by S. J. Sylvis
God damnit.
“What the fuck did she say when she brought you out here?” I quickly turned around and faced Cole again.
His I-eat-crayons face was flabbergasted for a moment before he recovered, realizing that Piper slipped out from our presence the second he started running his chops again. “Fuck, nothing, really. I thought she wanted to fu—”
I growled, interrupting him. “I’m trying to help you out here. Don’t finish that fucking sentence.”
Cole looked as if he were about to start his shit up again, but he refrained, sighing. “She texted me for a ride. That was it, really. Very cryptic, that one.”
A heavy sigh left me as I turned on my heel and started to follow after Piper. Her tight ass was swaying in her skinny jeans, and her copper hair was brushing back and forth along her shoulders. I didn’t see her in skinny jeans often. It was usually her long, lean legs in her plaid skirt at school that I was used to, and I had to admit, this look was really workin’ for her. Which was exactly why I was all but running to catch up to her. Every guy at the race was going to be falling over his own feet to get her attention, and I couldn’t have that. Most of these guys were scum.
Piper didn’t belong here.
Neither do I.
“You can leave,” I said over my shoulder to Cole, who was plodding after me, not at all eager to get to Piper.
“And miss out on all the fun? No, thanks. Andrew will kill me if I let something happen to his cousin.”
I spun around for a moment, feeling cagey. “And yet, you just kissed her against her will. You’re a top-notch dude, Cole. I’m pretty fucking positive that Piper is safer with me than she is with you.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed right before he smiled. “I think Piper thinks she’s safe all on her own. At least, right now she does.” His line of sight went past me, and a deep pit hollowed out in my intestines. When I turned around, the grass moving beneath my feet, I panicked for a moment. Piper pushed back a curtain of her hair and straightened her spine, all but pushing her perky chest up like it was her armor. My nostrils flared, and I inhaled a hefty breath of the cool air as she leveled someone with a stare and reached into her back pocket. What the hell was she doing? Was Piper betting on someone in the race? For a moment, I thought I might have been dreaming, but I knew that wasn’t true—otherwise, this dream would go in an entirely different direction.
My gaze swung from Piper’s hand to the person she was handing money to, and I twitched in my spot.
The guy they referred to as Tank smiled at Piper like he was about to enjoy a nice, juicy steak, and I couldn’t stop myself from feeling protective of her—again. One foot went in front of the other as I made my way through the formed crowd. Piper’s voice grew louder with each step I took, and it hit me right in the chest when I recognized the fear skirting over her words. I’d heard fear in her voice before, and it was just as unpleasant now as it was a few months ago.
Just what did Piper get herself into, and how could I save her?
Chapter Five
Piper
Hayley once told me that if you acted like you weren’t scared, then you’d eventually believe it, along with everyone else. Her exact words were, “If you pretend you’re brave, then you will be. If you pretend something doesn’t affect you, then it won’t.” So, that was what I was doing. I pushed away the fear dotting my vision and stopped the shaking of my hand as I held out three thousand dollars of cold cash, waiting for the guy that inevitably was the cause of my brother cowering in my bedroom the night before.
My first thought when I saw him was that he was grimy. Not like he hadn’t showered—although, by the looks of his greasy hair, I wasn’t sure he had in the last decade—but it was more his overall appearance and the look in his eye. It was filthy. He was a bad person. I sensed it right away. His smile slithered onto his face with unrivaled evil as he stared at me. His eyes didn’t even glance down to the money in my hand. His gaze stayed glued to mine, and I had to fight the urge to look away.
“I was hoping we could work something out,” I repeated, still holding the money in my hand. To be honest, I had no fucking clue what I was doing. I’d bailed my brother out of trouble before—lying to my parents, helping him through one of his lows of not using, hiding him in my closet when my parents were absolutely livid with him. But this went deeper. I was openly trying to pay a drug dealer for him. I wasn’t just giving Jason money or lying for him. No, I was flat-out participating in some bad shit. I was crossing the line of falling into a darker part of our relationship, and I feared it would become a relationship where I’d keep on giving and he’d keep on taking. I’d crossed the line once before, a year ago, and I told myself I’d never do it again. But apparently, I was lying.
