Oleander: One of Us Series

by Faulks, Kim

  His words seemed stuck. I waited…waited for him to tell me exactly what he did want while we turned off the highway into the quieter suburb streets.

  “I just want you to not have that hanging over you. I wanted you to be free, and not constantly have to look over your shoulder.”

  But I wouldn’t. He didn’t understand that about me. Demand was just one more city already in my rear-view mirror, I just hadn’t taken the first steps to leave.

  He turned again, pushing the Explorer harder as we turned and turned again and pulled up at a small, blue house with a white-picket fence.

  “That key around your neck has an address on it. This address. No one lives here, and it’s under a false name, so no cops will be knocking on your door. I just…I just wanted you to have somewhere safe. No strings attached.”

  The vehicle idled, and I clung onto that sound. Words failed me.

  No one gave me anything…unless they wanted to take.

  But here he was…and in this moment, thank you just didn’t seem enough. “Why?”

  “Because you never hesitated in that diner. You never buckled even when he shoved that gun in your mouth—and that’s something I can’t get out of my head…no matter how hard I try.”

  I reached up to my neck, fingers slipping against the chain. It was pretty, far prettier than I’d ever had. My fist closed around the sharp bite of the key, and I took one more look at the perfect blue house as Maddox pulled back out onto the streets. “That’s not all. We’re having a dinner tonight, and I’ve invited a couple of your friends, I hope that’s alright.”

  “Friends?” Thoughts raced, filled with faces of strangers.

  “Your friend Harvey, and his side-kick…Moris…Boris, ah I can’t ever remember the guy’s fucking name.”

  “Curtis,” I murmured as the tiny internet cafe came to life in my head. “His name is Curtis.”

  “Gonna be nice. Kick back, relax, grill some steaks, and you can tell them we haven’t turned you to a life of crime. Maybe it’ll get the big guy off my damn back.”

  Maddox swung the nose of the Explorer around as the sight filled my head. Harvey nag Maddox? Must’ve grown some balls in the last couple of days. I could almost see the guy shitting himself while he worked up the courage.

  Friends. Somewhere safe.

  Good people doing bad things…

  Or was it the other way around? Bad people doing good things…my thoughts were stuck on the difference as we turned back onto the familiar streets and headed for the compound once more.

  I gripped the key and then glanced to Maddox…soft cheeks, hard eyes. The dark stubble against his strong jaw made me want to reach for him…made me want to touch.

  Could I see myself here…in this place…with this man?

  My stomach tightened at the thought. Fake hair, fake lashes, and fake boobs filled my head as the women from the club shattered the thought—I could never be like that…

  But part of me yearned for something simple, something safe…somewhere I didn’t have to clutch my pack—

  My pack. I glanced at the floor…

  In the seat of the van.

  My heart hammered as I glanced toward the city streets…urging him to hurry. I’d forgotten…I’d forgotten all about it, forgot I was homeless, forgot I was alone.

  Forgot everything…

  “You okay, Purple? Not gonna lose your shit, right?”

  I jerked my gaze to his and the words tumbled out. “My pack…I left my pack.”

  He glanced toward the floor at my feet, eyes widening, before he met mine once more. “Okay, it’s okay. We’re almost there.”

  The engine growled a little louder and the speedometer climbed. My heart was racing…all my things were in there…my life was in there.

  And he got it…he got how it felt to be homeless. He got how it felt to have nothing more than a few pictures and a journal to call home, and remind you that you mattered to someone once…

  “We’re almost there, okay?” He fumbled in his pocket and dragged out a phone.

  My nails dug into the soft leather on the armrest as he swiped his thumb across the screen and punched the buttons. The call was sharp, direct, commands were given and the call was ended. “Cog’s got it, okay? He’s got it and nothing’s going to happen. You with me, Purple?”

  I nodded and focused on the streets, but inside my head I was clawing onto the faded images of the photographs—holding on desperately to the face of my mom. “I don’t have anything else. The photos are all I have of her.”

