Broken and Screwed (BS #1)(24)

I turned.

Jeremy Benson stood in front of me. His jeans were ripped and unbuttoned. As I glanced around the living room and kitchen, there were a bunch of guys who weren’t wearing shirts. Most of them were lean and tanned. A few were built like body builders, but all of them had a beer in hand. The handful of girls I counted dressed similar to the bimbo from outside. Revealing shirts and revealing pants, if they wore pants at all.

“Hey.” Nick lifted his chest up and pointed at me. “This is Ethan Connor’s sister.”

“So?” Jeremy skimmed me over with a sneer. He was tall and still had an athletic physique, but he had a military style hair cut. “I’m not surprised Connor’s sister grew up to be hot. You sure you don’t want something good to drink? We’ve got beer, darling, but I’ve got some good old fashioned whiskey too. That’s what Barbie drinks.”

“Barbie?”

He pointed into the kitchen and a girl with smoky eyes and dirty blonde hair lifted a hand. “Hi, there.” Her voice was hoarse and she grimaced. “I’m a little hungover. Any friend or relative of Connors is welcomed around here.”

“Why?”

She frowned, but looked over my shoulder.

Jeremy belched out a laugh. He scratched idly at his chest. “What do you mean why?”

“I don’t remember any of you being friends with Ethan.”

Then a wide smile spread over his face and he burst out laughing. Nick laughed with him, along with Barbie and a few others. He shook his head and coughed to clear his throat as his continued to laugh. “Man, I haven’t had a good one like that.”

“I’m serious.”

The smile was wiped away. “Are you kidding me? We were some of the best friends your brother had.”

“Jesse was his best friend.”

The smirk that appeared over his face made my stomach drop. Dread started to build in me.

“I’ve got a feeling, darling, that there’s a lot you don’t know about your big brother.”

Barbie draped herself against the doorframe and smirked as well. “I think there’s a lot you don’t know about the night your big brother died.”

Then someone hurried down the stairs. I turned around and froze. Jesse was at the bottom of the stairs behind me and his eyes were wide as he saw me. The blood drained from his face.

My heart sank into my stomach.

His hand gripped the banister tighter. His knuckles whitened, but then he clipped out, “What the hell are you doing here?”

CHAPTER NINE

“Hunt!” Jeremy’s voice boomed out. Everyone’s attention was now solely on us. He threw his arms wide. One came around my shoulders and he pulled me tight. “It’s Ethan’s little sis. You been hiding her from us? What kind of a buddy are you?”

Jesse’s eyes narrowed and he straightened to his fullest height. “Get your hands off her.”

A shiver went down my spine.

The air in the room had been entertaining, but now it grew tense. Jesse’s voice was low, deadly low, and the threat of violence filled the room. His hands were clenched together and his eyes sparked with the promise that he would follow through with his threat.

“Well, now.” Jeremy’s voice grew serious. His arm fell away and he moved to the side. “No need for that. I had no idea she was your girl.”

Jesse took two steps and latched onto my arm. He dragged me out the door.

Jeremy hollered from inside, “You don’t need to leave, Hunt. We’re all friends here.”

He gritted his teeth, but refrained from responding.

“What are you doing?” I panted as I tried to keep up with him.

His hold on my arm was going to leave a bruise, but I bit my tongue. Jesse looked murderous as he took me to his Ferrari. He opened the door and stepped back. When I didn’t get in right away, he snapped, “In! Now.”

Anger boiled up inside of me, but I got in anyways.

When he got into his own side and took off, I glanced back at my car. Now was not the time to remind him that we’d have to come back. I only hoped that Jeremy or anyone else didn’t know it was my car. I hoped they wouldn’t do anything to it.

As he sped through town, he took a few corners that had his back end sliding across the highway. He didn’t slow down. He went faster. The murderous rage in his eyes never diminished either. As he pulled up to his driveway, he punched a button and a bottom gate slid open. Instead of driving up the hill towards the house, he drove underneath it. It was an underground parking garage and it was filled from one corner to the other with sparkling vehicles.

Jesse pulled up to the front slot and got out. When I shut my door, the sound echoed throughout the lot. It only added to my amazement at how big Jesse’s home was. Then he went to a door and an elevator opened for him.

I groaned. I couldn’t believe this. My family’s house was a typical suburban home, but it seemed like an anthill compared to his. And then I caught the fury again in his eyes and I stopped my thoughts.

The elevator opened to a small hallway and Jesse led us around the corner. We came from a back entryway into the dining room and kitchen area. All the lights were off, but he flipped them all on before he went to one of the large refrigerators behind a huge steel grill.

As he yanked open a door, I slid onto a stool behind one of the counters. I shivered. “You’re going to eat right now?”