Halfway to Anywhere (Wild Child #1) Read online

  Those are my people.

  That’s how Kaden convinced his father Sebastian to hire me. He knew my connections on the street would move his product.

  I moved a lot of product.

  “I have no problems giving you your money,” Kaden says.

  “Great.”

  “But I do worry about what you’ll do with it.”

  “I’m not gonna snort it, if that’s what you mean.”

  “What about Jacey?”

  “What about her?”

  “Silas, you don’t know the first thing about this girl. Is she a junkie?”

  “She’s not.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I know. Don’t you think I’ve been around enough meth heads to recognize one?”

  Kaden knows he can’t argue with that, so he just nods.

  “I want to talk to Sebastian first. He should be here in an hour or so.”

  I groan. Sebastian hates me, mainly because I’ve always been a thorn in his side. Sure, I was good for business, but I wasn’t good for business. I could move product better than anyone, but when it came to the drug empire built by Sebastian Rhodes, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a model employee. I liked to question the boss’s authority . . . a lot. I’m pretty sure Sebastian Rhodes did backflips the day I announced I was out.

  “Then I’m going to go check on Jacey. You know, just to make sure she’s okay.”

  “Yeah, you do that. If she’s awake, bring her down. I’d like to meet this brown-eyed beauty. I need to see for myself that she’s worth all this aggravation.”

  “Whatever.”

  I walk out of the study and take the stairs two at a time until I finally reach the top. Kaden stresses me out—which is just another reason why I left this world behind. In just a few hours, I’ve somehow found my way back, and I brought an innocent girl with me.

  Like he said, I don’t really plan things out.

  The guilt eats at me as I make my way to Jacey’s door. I’m surprised to find it open. I quietly peek inside the dark room and find her sitting at the bay window. Her legs are pulled to her chest as she gazes out at the moonlight. Her long brown hair, which was dirty and stringy before, now falls down her shoulders in waves. Her rumpled clothes have been replaced with a long-sleeved navy tee and a pair of jeans.

  I lied to Kaden. She’s not pretty at all.

  She’s beautiful.

  The moon is big and bright, illuminating the bedroom in a soft, muted glow. I usually hate it when the sun goes down, because the night can be terrifying. But sitting in this bay window in this big house, all warm, clean, and safe, I can’t help but think that the moonlight is actually really beautiful and not frightening at all.

  I guess it’s all about perspective.

  Silas was right about the tub. I’d taken a long bubble bath and washed my hair with this fruity shampoo that still tickles my nose whenever I breathe it in. The clothes are a little big, but they’re comfortable and clean and designer, if the labels are accurate.

  I’m grateful for everything, but I’m also curious. Who is Kaden? Who is Melody? And why is this—whatever this is—hard for her? How could living like this be so tough?

  Questions swirl in my mind as I gaze out at the night sky. Silas offered to answer them, but the truth is that I don’t know if I want the answers. If I’ve learned anything from working for Vince, it’s that sometimes, it’s best not to know the details. It’s best to keep your mouth shut and just go with the flow.

  So that’s what I’m doing. I’m going with the flow.

  And apparently, this flow is headed straight to Mexico.

  I don’t know much about Mexico. I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t drink the water, but otherwise, I don’t know much about it. I also don’t know what we’ll do when we get there. But I assume Silas knows.

  I’m putting a lot of trust in a complete stranger, but when I consider my alternative, it’s really a no-brainer.

  “Hey, Jacey.”

  I jump at the sound of his voice. Turning my head away from the window, I find Silas standing in the doorway.

  “Hi.”

  “I just wanted to check on you.”

  I pull my knees closer to my chest. “I’m okay.”

  “You sure?”

  He looks worried, and I wonder again if he’s regretting bringing me here. My insecurity gnaws at me until I finally have to ask.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like . . . I don’t know. Regretful?”

  Silas chuckles and steps inside the room. “I am regretful. You just look so innocent sitting there. And I’ve brought you into the lion’s den.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  He sits down on the edge of the bed. “I know, and I’m not explaining it well. Nobody in this house will hurt you. But this house and what it represents . . . it can ruin you.”

  Something about his voice breaks my heart. There’s a sadness there, and it kills me, because doesn’t he know he can’t ruin me? Can’t he see I’m already a mess?

  I climb out of the bay window and sit down beside him. Once again, he reaches for my hand and smiles sadly at me.

  “You looked so sweet and innocent sitting in that window . . . with the moonlight and everything. So, yeah. I’m feeling a little guilty about bringing you here.”

  “I’m not sweet or innocent, Silas. Far from it.”

  “I’m not a good person, Jacey. You need to know that.”

  “Neither am I.”

  He sighs softly and slides his fingers along mine.

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Okay, so make me understand.”

  I can tell by the look in his eyes that he wants to. But I also understand that, sometimes, it’s safer for everyone involved if you keep your mouth shut.

  I still want to know.

  “I’ll try. But first, Kaden would like to meet you. Is that okay?”

  “I . . . guess?”

  Silas squeezes my hand. “Don’t be nervous. Kaden is my best friend. He’s intense, but this world has made him that way.”

  “Is that why Melody is gone?”

