by Parker, Ali
Benji shook his head. “Now is not the time to plot murder.”
“They’re messing with the wrong guys,” Rick said as we stepped over the threshold. They got me down the hall and into the living room where Laina had fanned out a dark blue sheet over the sofa. She hurried out of the way, and the two men lowered me down. I sat on the edge as the room spun in circles around me.
Laina went to her knees in front of me. She pulled a bowl from the coffee table over. There was a rag in it. She dipped it in, wrung it out, and began wiping my face. The cloth came away soaked through with blood.
I hadn’t thought it was that bad. Now the spinning and the nausea and the pain made sense. I’d really hit my head.
Laina worked tenderly, and as fatigue washed over me, she slowly guided me down onto my back, where she continued to wipe away the blood. “Will you be able to sleep?” she asked as she wrung the cloth out for the fourth or fifth time.
Benji bent down and picked it up to change the water.
I nodded and regretted it. Moving my head around made things worse. “I think so.”
“Good,” she said.
“Were you a nurse in your previous life?” I asked.
She gave me a sweet smile and shook her head. “Don’t be silly.”
“You’re good at this.”
She pursed her lips. “I used to faint when I saw blood when I was a young girl.”
“When did it stop?” I asked. Damn. My eyelids were growing heavy.
“It didn’t,” she said softly.
Chapter 18
Laina
Mason’s eyes had been closed for a minute or two when Benji returned with a clean bowl of blood free water and a new cloth. I thanked him, dipped the cloth in the hot water, and wrung it out. Then I took the scissors from the coffee table and cut Mason’s shirt off him. Benji helped me pull the fabric away as Rick sank down onto the opposite sofa and watched me work.
Mason’s brother was furious. I could see it in the tension in his shoulder; the darkness in his eyes. He wanted vengeance. He probably felt the same way Mason had when we went to the hospital after finding out Rick had been jumped and beaten.
Rick was probably even angrier at the sight of Mason’s battered torso. His tanned skin was riddled with bruises. His left side was already purpling, as was his shoulder. He must have slammed into the side of the car pretty fiercely when the car struck the barrier. Luckily, there was no blood. The only place he was bleeding from was his head.
“Is he awake?” Benji asked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Mason beat me to it. “Yes,” he said, his eyes still closed.
I exchanged a glance with my brother, who was frowning. Then I turned and scooped the painkillers off the table that Rick had set out before we arrived. There was also a full glass of water. “Mason?” I said softly. His eyes fluttered open. I held out the water and the pills. “Take these. For the pain.”
“I don’t need—”
“Take them,” I said a little more forcefully.
Mason’s blue eyes flicked from me to the pills in my hand. Then he reached out, took them, and popped them all in his mouth. I held out the water and he took that too, grimacing as he lifted his head to drink. He took a few big gulps of water and then relaxed back against the sofa. I took the water and set it back down.
“Those will have you feeling like a million bucks pretty quick,” Rick said.
“What are they?” I asked. I should have asked sooner.
Rick shrugged. “T3’s or something. The doc gave them to me when I was discharged from the hospital. She said to take them if the pain was bad. So I did. And shit do they ever work. Like magic. And they kick in quick too”
I looked at Mason. His brow was creased in pain. “Good,” I said. “You should try to get some rest, Mason.”
“I’m all right.”
“Like hell you are,” Benji said. “Those bastards did a number on you. Who knows the extent of damage under all those bruises? You may have broken ribs for fuck sakes.”
“Nah,” Mason said. “Bruised maybe. But not broken.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
“I’ve broken a couple before. It hurt worse than this.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said.
Rick stood at the end of the sofa and peered down at Mason with his arms crossed. “He’s not lying. His muscles are probably all pulled. You tense up when you know a crash is coming, and that fucks you over big time. The impact does damage, but he may have gotten lucky. There may be nothing broken.”
“Just seriously bruised,” Benji added.
“What can you do for that?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
Rick shrugged. “Nothing. You just have to wait it out and heal.”
“Great,” I sighed, looking back at Mason.
“I’m fine,” he said.
I shook my head. “No matter how many times you say that, it won’t make it true.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I regretted it instantly when scenes of Mason’s car slamming into the barrier flashed in my memory. I opened my eyes and gritted my teeth. “Curse Sid and Mark for doing this to you. Why can’t they just play fair?”
“They don’t know the meaning of the word,” Mason said.
“But this?” I gestured at all of Mason and then at Rick. “This is… barbaric. It’s insanity! How can they get away with it?”
Rick rubbed the back of his neck. “This is an illegal underground operation. Unfortunately, that invites bad seeds to the party by default. Sid and Mark have been running the show for too long. And when Mason bowed out to settle down, they seized their opportunity to take over. They’re not ready to give up that power. They will resort to whatever behavior protects the titles they’ve earned.”
“They haven’t earned anything,” Benji said.
“I agree,” Rick nodded. “But what we think about it doesn’t matter. The point is, they’re willing to throw down to protect what they believe is theirs. And so is Mason. So here we are.”
