Romance: North: (Hot New Adult Bad Boy Romance, Alpha Male Rock Star Rebel Romance) (Contemporary Mystery and Romantic Suspense Short Stories) by Jade Allen Read Free Book Online Page A

cheeks turned a bright, dusky pink. “That’s not the point, and you know it,” she said, her voice tight. “The point is that you’re on the run from your dealer, and frankly, you’re not really in a position to argue with me about the conditions of staying in my house, are you?” One of her dark, finely arched eyebrows rose. I clenched my teeth and exhaled slowly.
    “No, I’m not,” I said finally. “I’m grateful that you’re letting me stay here and even letting me have friends over. I’m not going to drink under your roof. I’m not going to use. Now stop worrying about it, would you?”
    I was saved from Mary’s response—whatever it would have been—by a knock at the door.
    “Later,” Mary said, her dark eyes fastening on me with promise.
    “Yeah, yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. I strode to the door and opened it just as Nick was in the midst of his second knock. He grinned when he saw me.
    “Not bad for a guy who got kicked out of rehab this morning,” Nick said, reaching out to slap my shoulder.
    “Come on in before I change my mind,” I said, opening the door wider. Nick, Jules, Mark, and Dan stepped through, looking around them.
    “Hi,” Mary said, still standing by the kitchen table. I grinned to myself; it was weird—and weirdly satisfying—to see her looking so shy.
    “There are definitely way worse reasons to get kicked out of rehab,” Nick said.
    “Shut up, man,” Dan muttered. “It’s good of you to take Alex in,” he added, stepping away from the rest of the band to approach Mary. “I’m Dan.”
    “I’m Jules.”
    I kept my amusement to myself as my band mates each introduced themselves to Mary, shaking her hand.
    “You were serious about having refreshments on hand,” Mark commented, gesturing to the table. Nick looked as though he was only waiting for the cue to pounce on the bounty of food.
    “Oh, help yourselves,” Mary said, her smile still a little tense. “If you guys need to smoke, there are ash trays outside.” She hesitated for a moment, then: “I guess I’ll let you have your powwow.”
    “What are you talking about?” Nick intercepted Mary, grabbing her wrist lightly. I felt a flicker of something like jealousy—but that would be crazy; I’d only had sex with her once. Even if I was more than pleased to repeat that performance, it wasn’t like I’d formed any kind of attachment to Mary. “You’re part of this now, for better or worse.”
    Jules nodded, scooping some of the creamy green salad onto his paper plate. “He’s right. We came up with a kind of plan, but it needs work.”
    “Oh fuck.” I grabbed a couple of chicken tenders and threw myself onto the couch. Dan finished filling his plate and sat down on the floor a few feet away. “Why does this fill me with dread?”
    Jules smirked. “Because you’re going to be the cold Charley,” he said, grabbing a few crackers for the cheese he’d already spread on his plate.
    “Mary is not involved in this,” I said quickly, glancing at her. Her dark eyes had widened at the mention of a ‘cold Charley.’
    “He’s not going to come after you directly with a civilian at your side,” Nick pointed out. “Too much collateral damage.”
    “The hell he won’t!” I clenched the chicken tenders in my hand so hard the crispy, fried breading shattered and crumbled onto my lap. “You know good and damned well that J doesn’t give a fuck who he kills in the process of getting back at me.”
    “Well,” Mark said, looking from Mary to me cautiously. “Ron had sort of a…contingency. You know, like a backup plan?”
    “What’s that? Some fucking poison tooth?” The idea of going into the den of Big J’s drug empire didn’t bother me for my own sake; but the idea of Mary going into it with me—of her getting taken out just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong guy—was infuriating.
    “Ron’s been in touch with the DA,” Dan said, taking a bite of potato