  His brows crease. “How do you know about Melody?”

  “Something Deb said earlier. About Melody having a hard time with all of this.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, Melody and Kaden have been together forever, but this world isn’t for everybody. She tried, you know. She tried for a long time.”

  This world.

  I may not be a high school graduate, and I may not be the smartest chick in town, but it’s easy to connect the dots.

  “Kaden’s a drug dealer.”

  Silas doesn’t bother denying it.

  “A distributor, technically, but yes.”

  “And how are you connected?”

  “I was the drug dealer. Well, one of them.”

  “Was?

  “I’m out. Have been for a while.”

  “What kinds of drugs?”

  “Meth.”

  Silas bows his head. I guess he’s expecting me to run away. Or scream. Or demand he take me home.

  If only he knew.

  “After my parents’ died, I really didn’t have anyone,” he explains. “I have an aunt in North Carolina, but she didn’t want me, and I didn’t want her. The state wanted to put me in a group home until I turned eighteen, but that was two years away. Kaden’s family offered to take me in. But all of this was a lot to get used to, so I ran away. Hustled pool for cash. Ate at soup kitchens. Became an addict.”

  My hands begin to shake. Silas gives the one he’s holding a comforting squeeze.

  “Kaden’s family didn’t officially adopt me. I just use their last name for . . . business purposes. Sebastian sent me to rehab. Once I was clean, they offered to teach me the business. With my street connections, they knew I’d make a great dealer, and they were right. I was good at it. It’s the only thing I�
��ve ever been good at it, to be honest. And the money. God, the money was insane.”

  I nod. I certainly didn’t reap the benefits of Vince’s drug transactions, but I’m well aware of the money he made. After all, Stepdaddy Dearest paid cash for his house. And his Escalade.

  “So, why did you give it up? The business, I mean.”

  “Because I was just waiting,” he says, laughing darkly. “Junkies are your best friends . . . until their money runs out. I just got tired of waiting to die.”

  Silas grows quiet. This time, I squeeze his hand to let him know it’s okay. He’s okay, and I’m okay. Or, at least, I want to be. The reasons he left the business is the very same reason I left Vince and the only home I’ve ever known.

  I was tired of waiting to die.

  “Silas, I need to tell you something. I need to tell you why I ran away.”

  He nods. “I know, and I want to hear it. But Sebastian’s on his way, and Kaden wants to meet you. We should probably get that out of the way so they can give me my money and we can get out of here. That is, if you still want to go.”

  It’s not even a question.

  “I still want to go.”

  Silas studies my face. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but he must find it, because he slowly lifts my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss against my skin.

  “I’d understand if you wanted to go back home. Or wherever. I’ll take you.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t have a home anymore.”

  “Won’t somebody miss you?”

  Yeah, somebody will miss me. And he’ll probably start looking for me soon.

  “By the time someone starts looking, I’ll be in Mexico . . . with you.”

  He smiles then. It’s crooked and sweet and makes me feel like, for the first time in a long time, everything’s going to be okay.

  Silas continues holding my hand as we make our way downstairs. He leads me to a large room, full of mahogany furniture and walls of books. Sitting on the sofa is a guy with blonde hair. I assume he’s Kaden. He’s scrolling through his phone, and only looks up when Silas clears his throat.

  “Jacey, this is Kaden.”

  We walk over to the sofa. Kaden’s eyes lock with mine, and I extend my hand. He takes it, but the handshake is loose and completely half-hearted.

  “Thank you for letting me stay. And for the clothes. I really appreciate them.”

  Kaden doesn’t say anything at first. He just keeps staring at me with a look so intense it makes me nervous. Finally, he shakes my hand.

  “You look . . . very familiar. Have we met?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He narrows his eyes. “You’re sure? I never forget a face.”

  I shrug. “I really don’t think so. We don’t exactly travel in the same circles.”

  Kaden nods and offers me something to drink. I decline, and Silas leads us to the sofa. The guys make small talk while I try to ignore the way Kaden continues to stare at me. He finally takes his phone out of his pocket and becomes engrossed in whatever’s on the screen.

  “We’re sort of in a hurry, Kaden. Any idea when Sebastian might—”

  Suddenly, Kaden begins to laugh, but it’s not a lighthearted sound. It’s the kind of laugh that’s dark and shady and assures you that whatever he’s laughing about really isn’t funny at all.

  “Vince Barnes,” Kaden says.

  My eyes widen at the sound of my stepdad’s name, which makes Kaden really laugh this time. He also leaps to his feet and walks over to me, holding his hand out once again.

  “I knew I recognized you. I never forget a face,” Kaden says. This time, his handshake is firm and his smile is wide. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jacey. Very nice, indeed.”

  “What the hell’s going on?” Silas asks, looking between the two of us. “How do you know her?”

  My mouth goes dry. What’s going on?

  “Oh, we’ve never officially met, but I’m a big fan of Jacey’s work. As are my clients. I guess it really is true what they say.”

  “And what’s that?” I ask.

  Kaden’s smile is brilliant.

  “It really is a small world after all.”

