Vice (Tortured Heroes Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

door.
    “I like him,” Floyd shouted as he jostled the fryer cage again.
    I put my hands on my hips and waited. It looked like Jase and Floyd had things well in hand back here, but I found I liked watching Jase work. He made hauling trash look sexy and that’s not something you see every day.
    A few seconds passed. Then a few more. Floyd let out a whistle. “Maybe I spoke too soon. You think your man got lost?”
    “He’s not my man, Floyd. And maybe.”
    I patted Floyd on the shoulder as he shouted for Georgia. He plated her burger and fries and pounded the counter top, as if his booming voice wasn’t enough to get her attention. Shrugging, I headed out after Jase. Swinging the door open, I thought of the perfect snide remark. It stuck in my throat when my eyes adjusted to the alley darkness.
    Jase squatted next to the dumpster holding Bella as she lay sprawled across his lap. Her skin was ashen and her blonde hair hung in strings around her face. My heart shot straight to my throat. Goddammit.
    A commotion behind me. Floyd called out for Kinney. A body shoved past me. Kinney took the stairs two at a time and got to Bella’s side. He started to rub her legs and plead with her. “Wake up. Sugar? Aw, shit. Don’t do this.”
    Jase looked over Kinney’s head and locked eyes with me. “What’s she on?” he said, his lips forming a bloodless line. When Kinney didn’t answer, Jase reached over and shook him hard with one hand on his shoulder.
    “Pull it together, man,” he said. “What’d she take?”
    I was down the stairs by then. I crouched next to Jase and put a hand on Bella’s neck. She was breathing, thank God. She had a pulse. That’s when I saw the fresh tracks on her arm. My eyes met Jase’s and he shook his head.
    “She needs an ambulance,” I said to Kinney. His eyes got wide and looked toward the sky.
    “Dev, please don’t. She’ll be all right. We just need to get her inside and splash some cold water on her face.”
    Jase looked about to explode. A muscle jumped in his jaw and he shook Kinney again. “This girl needs more than a splash of cold water, man. Her pulse is through the roof. I asked you, what the fuck did she take?”
    “Please!” Kinney begged. “You don’t understand. She’s gonna lose her kids.”
    “What?” Now I lost it. “Are you fucking kidding me, Anthony? She’s using. She’s in trouble. Jesus. She’s in an alley next to a dumpster behind my bar. Do you hear yourself?”
    Bella started to stir. Her face broke into a smile as her eyes opened and she tried to focus on Kinney.
    “I’m all right,” she said. “I just got a little dizzy.”
    “Goddammit, Bella.” My own heart started to beat again as she came around. I pushed myself up and leaned against the brick wall. Bella tried to stagger to her feet. She smiled again when she saw Jase and lifted her hand to his face. He pulled away from her and helped her to her feet. She wrapped her arm around Kinney’s shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
    “I’m okay. I got it handled. I just needed a pick-me-up.”
    She tried to focus on me. Her pupils were wide as saucers and the whites of her eyes were now a muted pink. She took a staggering step forward.
    “Bella, you don’t have anything handled. You need to get your act together. I can’t have you in my bar right now.”
    “Come on. Dev, please. Don’t make a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. We’re family here.”
    “I am done, Kinney,” I said; rage made a hammer blow inside my chest. “I can’t have this shit going on here.”
    “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “She had a bad week. Her ex filed some court papers.”
    I bit my tongue. Kinney stepped around us and started leading Bella up the stairs.
    “No!” I said. “You want to take care of this? You get her out of here and to the hospital. She needs a doctor. She needs help.”
    “You gotta give her another chance,” Kinney said.
    I looked back. Jase had squatted