Fear Us

by B. B. Reid

  “Hi, I’m Katy,” she offered unnecessarily as she lowered herself on my lap. She subtly lifted her skirt so her ass, clad in only a thong, rested directly on my dick.

  “So I’ve heard.” My voice came out strained as my dick rose against my will to cuddle between her ass cheeks. I slowly took in her appearance and found everything about her fuckable, from her size D breasts to the soft skin of her thighs.

  My cock was ready to fuck.

  When I leaned forward and simultaneously wrapped my arm around her waist, she tossed her hair and smiled at me over her shoulder.

  “Katy, was it?” I whispered in her ear.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  KEENAN

  “WAKE UP.”

  I growled at the feminine voice that pulled me from the deep sleep that I didn’t want to end. I was afflicted with the same dream I had every damn night since the day I left home.

  A yawn involuntarily escaped before I could even open my eyes. I could taste the booze on my tongue and felt the muscle strain from too little sleep. When I finally opened my eyes, I was met with an angry pair staring back down at me. Before I could order her to get out, ice-cold water hit me in the face.

  “Fuck!” I roared. “What the fuck? I was awake, you crazy bitch!”

  “Oops. My mistake.” Di shook the bottle of water she was holding and grinned down at me sweetly. She was dressed in workout gear from head to toe as sweat glistened on her skin. Sunlight shone through the window, and I could just make out her nipples through the thin shirt.

  “You work out without a bra?”

  “I don’t wear bras much period. They are uncomfortable and a waste of money. Are you seriously just now noticing?”

  “Yes. I don’t find you all that attractive. “ Instead of huffing and puffing like many girls would have done, she rolled her eyes and tipped her head back for a sip of water.

  I used her distraction as an opportunity to make my move. Her yelp of surprise was quickly muffled by the blanket I had only just discarded.

  “Keenan!” she shrieked in outrage. She managed to push up on her hands, but I was already flipping her over to her back. My knee came in between her thighs, and I used it to spread her wide before settling between them.

  Once I was anchored, I took the time to take in her fierce expression as she glared up at me. She continued to fight even though we both knew her chance of dislodging me was zero to none.

  “Settle down,” I ordered.

  “Get off of me.”

  “Isn’t this what you wanted?” I let my voice drop low and even, in a way that said I was ready to fuck. I could tell she noticed from the startled look in her eyes. My hips pressed against her sex and the gasp that left her lips was full of surprise. I felt my cock harden to my surprise.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have turned that girl away last night.

  “Are you kidding me?” she spat.

  “Why else would you bring your ass in my bedroom if not to fuck?”

  “You weren’t answering your phone.”

  “Maybe it was because I was sleeping,” I said slowly, letting my irritation be known.

  “And the reason for all this is because?”

  “To let you know that if you come in here again, uninvited, we will fuck.”

  “Once a whore, always a whore,” she mocked.

  “Are you angry because I’m stronger than you or angry because you secretly want me?”

  “Neither, asshole. Now get off of me.”

  This time, I lifted off her and reached for my shirt at the end of the bed. Di bounced to her feet with a huff while shooting daggers at me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked without meeting her glare. She had no right to be upset after barging into my space uninvited. I lived alone in a high-rise apartment right in the middle of Los Angles. Whenever I stepped outside, I was likely to cross paths with an actor or lead singer in a rock band, and even that failed to excite me.

  Di moved into a similar, though smaller apartment, a few floors down, after refusing to live in her father’s house, which she dubbed a gilded whorehouse.

  After we had stolen the money from his hideaway in the house, we played around with the idea of torching the place until I remembered that my whole purpose of moving was to keep a low profile.

  That night was also the night Di and I almost fucked on a bed covered with money we tossed around after getting shitfaced. We’d come dangerously close but seemed to simultaneously come to our senses for different reasons that may have not been so different.

  We never talked about it and never made another move like it again. Our partnership had grown into a friendship when we realized neither of us had many people left that we could trust.

  I stepped into the bathroom without waiting for an answer, knowing she would only follow. She seriously needed to work on boundaries. I briefly wondered what Keiran would have done had it been him having to deal with her shit.

  I laughed when I figured he probably would have snapped her neck by now. When the thought settled, amusement had been replaced by the grim reality of who my brother was and how it brought me here. Away from my home, my friends… everything I’d ever known including Sheldon.

  And she haunted me day and night.

  “I got a call from a client saying you never showed for your first appointment.”

  “What time is it?”

  “One in the afternoon.”

  “What time was my appointment?”

  “Seriously? You don’t even remember?”

  I grabbed the toothpaste and coated my brush. “Can you answer a simple fucking question without asking a question?”

  “You went to a party last night, didn’t you? With that lowlife drug scum?”

  “That’s another question, but can I ask you something? When the hell did you become so fucking stuck up your own ass?”

  “Right around the time my father went to prison and stopped selling me like a whore.”

  “So you’re saying you need some ass?”

  “Can you please think with your brain and not your dick for at least once in your life?”