  I’m paranoid by nature. I blame it on living with a crazy drug dealer for over a year. Living on the streets for the past few weeks hasn’t helped, either. But both of those living arrangements have made me a pretty good judge of people.

  And I don’t like Kaden. At all.

  The way he’s staring at me makes my skin crawl. It’s not fear, exactly. It’s the fact that he obviously knows who I am. And what I do. And who I worked for.

  I’m not proud of any of these things, and I was hoping to put all of that behind me. That’s why I left Vince’s. I wasn’t exactly living in the lap of luxury, but it was at least warm and dry. I traded that for sleepless nights on cold wooden benches in hopes that I’d never, ever have to do another cook.

  But I’m a good judge of people, and I can tell by the look on Kaden’s face—and the dollar signs in his eyes—that he’s hoping he can convince me.

  In school, I was always a good student, but my best subject by far was chemistry. I loved learning about the different elements and which ones could be combined to make something totally new—and which elements shouldn’t be combined at all. Like a total nerd, I loved lab days the best. To me, there was nothing more exciting than the hiss of a Bunsen burner.

  I’d always suspected that my stepdad was a shady character. Mom did her best to shield me from that part of his personality, but after she died, there was no one around to protect me from the reality of the family business.

  Vince Barnes is a meth tycoon.

  He’d started out with a rolling lab in the trunk of his car. When that proved to be dangerous—and stupid—he bought a medium-sized storage building for the backyard. We live in the sticks without a neighbor for miles, so there wasn’t anyone to notice. Mom had always forbidden me from getting within a hundred feet of the building, which was fine with me because spending time with Vince was my least favorite thing in the world. But that security died with her, and a week after her funeral, Vince gave me my first cooking lesson.

  Thanks to my love for chemistry, I was a natural. Vince told me he was proud of me.

  It was the first time he’d ever been proud of me for anything.

  I caught on quick, to the point that our weekly yield was getting top price. My product was better than good. To some customers, it was considered the best on the market in our little hometown. Vince, ever the entrepreneur, decided it was time to branch out, and that meant finding a distributor. I never interacted with those people, of course. I was just the cook.

  But I’m interacting with them now.

  “I never forget a face,” Kaden says again as he scrolls through this phone. “Barnes has been looking for you. He’s desperate, to the point of sending his business associates a picture.”

  Kaden hands Silas his phone.

  “Pretty girl who makes kickass meth is hard to forget,” he says, smiling at me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jacey.”

  My entire body begins to shake as Silas reads whatever’s on Kaden’s screen. He tosses the phone back and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close to his side.

  “Please don’t send me back,” I whisper.

  Silas shakes his head. “Nobody’s sending you back, Jacey.”

  “Hell, no, you’re not going back.” Kaden jumps to his feet, unable to contain his excitement. “There is a problem, though. We’ll sort it out when Sebastian finally gets his ass here.”

  I look at Silas. “Problem?”

  “There’s a reward.”

  “To find me?”

  Silas nods.

  “I can’t blame him,” Kaden says. He’s pacing the floor while staring intently at his phone. “I mean, your shit’s the best. Not that drug addicts are too picky, but your stuff? The bomb. Vince is starting to run low on product without you around to work your mag
ic. His business is bound to suffer. Sebastian was saying just this morning that we might need to end our dealings with him and find a new manufacturer. We wondered why the quality of the product wasn’t up to his usual standard. Now we know.”

  Kaden suddenly sits down on the couch right next to me. “Why, Jacey? Why did you run away?”

  “Because I finally could.”

  He narrows his eyes. “I don’t understand.”

  Silas holds me a little tighter.

  “I turned eighteen. No judge could force me to go back home.”

  “So, this isn’t the first time you’ve run away?”

  I shake my head. “I tried a few times. He always found me. And he always beat me.”

  A low growl rumbles in Silas’s chest.

  “I won’t go back. You can kill me if you want. But I won’t go back.”

  “Jacey, nobody’s going to make you go back,” Kaden says, his tone firm but soft. “And nobody’s killing anybody. At least, I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  This just makes me shake more. Silas pulls me closer.

  “He didn’t mean you,” Silas says against my ear. “Nobody’s going to hurt you, Jacey.”

  Can I trust him? I have no idea. But I have to believe I can.

  Suddenly, a tall man with shocking blonde hair walks into the room. He stops in his tracks and looks from Kaden to Silas, until his eyes finally settle on me.

  And then he sighs.

  “Hello, Jacey. I’m Sebastian Rhodes.”

  I look over at Silas who smiles softly, letting me know it’s okay.

  “Hi.”

  “Silas.” Sebastian nods in greeting like all guys do. “You’ve certainly had an interesting day. Thanks for that. I don’t need my sleep. Neither does our attorney.”

  Silas says nothing.

  “Ah, don’t be too mad at him,” Kaden says, grinning as he rises to his feet. “He comes bearing gifts, after all.”

  I can only assume the gift is me.

  Is meth-cook slavery a thing? Could that happen?

  But then I remind myself it already has. That’s why I’m here.

  “A gift, yes,” Sebastian says, glancing in my direction before walking over to the bar. “Does anyone else need a drink? Besides Kaden, of course. I can tell he’s already had more than enough tonight.”