“It’s bullshit,” I said.
“Yeah.” Benji nodded. “And so is having your little sister try to take on Sid Paul and Mark Denning on her own. You and I need to have a talk about that, Laina.”
I glared at my brother. When I was about to tell him to take a hike, Mason’s hand closed over mine. “What’s he talking about, Laina?”
My eyes swept up to him. He was looking at me with concern. I bit the inside of my cheek. He shouldn’t be worrying about me—not in his current state. I moved closer to the couch and smiled. “Nothing. I just let my temper get the best of me back at the track. But it’s fine. I promise.” Benji snorted behind me, and I shot him a menacing look. He went quiet. I focused my attention back on Mason and ran my fingers through his hair. “Have those pills kicked in yet? How are you feeling?”
He blinked at me. “Better, actually.”
“Good. You should try to get some sleep. We’ll all be here when you wake up.”
“You don’t have to stay,” he said.
“I want to.”
He watched me, and I continued stroking his hair. Benji and Rick moved away from the sofa and spoke in hushed voices off in the hallway by the bathroom. I could feel the urgency between them. They were angry. Frustrated. Trapped. There was nothing any of us could do to make this any better. Mason had to just suffer through it.
I looked over my shoulder at Benji and Rick. Neither of them was paying any attention to us. So I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Mason’s. He smiled when I pulled away. “What was that for?”
“I needed it,” I whispered. “It was for me.”
“I need another one.”
I leaned forward again. The second kiss was tender. His lips were warm and soft, a stark contrast to the stubble along his jaw. I could smell the musk of his cologne along with the coppery scent of his blood. When we parted, I continued raking my fingers through his hair. Every time he blinked, it was harder for
him to open his eyes.
“Sleep,” I whispered.
Mason’s eyes closed. I watched as his breathing deepened, and he fell into a deep sleep. The creases of pain etched into his forehead relaxed and, in turn, so did all of my tight muscles. I breathed a sigh of relief and rocked back on my heels. I pressed my hands down onto my thighs and looked down at the hardwood floor. A couple of drops of Mason’s blood winked at me.
“You all right, sis?” Benji asked.
I nodded but didn’t answer. Probably because I would be lying if I told him I was. I was far from all right. The adrenaline that had coursed through me after the crash had me feeling weak and unsteady like I hadn’t eaten in days.
I reached for the glass of water behind me and drank what Mason hadn’t.
Then I pushed myself to my feet with what felt like a great effort and looked at Rick and my brother. “Do you think he’s going to race again on Saturday?”
Benji wouldn’t look at me. But Rick did. He looked me right in the eyes and said, unwaveringly, “Yes.”
I groaned and looked at the ceiling. “We should talk him out of it. They almost killed him tonight. If he goes back out there and tries again, they’ll make another move. Who knows how far they’ll take this and what stunts they’ll pull.”
“There isn’t a damn thing we could do to change his mind,” Rick said simply.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“He’s not a quitter,” Benji said.
I put my hands on my hips. “This isn’t about quitting. It’s about not dying.”
“Same thing in his mind,” Rick muttered.
“But—”
“Laina,” Benji said sharply, “there’s no sense in arguing about this. It’s not our decision to make. When he comes to and is feeling more himself, he’ll make his choice. I hate the idea of him going back out there as much as you do, but I’m not foolish enough to think he won’t do it. It’s in his fucking blood. He doesn’t know when to back down. Just like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked sharply.
Benji laughed at me. “Oh, come on. You punched Sid Paul!”
“She what?” Rick asked incredulously. Then he let out a short laugh and clamped his hand over his mouth. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. “Did you really?”
I crossed my arms beneath my breasts and shifted my weight to my right foot. “So what if I did? I kicked Mark in the balls too.”
Rick nearly giggled. A grown ass man, giggling. “That’s amazing.”
“It was not amazing,” Benji growled at Rick, who was still having a hard time reigning in his amusement. Then Benji pointed at me. “You could have gotten yourself hurt.”
“I could have handled it,” I said.
Benji shook his head. “No. You only think you could have. Sid is a mean guy, Laina. So is Mark. If they decided they wanted to teach you a lesson, they wouldn’t hold back just because you’re a girl.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I asked.
Benji rolled his eyes. “Obviously, you don’t! If Harley hadn’t been there to step in for you, I would have been carrying both you and Mason out of there. I needed your help, and you marched off and almost got yourself laid out on the pavement.”
“I lost my temper.”
“Clearly,” my brother said.
Rick scratched his chin. “I feel the need to weigh in here.”
“Don’t,” Benji said.
“Hold on,” Rick said, holding up a hand to ask for patience from my brother. “I’m on Benji’s side for this one, Laina. Although I do like that Sid got punched by a girl and that Mark got kicked in the balls, I don’t like that it was you who did it. You put yourself at risk. Let’s all agree right now that’s the last time any shit like that ever happens. Okay?”
Both of them stared at me expectantly. I sighed. “Okay.”