  “I’ve got to take a piss. Are we through here?” I nudged her from the doorway and slammed the door before she could answer.

  My need to urinate wasn’t as bad as the need to hide my reaction to her judgment of me. It wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to or haven’t earned. Despite it all, it still made me want to put my fist through a wall.

  “Should I tell your client to reschedule?” she yelled through the door.

  “Tell them to either reschedule or fuck off,” I yelled back as I stepped into the shower and let the cold spray wash away the unwanted feelings.

  * * * * *

  Since I missed my first appointment, and after checking my calendar, realized I didn’t have another for a couple of hours, I took my bike in to get serviced. This bike, Di, and the clothes on my back were the only thing I took with me when I left Six Forks.

  I told myself the reason I held onto the old bike wasn’t because Sheldon and my names were keyed on the side. The memory of how it ended up there wasn’t the hearts and flowers story anyone might assume. She actually keyed it there after the third time I was caught cheating. It read—Keenan & Sheldon forever.

  She carved it there right before dumping my ass. Getting her back took a lot of groveling, and it wasn’t until she left me for good that I realized she should have left me a long time ago.

  And if I really loved her… I would have let her go a long time ago.

  If I were wise, I would never step foot in Six Forks again. If she were lucky, she would never have to lay eyes on me again. I played with the idea of having my bike repainted for what felt like the millionth time, and each time I would bring my bike in, I bitched out and cursed myself the entire way home.

  Every once in a while, I would send Di back to Six Forks as my spy. I never knew exactly what I was looking for, and Di never asked questions for the most part. Everyone had
gone away for college including Keiran. Di was able to find out that Keiran, Lake, and Dash were all studying at the same college. Sheldon apparently chose to stay local and went to the university in the neighboring city.

  I wasn’t surprised given her dream to be a model, which didn’t really require a degree. I figured her father strong-armed her into college. And why did that disappoint me?

  I shouldn’t care.

  Her future was no longer meant for mine, and the reminder only served to bring the rage to boiling pitch inside me. I remembered how I left things with her. How I blamed her and hated her for leaving me.

  When I needed her most, she cast me aside.

  I’m responsible for many wrongs in our relationship, but one thing I’d never done was abandon her. Fucking that teacher was one of the lowest points in my life, but the lowest was begging her to be with me.

  I wouldn’t be begging again.

  If I ever saw her again, I would take what was owed to me. She had just better hope our paths never crossed again. It was the last thing I said to her.

  I was so deep in my thoughts, I hadn’t realized the owner of the shop was standing in front of me, watching me curiously.

  “Say, man. Have you given more thought to getting your bike repainted? I guess by the look on your face the little lady who carved that artwork on your bike is no longer in the picture.”

  “You could say that,” I said slowly to hide the rage growing in the pit of my stomach. It was the same vicious cycle that occurred every time she was brought up, and I was forced to remember her treachery.

  One day, the need had even taken over my good sense, and I had been halfway back to Six Forks to drag the backstabbing bitch back to my bed whether she was willing or not. An emergency phone call from Di saying she had been in a car accident turned me around.

  It wasn’t until I returned to find her sitting by the poolside sipping a margarita that I realized it had been a trick to get me back here. The asshole had actually handed me a drink, smartly followed by, “You’re welcome.”

  After the boys had finished my bike, I headed to the shop. My next appointment wasn’t for another hour, so I planned to spend the time freestyling new designs for my scrapbook.

  However, my plans flew out the window because, no sooner had I settled in my chair with my favorite scrapbook, the shop door flew open, slamming into the wall and cracking the glass.

  An overly muscled guy in his early thirties, dressed in a plaid shirt with a bushy red beard approached me with three more following behind.

  The look on his face and the fact that he broke my door told me he wasn’t here for a tattoo or social call.

  I didn’t need to worry about appearing unfazed by the potential threat. My ‘give a fuck’ had taken a vacation a long time ago and never bothered to come back.

  “Hey! You Chris?”

  “Depends on why you’re asking.”

  Chris Johnson was the name I adopted when I came to California. Di thought I should have gone with something less boring but boring was unassuming. A common name gave me less chance of being caught if anyone ever became curious enough. There had to be thousands of Chris Johnsons in the world, which allowed me to blend with the crowd.

  “A few days ago, you tattooed a girl and made her suck a rusty pipe after you tattooed ‘whore’ on her backside,” the big redhead spoke again.

  I made a point to let my gaze travel over the man whose intimidation tactics were a little outdated. “I got to say you look great since the last time I saw you although a little different.”

  “She was my baby sister, you little shit.”

  “And so I suppose you’re here for a tattoo?”

  “I ain’t here for no fucking tattoo, boy. I’m here for a body.”

  “Sorry,” I said without a hint of fear or emotion. “I don’t seem to have one in stock, but if you come back later, I might have a few laid out for you.”

  That was a lie but giving the impression I was a ruthless killer would call the bluff of a lesser enemy.

  It was something I picked up from Keiran although the difference between him and me was he actually was a killer.

