by L. J. Woods
Something tells me this isn’t about not paying my fare.
Pressing my back against the seat, pulling my hoodie over my head, I take a deep breath, glancing around the car.
Christian gave me this phone. We left mine at the scene of the accident. So, this can’t be Ace. Right?
Calling August doesn’t get me an answer but I’m worried about getting off this train in one piece. We’re almost at the station, the sun setting as the train starts to slow.
My phone vibrates and it makes me jump but when I look at the screen, Christian’s name makes a weight lift off my chest. I answer.
“You’re back in The Grove,” Christian says before I can speak. How the fuck does he know where I am? “I’m coming to get you so—”
“Did you send me that creepy photo?” The train comes to a stop.
“What photo?”
Fuck. Choosing not to tell him means I’m lying by omission but if this is Ace, choosing to tell him puts him at risk again.
“Ray?” he asks. “What photo? Are you okay?”
When I step off the train, I glance around before I join the crowd. “Yeah. Fine. Just … talk to me.”
Keeping my head down, I stay close to people as much as I can until I’m back on my street. When Christian runs out of apologies and questions, he sings whatever’s on in the background and that’s almost as comforting as having him here.
“So … you forgive me?” he asks when the song stops. “Or do I gotta make you?” His husky voice sends a tingle to my core, but it’s not enough to distract me.
I’m close to home when I see the garage door wide open. August and the guys.
“Ray?” Christian calls again. “You there?”
My grip tightens on my phone. “I’ll … call you back.” Christian tries to protest but I end the call and storm towards the garage.
August sees me from a distance, standing tall. I grip my phone tighter so I don’t throw it at his head.
“You said you’d handle it.” Pushing my phone in his face, photo on the screen, he hardly looks at it. “Something tells me you didn’t take this photo so unless my stalkers are multiplying, you didn’t handle it.”
“Be real, Ray,” he says, folding his arms, tattoos covered in a black hoodie of his own. All except the ones on his knuckles. The letters spell "Crow." “This shit ain’t my responsibility. You got yourself into this mess by sleeping with the enemy. You take care of it.”
My ears ring, throat tightening, mouth dry as fuck.
Does he know?
“Wh—” Before I can get my word out, August shoves his phone in my face. And what I see makes my stomach clench.
Christian lays on the ground while my brother and his crew lay into him. Fists and legs slam into his body, Perez trying his best to fight back. But he’s no match to these crazy motherfuckers.
“What the fuck is this?” I finally manage to ask, unable to pull my eyes from the phone. I wince when a fist goes into Perez's face.
“Oh, he didn’t say?” August chuckles. “Paid Pretty Boy a little visit after your little vacation,” he explains, a grin on his face. “Squealed like a dying pig.” I’m about to say something again but he holds up a finger. “Sssh, ssh, ssh. Wait for it.”
August forces me to watch it all and like a masochist, I do.
“Stay the fuck away from her, Perez!”
Blood spews from Christian’s mouth, August’s buddies laughing like hyenas behind him. I can’t tell where they are. The camera is too shaky. A street? An alley?
CRACK!
I wince. Every hit feels like it's one to my body.
“I’m the best chance Ray has, man!”
Christian grabs Owl’s fist, trying to push him back.
“I’m not that fucked-up gangster she got with. You know I’m better.”
THWACK!
The phone smashes into his face. Right where I saw that mark.
“Took me a second to figure out what the fuck he could be talking about it,” August continues. “Then it clicked. My sister is more of a traitor than I thought. And she’s a fucking whore. Explains where you got the money. You sell your snatch for it?” He laughs again. “And here I thought I was fucked up one for stealing his artillery.”
“It was his stupid fucking chain … wait.” My eyes widen. “Artillery as in his guns? Are you insane? Do you know how much that shit is worth? And I don’t mean money.”
I don’t have to explain this to him, he knows what it’s like running the streets. And now I know why Ace followed us all the way here.
