall man should never be trapped in a tiny car for long periods of time. Taking a quick look up the street, there are no headlights or taillights to be seen. I walk toward Hazel's car and before I get there I can already see what Phil had done. The back end of her car is sagging on the driver's side where he had punctured her tire. I sigh and glance at the house, but I can't see anything with all the windows covered.

"What do you see, Cash?"

"He popped her tire."

"Not your problem. Go back to the hotel, pack your shit, and come back," he tells me as I climb back into the car.

"Not gonna happen. I'm sticking around. I'll see ya in a week." As I hang up the phone I can hear him screaming at me. I chuckle to myself and start the car. She's not going anywhere tonight. I pull away from the curb and head off in search of Phil.

Hazel

I'm so comfortable I don't want to wake-up or move. I nuzzle into the pillow and sigh, warm and content. I could stay here all day after the amount I drank last night.

"Morning, hellcat." A raspy voice mumbles in my ear.

"Hmm," is all I get out before I stiffen up.

Bobby's hot breath blows on the side of my face. He's spooning me and our naked legs are entwined. His arm is wrapped around me with his hand resting below my breast. I take stock of the clothes I do have on. My t-shirt, bra, and panties are still on. It doesn't feel like I've had sex any time in the last few hours, but Bobby seems to be able to go a round with the erection that's pressed against my ass. I open my eyes and look around the dimly lit room. I must have passed out on the couch, but I don't remember Bobby laying down next to me. How the hell did he squeeze himself on here with me? I'm not a tiny woman and he isn't the smallest of men. Looking down at the floor, I see our pants lying by the coffee table. As I move to get up, his arm and legs tighten around me as his nose brushes against my neck. He takes a deep breath as if he is smelling me and sighs in contentment.

"Just go back to sleep. I'm not gonna do anything to ya but hold ya," he grumbles against my neck. Goosebumps break out across my skin where his breath tickles me.

I relax my body and allow myself to melt back into his. Bobby's fingers run through my hair massaging my scalp. This feels nice. When was the last time anyone just held me? Too tired to try to count back that many years, I let my eyes close and enjoy the intimacy my life lacks.

"Hazel." A hand shoves at my shoulder shaking me. "Hazel, wake your ass up."

"Cady, go away." I pull the blanket up over my head not wanting to wake up. Bobby groans behind me when my elbow makes contact with his ribs.

"You gotta get up. Your tire was slashed last night," she says as she yanks the cover back. "Gross, Bobby, put that thing away!"

I jump up fast and look at Bobby's crotch, but there is nothing to see except his boxers.

Cady laughs. "That got you up. Put your pants on and come look at your car."

"Don't put your pants on. Lay back down," Bobby groans wrapping his arm around my waist and burying his face in my side.

I put my hand against his face and shove him back then stand up. His arm trails down my leg copping one last feel.

"Don't get used to that. It's not happening again," I say to him bending over to grab my pants.

He reaches out and slaps my ass, getting one last dig in. "I could definitely get used to that." He chuckles. "What's going on, Cady? Why are you dragging her away from me?"

"Her tire was slashed last night."

My head is throbbing from being awoken abruptly and moving so fast. Her words finally register in my brain.

"Do what?" I almost yell at her. I walk over to the window and look across the street. Erick has my hatch open trying to get my spare tire lowered. "Son of a bitch!" I stomp over and slide my flip flops onto my feet as Bobby buttons and zips his jeans.

We walk outside and cross the street as Erick starts cranking the jack under the car. My poor tire is completely flat. I don't think any air is left in it.

"How do you know someone popped my tire? We could've picked up a nail or something," I say, trying to block the sun from eyes.

"Nails can't do this," Erick says, pointing to the one inch puncture hole in my tire. It's an even slice in the rubber.

"No shit, Sherlock." I glare at him and give him shit even though it's not him I'm mad at.

"Hey, don't get shitty with me. I'm changing your tire. Which, by the way, I'm glad you have one because it's hard to find a tire in Swanson on a Sunday. The nearest place is back home in Trinity."

"Sorry. I'm just fucking pissed." I huff and glance over to Cady who looks just as pissed off as I do.

"Go back in the house, I'll help him change it," Bobby says, shooing us away with his hand.

I'm not going to complain because it's hot as fuck out here. I glance at the time on my cellphone and it's just after ten in the morning. It's already feeling like record highs out and the day's just begun. Cady and I go back into the house and sit on the couch. I lean back against the cushion and rub my temples trying to ease the throbbing in my head.

"There's only one person I know of that would do something like this," I say to her.

"Especially if he's pissed off after getting his ass kicked."

I turn to face Cady and lower my voice. "You heard what Dustin said last night about his dealer getting into a fight."

Cady nods her head and chews on her lip. "I wonder if he came here, saw your car, popped your tire, and left."