  “I get that.” Maddox drove, gripping the wheel a little harder. “I get that, okay? Not long now.”

  And he was true to his word, spearing down the back streets until the compound was in sight. My gaze went to the big guy standing in the parking lot with my pack in his hand.

  I was already fumbling for the handle as Maddox pulled the Explorer up hard. Nothing else mattered. Not Cog’s raised brows as I shouldered open the door and lunged, boots pounding the concrete, until my fingers gripped the slick nylon and felt the weight.

  It was just the same…just the same. I yanked the zipper as Cog’s voice broke through.

  “No one’s touched it,” Cog growled.

  Tick…tick…tick…the sound filled my head.

  “I swear.”

  My fingers skimmed the outline of my journal as I wrenched the notebook free. The marred blue cover was just the same, dirt smeared edges of the pages just the same. I clutched the diary and smashed it to my chest.

  Never leaving you again…never.

  “Come on, Purple. Let’s go inside,” Maddox murmured,

  His hand touched the back of my arm as I nodded. “Sorry.” The word spilled from my lips. “I’m sorry, you must think I overreacted.”

  “No. Don’t ever be sorry for trying to hold on to what you have. Wars were started for the same thing. It’s all you got of her, Purple. Come on, let’s go inside.”

  I lifted my gaze to Cog who stood there, staring at the journal in my hand. There was an understanding in his eyes, a silent acknowledgement that to me this small book was my world.

  I followed Maddox, holding onto my book with one hand and the straps of my pack with the other. Voices seeped through the cracks of the doorway as he punched the buttons of the lock and yanked open the door.

  I stepped through and made my way toward the others as a sense of familiarity slipped in. The door to the bedroom was closed, just as I left it.

  “Want to stow that away, or going to hang onto it for a bit?” Maddox murmured behind me.

  I wanted to hold it close, to keep the pack at my feet…glasses clinked at the bar, and the chuckle seemed to be infectious. It was a front. They laughed a little too loud, drank a little too heavy—trying to put today out of their minds.

  Good people doing bad things…

  I reached for the handle to the door and murmured. “I’ll just put this away.”

  “You know where to find me, Purple.”

  I gave a nod, twisted the handle and pushed through. The room was the same, same folded bedcovers. I tried to feel a sense of another energy and felt nothing but my own.

  Good people…

  I held onto that and stowed my bag away, before sliding the journal under my pillow. There was a lightness to my chest as I turned and made for the door.

  I pulled the handle, closing the door behind me and made for the bar. Heads turned, some I knew, a lot I didn’t.

  “Here she is,” Dawn called and the clack of high heels followed.

  I smiled as she headed my way with two drinks in her hands.

  “Hey Dawn, I thought they were for me?” one of the guys called.

  “Your legs aren’t broken, Munter, get ‘em your damn self,” she snarled and then she flashed me an instant smiled as she neared. “Here you go love.”

  I took the drink, and sat with her on a sofa, and for a second it almost felt like home…if this was what home felt like. This warmth in my
chest…this sense that everything was okay—that they were okay…and I was okay. And we were all okay.

  Drinks and potato chips were passed around, everyone ate and drank and laughed. Maddox stole glances my way as some of the guys passed me a drink, or made a joke and reached over to thump me on the shoulder.

  All the small things that made up to one very big thing.

  They were including me in their life, and their family.

  I was a Bear once more.

  “Oleander.”

  The cautious call of my name turned my head. Harvey glanced at the others and stepped through the entrance of the hall. His nervous smile was awkward as Hell, still he took a slow step and headed my way with a chocolate bar in his tight grip.

  The sight was everything. I leaned forward, slid the glass on the small table and rose from the sofa. Three strides and I was reaching for the big guy, gripping his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

  He stiffened at the touch, the guy just as awkward with affection as I was.

  “I brought you chocolate, you know…just in case,” he muttered in my ear, arms straight at his side.