  I never realized how much his influence had not only affected me but also kept me alive for the past four years. I didn’t mix with the right crew because I was no longer interested in doing the right thing.

  “Later isn’t going to work for me,” he yelled unnecessarily. Spit flew from his mouth as he talked. His skin was now a deep red, and I couldn’t help but think of those fat, red sausage links that split open when you boil them too long. “I’ll take yours instead.”

  The three men who had yet to speak all drew on me as I continued to sit with my sketchbook in hand. I had my own piece taped under my chair for insurance just in case a client ever got a little froggy, but something, or rather someone who caught my eye made me rethink my next move.

  “You got anything to say now, pretty boy?”

  “Aww, shucks. You think I’m pretty?” I mocked with a fake country twang.

  “Enough, Keenan,” the deep voice of my big, bad brother boomed behind the unsuspecting men.

  Before they could blink, the gun, equipped with a silencer, blew out the back of each man’s head in quick succession.

  When the last body fell, I was left with the only person I had ever feared. His dark eyes were as cold as I remembered as he stared me down. I had to remind myself it was a long time ago. I became an entirely new animal since discovering how fucked up he really is.

  “How did you find me?”

  “Is that the first thing you say to someone you haven’t seen in four fucking years?”

  “Were you expecting a hug and a kiss on the cheek, or did you forget the fact that I would sooner kill you than shake your hand?”

  “If you ever feel the need to take it there, Keenan, just let me know…”

  I waved him off. “Say whatever you came to say and leave.”

  “I didn’t come here for polite conversation over tea. It’s time to go home, and I’m your escort.”

  Laughter bubbled inside my gut until it spilled over.

  “Nothing has changed, I see. You still seem to think the world is supposed to bend for Keiran fucking Masters. Well, I’m not following blindly behind you anymore. I lead myself.”

  “You sound like a female. Have you been talking to Lake?” He blew out a heavy breath and growled. “Fuck it. Here are your options—you can walk on your own two feet...” He paused and the next second, I was staring down the barrel of his gun as he aimed it directly at my head, “or I can make you.”

  “So you really did kill her?” I asked, meeting his hard gaze dead on. If he was willing to kill me, what chance did my mother have with him, even at such a tender age? Sometimes I wondered if she ever begged and if he really didn’t know who she was when he killed her as Lake had claimed.

  “Yes,” he answered without question, but the falter in his stare let me know that he wasn’t completely out of touch with his feelings.

  Maybe Lake had softened him up. It was time to test that theory.

  “And now you want to kill me?”

  “Want is incorrect for what I’m feeling, little brother. I should kill you.” I watched his grip tighten and his eyes darken to nearly black orbs filled with rage.

  “Go ahead. It’s not like I’m hanging around for anything in particular.”

  “Yes, you are. You just don’t know it yet, and I refuse to let her do without any longer because you’re a coward.”

  I shot out of my chair and stalked close until my chest was pressed against the barrel of the gun.

  “Since when do you care so much?” I growled from deep within the very chest that was seconds—or one wrong word—from being blown away.

  I assumed he could only be speaking of Sheldon. The girl who I gave my heart to all those years ago. She had finally decided to let me go after I stomped all over hers for the last time.

  “Since I had to pick up
after you. You have no idea what you left behind, but you’re about to find out.”

  The threat hung in the air between us as we watched each other in silence, letting our eyes say what our mouths wouldn’t. Keiran had never been one to hold back so for him to do so now must have meant this was big.

  I simply concentrated on trying not to care. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

  “What am I supposed to do about this mess? I have a client who will be here in less than an hour.” I changed the subject to avoid Keiran getting the look in his eyes again whenever his mood turned deadly. Despite having seen a dead body before, I still freaked out a little inside at the sight of the corpses lying at our feet. Keiran, however, barely batted an eyelash.

  “We need to dump the bodies.”

  “How? It’s broad fucking daylight.” Fortunately, nothing else was around due to the economy and the high price of office space.

  “First, call and cancel all your appointments and lock this place down,” he ordered. “I’ll take the bodies to the back.”

  * * * * *

  It took the rest of the day to dispose of the bodies and clean up the shop. We waited for the cover of darkness before making our move. I thanked my lucky stars I had skipped breakfast that morning, because whatever I’d have eaten would have been lost when it was time to dump the bodies. Or rather, the body parts.

  “You can go now,” I huffed when he continued to hang around after we returned to my apartment. Neither one of us had spoken since dumping the four men.

  “You know that’s not going to happen.” He looked around the apartment with a scowl on his face. I was never really here outside of sleeping and showering so the place was clean. The upscale design was certainly nothing to frown on.

  “Do you have a problem with my place?” I lowered to sit on the black leather couch where I kept a nine hidden under the cushions.

  “Doesn’t matter. Are you ready to say goodbye to it?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I whipped the gun from under the cushion. Keiran looked from me to the gun without a hint of fear as if he had anticipated my move. The smirk on his face made me want to shoot first and ask questions later.