Blaine (West Norton Boys Series Book 2)

by Dawn Doyle

  I opened my mouth to make another smartass comment but thought better of it when a shiny gun appeared next to me. “Whatever. I’ll see the deal through, and then I’m out as promised.”

  Eddie grinned as I slowly stood, my head throbbing and my ribs aching. “We’ll call you, Blaine. Keep your phone on like a good little boy, okay?”

  “Yeah, you did, but it’s not Larry’s deal anymore—it’s mine. He’s inside, right?” Eddie asked, bringing me out of my memories. “This is my show now, and I say who goes center stage, and you, kid, are my main performer.”

  “He did warn you,” a sly female voice said. I watched Darcy come out of the sidelines, her slow and steady steps moving toward me. “The writing’s on the wall, Blaine.” Her lips turned up into a sneer. “It’s too bad little miss coffee shop wasn’t home. I had a feeling we could’ve gotten real close.”

  “Stay the fuck away from her,” I growled.

  “Ah, so the kid does have a soft spot for real women,” Eddie said, shaking his head, and his eyes gleaming with evil. “I thought he only got a hard-on for engines.”

  “That particular woman is fucking sweet too,” Preston said, and I clenched my fists. “Careful, Blaine. I wouldn’t do anything stupid now. Not unless you want your little lady to find herself in a worse situation than a cold interrogation room.”

  “I never expected her to be released so soon,” Darcy said, closing the gap between us. “Would you happen to know anything about that?” Her eyes narrowed, her brows pinching together the tiniest bit, but one blink and her features were back to the same grotesque face of the woman we all knew.

  “I have no idea,” I said, managing to keep my cool just enough so I wouldn’t snap and tear her head off. “I haven’t seen her for a few days.” It was the fucking truth, and I missed her like crazy.

  “How about we find her for you, and you can be reunited?” she asked, clapping her hands together. Her eyes shifted to the huge guy over my right shoulder. He was massive, but I knew that if Lucian were here, he would take him down without breaking a fucking sweat. “But I don’t know if she’s worth the trouble. Now that you’re here, she probably knows all about you. It’s just a pity you didn’t say goodbye to her before she dumped your ass.” Darcy ran her nails over my arm, snagging on my black sleeve. “Don’t worry, though. I’m sure her coffee shop friend will be ready to save her from big bad Blaine.” She giggled and turned away, disappearing as quickly as she’d shown up.

  What the fuck? How the hell did she know about Mica?

  “So, ready to get to work?” Preston asked, shifting his hands to the side of his belt, the only part visible under his gut. The grip of a pistol sat there, threatening me with its presence. “You know how this goes, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut and move your feet.”

  My plan was working out, but there was just one more thing I had to do to before I played my last hand. I opened my mouth, eyeing all five guys standing around me, my lips quirking up. “You know, keeping my mouth shut isn’t what I do, Pres. You of all people should know that by now.”

  “What the fuck?” Preston snapped.

  “Have you gained weight?” I asked, rolling my arms over my imaginary gut, “or are you smuggling a beach ball under that shirt?” His eyes blazed, but I wasn’t done. “What are you guys waiting for? You look like you’re ready for someone to play with. Well, Pres has the ball, so fetch!” Grunts of annoyance sounded around me, but I had one more thing to say. “And, Eddie, I thought you were the top dog, here, but I see Larry’s princess has you wrapped tightly around her claws. Does she tell you to roll over too? Rub your tummy when you’re a good boy?” I finished with a grin and a cocky quirk of my eyebrows.

  “You’re going to be fucking sorry,” Eddie snapped before the first fist slammed into the side of my face, making my head snap quickly to the side.

  Pain spread out through my cheek, but I didn’t get a chance to register when another punch came out of fucking nowhere, landing a heavy blow to my stomach, pushing all the air out of me and making me lurch forward. “What the fuck, were those baby taps?” I groaned.

  I was dropped to the ground with a sickening kick to the ribs, followed by many feet smashing into my body. All I could do was curl up to protect what I could while fists struck my torso, head, and the parts of my face that were visible.

