Free Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives) by Marita A. Hansen Page A

Nike knew Ash would’ve easily wrung the info out of him.
    Two of the girls headed towards the brothers, one of them shouting out Dante’s name. The third one continued to stare at Nike. Nike ignored her and unlocked his door. He stuffed the package under the seat so fast he was scared that he’d ripped it. Christ, he was an idiot. He shouldn’t have agreed to take it early. It was bad enough that he delivered drugs for Ash, but to take the shit home, where Jess and Jake were ... man, he felt like scum.
    “Can I get a ride?” the girl asked.
    Nike thought she probably would’ve looked attractive if she hadn’t dyed her hair, the yellow-blonde unsuitable for her dark complexion. He was sure he’d seen her somewhere before, but couldn’t remember. Didn’t care either.
    “No,” he said, climbing into the van
    “Oh, please. I can pay.”
    Nike turned to her. He could do with the money. “How much, and where do ya wanna go?”
    “To Mangere.” She smiled. “And I wuzn’t referrin’ to cash.”
    “Not interested.” He pulled the door shut before the girl could respond, and fired up the engine. She shouted something and gave him the finger as he backed down the driveway.
    His mind went back to the drugs. It wasn’t like he had a choice, he had to deliver them. They needed the money. The credit card debt had spiralled out of control, and he couldn’t take one more day of Jess getting upset over the mounting bills. He swung the van around and took off towards home, grateful that at least Jess didn’t know. He didn’t want to think about what she’d do if she found out. She hated drugs even more than him, her cousin’s overdose affecting her greatly.
    Nike slowed down for the give-way sign. A police car zipped past. He breathed in sharply. Even after a month of working for Ash, he still felt sick every time a cop drove past. Bloody hell, he didn’t need this stress on top of looking for Tama.
    He grimaced as he turned left, annoyed that he’d let Tama get away. He’d been so close, he should have just floored the accelerator and run over the prick. But at least Ash was onto Tama’s case now.
    He turned onto his road, then into his driveway. Jess was sitting on the front porch with her hands covering her face. He yanked the handbrake on, and jumped out. As he headed around the van Jess ploughed into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
    “I thought I’d lost you,” she said.
    He smiled, relieved that nothing was wrong. The woman was just being overdramatic ... again. All he needed to do was get a bloody scratch and she went silly.
    “Why were you worried?” he asked.
    She let go and started hitting him. “You’re a bastard, Nike!”
    “Ow! What did I do?” He grabbed her wrists.
    “I told ja not to go to Sledge’s house. Mikey said Tama was there, and he was gonna gut you. When I couldn’t get through to your phone I thought you were hurt.” She tried to free her wrists. “Let go!”
    Nike let go. She started hitting him again.
    “Ouch! Stop doin’ that.”
    She shoved him. “You scared me.”
    “Why? I wuz perfectly safe. My mate owns the place. And it wuzn’t my fault my shitty phone crapped out.”
    “But Tama was there,” she replied, looking confused.
    “Yeah, I saw him runnin’ from the house and gave chase. Ash wuz after him for hurting his sister.”
    “Oh God, did he stab her too?”
    “No, Juliet’s alright.”
    Jess exhaled loudly. “And how the hell do ya know a gang leader?”
    “He’s not a gang leader. My dad used to coach him in rugby. We’ve been mates ever since.”
    Her frown deepened. “How come you’ve never told me about him then?”
    “I don’t see him that much.” Nike scratched his head and looked down at his feet. Man, he was a crappy liar.
    Jess wrapped her arms around his waist, seemingly unaware of his lock-me-up-and-throw-away-the-key expression. “Mikey wanted you to know that he’s sorry for what Tama