All I stole was his heavy, diamond-encrusted Ace of Spades chain. It’s a stupid waste of money. With all the power he has, he could have been restoring The Shore. Instead, he rather rule it all.
“No shit, that’s why I took it. Ace can’t run these streets forever and without it, he’ll die out like vermin. But it looks like you’ll always be a backstabbing, gold-digging whore. Where are your morals, sis? Left it on Ace’s cock? Or was that Christian’s?” He spits. Literally. On the garage floor. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.”
I don’t stay to hear the end of his verbal onslaught. “Fuck you, August. I don’t owe you a goddamn explanation.” Walking back down the street, I send a text, my screen already littered with calls from Christian.
Rayne: Where r u?
His response is almost instant.
Christian: At my moms. Are we okay? Are you okay?
August isn’t the only one on my shitlist. I trusted Christian and he let me down. Again. He said he wouldn’t and he did.
So no, we’re not good.
Rayne: Far from it.
“Mom, Allie’s relying on this money for her volunteer project.”
Being too mad to text Christian along the way, he doesn’t know I’m already in his mom’s house, the door unlocked on arrival.
Typical Eden.
“So? I’m not the only parent in this family.” His mom’s voice bellows from the kitchen. “If I want to take Jorge to Malibu. I will. You tell your father to front the bill.”
“If he’s ever sober enough to listen to me," Christian groans. "And he'll just take it out of my account so I'm the one paying for your trip with Jorge."
“And that’s on me?” Something clatters from the kitchen. “Your father is a deadbeat. Now, everyone gets to see it.” His mom laughs.
My boots slow at the entrance, not that I’m eavesdropping. Christian’s voice sounds strained enough to tell me this conversation is important. Though I’m not sure if it’s more important than finding out Christian lied to me.
“So we have to suffer? Your kids?” I can imagine Christian’s jaw tensing from here. It’s easy to hear it in his voice. “You’re off on vacations with living Ken dolls every weekend, spending that time and money that you should be spending on us.”
“You watch your mouth, mijo, I am still your mother.”
“Then act like it. You haven’t done that in years.” A bang comes from the kitchen.
“Don’t you walk out on me, Christiano!”
My body tenses when Christian walks into the room. When he sees me, the muscles in his face relax before those thick lips spread into a smile. “Loca, what’re you doing here?”
Seeing him in such a vulnerable position, like a father to his mom, makes me forget why I’m here in the first place.
Instead of laying into him, I'm surprised by what comes out of my mouth next. “You alright?”
His palm lands on my cheek, stroking my skin with his thumb as those tingles flood through me again. “Are we?”
“Christian! You know, you’re just like your father.”
His jaw clenches again, his hand tightening around me before he looks up the stairs. “Come on.”
As soon as we slip into a beige and gold room, his hands come to my face and his lips come to mine. And that’s enough to make me forget everything, the calls from his mom muffling as I fall into his hold.
“I’m sorry,”
he says against my lips. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. I just … I felt responsible for your shitty grades. Henry’s petty as fuck. But I’ll handle it. I got all the right connections.” With my hand on his chest, I stop him right there, his words reminding me of the problem. He must notice the frown on my face because he takes a step forward. “Shit, I did it again, didn’t I?”
His eyes sparkle when they look into mine but I know what I have to do. “Christian, we can’t—”
BANG!
A scream comes from the kitchen, our heads whipping towards the closed door.
“Woooh!”
More bangs come from outside after that sound I’ve heard before.
“Is that a fucking gun?” Christian pushes me behind him. “Is that August?”
“Howdy, howdy, let’s get rowdy!”
A deep growling voice comes from outside and with that greeting, I know exactly who that is. And it’s not August at all.
“No.” My body shakes, realizing I’ve led him right here. “It’s Ace.”
Twenty-Four
Christian
“Ace!?”
When she nods, fire rolls through me. So I ask again to make sure I’m right, “Ace, Ace?”
“You know another?” Looking around, she brings her thumbnail to her mouth, nibbling it.