  “Blaine, what’s going on?” John yelled into my ear. “Blaine, talk to me!” There was so much yelling and high pitched wailing that I couldn’t make out his next words.

  “Stay back,” I choked. “Not done, yet.”

  My mouth filled with a metallic taste, the crimson liquid spilling over my lips and down the side of my face. My entire body screamed in white-hot agony, shooting out over my skin and into my muscles as the blows continued.

  The beating slowed, but the pulsating pain only increased. I tried to turn my head and lowered my hands to see what was coming next. It was then that I was staring into the barrel of a dark-gray handgun, and my thoughts went to Robyn.

  I’ll finish this if it kills me.

  And as I stared into the darkness of the empty chamber, I knew that there was a good possibility it was where I was headed.

  Robyn, I love you. If I make it out of this, I swear I’ll never keep anything from you again.

  Her beautiful face filled my mind, her smile, her tired eyes when she’d worked her ass off but still had time for me. I was just glad she didn’t have to worry anymore, and nobody could do a fucking thing to stop her from doing what she loved.

  I just wished that when this was all done, I was one of those things.

  I was hauled from the floor in one swift movement, my head snapping back with the force. My broken and beaten body was thrown onto a hard plastic chair, and my head was yanked up by a fist grabbing my hair.

  “Do you have something to say now?” Preston spat. “I’d be very fucking careful, because the next time, I’ll fucking kill you. I’ll cut your body to pieces and mail them to your mother and your little bitch.” He threw his head back and laughed loudly. “I’ll keep you in a freezer and send you to them piece by piece so they can put you back together like a jigsaw.”

  My eyes were swollen so much I could just about make out Eddie standing behind him.

  He shivered and placed his hand on Preston’s shoulder. “You’re a sick fuck, Pres—I like it. If this kid gives us any more shit, then he’s all yours. I’m sure one of his other friends can take his place.”

  I snorted, but it came out like I’d just blown into a drink through a straw. A fresh stream of blood oozed down my face. “None of them can do what I do,” I said, trying to lift my arms, but the impact of their blows left them feeling like lead weights. I resorted to a painful shrug instead. “Why do you think I go it alone? Those idiots couldn’t boost a fucking chocolate bar without being caught.”

  My heart was racing faster and faster at the thought of them going after the guys. They might have been dicks sometimes, but there’s no way I would put them in this shit. Even Nate.

  “Clean yourself up and get back to work,” Preston snarled so close to my face I could smell his rancid breath again. He straightened up and let my head go with force, causing my neck to crack.

  Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” he said while one of his goons got into the silver car and drove it away. “Once you’re in with me, there’s no way out. Larry didn’t keep his leash tight enough, and his mistake cost him huge. I like to keep mine in a choker”—he took a step toward me—“and I’ll yank that fucker as tight as I need to if I get crossed.”

  “Kinky,” I snorted. “I need my bag so I can delete the programming.” I should’ve been out of there for this part, but I was losing precious time already. I couldn’t wait any longer to complete my mission.

  Eddie held his hand out. “Be my guest.”

  I tried to stand, grunting when I found my stomach was too sore to straighten. I held my breath and
gritted my teeth as I fought against the need to scream out what my body was feeling.

  I dragged my feet over to where Cecil was kicked when I’d been taken down and opened the zip. My relay was split open, and my scanner was in pieces. I pulled out my laptop, my stomach sinking when the lid had a huge crack right across the center.

  No, no, no!

  I opened it as quickly as I could, the standby light switching to blue as it powered up. The screen was fucked. The LCD was destroyed, the monitor looking as though black ink had been thrown over the front, and I couldn’t see anything else.

  I’d fucked up.

  “John,” I whispered, taking a few steps away out of earshot.

  “Blaine, thank god! What’s happening?”

  “Abort mission,” I said, groaning when my side throbbed. “Laptop’s destroyed. I can’t reactivate the trackers from here.”

