Hardcore: Volume 2 by Staci Hart Page B

 
    Cher’s saddle-brown eyes were soft when she turned to me. “Are you hungry?”
    I nodded and pinched the bridge of my nose. Everything was too bright, too loud, and I wished I’d stayed in bed. My stomach grumbled in protest at the thought.  
    “How about a PB&J?”
    “God, that sounds like heaven.”
    She chuckled as she collected supplies, putting her care into a small task she thought would bring me comfort.
    Erin peered at me from across the table. “How are you feeling?”
    I rested my arms on the table with sagging shoulders. “Better, but still like shit. Did she come back?”
    Morgan was wound up and ready to fight. “No, and she’s lucky. This is bullshit, Cory. She can’t do this.”
    “Feels like she already did.”
    Cher shook her head as she slid a plate in front of me. “That doesn’t make it right or fair.”
    I picked up a triangle of bread. “That’s life.” I took a bite.
    “She can’t force us to do this,” Morgan snapped. “If you don’t want to steal the painting from Van, we’ve got your back. Jade can’t do it alone, and that is our leverage.”
    They really didn’t understand at all. I set the sandwich down and looked over the three of them. “Do you really believe that she’s going to let us walk away just because we said no? I said no this morning just before she beat me unconscious.”
    “Something she’ll fucking pay for, if I have anything to do with it,” Morgan huffed. “We don’t have to do this, Cory.”
    “No, you don’t have to do this. I do.”  
    The three of them spoke at once, loud enough that I flinched.  
    “No, hang on,” Morgan put out her hand to quiet everyone. “You’re not doing anything alone. Jade is full of shit. There’s no way she would actually hurt Jill.”
    My chest was hollow. “I don’t believe that, not with the amount of money on the line. She may not have the guts to do it herself, but it wouldn’t take much for her and Jace to find someone who would.”
    Cher shook her head, incredulous. “Jill’s like family. She’s bluffing.”
    “Fuck.” Erin’s face tightened, and when she met my eyes, I knew she understood. “Cory may be right,” she said as she turned to the other girls. “Think about it. If she didn’t have to see Jill or get her hands dirty? If threatening Jill was the key to her getting millions ?”
    Morgan’s lip curled. “I didn’t sign up for this shit. It’s too far. We’ve either got to take her down a peg or down to the ground.”
    “We would just fuck ourselves,” I said. “We turn her in, we may as well turn ourselves over, too. There’s only one way out of this. I do the job, and when it’s over, we all walk away from her. Until then, we just need to ride it out.”
    Morgan wasn’t having it. “Are you so sure she’s going to leave you alone?” She shook her head. “I don’t think you should cave, Cory. I think you need to fight.”
    “But if I fight and lose, what’s the price that I’ll pay? Because I already feel like I’ve paid enough.” No one had a response. “Jade’s done with me, and I’m done with her. She’ll find someone else to push around, someone who doesn’t talk shit. But me? She wants me out. Just not until I do this for her.”
    Morgan stood, pushing the chair back with a jarring scrape. “I don’t like this.” She paced around the room.  
    “Me either, but what other choice do I have?”
    She chewed on her thumbnail as she walked the length of the kitchen.  
    Erin rubbed her face, pausing to press the pads of her fingers into her eyes. “Do you have any sort of plan?”
    My headache drummed a little harder. “I’ve been a little preoccupied.”
    “I’m sorry, I—”
    I waved her off. “It’s okay. There’s roof access that I can use to get into his building. I’ll have to knock out the security cameras and pick the lock on his door, but it won’t be hard to get in.”
    “Are you taking Jade?”
    I raised an eyebrow. “Do you