“Maybe we should talk privately?” I finally let my eyes drop from his, and I scanned our surrounding audience. Too many people were staring at me, and that thing that Hayley told me about not showing fear was slipping away. My hand began to shake, and my voice was wavering between hysterics.
Tank’s head tilted a fraction as he ran his gaze down my body. I wore my skinny jeans and a low-cut black tank, even though it was a little chilly, because I wanted to look the part. I was taking a page out of my best friend’s handbook. “Look the part, Piper. If you show them fear, they will descend on you like a flock of crows.” But at this point, I’d take being attacked by crows over standing in front of this guy.
Tank’s eyes flared with something that I couldn’t put my finger on. I heard a few people snickering behind me, and that was when I realized that what I’d just said sounded overly sexual and not at all what I’d meant. Maybe we should talk privately… Jesus, Piper!
I opened my mouth to backtrack, my forehead getting sticky with sweat. I shuffled on my feet, loose pebbles popping underneath my weight. “I—I didn’t—"
“There you are,” a familiar voice came up behind me, and then an arm was draped over my shoulder. “I told you to wait for me, Piper.” Ollie leaned in a fraction and whispered along my ear softly, “What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
“Piper?” Tank’s head twitched again, and then it hit him. “You’re here for Jason.”
Ollie’s arm felt heavy on my shoulders, his breath still warm in my ear, and I couldn’t help but notice the tiny bit of courage it gave me. Act confident.
“I am.” I stepped forward, letting Ollie’s arm fall. Ollie gave me that little extra push, but this was something I needed to handle on my own. No one else needed to get involved in this. I shouldn’t have even been involved in this.
“So…” Tank began to walk around the formed crowd, and I felt like we were in the pits about to spar. “You think you can give me…” He pushed his hand out and urged me to give him the cash. I reluctantly did so, not daring even a glance at Ollie. Tank took a few moments to count, and then a sinister chuckle left his mouth. “This doesn’t even make a fucking dent in what Jason owes me.”
My chest began to squeeze. My knees began to wobble. Sweat droplets fell down my back. “I know. I was hoping we could work something out.”
“Oh, we can work something out, alright. I want my fucking money.”
And just like that, I regretted my decision to help my brother. What are you doing, Piper? The crowd grew quiet as I stood still. I could feel myself panicking on the inside, but things were moving so quickly that I didn’t have time to bask in my anxiety.
“I can get you the rest by the end of the month.”
Tank threw his head back and cackled in the evening air. Not a single person in the crowd laughed or chuckled. Not even the two guys standing behind Tank that appeared to be his right-hand men.
He walked closer to me, a mere foot away from my face. I felt Ollie’s presence come closer, too, and I hated that he was here, seeing this—but that was something I’d have to deal with later. Right now, I was about to make a deal with the devil.
“And just how are you going to get me the rest of the
money?” Tank looked me up and down again, a wicked grin creeping onto his face. “Mommy and Daddy? Are they gonna fork over the cash? Are you going to give them a sob story and cry at their feet until they spoil their little princess?”
That was unlikely.
A voice sounded from beside me. “I’ll get you the rest of the money.” My heart lurched in my chest. The muscles in my neck screamed in pain as I whipped my head in Ollie’s direction. His temples ticked along his sharp jawline as if he were grinding his teeth in between each word that tumbled out of his mouth. I could hear the nasty bite they left behind.
“Oh?” Tank shot a lethal glare to Ollie. “And how is that?”
“I’ll race every weekend for you until the debt is paid. You can keep my winnings and continue betting on me.”
“No.” I didn’t care that I honestly had no other legitimate plan in obtaining over fifteen thousand dollars for my brother’s mistakes. I could figure that out later. There was no way Ollie was getting involved in this.
“Yes.” Ollie didn’t even look at me when speaking, which only heightened my anxiety. I should have been thankful he just offered to help me, but I wasn’t. This was dangerous, and risky, and he was the last person I wanted knowing more of my secrets.
