Chapter 22: The Sample and the Price

The connect called himself Dre. Mid-thirties, gold teeth on the bottom row, a faded scar across the back of his left hand. He ran product out of a second-floor apartment in a complex that smelled like old fryer oil and piss in the stairwell. Mace had bought from one of Dre’s runners twice already—small packs, cash only, no questions. Tonight was supposed to be the step up: a larger sample, a conversation about regular weight, and whatever else Dre decided the price included.

Emily rode in the passenger seat in a tight black tank top and jeans that sat low on her hips. No bra. The tank clung to her full breasts and the soft curve of her stomach. She had already sucked one of Dre’s lower guys in a parking lot two nights ago—eager, sloppy, spit running down her chin while he talked about Dre’s schedule. She had come home with the taste still in her mouth and let Mace fuck her on the kitchen floor before they even locked the door.

They climbed the stairs at 11:40. Dre opened the door himself. Two other men were inside—one on the couch with a pistol on the cushion beside him, one standing near the kitchen counter counting cash. The air smelled like weed and cologne. Dre looked Emily over the second she stepped in, eyes moving from her chest to her hips and back up.

“You brought her,” he said to Mace.

“She’s with me,” Mace answered. “She stays.”

Dre smirked. “She can stay. But if you want the weight we talked about, she works for it. Same as last time. Only I want more than her mouth tonight.”

Mace didn’t blink. He set the envelope of cash on the coffee table. “Show me the product first.”

Dre nodded at the man by the counter. A brick came out of a backpack—tight, white, the usual stamp. Mace checked it the way he always did, knife, taste, weight. It was real. He set it down and looked at Emily. She already knew. She pulled the tank top over her head without being told. Her breasts spilled free, heavy, nipples tight in the cool air from the window unit. She unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down with her underwear, stepping out of them so she stood naked except for her shoes. The man on the couch shifted, hand moving off the pistol.