He clipped his head to the side, a slight inch. He wanted me to leave.
I ignored him and scanned my surroundings. I needed a weapon, something to give us enough time before we could get through the back. There was a frontage road behind the backyard, and I knew Kelly was pulling her car up. It was just on the other side of the fence. We needed a distraction, and then everyone could climb the fence and get into the car. She could take off, she was our getaway car, but judging by Eli’s heated glare, I knew he wasn’t ready to go. He wanted to fight.
Eli lurked forward another step, closer to Emerson this time. “He’s coming home with me, and you’re going to stop selling to him.”
“You’re an idiot, Turner.” Brute pointed to the crowd with his bat. “It’s thirty to two—”
Eli cut him off, growling, “I have people, too. You don’t think I could’ve come here with them? I didn’t. I did this as a friend. I doubt you’d want me selling to your sister.”
Brute stiffened. He dropped his bat to his side, but gripped it harder around the handle. His voice sounded low and menacing, “You better leave Rose alone or—”
“Or what?” Elijah threw his head back; his eyes looked abnormally dilated, making him look crazy.
I had witnessed Elijah fight many times. I hadn’t known the real reason behind half of those fights, and maybe they were like this—over drugs and drug territory— but it didn’t matter. Elijah was a fighter. He was easygoing, full of crude jokes, but when that flip was switched, he was dangerous. Tall and lanky, a lot of people underestimated him, but Elijah’s reputation was solid. He wasn’t one to be messed with. If he fought, he usually won. In the back of his mind, I knew he was willing to go down swinging, even against thirty people. He would take as many of them out as possible, and all while Emerson was high as a fucking kite on the sidelines. I glanced back to my cousin. He wasn’t even watching the fight. He had wandered to a tree and was trying to catch the leaves off the branches.
I snorted. What a piece of shit.
Then I realized my mistake.
People turned around and started to notice me. As more and more saw me, they began to back away so a small circle had formed around me.
Well. I took a breath. Oops.
Then Brute walked to me and nodded behind me. He asked the leech, “Yours?”
“No way.” The leech was spineless now. He held up his hands and stepped back, away from me in an exaggerated motion. “She came here looking for Turner, said she was a customer.”
Brute swung back to Elijah. “Yours?”
Repressed frustration flared in Eli’s eyes, but he glanced to Luke who moved forward. Luke said in a quiet growl, “She’s mine.”
A girl piped up from the crowd, “She’s Turner’s ex.”
There was complete silence for a full minute as everyone digested that information. When it had, Brute skirted between Luke to Elijah. Then he smiled. “Well, if this isn’t awkward…for you guys.”
Luke started for me, but I shook my head. He stopped as Elijah shifted, holding a hand out to stop him.
Then I saw the headlights behind the fence. Kelly was there. She was supposed to open the door and keep the car running. I waited another minute, but then Emerson moved to the back of the fence. The light from her car had attracted his attention. This couldn’t get any better.
I looked at Luke and motioned to the fence. He turned, seeing Emerson. He frowned slightly, but lifted a shoulder. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I hoped he would follow my lead. Then I looked up at Brute, standing right in front of me. He reached out to grab my arm.
My first instinct was to evade, but I didn’t. I squashed that sensation and gritted my teeth as his meaty hand wrapped around my arm. He dragged me forward and shoved me ahead of him.
“Who does this bitch belong to?”
Well, that pissed me off.
Elijah started laughing, but he pointed to Luke. “Not sure how she’s going to handle being called that, but she belongs to Pretty Boy here.”
Luke threw him a dark look, moving forward so he was standing slightly in front of Elijah. “She belongs to me.”
Brute dragged me to face him again. He breathed on me, his face too close now. “Is that true? You’re a pretty thing.” His free hand touched my cheek.
I held still, ignoring the growing need to kick this guy in the nuts. It was clawing inside me, crawling to the surface, and I started to concentrate on keeping my calm. I could feel Luke’s anger mounting at the same time. Glancing at him through the corner of my eyes, he was like a statue. His hands were loose at his sides, but his head was lowered like he was getting ready to charge. Luke didn’t have the explosive burst of energy like Elijah did, but he was just as dangerous. Luke thought out his moves. Each punch he threw was precise and delivered to weaken his opponent. If he had a knife, I would’ve started to worry. He would’ve gone for Brute’s jugular, and that would be a whole other set of problems. As it was, I finally spied a knife. There was a girl right behind Brute who held one. It was dangling from her fingers, right next to her leg, and judging from the alarm in her eyes, I didn’t think she knew how to use it.
Luke said from behind me, “Let her go.” His voice was calm and low, but a shiver went down my spine. He was close to making his move. I looked back at him. Elijah had moved to stand next to him and watched him carefully, too. When Brute heard the new threat, his head went back up.
He narrowed his eyes, and his hand dropped from my face. “Or what, Pretty Boy? I don’t know you, but you’d look more comfortable being in some fancy magazine than here with the big boys.”