Tank’s menacing laugh shot through the air. “Now, this is just getting interesting.” He shuffled around the gravel, putting his back to us with tattoo-covered arms crossed in front of him. I shot an unwavering glare in Ollie’s direction, but he still wouldn’t look at me, and for some reason, that bothered me. Is he disappointed in me? Wait. Why did I care? And plus, what the hell was Ollie doing here in the first place?
My gaze raked around the crowd as it began to murmur and then out into the opening. A few cars sat side by side, one of those being Ollie’s maroon Charger. What is this place? Did he say he’d race? I didn’t think to ask my brother any details about where we were going to pay off his debt because I thought he’d be with me, and not to mention, I’d been too swept up in fear and nerves mixed around with guilt to even inquire more. I should have asked for details! I was making some seriously poor choices lately.
“You are not getting involved in this,” I whispered under my breath, waiting for Tank to turn back around.
“Too late.”
A steely glare fell onto both of our faces when we caught each other’s eyes. Ollie stared at me, and I stared at him. What are you thinking behind those blue eyes, Ollie?
“Here’s the deal.” Tank turned around quickly and stalked over to us. I fought the urge to grab Ollie’s hand and ignored the fact that I even had that urge. “You race right now, and if you win,”—he shrugged, a snake-like smile slithering on his face—“I’ll consider it.”
A mix of emotions rose up my throat. Anxiety clawed at my chest, threatening to burst. One part of my brain was begging me to accept this, to accept the help that Ollie was giving me, because I seriously had no other options, but the other part was yelling at me to stop this, to stop this before I drug another person into this fucked-up mess of things. I honestly couldn’t decide which side was the rational one; both seemed like terrible paths to go down.
“No,” I reiterated, taking my gaze off Ollie and placing it on Tank’s. “If you give me another week, I’ll get you the rest of the money.” How, Piper? How are you going to come up with that much money?
Tank growled. “Not many people talk back to me, sweetheart.”
“Ignore her.” Ollie stepped forward, blocking half of my body with his. He stood at least four inches taller than Tank, and if you paired that with his wide shoulders, he all but shouted proceed with caution, but Tank didn’t move even a fraction. He laughed and looked out into the crowd.
“This is just adorable.” He placed his hands on his hips and moved his head around Ollie to stare at me. “Here your boyfriend is, trying to help you, and there you are, trying to help Jason.”
I ignored the part where he said that Ollie was my boyfriend, because that didn’t really matter at a time like this. I straightened my shoulders again, reiterating Hayley’s advice in my head, and very calmly said, “No one else needs to get involved in Jason’s mess. I will get you the money next weekend. I’m good for my word.”
Tank clicked his tongue. “Oh, I’m sure you are, but shit... Jason has fucked-up one too many fucking times.” The calm and relaxed man in front of me started to change right before my eyes, and I was seconds from reaching out to Ollie and telling him that we needed to make a run for it. “This is your one and only fucking chance to get an advance on this fucking money. Take it.” I gulped again, swallowing my thick spit. It’s fine, Piper. Just breathe. “I’d let your boyfriend here race once and for all, because like I said, it’s your only chance.”
“Piper.” Ollie didn’t turn back to look at me. “I’m doing this whether you like it or not.”
“I’d listen to him, sweetheart, because to be honest, he is your guardian angel. Or maybe he’s Jason’s?”
One of the guys that was standing close to Tank snickered, and I flicked my eyes up to him. He winked at me, and I shivered. Needing to know more, I asked, “What do you mean?” My voice was no more than a whisper in the wind.
Tank smiled and pulled out his phone. He messed around on it for a second, and Ollie glanced back at me, meeting my eyes briefly. I looked behind me, and Cole stood along the crowd with a wary expression on his face. When Cole looked concerned, that was when you knew you were in trouble.
