Chapter 4

Chloe chimed in immediately, "Yes! Hold her!"

Mrs. Miller turned around, frowning, but she didn't stop them.

Chloe’s father walked over. "Mrs. Miller, I agree. If she runs, who pays for the four-thousand-dollar necklace? We need to secure her."

Mrs. Miller hesitated, then nodded. "May, just cooperate for now. It's for everyone's peace of mind."

Chloe’s mother pulled a nylon strap from her designer bag, trying to bind my wrists.

I violently yanked my arm back.

"Back off."

Chloe’s mother gasped.

Chloe froze.

Mrs. Miller's frown deepened. "May! Show some respect to your elders!"

"I said, back off," I glared at them. "I didn't steal anything. You have no right to bind me."

Chloe’s father lunged forward to grab me.

I dodged.

Chloe sneered, "May, you want to fight? I can get you arrested for assault!"

"Go ahead," I spat, staring her down.

Her father lunged again. I raised my hand to block, and somehow, my fist connected squarely with his jaw.

Honestly, I don't even know how I threw that punch.

Maybe it was the muscle memory from the self-defense moves my brothers drilled into me, or maybe I was just pushed to my limit.

Chloe’s father groaned, stumbling back against the brick wall.

"You struck my husband!" Chloe’s mother shrieked, throwing herself at me and grabbing my hair.

Chloe joined in, clawing at me.

Mrs. Miller was shouting "Stop it! Stop it!" from the sidelines, but no one listened.

I was pinned to the gravel ground. My scalp burned from being pulled, and I took a couple of hits to the face. During the scuffle, something slipped out of my pocket and clattered onto the concrete.

It was a jade amulet.

A pale green piece, carved in the shape of a little rabbit.

Blade had given it to me.

On my thirteenth birthday, Blade had just gotten out of county jail after a three-month stretch for protecting his crew. He was visibly thinner, but he smiled when he saw me and pulled this amulet from his pocket.

"Happy birthday, sis."

When I asked where he got it, he just told me not to worry about it, that it was a good piece.

Later, Jax told me Blade had taken it from some rich prick who tried to hustle their crew. The guy used the jade to buy his way out of a beating. Jax said it was worth a lot of money and told me to keep it safe.

I had kept it close to my chest for years. I never took it off.

Chloe snatched the jade off the ground.

"What's this?"

She turned it over, her eyes lighting up.

"Mom, look! This is real jade!"

Her mother leaned in, and the two whispered frantically.

Then Chloe looked up at me, triumphant.

"May, you can't even afford college. Where did you get a piece of jade like this? This is worth thousands! You definitely stole this from somewhere!"