“Ok. I’ll keep an eye out for h… Oh,” she gasps. “It makes sense. That’s why the boys are shadowing you. Your over-protecting captor put them up to it.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “Nate hasn’t admitted it, but that’s my guess too.”
“Geez,” she sighs. “I wish I had an over-protective asshole that looked out for me like that.”
“You don’t think you do?”
“What?” she grunts.
“You’re going to pretend Maxen didn’t come running the other day. He was here to help move us in, he’s here now. That kid has got it bad for you.”
“Nah, we’re just friends. He’s trying to make up for being an ass in high school.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, Brookey. I’d dare say he wants you back.”
“It’s not like that,” she insists.
“Brooke,” I say, giving her a meaning look. “Our walls are paper thin,” I remind her. She cringes, clearly knowing what I’m talking about, so I continue on. “I was trying not to, but I heard your whole conversation the other night and I know he didn’t specifically say it, but he still loves you in his weird twisted way.”
Brooke lets out a heavy sigh. “Do you think so?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how I feel about it yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to fall back into his trap,” I tell her. “I can see it in the way you look at each other. That old attraction is still there. I just don’t know if you should trust him to give it another go. Maybe he has changed like he was letting on, or maybe it was just some ploy to get you back.”
Her eyes cast away from mine. “I know, I was wondering the same thing. But… I feel that he’s different. You know the other night he didn’t even try to hit on me. The old Maxen would never have missed the chance to try and all night he hasn’t looked at another girl. I mean, he’s not acting like the dick head I knew from high school.”
“Just… be careful ok. If you’re actually going to consider this, just make sure he’s being honest first. I don’t know if your heart could take another beating.”
Brooke squeezes my hand with a promise in her eyes. “I swear, I’ll be caref-”
A voice rings out loud across the yard, cutting her off. “Found them,” Jesse hollers in a proud as fuck tone.
“Shit,” Brooke sighs.
I try to scramble away, but not a moment later, I’m hauled up over Jesse’s shoulder as Brooke is dragged along behind him. I don’t even bother fighting it. To be honest, we were lucky to get away at all.
Our capture was just a matter of time and clearly, time has run out.
Chapter 17
A loud rumble wakes me and has my face scrunching up in the most un-lady-like way known to man. My eyes peel open before instantly closing again. I do not appreciate that brightness seeping in through my window so damn early.
I hear a slighter rumble and my mind whirs with the possibilities. What the hell is that noise? It sounds like someone's dragging furniture from one end of the house to the other.
I groan to myself. Brooke better not be rearranging furniture at a time like this. I know she's all about making changes in her life, but now is not the time for her to start. Besides, if she wanted to make some drastic changes, I highly doubt moving the furniture is going to help with that.
Holy crap. Every single time I wake up after a night of drinking, I make a vow that I will never do it again. Ever. Yet somehow, l always seem to forget, right at the crucial moment.
Instead of waking up with a smile on my face, I'm cursing the world and hating that there's this big, bright thing in the sky called the sun, and what's more, is that I'll never learn. My head hurts. I mean, like seriously hurts. This woman cannot handle her hangovers. Well, I guess that's slightly unfair. Sometimes I handle hangovers with grace and dignity, especially when there's company. Now is not one of those times.
The rumble happens again and it takes me a moment to realize it sounds less like a table being scrapped along the wooden floors and more like the sky cursing the world for being such assholes.
With that, I throw back my blanket and trudge across the room towards the window. I lean up against the sill and move back the blinds before peering up at the sky, and holy hell, it looks as though the sky is about to open up and swallow us whole.
Everything beyond this window is covered in water and it’s clear it must have poured down during the night, but it’s not nearly over. It’s just taking a short intermission. There’s no doubt in my mind that this side of the world is about to get drenched. It’s inevitable. The only question is if it’s going to be a fun storm to sit back and watch or if it’s going to tear the town apart like the last one did.
With a sigh, I turn back to my bed, only it doesn’t have the familiar body I’ve become so used to seeing in the morning. The opposite side of my bed is completely empty with a tiny little white note sitting atop his pillow.
I crash down onto my bed and grab the note before giving it a quick once over.
Babe,
I went to the shop.
Didn’t want to wake you.
Drink some water and have a few painkillers.
I’ll see you after work.
Love you.
Short and sweet. Nothing like him at all.
Not wanting to disappoint, I start searching through my bedside drawer for the painkillers and realize they’re already sitting right beside my charging phone with a glass of iced water.
My stomach swirls and for a moment I wonder if it’s the butterflies taking flight over his thoughtfulness when I realize it’s actually the disgusting amount of alcohol sitting in the bottom of my stomach threatening to reappear for breakfast.
I grab the glass of water and roll the little tablets between my fingers. The ice cubes in the water look mostly melted, telling me Nate must have left a while ago. I take tiny frequent sips of the water and swallow the painkillers. My stomach instantly settles and I’m sure a piece of dry toast will also help keep it all down.
With that, I place the glass back on my bedside table and light up the screen of my phone. 11:48 am. Hmmm, not as early as I thought it was.