“Good,” Rick said. “Good luck telling Mason about it. He’ll shit a brick.”
“Or seven,” Benji said.
Chapter 19
Mason
“Son of a bitch,” I mumbled, shielding my eyes against the glare as I tried to open them in the morning. The brightness was not doing my headache any favors.
“Sleeping beauty wakes,” Benji said dryly from somewhere nearby.
I groaned and gingerly moved around to prop myself up on my elbows. I managed to open my eyes and looked blurrily around.
Benji was sitting on the opposite sofa. He was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together between them. “How’s your head?”
I forced myself to sit up. I made sure to move slowly in case I invited another bout of dizziness, but luckily, none came. “Better.”
“How much better?”
I rubbed my temples gently and leaned back against the couch cushions. “Like I got hit with a baseball bat instead of a crowbar sort of better.”
Benji snorted. “So about the same as last night?”
“No. Better than last night. Definitely. Last night was… rough. Thanks for getting me back here, man. I appreciate it.” I peered around. “Where’s Laina?”
“She had to go to work.”
“Work? Wait. What time is it?”
“Two.”
“P.m.?”
Benji nodded. “You thought it was earlier?”
“Yeah. Fuck. I thought it was morning. How long have I been out?”
“Twelve hours or so.”
“Shit.”
“You needed it,” Benji said as he rolled to his feet and cracked his back. “You were in rough shape. You still are. You should take it easy for the rest of the week if you’re still planning to race on Saturday. Which I imagine you are.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Rick’s in the shower. Then he and I are heading out to try and secure another car for you. Harley called. She has some connections we might be able to use. And she wanted to check up on you. Why is it that women always gravitate to you?”
“Do you want me to list the reasons?”
Benji scoffed. “And here I was hoping the head trauma would make you less of an asshole.”
I smirked. “You should have known better.”
“I should have,” Benji said. He was giving me a funny look, the same look he had when he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if he should. He didn’t need my prompting. He came out with it on his own. “I don’t think I like how close you and my sister are getting, Mason.”
I sat up a bit straighter. “You want to have this conversation now?”
“No. I don’t want to have it at all. But last night was a real eye-opener. She cares about you a lot, Mason. And she almost got herself in too deep because of it.”
“What do you mean?”
Benji scratched the back of his neck. “She punched Sid last night, man. Right in the face. And she kicked Mark in the balls. I had my hands full getting your ass out of the fucking car. If Harley hadn’t shown up when she did, I don’t know what would have happened. They might have hurt her, Mason. I could see it in Sid’s eye. He wanted to.”
I could feel my pulse quickening with anger.
Benji sighed. “And it would be naive to think Sid or Mark will forget about it, either. She’s painted a target on her back because of you.”
“I never wanted her to—”
“I know,” Benji said. “I know. But she did. And now here we are. I just… I want you to think about it, Mason. The position you might be putting her in. If you choose to pursue her, which is in your right, please be sure you’re ready for it. Make sure Evelyn isn’t in the back of your mind somewhere. If my sister is going to be at risk for you, then you'd better be fully committed to her. She deserves more than to be a second choice.”
“Now is not the time to lecture me,” I said.
“Now is the perfect time. You have no other option than to sit and hear me out.”
“Clever,” I said. I wasn’t happy about wh
at he’d said, but he had a right to say it. He was looking out for Laina’s best interests, after all. I understood where he was coming from, but I hated that he’d thrown Evelyn into this. Especially since I’d been wondering about her last night, wondering if she still cared or if she really despised me enough to not care whether I was dead or alive. I nodded slowly. “I hear you, Benji.”
My best friend relaxed a little.
I got to my feet. He watched every move I made as I walked down the hall to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. My mouth was dry and tasted like blood. I wanted to brush my teeth, but Rick was upstairs using my shower. I swished the water around in my mouth and spat in the kitchen sink before drinking the rest of the glass. Then I refilled it and leaned against the kitchen counter.
Benji stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “I told Tobias what happened.”
“And?”
Benji shrugged one shoulder. “He’s not happy. But he knows it wasn’t in your control. I’m going to try to find a solution that works for everyone. I told him I’d keep him posted. I gave him the twenty grand, though. Took it out of your envelope.”
“Good,” I nodded. “He shouldn’t have to wait for it. Not after what I did to his car.”
“It was an accident.”
“No. I should have expected it. I was reckless and foolish to think they wouldn't pull a stunt like that.”
“But you still want to race on Saturday?”
I stared down into my glass of water. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t let them win. I can’t let them continue thinking this is how you operate. I won’t tolerate it. I’m taking back my title. My place. I’ll be damned if Sid or Mark continue to run the racing scene. I’ll be damned if they win.”
“This is just vengeance talking.”
“So what if it is?”
“Is it vengeance for this?” Benji gestured at me; at my bruises and injuries. “Or is it vengeance for what Evelyn and Mark did to you?”
“What do you think?”
“I think ending up dead isn’t winning.”