I glanced to the sidelines. Emerson stood there, gripping a beer can. Moving through the crowd, I got closer and could tell my cousin was on something. He kept blinking like something was in his eye and shaking his head back and forth. He was teetering back and forth on his feet, too.

Then I got it—why Elijah had come for Luke at the hospital. He needed back up from someone else who cared about Emerson.

“You show up at my house, at my party, and you try to take one of my clients from me?” Brute pointed to Emerson with his bat and swung back around, tapping it against his palm in an intimidating gesture.

Elijah snorted, rolling his eyes. “He’s not your client.”

“He is, actually. You don’t sell to him, so where do you think he’s going to go?”

“Yeah.” Eli moved forward a step, his hands in fists. He glared at his competition. “I said what I said. He’s my best friend. He’s not a client anymore.”

Brute gestured around him. He laughed. The sound was cocky and eerie. “Look around. These are my friends. They’re here to back me up, not you. Not your pretty boy. Do your ‘best friend’ a favor and let him stay. He’s here to party. Let him have a good time.”

Elijah was still staring at Brute, but Luke was looking through the crowd, and I knew the instant he saw me. He didn’t move. He gave no indication, but a murderous look started as he continued to look at me.

He wanted me to leave.

I wasn’t going anywhere. I raised my chin. Whatever they were down for, I was joining them. I didn’t give a shit if I was a girl. I could fight just like they could. We had all grown up in our neighborhood. It wasn’t that great of one, so we’d all been in our fair share of brawls. I wasn’t a stranger to this scene.

He clipped his head to the side, a slight inch. He wanted me to leave.

I ignored him and scanned my surroundings. I needed a weapon, something to give us enough time before we could get through the back. There was a frontage road behind the backyard, and I knew Kelly was pulling her car up. It was just on the other side of the fence. We needed a distraction, and then everyone could climb the fence and get into the car. She could take off, she was our getaway car, but judging by Eli’s heated glare, I knew he wasn’t ready to go. He wanted to fight.

Eli lurked forward another step, closer to Emerson this time. “He’s coming home with me, and you’re going to stop selling to him.”

“You’re an idiot, Turner.” Brute pointed to the crowd with his bat. “It’s thirty to two—”

Eli cut him off, growling, “I have people, too. You don’t think I could’ve come here with them? I didn’t. I did this as a friend. I doubt you’d want me selling to your sister.”

Brute stiffened. He dropped his bat to his side, but gripped it harder around the handle. His voice sounded low and menacing, “You better leave Rose alone or—”

“Or what?” Elijah threw his head back; his eyes looked abnormally dilated, making him look crazy.

I had witnessed Elijah fight many times. I hadn’t known the real reason behind half of those fights, and maybe they were like this—over drugs and drug territory— but it didn’t matter. Elijah was a fighter. He was easygoing, full of crude jokes, but when that flip was switched, he was dangerous. Tall and lanky, a lot of people underestimated him, but Elijah’s reputation was solid. He wasn’t one to be messed with. If he fought, he usually won. In the back of his mind, I knew he was willing to go down swinging, even against thirty people. He would take as many of them out as possible, and all while Emerson was high as a fucking kite on the sidelines. I glanced back to my cousin. He wasn’t even watching the fight. He had wandered to a tree and was trying to catch the leaves off the branches.

I snorted. What a piece of shit.

Then I realized my mistake.

People turned around and started to notice me. As more and more saw me, they began to back away so a small circle had formed around me.

Well. I took a breath. Oops.

Then Brute walked to me and nodded behind me. He asked the leech, “Yours?”

“No way.” The leech was spineless now. He held up his hands and stepped back, away from me in an exaggerated motion. “She came here looking for Turner, said she was a customer.”

Brute swung back to Elijah. “Yours?”

Repressed frustration flared in Eli’s eyes, but he glanced to Luke who moved forward. Luke said in a quiet growl, “She’s mine.”

A girl piped up from the crowd, “She’s Turner’s ex.”

There was complete silence for a full minute as everyone digested that information. When it had, Brute skirted between Luke to Elijah. Then he smiled. “Well, if this isn’t awkward…for you guys.”

Luke started for me, but I shook my head. He stopped as Elijah shifted, holding a hand out to stop him.

Then I saw the headlights behind the fence. Kelly was there. She was supposed to open the door and keep the car running. I waited another minute, but then Emerson moved to the back of the fence. The light from her car had attracted his attention. This couldn’t get any better.

I looked at Luke and motioned to the fence. He turned, seeing Emerson. He frowned slightly, but lifted a shoulder. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I hoped he would follow my lead. Then I looked up at Brute, standing right in front of me. He reached out to grab my arm.

My first instinct was to evade, but I didn’t. I squashed that sensation and gritted my teeth as his meaty hand wrapped around my arm. He dragged me forward and shoved me ahead of him.