And in a weird way neither of us can explain, she’s mine and I’m hers.
“Um, uh, Roman.” I looked back, finding the awkward girl holding my card.
I took it, and then grabbed the cups from her, eyeing her as I placed the cups in the holders. She must have caught on to that because her face lit with heat.
“We have a class together. Sorry, that was weird that I used your name. You probably have no idea who I am,” she explained.
“Zero weirdness. I’ve seen you around,” I lied, shooting her a wink that would send her to an early grave. The girl didn’t hold a candle to the one in my passenger seat. Since she showed up, I’m not sure I’ve noticed another.
But it seemed to work because her mouth dropped, and when I pulled away Raquel was staring at me, glasses off.
“You shouldn’t do that to girls.”
“What?”
“I don’t think you know the effect you have on them. I mean, not all of them, I’m fine around you. But other girls... It’s just not nice.”
In the middle of the parking lot, I shifted the Range Rover into park and leaned over the console. I took her jaw in my hand, pulling her closer to me. With my lips inches away from hers, I could hear her irregular breathing. She closed her eyes and leaned into me. I brushed my lips against hers before pulling back.
Her brows knitted together, and her eyes snapped open. Leaning back, I studied her in all her glory. Confused and dazed.
“I don’t have an effect on you?” I asked, my raspy voice barely above a whisper.
She gritted her teeth, shoved her glasses back on and sat back in her seat. “Yeah, you do. You make me angrier than anyone on this planet.”
Chuckling, I put the car back in drive and got back on the highway. With my free hand, I squeezed her thigh. She clenched them shut.
Yeah, Raquel, keep lying to yourself. But your body can’t lie to me.
“You never told me what we’re doing,” she reminded me.
“Hmm,” I threw a smile in her direction. “You’ll see.”
“No way. You can turn this expensive ass car around and take me home!”
Chuckling, and because I knew her stubborn ass would jump out of a moving vehicle and limp all the way back to her grandma’s house, I caved.
“I thought we could ride up to the coast.”
Her eyes were boring into the side of my head. “You forced me out of bed because you wanted to ride around?”
I shook my head. “I got you up because I wanted to see you.” It was silent for a beat. She was probably wondering, as am I, why I said that out loud. Shrugging, I shot her a grin. “And you said you wanted adventure. Never know what may happen in a car all day with me.”
Nothing.
“Raquel?”
Sighing, “I’m processing.”
Her tone was clipped and breathless. I smirked, good.
She has my head all fucked up. It’s only fair I return the favor.
We drove up to the coast, parking when we got close enough to the beach that we could walk around town.
We laid on the beach on a towel, making out and only being stopped from going further when a family walked up on us.
We broke and decided to have lunch.
We stopped at a restaurant that hung over the water. Live band playing, and seagulls flocking, it was cool as shit to see her happy over a simple day like this. She never showed her happiness, well, if she ever was with the shit she says that goes on in her home.
But the day went downhill when my dumb ass thought it would be a good idea to be honest. I’m not saying I should lie. I’m just saying I shouldn’t volunteer information.
Like when we were driving in an industrial area, I didn’t have to mention that it was Rhett’s business. As soon as the words left my mouth, she was curious.
Morbid or not, she had to know. Raquel wasn’t naïve. She knew he was into some dark shit, and I was into a small part of it, but she insisted we go.
I didn’t want Rhett to know we were there, so I didn’t drive up close at first. But she was adamant.
Get closer.
Show me.
I want to know.
It was all a bad idea, and still, I went because she asked. And apparently being pussy whipped is a thing.
“What goes on in there?” She asked.
She was leaning across the console, craning her neck to get a better look at the warehouse.
The sun was dipping behind the building, the ocean behind it was swallowing the day whole. Soon, it would be night. The most active time out here. Less traffic meant Rhett could get away with more shit. Although when it came to him, and anyone with the Pierce name, things were swept under the rug.
“If I said the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ rule is the best route to go, would you drop it?”
She let out a hmm. “Probably not.”
“Cars…and other things,” I clipped.
“Can I see?” She asked, snapping her eyes to mine. They were lit with excitement.
I shook my head. “Rhett always has someone in there.”
“They all know you, right? It wouldn’t be weird for you to be in there.”
“It would if I showed up with a girl,” I reminded her.
But before I could slam the car in reverse and fly out like a bat out of hell, a knock came from my window.
Sighing, I rolled my eyes before rolling it down. I didn’t need to look to know who was just rolling up.
“Whatcha doing little brother?”
And now I was staring at him. Pleading with him.
“Just heading back home. I was showing her around town.” For once in your life, asshole, be a decent human.
“You can’t run off before you show her the best part.” His mouth carved into a sinister grin. “What goes on around here when the sun goes down.”
“She actually has to get back,” I said through gritted teeth. That only made him more determined.
“Raquel? I’m sure your parents don’t know you stayed the night, right? One more little lie won’t hurt.” He was staring at her now with a grin. And if he wasn’t my blood, I’d rip his head off.