  “I know, I saw.” I gripped him hard against me inhaling the stench of sweat and cheese and onion chips and then pulled away. “My favorite one too. I’m surprised you didn’t eat it on the way, being outside the comfort zone and all.”

  “Me too.” He stared over my shoulder to the others and lifted his hand. The vise grip had squashed the bar until it was broken in the middle. “I thought about it, believe me.”

  He shoved the bar into my hand and stepped away, glancing once more at the others before he turned to me and whispered, “You okay here, I mean? I know it’s none of my business. But you okay with being here?”

  “Yeah.” The warmth in my chest spread a little wider. “I am. They’re cool people, just you wait and see.”

  It was important to me for some reason. Important that he understood; I wanted to be here with these people…I wanted to belong.

  “Food,” someone called behind me.

  Maddox hung back as the others followed, turning right and headed along the other hallway that led outside.

  “Come on.” I gripped the mangled chocolate with one hand and tugged his arm with other. “You’ll see.”

  I made for the table, grabbed my drink and followed the deafening roar of the others. Heavy steps echoed as Harvey followed and we made our way along the hall and through the side doors to where long tables waited outside.

  The smell of grilling steaks made my belly howl. The table was crammed with food, from bowls filled with salads and corn to rolled foil packages of garlic bread.

  Maddox sat at the end of the table with two spare seats at his left. Cog was at his right and it took me a moment to realize the significance. He was making a place for me at his side.

  My steps stuttered, boots scraped the floor. Hope sparkled in Maddox’s eyes as he glanced at the vacant seat and then to me.

  I tried to act like it was nothing, tried to just keep walking, slide into the seat as the rest of the gang reached for bowls and bread.

  “I hope you all like them medium,” called one of the guys at the grill. “‘Cause that’s how they’re comin’.”

  “Everything okay?” Maddox asked, piling food onto his plate.

  I nodded and smiled, and this time when he reached for my hand I didn’t flinch. Fingers entwined, mine…his…I couldn’t look away from the connection, even when the rest of the table fell silent.

  Heart hammered. I lifted my gaze.

  But it wasn’t us they were looking at…it was a man…who I’d seen before. He strode through the doorway, dressed in a perfect midnight blue suit and silver tie. “Don’t stop on my account,” he murmured and smiled. He cut a glance to Maddox at the head of the table. “Maddox.”

  With one call of his name, his fingers slipped from mine, and Maddox rose.

  A hunter stared at me…a cold, ruthless hunter. Not the kind I knew…not the kind that killed to eat—but the kind that killed for sport.

  The man’s gaze stilled at mine, and even though his lips were curled, a smile stuck—the emotion never reached his eyes. Maddox stepped between us, ending the view.

  “That’s Pryor.” Harvey leaned in, eyes cast down and whispered.

  Cog cleared his throat loud enough to draw attention and set a steely gaze on the friend at my side. One shake of his head and silence slipped into place.

  But as hard as I tried I couldn’t stop from staring at the stranger, or the leader of the Bears at his side.

  Pryor. He was obviously someone important, and as he turned his head once more and captured my gaze, I knew he was someone that others feared.

  Words passed between them. Blue eyes blazed as Maddox turned his head and glanced my way then back to Pryor once more.

  There was a shake of his head, a clench of his fist. Something was happening, something Maddox didn’t want to happen.

  Cold, calculated. Pryor spoke once more, and Maddox turned to make his way toward me.

  Gone was the warmth in his gaze, gone was the easiness in his stride. He lifted his head and it was like looking at a stranger… “Purple, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  I stilled at the biting edge of his tone, and then dropped the fork beside the plate. Cog watched me, the way a snake watches a mouse as I rose from the table and stepped clear.

  Maddox led the way back to the stranger in blue and then stood to the side. “Purple, this is Curtis Pryor.”

  Pryor stared, taking in my hair, and then my face. But he wasn’t like most men, not the ones who lingered on the peaks of my nipples or the juncture between my things, imagining things I didn’t want to think about.