Realizing half the day is gone, I get up out of bed. It’s a Saturday morning… well, almost afternoon, and I have absolutely no plans for the day. I may as well go down to the shop and see if there’s anything I can help Nate with. He’s been so busy in that shop. It’s incredible how his business is already taking off, but it’s also a pain in the ass.
I slip into my little bunny slippers and step into the hallway. As I start walking down, a body starts heading up the other way. I raise my chin and meet Brylee’s horrified cringe. She rubs a hand over her face and while she’s looking right at me, I don’t think she actually sees me. She walks forward in nothing but her underwear which looks as though it’s about to fall off. Her bra strap is down at her elbow and the hickey on her neck is telling me a little something about her night.
“No, no, no, no,” she chants to herself over and over again before sulking and pushing out her bottom lip.
She beats me to the bathroom and I figure I’ll let her work out whatever the hell is going through her mind before I drag her out of there kicking and screaming. I mean, it’s nearly the middle of the day and I haven’t peed after a night of drinking. My bladder is screaming at me, but it will have to wait a few minutes.
I guess there’s no better time to start making a coffee.
I make my way up the rest of the hallway and come out into the kitchen. I don’t want to look around. I’m too scared of the mess that I’ll find, but in order to make myself a coffee, I have no choice.
I turn to see the rest of the house and am surprised to find it’s not so bad. The kitchen is mostly put together, but there are red cups and spilled drinks all over it. I raise my eyes out towards the living room and have to do a double take. A body lays naked, chest down on my couch, but the familiar dark hair has my mout
h popping open before turning into a sly grin.
I grab a glass of water and walk forward before coming to a stop at the guy’s head. I can’t help but look down and take in the naked ass staring back up at me and I have to admit, it’s a nice ass, but it’s got nothing on Nate’s.
I raise the glass and slowly begin to pour.
His eyes pop open in surprise before he realizes I’m pouring water all over him. He springs off the couch and looks down at me, blinking hard to force himself to wake up.
His dick goes flying in all different directions before falling to a stop, hanging low and impressive. “What the hell?” Tyson demands.
I grin up at him. “Dude, your junk is hanging out.”
He looks down and his eyes widen in horror before he quickly cups himself, hiding it from the world. “Sorry,” he says with a grin, clearly knowing that what he’s got is nothing to be ashamed of. “It was a big night. I guess I crashed on your couch.”
“I guess you did,” I reply. “Tell me, did your night happen to involve screwing over any of my best friends?” His brows pull down before shooting straight back up followed by a proud and pleased smirk. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” I say with an eye roll. “Bry is currently in the bathroom regretting her choices so I suggest if you want to avoid the awkward morning after conversation, you scram.”
He looks at me as though I’m giving him the secrets to life before he snaps into action searching the room for his clothes. Within seconds, he’s out the door with me laughing behind him.
I turn back to the kitchen to find Brylee appearing in the hallway, cautiously looking around with a shameful cringe. The second she realizes she’s safe, relief floods her features. “Oh, thank god, he’s gone,” she sighs, happily walking forward and collecting her clothes. It’s then she realizes I’m standing right here and knows exactly what she did.
She avoids looking at me and walks straight past me, picking up clothes on the way. “I don’t want to hear a single word about it,” she tells me.
I hold back my laughter. “Wasn’t going to.”
“Good.” With that, she heads for the door. “Love you,” she calls over her shoulder moments before it closes behind her.
I let the laughter out before realizing the bathroom is finally free and make a run for it. We’ve already got enough to clean up. I don’t need to add that to the list.
While I’m in the bathroom, I strip myself down to my birthday suit and fall into the shower. I’m washing my hair when Brooke barges her way in. “I hired a cleaner,” she tells me before disappearing back out the door.
I let out a sigh and call behind her. “Thanks.”
Half an hour later, I’m in my car, just about to pull up at Nate’s shop. A massive crack of thunder rumbles through Broken Hill before a flash of lightening colors the dark, cloudy sky. I have one street to go before I pull into Nate’s driveway and if I’m lucky, I’ll make it before the sky opens up.
A second later, the rain falls.
I guess I’m not as lucky as I thought.
I swerve around a massive puddle that’s formed on the opposite side of the road to Nate’s shop before pulling into his driveway. My only saving grace is that I can pull straight into his shop to avoid getting drenched in the downpour but as I approach the shop, I realize that’s not going to happen because a stupid big black Range Rover is blocking my way. I have no choice but to park out in the rain and make a run for it.
Great.
Today is not my day.
I bring my car to a stop as close to shelter as possible and take a deep breath. I look down at my bag and pull my phone out, deciding I’m better off without a huge bag weighing me down. I lift my butt off the chair and slide the phone into my back pocket before making a break for it.
I throw the door open and squeal as the water pours down over me. I slam the door and run.
It takes all of four steps to get to cover but by the time I reach it, I’m dripping wet. And what pisses me off more is the fact that when I do get under cover, the rain slows to an even pour just to taunt me.
I wipe the water off my face and walk into Nate’s shop looking like a drowned rat. I hear their voices before I see them, but it doesn’t take me long to find them all hovered around the Miura.
