BLACKHOUSE [H.S.]

Sixteen

"Sure, yeah," I nod absentmindedly.

I'm slightly relieved that he has someone for me to meet, but the intense panic I'm feeling is far from gone.

"Great, thanks man. I really appreciate it," he expresses. "Talk soon."

Jay hangs up and I'm left sitting in silence with my phone still held to my ear, and my mind racing.

What the hell did I get myself into?

I know this guy has some serious connections in this business, and I don't want to find out what happens if I don't get him that money in three weeks.

My phone buzzes in my hand, the vibration against my ear snapping me out of my trance, and I look down to see that Jay sent me an address. There's no name or anything, just the address. I swallow the lump in my throat and take a deep breath.

Maybe this'll be a big sale. Maybe it'll take some of this anxiety off my shoulders. Maybe it'll all work out. Right?

A knock on the passenger side window makes me jump, and I look to see Katie standing outside the door with three pizza boxes in her arms.

Fuck.

I completely forgot about her. I don't have time to drop her off at the shop and make it to the client in an hour. I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose when I realize she has to come with me.

"Can you open the door?" She shouts, the noise sounding muted from the glass between us.

I roll my eyes and pull on the handle from the inside to push the car door open for her.

She struggles with the pizzas as she gets in and huffs when she finally sits down. "Thanks," she says quietly, avoiding looking at me. Probably from my snapping at her.

"We have to make a stop," I tell her as I pull away from the curb.

"Where?" She questions, sounding confused.

"None of your business."

• • •

We arrive at the large, grey building with five minutes to spare, the trip taking much longer than I thought. Louis will be pissed, he's already texted me twice to ask where we are, but I'll just blame it on the girl. He won't get as angry with her as he will with me.

It looks like we're at some sort of warehouse, but there's no name outside or anything. I already don't like the look of this. The time reads 4 o'clock, and the sun is slowly starting to set, which makes me even more nervous. I don't want to be meeting up with a random hook up in the dark, so I need to make it quick.

"What are we doing? We need to go back, Harry," Katie urges me worriedly.

"Relax," I sigh. "I'll be in and out."

She stays quiet. I look over to see her chewing on her lip with furrowed brows and glancing out the window.

"I'll be right back. Stay here," I warn her.

The look on her face is one of concern. Her stress added to mine is not what I need right now. I quickly get out of the car and go to the trunk to grab the large duffle bag full of substances, then use my remote to lock the doors until I hear the loud beeping noise, and speed walk to the entrance of the building.

I take a deep breathe and straighten my hoodie before pressing the red button that I assume is the doorbell. I hear a long buzzing noise coming from inside, and after a minute, the metal door creaks open to reveal a large man wearing all black peeking his head through the crack. He has a few poorly done tattoos on his face and what looks like a gang symbol on the side of his neck.