  No, this one stared into my soul.

  “Pryor,” he murmured and stepped closer. “Pryor to my friends.”

  Maddox stiffened as Pryor lifted a hand. He didn’t want me touching him…and yet everything about this stranger screamed important.

  My heart hammered as I reached for his grasp, and in an instant, I was locked in a vise.

  He moved fast, clenching with one hand while he reached for the sleeve of my shirt.

  Black numbers glared against pale skin. Pryor stared, and then lifted his gaze. There was fear now…real, honest fear that brought everything frighteningly close.

  His palm was slick as it slid from mine as Pryor murmured. “You’re real. You’re one of them…You’re an Eve.”

  Chapter Nine

  Oleander

  I slammed my arm against my side as my pulse filled my head…boom…boom…boom. Underneath was the ticking—the slow, constant ticking that never went away. “What…what did you call me?”

  He glanced to Maddox, and then to me. Panicked. That’s what he was…panicked. “Does that name ring a bell…Eve?”

  Was that my name before...before I was Oleander?

  “I have to go,” he muttered, shined shoes scuffed the concrete as he stepped backwards, never once taking his eyes off me. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anymore.”

  He glanced once more at my wrist and then turned.

  “Wait!” Desperation scalding the back of my throat. “Wait, don’t go.”

  There was a shake of his head, and then he was gone, punching through the door.

  The beast inside me was alive once more. Claws like a bear. Teeth like a wolf.

  It never slept.

  Hungry all the time.

  Eve, he called me…Eve…

  You’ll be fine, Oleander. I’ll come back for you…I promise.

  The faint memory of my father’s words filled my head as I stumbled after him and punched through the door.

  I didn’t care now, not about the people at the table or Maddox at my back, nor the voices inside my head.

  “Purple!” Maddox called as the door swung closed behind me.

  “Wait…hey! Wait a minute!” I screamed and stumbled past the sofas and the bar.

  The thud…t
hud…thud of his shoes resounded. He slammed through the door as I reached the end of the hall. Concrete was a blur as I went after him, until the brutal tug on my arm made me spin.

  “Hey!” Maddox growled.

  “Let go of me!” I yanked my arm, thrashing like a feral cat until I tore from his hold.

  But it was too late now as I shoved through the door and stared at a silver Chrysler as it crashed into the gate.

  Steel howled on steel. I winced at the sound as the gate gouged the paintwork at the front of the car. Dark windows gave me nothing to go on. I couldn’t see his face…couldn’t see his eyes…or his lies. I had nothing before it scraped through and then took off.

  He knew me…he knew me…he knew me.

  “What the fuck!” Maddox roared. “What the fuck was that?”

  I shook my head, tears blurred the gate as it wobbled and came to a stop.

  “Purple. I want you to answer me…and I want you to answer me now.”

  Footsteps echoed behind us, blending into one another. I felt their gazes now…they burned on the back of my neck and reached with claws along my scalp.

  “I don’t know,” I murmured.

  “Purple!” he roared, cruel fingers digging into the soft flesh on my arm.

  I tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go, not this time. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I screamed. “I said, I don’t know!”

  Harsh breath blew strands of hair into my eyes. I seized his gaze. Let him look at me…let him see what he had done.

  His grip eased as he searched for the truth. “Jesus fucking Christ.” He glanced behind him to Cog and the others. “It’s okay. It’s okay, go back to your food.”

  Still they never moved, cutting their gazes from him to me, and then back again. I turned away, staring at the cracked concrete at my feet. “Let me go, Maddox.”

  His grip slipped, fist smacked his thigh. The others left one by one, until the last man standing came closer, lowered his head to whisper in his leader’s ear.

  I cut a glance at Cog and now saw him for the stranger he was.

  “Don’t bother,” I snapped. “I’m leaving.”

  “No…come on, Oleander. No, just wait, okay?” Maddox barked and searched the empty street. He speared his fingers through his hair, gripping and yanking at the short strands. “Just let me work this out.”