I dragged my eyes to her, judging her reaction. She didn’t look pissed, surprisingly. My little firecracker looked like she was about to win a challenge. She unclicked the seatbelt and let it slam into the seat.
“I wasn’t the one who wanted to leave in the first place.” She was actually sizing him up. My eyes went wide, and I could only hope to God she would look over at me so I could show her how bad of an idea this is.
Two of the most hardheaded people I know in a standoff. And I’m stuck in the middle. I know my allegiance should be with blood, but it’s with the girl who just vaulted herself out of the passenger seat.
I killed the Range Rover and hopped out.
“Relax little brother, you look like you’re about to shit yourself.”
I shoved him. “Don’t fuck with her. I mean it.”
That’s probably the last thing you say to a sociopath like Rhett because he will take it as a challenge. Like holding a chicken over alligator infested water, we were gonna be eaten alive tonight.
And it’s my fucking fault.
We entered the warehouse through a backdoor, and Roman caught me by the elbow, dragging me through another door. A well-lit room with a desk and a few chairs. In a sadistic way, it was almost like we were in a real office. A legit one, but I knew differently.
Ya know? Stolen cars and all that.
“What are you really doing here?” Rhett asked, sitting at the chair behind the desk. He propped his feet up, grinning at his brother.
“I told you.” Roman’s teeth were gritted.
“I asked to come here.” I looked Rhett in the eye, challenging him. If he has Roman doing shady shit for him, then he has every right to be here. I don’t care what the repercussions are. I said what I said.
&
nbsp; He stared at me with the same amber eyes Roman had.
And I stared right back.
I’m stubborn, or so I’ve been told. I won’t back down from him. I won’t ever back down, and that might get me in trouble one day, but it would be kind of perfect getting taken out like that. Dying as stubborn as I lived.
Rhett broke eye contact and swung his eyes at Roman, who was gripping my hand like it was his lifeline. He was probably telling me to shut the fuck up. But I didn’t care. I don’t like his brother, and maybe it’s time for someone to tell him the truth. Even if his head explodes.
“Roman, make sure the guys are breaking the ‘vette down right,” Rhett said, but he was staring me in the eye.
“They do it every day. I’m sure it’s fine,” Roman clipped.
With a lift of his brows, Rhett had three guys surrounding Roman. Roman looked like he was about to try to rip their heads off, but I shook my head. I was a teenage girl, living with a depressed mom, dealing with dickhead girls every day, I’d dealt with much worse. Rhett and his meatheads didn’t scare me.
What was he going to do?
Say he didn’t like my outfit?
He may try to intimidate us. Especially since he figured out Roman and I are close, but I knew he wouldn’t overstep a boundary that couldn’t be fixed with his brother. I could tell that much.
When Roman saw my inflated ego kick in, much like I’d done the first night at his house before we met, he let me take on the bad guy myself.
“Call me if you need me.” His lips whispered against my head before he placed a kiss there. I clamped my eyes shut, soaking the memory in my brain. I just nodded.
No other words were needed.
When the door closed, it was just me and Rhett. And I stared back at a face that was Roman, but much thicker, And much more sinister.
“You know much more than Roman lets on.”
“We live by the don’t ask, don’t tell rule,” I clipped.
Smirking, “I like you, but I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t care what you believe. You don’t scare me,” I retorted.
His feet dropped from the desk. Circling it, he met me head on and landed on the front of it. Me standing in the middle of the room with my hands crossed at my chest, and him leaned on the front of the desk pretending as if this happened every day.
And maybe it did.
Kind of.
But most people who came in that door cared.
I didn’t. I have shit to live for. And he’ll learn he can’t use anything against me.
My heart constricted at that thought. Fuck. Fuck! But he won’t do anything to his own brother, right?
“I like you.”
Silence.
I mean, cool. I don’t like anyone in this room. Not you. Not me.
“I wanted Roman out for a minute so I could talk to you without him flippin’ shit.”
“About?” I asked, raising my brows so he would get on with it.
He shrugged those giant shoulders. “I told you. I wanted to show you the best part of being out here.”
“And that is?”
“I want to take you two out tonight. You down?”
“If Roman is.”
He grinned wider. “That boy is always down. He seems to be only worried about you lately though.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.” I rolled my eyes.
“But it is, Raquel. He used to be fun before he met you.” His eyes were burning a hole into my skull.
“You’re blaming him for becoming focused on me?”
He laughed again and gripped the edge on the desk. “No. I think you’re a cool chick. I just think if you let loose and went out one night with the two of us, he’d chill the fuck out.”
I arched a brow at him.
“You said you wanted to see what it’s like when the sun went down?”
I nodded. “Yeah, with Roman.”
He reached in his pocket and pulled something out, holding his fist out. “This was Roman before you. You ready to show us you can hang?”
“What is it?” I asked, staring at his fist.
He opened it, revealing three blue tablets. “Molly. Roman used to roll all the time.”
“What if I don’t believe you?” My eyes flicked from the blue tablets to his eyes.