“The fuck is he—”
CRASH!
“Hey, Rayne!” Another call from Ace comes from downstairs. “We got your message loud and clear, you ungrateful whore.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Ray mutters, peeking through the cracked door.
POW!
A gunshot sounds from outside the door, making both Ray and I jump.
My mom screams before glass shatters from outside the room.
“Fuck! What is he doing here, Ray?” My jaw clenches, heading into the walk-in closet, looking for anything we can use to fend off these animals. My heart thuds against my chest as I rummage through the drawers. My old uniform. My old hockey gear. “I thought you said you took care of it!”
“That’s what I came here to tell you!” she calls back before appearing at the door. “My brother found out I was sleeping with him and didn’t do a thing. Wonder how that got out?”
I’m not about to have that conversation while it sounds like the fourth of July in my mom's house. “My mom’s out there.” Finding a hammer tucked at the back of a drawer, I head back into the room. “I gotta stop them.”
At her mention, I hear the ramblings of my angry mother in Spanish before another gunshot. My body stiffens.
“Where is she?”
Someone calls from downstairs and I’m not sure if they’re talking about Ray or my Mom but I’m putting a stop to this. Now.
Pushing Ray out of the way I open the door, there’s a guy with a gun in each hand walking down the hall. Leather jacket. Dirty dark denim. And a whole lot of muscle.
“Are you fucking insane?” I close the door as Rayne pulls me back, her eyes wide. I haven’t seen her this scared since Jasper locked her in my old cellar. “They’ll fucking kill you.”
“I’m not leaving her out there.”
“You got one minute to talk, lady,” Ace’s voice roars through the house again, my grip tightening around the hammer.
“You gonna bring a hammer to a gunfight?” Ray gestures to it. “We got lucky with my knife, but Ace has backup.” Thuds come towards the door. “Speaking of backup, we should hide.”
She’s right, I’m unprepared as hell for this, my phone in the kitchen. But I’m also not prepared to leave my mom behind with these fucks.
Ray pulls my hand. “She doesn’t know I’m here. She doesn’t know anything, right? She’ll be fine. It’s me they’re after but he knows we’ve been seeing each other so if he sees you, you’re dead.”
That's not reassuring. “I hope you’re right, Ray.” The door rattles, giving me little time to think before we rush into the closet, locking the door.
We can still hear my mom from the kitchen through the vent on the floor as we huddle against the wall. My grip tightens around the hammer while I pull Ray close. Her eyes land on the door, the thudding sound growing closer. And closer.
I’m about to ask her how she got into this mess when the door jiggles. Ray gasps. My hand flies to her mouth, the knob moving from left to right. There's a low mumble before the knob shakes more. Rising from the floor, Ray pulls on my hand but I pull away, ready to smash this hammer through this fucker’s head.
“Diamond!” Ace’s voice bellows from downstairs before I hear the muffled sound of my mom. “Come help me make this bitch talk! She’s a fiery one! You’ll like her!” His menacing chuckle rolls through the house.
The knob stops moving, thuds growing distant but that doesn’t settle my nerves. “What do they mean ‘make her talk’?"
“She’ll be fine. She knows nothing,” Ray leans into me. “It's best we stay here until they leave.”
“Ray, my mom is—”
“Please." Her wide eyes are hard to ignore. "I don’t want you to. Just please stay.” She focuses on my gaze and it’s hard to ignore the blur in her eyes. “Trust me.”
“I told you.” Mom’s voice comes from the kitchen. “You’re better off asking the tabloids than me. I don’t know that girl. What do you want? Money? Jewelry? Put your guns down and I’ll give you whatever I have.” My mom reassures me that she’s not an idiot, her street smarts from The Grove on full display.
My mind is on a hamster wheel. If the tabloids find out about these gangsters in my home, that’s a red flag for my position on the Bruins.
We’re in danger. My mom’s in danger. I killed a man. And none of this would have happened if I didn’t pursue Ray. If Ray didn’t fucking come back.
