Inside Danger (Outside The Ropes Book 2) by Ashley Claudy Read Free Book Online

an incredulous look, so I elaborated, “considering everything else going on.”
    “That was important. He threw it in my face that night to try to get the upper hand, but it didn’t work. I would’ve killed him right then, except one of his friends hit me in the back of the head with their empty gun and he got away.”
    That explained his bruised ear that night. I circled my arms around my knees and pulled them into my chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—” I stopped myself and changed directions. “There’s plenty you haven’t told me though.”
    For one brief, intense moment he held my gaze, a fire growing, and then he broke away and looked forward. “He didn’t— Did he—” He took a gulp of air and my stomach sunk, anticipating his question. “What did he do to you?”
    “Nothing—”
    “Bullshit.” He grabbed my hand, angling his body to face mine. “He said… fuck what he said, I want to hear it from you.”
    I dropped my head to avoid his eyes, but he grabbed my chin and lifted my face.
    “It’s not your fault, none of this.”
    I flinched away, stiffening with anger. “Isn’t it though? I chose my path, just like you chose yours. We’re all guilty.”
    “Stop avoiding the question.” His tone was sharp, but his hands were gentle as they trailed along my arm.
    “He held a gun to my head, forced me to watch them beat up Dexter.”
    “But what did he do to you?” His whisper was strained with something. He was imagining it worse than it was, I had to tell him. But I hated him for making me say it
    I shook his hands away. “He licked my neck.” That alone burned to say, my stomach gripped thinking about the rest, but I forced out the acidic words with my eyes closed against Gage’s probing glare. “And he put his hands down my pants, but nothing happened.” I popped my eyes back open. “Another guy there stopped him, the one that seemed to be in charge, real tall guy, but I didn’t know him.”
    When a few seconds passed without him saying anything, I looked up. His jaw was clenched but that was the only sign of anger, otherwise his expression was blank.
    “Now it’s your turn to share what you’ve been keeping from me,” I prompted him.
    He snapped out of the daze he was in and looked towards me with doubt. “That was really it? That was all that happened? I need the truth.”
    I glared back at him. “He said other things, like I chose the wrong side or he’d give me a job. He also told me to ask you, ‘who can’t fuck with who now?’ but otherwise that was it. Nothing happened.”
    He let out a large sigh. “He told me something different, something that made me want to rip him apart, slowly. But still, that’s not nothing, I should have never left you after court.”
    I gave him a hard look. “There’s lots of times you should have never left, but that wasn’t one of them. We couldn’t have known. But what’s been happening since then?”
    His hands were back on my knees, it seemed to steady him so I let it go.
    “Rusnak and Rock have worked out a weak truce. Rock’s made a deal to get Rusnak back the drugs that were taken and punished the person responsible.” When his eyes met mine, I knew the punishment was death. “Rusnak’s letting him have the marijuana connection he made since that’s not really one of Rusnak’s markets. But for all other drugs, Rock has to go through him.” His grip on my knee tightened. “That’s what I’ve been doing, organizing a shipment that’s coming here to get distributed out. That’s why I can be here now with you. I’m staying downstairs.”
    I placed my hand over his. “What about boxing? What about you not winning in the third?”
    He laced his fingers through mine and scooted closer to me, his legs on either side of me. “You saw the bruises. They were fucking pissed, but we’re working it out. We’re in negotiations now about what to do for future fights.”
    “Future fights?”
    “Silas is setting up a