He laughed. “Raquel, I just told you I had drugs on me, and what they were. Why would I have any reason to lie to you?”
Silence and a high brow met him.
“Take one. I’ll take the other and we’ll give Roman one. Let’s go out. Trust me, I have no reason to lie.”
He doesn’t.
Is that what Roman used to sell when he mentioned he sold stuff he shouldn’t have?
Am I holding him back?
I clenched my fist at my sides, staring him down, His grin didn’t falter, and it was feeling like I was making a deal with the devil. Still, I took one from him and popped it in my mouth.
“Happy now?” I asked.
“Fucking ecstatic,” he beamed. He pulled his phone out, brought it to his ear, and barked, “Bring him back in here.”
He tossed me a bottle of water, and I took it, swallowing as much as I could to get the bitter taste out of my mouth.
A few minutes later, Roman walked in. His eyes were glued to his brother. I was starting to wonder if Rhett was fucking with me because I still felt the same. Maybe it was just a power trip and I failed.
I’d have to kill him.
I was mentally kicking myself. I just went along with it because I thought this was what Roman would want if he wasn’t constantly on edge. Which he kinda seemed to be these days. Isolated and stressed. That was him, and I wanted him to have a fun night out. We both deserved it, but what if I made it worse?
Jesus. I never give in. At the mention of this being something Roman did that I didn’t know about, I had to be a part of it. That kinda scared the shit out of me.
“Ready to go out? I have a friend that has a club opening tonight. We have a booth reserved,” Rhett said, pushing off the desk
He reached the door before Roman looked between the two of us. I looked like I’d just killed his goldfish and Rhett looked like he was a sociopath who’d successfully stolen candy from a baby.
The guilty and the crazy. That was us.
“Nah, man. I need to get Raquel back,” Roman said.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” He was teasing us. He looked me straight in the eye as he held the door open. “Wanna tell him, or do you want me to?”
My mouth hung open for a split second as I stared at his asshole brother. Mother fucker. Not like this.
I looked Roman in the eye.
“I asked your brother for Molly. I wanted us to go out and have a good time.”
Roman’s eyes almost bulged out of his head.
Rhett’s grin faded.
And me? I was wondering where in the goddamn fuck those words came from.
I had to resemble a cartoon character as my face went from confident to scared shitless as I mentally tried to eat all of those damn words floating in the air. Please. Get back in my mouth. I don’t care. I’ll go lay in bed and be alone on drugs if it means I can take that all back.
Roman looked like he’d had enough time to process it.
He grabbed my hand, linking our fingers together. “Give us a fucking minute!”
We were outside now. I knew because the air was different.
Oh, it felt good.
But Roman’s anxiety was radiating off him in waves. And it sent a totally different sensation down my spine.
I leaned against the medal building and breathed it all in. So much better than that stuffy air I shared with his douche canoe of a brother.
That made me laugh out loud.
Roman was in front of me now. He rubbed a free hand down his face.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
“For sure. I feel the same.”
Did my voice always sound so beautiful?
Did he always look like he needed to be fucked?
He sighed so loud it almost knocked me over. “I know you feel different. I need you to tell me if you start feeling bad. That’s important, okay?”
I nodded robotically. “Okay.”
“It’s not like drinking. There’s no turning it off when you try a drug. And with this one? You’re stuck like this for eight hours.”
“Don’t talk like that.” I frowned. “But keep talking. I like it when your lips move.” I laughed, and my whole body rumbled.
The door opened again, but I was staring at Roman still. Jesus, he was gorgeous. I stepped closer to him and ran my hand against his arm. God, he felt as good as he felt.
“I’ll fucking kill you for this.” There was that velvety smooth voice of his again.
“You’ll thank me later.” Ew that was Rhett. His voice wasn’t pretty. But I didn’t completely hate it right now.
“Give me one, you fucking dick.” Roman’s voice again.
“There he is!” Even Rhett’s laugh sucked.
But I wasn’t really paying attention. Because my teeth were holding on to my bottom lip for dear life as I skimmed my fingers along Roman’s arm.
Was he always so fucking gorgeous or was this the Molly showing me what was in front of me all along? I don’t care honestly. Either way, I wanted Rhett to drown in the canal and I wanted Roman to fuck me to Sunday on every surface of this warehouse.
But I guess I don’t get what I want. Because Rhett’s ugly voice was ear fucking me again.
“Let’s get to that club opening.”
Oh, that didn’t sound so bad.
I knew it was a bad idea. But I guess she wanted it.
So here I am, passing this girl orange juice as I slide back inside the Range Rover. The music is screaming at me but fuck if it doesn’t feel good.
Raquel is in the front and Rhett is in the back, leaning between the two front seats.
Eyes wide, black, and gleaming as she danced to the music. I pressed against my seat as the base came through the speakers. We were on our way to a club Rhett said Raquel would love. Being in the state she’s in, she agreed.
Dare Me: The Pierce Boys of Georgia, Book One Page 12