“Hey.” Her shaky hands come to my face, settling on my heated skin. “It’ll be fine.”
Pulling back from her hold, I look down at the hammer in my tight grip. “Well, you see, I’m not used to my home getting invaded by gunmen.” My voice comes out harsher than I realize but when Rayne kisses me, it’s a little easier to relax.
Her lips. Her touch. They’re the only things to help this feel okay, even if there’s a tugging at my gut telling me that everything is fucked.
“Hey, boss! I found the phone.”
Ray’s eyes pop open, her lips off mine before she checks her pockets. She freezes. “Fuck.”
“Fuck?” I ask, my brows furrowing. “Why fuck?”
“If you don’t know her, then what’s her phone doing in your house, Mamacita?” Ray leans her ear closer to the vent. “Do you know what we do to liars? We make them pay.”
“You put that away!” Mom yells, before her voice gets muffled.
Fuck this.
I’m off the floor again.
There’s a thud, then a groan before I pause, halfway to the closet door. Ray’s hand comes to her mouth and it takes everything inside me to ask the question in my head. “Are they—”
“Don’t go!”
“The fuck do you mean don’t go?” I’m already at the door and at this point, I don’t give a fuck who hears me. “I’m not leaving her out there like that, Ray!”
“They’ll do it and leave and it’ll all be over.” Her knees come to her chest. “Believe me.”
Did they do this shit to her too? Is this what they wanted to do to her?
The rage from them putting their hands on my mom, on Ray, surges through me. Storming over to her, I reach into her pocket for her knife.
“What’re you doing?” she demands.
Knife in my hand, hammer in the other, I’m already heading for the door.
“Perez!” she calls again when I enter the empty bedroom.
My heart thuds with my steps as I walk towards the hall. When I open the door, I hear my mom's voice.
“Nathan?” The hell? Does she know them? “I know your father. If he knew—”
“Tell him I said he can go fuck himself.” Ace laughs as my foot hits the steps
.
POW!
My heart thuds, body frozen, the world on a tilt.
Everything around me spins. I listen for my mom’s voice but my knees stiffen when I don’t hear it.
Gripping the iron railing, the room flips upside down, my breath short, my chest tight.
“Woooah!” A voice finally comes from the kitchen but it’s not my mom’s. “You didn’t say we were offing anyone, Ace.”
My knees fall to the floor, my chest so tight I can hardly breathe.
“What did you expect when you two had your cocks in her holes? Let’s get the fuck out of here. Ray’s in this town somewhere, but she ain’t here. She killed Jack so consider us even.”
My hand grips the rail before I pull myself up. I’m about to finish my descent down the stairs when Ray comes out of the room, her eyes wide.
She throws her warm arms around me, stopping me in my path. “Fuck, are you okay?” Tears stream down her cheeks when she finds my gaze but everything is a blur. I hardly register that this is the first time I’ve seen Ray cry.
“I thought—I thought they got you.” The sounds of cars screeching off come from outside and I can’t even speak. That gunshot plays in my head over and over again. Loud. Ringing.
Ray looks over the rail. “They’re gone. Where’s your mom?”
Mom.
Finally rising to my feet, I head towards the kitchen. When I get there, I see everything I feared.
My hand hits the stone wall but it’s no use. I’m falling to my knees.
My gaze stays on my mom. On the floor, her robe to one side.
Blood pools around her, her eyes wide open. And the room won’t stop fucking ringing.
“Is she—” Ray’s voice comes from behind me. “Holy fuck.”
“Get the fuck out.” My head hangs. With my chest ripping apart and my breathing all raggedy, it’s all I can muster.
My mom’s dead.
And it’s all her fault.
I should’ve never gotten involved with her. I should’ve never touched her.
Dad’s right. Girls will only bring you down but I didn’t expect this.
“Chr-Christian, I-I’m—Let’s,” Ray stutters but she can’t say anything to fix this and she knows that. And now, all I want is her out of this house.