Jesse, Jackson, and Nate are all working on the body of the car like a well-oiled machine and I have to admit, watching the three of them together gives me ‘the feels’. Jesse and Nate have always been close, but seeing them welcoming Jackson in is even better. It wasn’t that long ago that having Jackson here would have caused a riot and now it’s this dangerous bromance that has me on edge every time they’re around.
Maybe I should have kept them apart for my own safety. Hell… my own sanity.
Nate looks up as I walk in and the second his eyes land on my wet hair and dripping body, he smothers a grin. Jesse and Jackson though, they don’t have the same self-control. They howl in laughter and I let out an annoyed huff.
Nate sucker punches them both and they walk away, rubbing their arms as he starts pulling off his dry shirt.
I walk over to him and before he reaches out to hold me, he peels the wet shirt from my body, wrings out my hair and slides his warm dry one over my head. I curl my hair up into a bun, pissed off that I bothered going to the effort to wash it this morning, and step out of my wet shoes.
Only then Nate finally wraps me in his arms.
I let out a satisfied sigh. This is what I’ve been looking for all day.
“How are you feeling?” he murmurs as I feel two wet circles appear on the front of Nate’s dry shirt where my wet bra begins to soak through.
I close my eyes as I listen to his words rumble through his strong chest. “Better now,” I tell him. “I need a new couch though. Brylee and Tyson screwed on it all night.”
“Ugh,” he grunts in disgust. “What was she thinking? Does she know he’s seen more action than Jesse’s toilet seat?”
“By the ashamed look on her face, I’d dare say she does,” I grumble. “Have you got much work done?”
“Not enough,” he says with a sigh. “I think I’m going to have to hire someone. I can’t keep forcing the boys to help me out all the time. They have their own shit going on.”
“Yeah, but you know they love it. Any excuse to be around the great Nate Ryder.”
He rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” He lets out a breath. “I got another two projects this week and I told them I won’t be able to get to it until the Miura is done and they still want to use me. They want to wait.”
I grin up at the guy who’s about to dominate the car industry, so damn proud of him. “You really need a whole team, don’t you?”
“If work keeps coming in like this, then yeah. Jackson said he knows a few guys who might be interested from Haven Falls.”
I scrunch up my face. “Really?”
“Just because it’s a bit rougher than here doesn’t mean they’re bad guys. Jackson and Kaylah are from Haven Falls, remember? They’re not bad.”
“Kaylah isn’t,” I scoff. “I’m starting to have second thoughts about Jackson.”
Jackson’s voice calls out through the shop. “I heard that, fucker.”
“You were meant to, dipshit,” I call back.
Nate squeezes me, stealing back my attention. “I thought you’d use the day to study.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Nah, I’d rather be here. My house is a mess and smells like vomit,” I tell him. “I don’t think I’ll go back for a few hours. Brooke organized a cleaner and I want to make sure it’s done before I have to look at it again.”
“Good plan,” he says.
I look up at those dark, inviting eyes that I love so much. “Speaking of my studies,” I tell him. His brows pull down as he waits for me to continue. “I’m going to cut back a few classes.”
“What?” he grunts. “Are you joking?”
“No, I’ve been seriously thinking about it. I have no life anymore. I
go to class, go home, study, and go to bed. Then I get up and do it all over again. I’m exhausting myself and it’s only a few weeks in. I still have seven years of this shit and I’ll never make it if I keep going,” I explain. “I think I was just excited about finally being here. This way, I can focus more on the topic I’m actually doing, rather than rushing through it so I can get to the next thing, it will be better in the long run. Besides, I kind of miss seeing you all the time.”
“I see you every night,” he grins.
“It’s not enough.”
Nate’s lips come down on mine. “Do you have any idea how fucking happy that makes me?”
I can’t help but kiss him back. “I’m hoping it means I get some extra special attention tonight.”
“You bet your sweet ass it does.”
Boyish laughter and cheering cuts through Nate’s shop and has me spinning in his arms, looking for the two man-children that we let loose around here, but when the laughter comes again, I realize they’re outside.
“What the hell are they doing?” I ask as Nate takes my hand and leads me towards the door of his shop.
“Who fucking knows?” he groans, clearly knowing that with these two boys, they could be up to just about anything. I mean, it’s pouring with rain outside. There’s literally nothing for them to be doing out there.
We walk past Jesse’s Range Rover and follow the sound of their childish giggling. Nate instantly sighs as a smile rips across my face. “Who let the children play in traffic?” I laugh as I watch the two shirtless idiots across the street, standing on the curb right by the massive puddle.
They laugh and high five each other every time a car speeds past and splashes the puddle up like a wave over them.
“Fuck, they’re morons,” Nate says, shaking his head, but there’s no hiding the amusement within his eyes.
A massive truck comes hurtling down the street and my eyes widen in fear. This isn’t good. They could seriously get themselves hurt, but instead of stepping back from the curb, they get even closer, waiting and watching with wide eyes in anticipation for the biggest wave yet. Almost as though its some sort of challenge they don’t want to back down from.
Broken Hill Havoc: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 5) Page 16