  Headlights blinded me as a car raced in through the gates. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes, making out another behind it, then another, then another.

  Loud bangs and raised voices had me ducking instinctively, and as I tried to take in the shit show that was happening around me, I couldn’t make out what was going on or who was there. I just knew I had to find a way to get out of that fucking place before one of those bullets found its way to me.

  “Blaine!”

  I stared in disbelief as my car flew past me, the brakes squealing as the driver spun her in a circle, coming to a perfect stop in front of me while gunfire continued to blast nearby.

  “Get in!” Robyn yelled from the driver’s seat, her voice just about carrying to me over the shots. She leaned over and opened the passenger door, and my mouth dropped open as I froze in place.

  “Robyn?”

  “Please, Blaine, get in the car.” Her eyes filled as she took in my appearance, and I knew I wasn’t looking my best right then.

  “Get in the car, Blaine,” Nate said from beside me, crouching over and urging me forward and guiding me into the seat as his whipped around, scanning the area around us. “Get him to the hospital, Robyn, you know what to do.” He turned to me, and his jaw flexed while his eyes burned with more darkness than I’d ever seen from him before. “Move. We got this.”

  Robyn nodded once, and then we were moving.

  I watched her as much as I could, the expert way in which she handled my ride, her feet and hands working in sync like she was born to drive. Her blue eyes concentrated on the road, but she turned to me every couple of seconds.

  Lights flashed outside as morning was in full swing, no doubt the rush hour had begun for those commuting to work. Robyn wasn’t put off, though. She continued to drive as though nothing was in her way.

  I reached over and touched her thigh.

  “Why did you go alone?” she yelled, a sob escaping her and tears falling down her face as though she’d been holding them back for days. “Blaine, you could’ve been killed! What were you thinking?” She stole a glance at me and gasped. “Look what they’ve done to you!”

  “I had to, baby,” I whispered. “You need to understand that I couldn’t tell you about it.”

  “I know everything,” she cried. “They took their fucking time, but they told me all about Larry, the pit, and even Darcy.”

  I winced. Darcy’d taken off before shit got real, but she would get what was coming to her, I knew that much.

  “Please don’t hate me,” I begged. “I know I’m a screw-up, but I want to be a better person, Robyn, for you. Please don’t throw away what we have for my mistakes.”

  “What are you talking about?” She swiped at her eyes, then took a sharp left, and I knew we were drifting. Her control was phenomenal. “Why would I throw it away?”

  If I could’ve screwed my eyes up in confusion, I would have, but they were almost closed anyway. “I’m a thief,” I stated. “I took things that didn’t belong to me, and I used them for my own enjoyment.”

  “I forgive you, okay? Just so we’re clear. We all make mistakes, and you made yours. You gave back what you took, but the others were to keep your friends safe.”

  “What? How did you know that?”

  “Sh,” she said, as she began slowing down. “We’re here.” She jumped out of the car and ran around to my side at the same time medical staff poured out of the emergency entrance with a wheeled stretcher.

  Robyn

  Green and white walls flashed by as we ran into the hospital with Blaine secured to the stretcher. My stomach rolled every time I looked at him, the things those animals had done to his face and body.

  His eyes were mere slits, purple and swollen, his nose puffy and his lips split. His face was covered in streams of dried blood, sticky patches still clinging to his hair and neck.

  “Robyn,” he croaked, and I tilted my head down, watching as his shaking fingers stroked over my hand as I gripped the metal rail. “I’m so fucking sorry I got you in this mess.”

  “Blaine, try not to talk,” I said, my voice thick and my throat dry. My eyes stung from how much I’d cried over the past couple of hours, but it was nothing compared to what Blaine had suffered. “We need to get you examined and cleaned up, okay? Then we’ll talk about it, baby.”

  A smile tugged at his face, followed by a wince. “You’re still my retweet,” he said, tightening his fingers over mine.

  “Of course I am,” I replied, my shoulders dropping with my breath. “It’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me.”

  “I’ll never let you go.”