Tank talked into the phone for a moment. “Pan the camera over to our pet.” Then, with a conniving smile and sinister look in his eye, he shoved the phone in my face. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, my hand shot up to my mouth as I gasped. Jason. I almost yelled into the phone to ask if he was okay, but at the last second, Tank snatched it back.
“I’ll hold off on my plan until your boyfriend races. Then, we talk.”
He shoved his phone back in his pocket, and I couldn’t help the words tumbling out of my mouth. “What plan?” I thought back to last night when Jason was huddled in the bathroom. The fear in his eyes was evident, but Jason was known to blow things out of proportion so that I’d be more likely to help him. But after talking with this guy for the last few minutes, I wasn’t so sure Jason was exaggerating. And now, somehow, Jason was his pet?
The conniving smile was gone, the sinister look in his eye more evil than before, but he didn’t answer me. He looked out into the crowd as if he didn’t want to say it aloud.
“Well, what's the verdict, Princess? Are you going to let him race, or am I going to have to go through with it?”
My hand shot out, and I grabbed Ollie’s wrist before he said anything; the feel of his skin on mine soothed my fear for a moment. “What’s your plan?” I asked again.
“I wouldn’t say it’s so much my plan, but more of Jason’s.”
“What does that mean?” A swirl of wind rushed past me, and I felt like it took my breath along with it.
He shrugged, his voice lowering so only we could hear him. “Jason has a little bit of a drug problem. It’d be a shame if he overdosed.”
“Wh-what?” I stuttered. Ollie’s wrist flexed in my grasp, and it only made me hold on tighter. “What does that mean?”
Ollie was the one to speak. “It means I’m racing, Piper.” His wrist fell from my hand as he shot me a look—one that sent an entirely new batch of fear down my spine.
I stood back and watched as he walked over to his Charger, the crowd following closely behind him. Suddenly, it felt like I’d stepped into an alternate reality, and I was almost one-hundred percent positive it wasn’t going to be a good one.
Chapter Six
Ollie
My hands shook as my long strides took me back to my Charger. My phone buzzed in my jeans again, and I finally took it out and shut it off, gripping my phone with such force I was certain it was going to snap. I swallowed back the rage bubbling up inside of my chest like a shot of Fireball.
Being behind the wheel was exactly what I needed after that exchange. There were a million and one things running through my head—so much that I could barely focus on starting my engine. It all began with seeing Piper walk her sweet self through the tall grass with Cole, and from that moment on, I felt like a caged animal ready to rip people to shreds.
That was what being around Piper did to me.
She brought out something inside of me that was charged with jealousy, anger, and desire. I felt wild. A protective shield shot out of my very bones when I was near her. Maybe it was because she knew my secret. Maybe this was my way of protecting that little bit of myself that I gave to her so long ago. I wasn’t sure. Either way, I hated the feeling of unsteadiness that it gave me.
Who the fuck was Jason? I turned my Charger on, feeling the rumble settle in my blood. Why was Piper so dead set on paying his dues? Why was she protecting another guy? I pulled up to the starting line, eyeing her standing beside Cole with her arms wrapped around her middle. What was she thinking coming out here with him? I revved the gas a few times, waiting for my opponent to pull up beside me. I had no clue who I was racing, but it didn’t matter. This was something I had to do. The second I slid up beside Piper and took a stance with her was the second all rationality flew out of my head. Sometimes it scared me how defensive I became around her. I felt tethered to her in more ways than one. She was the one person I had confided in, and even if it was on the sly, she was there. She was my anchor. She helped keep me afloat that night. In a way, I owed her. Maybe that was why I couldn’t stop.
The other car pulled up beside me as the crowd began to pull back, giving us space. Fuck, I really had to take this one seriously. The need to win had been instilled in me from a very young age. My dad had drilled it into my brother’s and my heads. Of course, Christian, being the hothead of us both, always won when we’d play football in the backyard, but that was not to say I didn’t let him win—something I was sure he’d argue until he was blue in the face. Nonetheless, winning was usually the only option for a Powell. But are you even— I growled out loud, stopping the thought before it consumed me. “Pay the fuck attention, Ollie.”