  “Miss Thorstensen, this is as far as you can go, I’m afraid,” the nurse said, then gestured behind me where he’d led us from. “We’ll take care of Mr. Summers and then come to speak to you when we can.”

  “Please be careful, okay?” I asked, pleading with my eyes to the guy waiting to wheel Blaine away from me. “He’s been through enough for one night.”

  “Don’t worry, he’s in good hands.”

  I nodded, then turned to Blaine. I leaned over the stretcher and placed my lips carefully against his warm forehead. “I love you,” I whispered against his skin.

  Blaine breathed out a sigh. “You don’t know how fucking happy I am to hear you say that,” he whispered. I pulled back to look into his eyes, but I couldn’t see into the blue pools, my heart aching that he’d gone into that place knowing this could happen to him. “Hey, don’t cry. I’ll be fine.” He lifted his hand and wiped the tear rolling down my cheek. “I love you, Robyn.”

  His fingers slipped out of mine as the nurses led him away. Only then did I allow myself to break down. I covered my face with my palms as I cried, loud howls only muffled the tiniest bit by my hands. I clutched at my stomach, the pain ripping through me while everything that had happened over the past few hours hit me with force. I hit a solid surface, my legs tucked to the side and my ribs against the wall, but it didn’t register how I got there.

  “Fuck, Robyn!” Brady’s voice came from somewhere nearby. “Charlie, over here.”

  Large hands gripped my arms and gently lifted me up from where I’d fallen, then guided me to a chair. My breaths hitched as I struggled for breath, my sobs wracking my body so much that it felt as though I was being squeezed tight from the inside.

  “Robyn, listen to me,” a soft voice said in front of me, and delicate hands brushed my hair back and cupped my face. “Blaine’s going to be okay.”

  “How…can you…know that?” I choked out. “You didn’t see his face, the blood… Oh my god, there was so much blood!” I broke down again, and Luca pulled me toward her chest.

  “It looks worse than it is, trust me,” she said, but I didn’t believe her. “Remember what we told you. It’ll take time, but he’ll heal. Lucian is walking proof of that.”

  “But Lucian’s a fighter. Blaine was beaten by a group of men, and he didn’t stand a chance.”

  “You’re right. Blaine’s not a fighter, but if he’d tried to fight back, even throwing one punch, they would’ve killed him. He did what he had
to do to stay alive,” Lucian said, coming to Luca’s side.

  I looked up at him, seeing dots of red spattered across his white T-shirt, and I let my gaze drop to his reddened knuckles. “What happened?” I asked, noticing the others had almost the same marks. I’d gotten out of there the second Blaine got in the car and hadn’t looked back.

  “Let us worry about that,” he replied with a tight smile. “But don’t worry, it won’t come back on us or my career.”

  A cup of water was held out in front of me, and I took it with a shaky hand, droplets splashing over the side as I brought it to my lips. The cold liquid ran down my throat as I swallowed, easing my dehydration just a little.

  “Charlie, got a sec?” Nate asked, and gestured for Charlie to follow him.”

  “Sure.” He turned to the others around me. “We’ll be right back.”

  I watched their interaction, seeing a difference in Nate since he’d told me what Blaine was up to. I’d been ready to go in, sitting in Blaine’s car with my foot hovering over the gas, just waiting for the signal to stomp down.

  “Hey,” Brady said, catching my attention.

  My breath was still catching as my sobs subsided, and my wads of wet tissues were still balled into my hands, ready for another round of tears. “Yeah?”

  “Blaine’s gonna get through this—he’s one of the strongest people I know.”

  The doors opened, and a woman in a white coat approached us. “Miss Thorstensen?” She looked around and then to us.

  I practically leaped from my chair. “That’s me—I’m his girlfriend. Is he okay? How is he, can I see him?” I rushed out.

  The doctor smiled. “Of course, he’s asking for you.” She eyes the others there. “You can come through in a few moments.”

  I followed her through the doors, and before they closed, I looked back over my shoulder. Nate watched me, nodded once, then I followed the doctor down the long corridor to see my boyfriend.