by Alice Shaw
Holden
I threw on my clothes and ran after the two alphas, trying my best to keep up. Whatever it was that happened couldn’t be good. It probably wasn’t in my best interest to come, but I had to go because I knew it involved the food truck somehow.
“Tell me what happened,” Riley said. “Just lay it on me. I need to know, Jared.”
“You’ll see when we get there, dammit,” he groaned, pounding against the steering wheel. Somehow, there was a considerable amount of traffic blocking the intersection toward his bar.
“Fuck!” Jared yelled. He leaned out of the window of his wife’s sedan and screamed, “Get the hell out of the way! It’s an emergency, dammit!”
“Calm down,” I managed to say.
Riley and I were the ones that should have been freaking out the most, but we managed to keep our cool relatively easy.
“I can’t calm down. Someone could lose his life,” Jared said. “I could lose my bar.”
We were sitting in standstill traffic at this point, but his bar could be seen about five hundred feet away. “What should we do? This traffic could take an hour to clear up,” I said.
“We’ll have to just pull over and walk,” Riley said. He turned to me and placed his hand against my thigh. “I think you should stay here and run the air conditioning. I don’t want you overheating yourself. It’s a long enough walk.”
I rolled my eyes and took his hand off of my thigh. “Riley. It’s five hundred feet. That’s barely three blocks. I think I’ll make it,” I said. I admired his alpha spirit, but sometimes he took it a little too far.
“Okay,” Jared said. “We’ll get out and walk the rest of the way.”
All three of us stepped out of the car, quickly walking toward the bar. I had a little trouble keeping up, but I was appreciating the extra exercise. “So, are you going to tell us what’s going on or not?” I asked him.
Jared sighed, but he knew that he had to fill us in on all of the details. “It’s Brady. I found him passed out near the bay. He was close to the sandbar. He was… fuck.” Jared started to tear up. He couldn’t finish his sentence quite yet, but he eventually found the courage to tell us what he saw.
“He was bleeding all over the place. Someone got to him. It was too dark to see who,” Jared said, eyes creased with fear.
The news came as a shock to all three of us because he had just turned his whole life around. Things were going so well for him. “I just saw him,” Riley whispered. “He was feeling so optimistic about his life. He just bought a set of new clothes, and his wife and him were starting therapy soon. I don’t understand. Who would do this to him at this point in his life?”
“He still has enemies,” Jared said. “Lots of them. He might have turned a new leaf, but those people don’t give a damn. All they care about is what he must have owed them.”
“We don’t know if this stemmed from his gambling problem,” Riley said.
Jared frowned. Obviously there was more to the story. “It’s not just gambling, man. He was into all sorts of bullshit. Women, drugs… on top of that, he had a ton of self-abuse issues. He wasn’t favored here. In fact, you were the only who gave him a second chance.”
I intertwined my fingers in Riley. He tried his hardest to make things right. Still, there was so much to fix. “You’re a good man, Riley.”
“Not good enough,” I said. “I didn’t know he was in so much trouble. I wish I could have helped him.”
“We’re almost there,” Jared said, pointing. He was driving the car as fast as he could, but the engine could barely take it.
“Did you call an ambulance?” Riley asked him. Fear clouded his eyes. He was rapidly biting his fingernails.
Jared was embarrassed to tell the truth, but he obviously didn’t. “I’ve got some good men handling it,” he said.
“Dammit, Jared. Why didn’t you call them?” Riley asked.
I sighed and put my head in my hands. My palms were sweating and, as I lifted my fingers in front of me, I could see them trembling.
“Don’t answer that. I know why you didn’t. Your bar. Our food truck. There’s also the upcoming fundraiser party to worry about. Both businesses would have been compromised,” I said. “I wish you did it, Jared. I really do. But I believe you’re a good man. How bad is it? Tell me.”
The floodlights of Jared’s sedan shined brightly behind us. A bright neon sign lit up the stairway to the bar’s entrance. I could see the dark red bloodstains, leading toward the front door.
“Just prepare yourself,” he said, breathing heavily.
The three of us walked up to the bar as quickly as possible. However, once we got to the front door, we paused. Riley turned to me and hugged me tightly. “It’s going to be okay. If you want, you can just stay out here. You don’t have to see this.”
“No,” I declared. “I’m helping. He was a dick in the past, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t changed into a genuine person. He deserves to be cared for.”
My omega emotions were kicking in, and they were only intensified by the fact that I was currently feeling the baby move inside of my stomach. Riley tenderly kissed my cheek, but I moved past him to open the door.
The scene was bad in there. Two men, obviously simple bartenders, were holding blood-red towels against the back of Brady’s head. He was sitting against the wall, moaning in pain. However, when he saw Riley and I, he grunted, “I’m fine. Please. I just need to get home to my wife.”
I quickly ran to his aid, pushing one of the bartenders aside. “Give me that,” I said, grabbing the towel.
I lifted it to see the wound, but I wish I hadn’t. It was a deep cut, obviously caused by a major blow. “What happened?” I asked, looking around wildly at everyone working.
One of the bartenders crossed his arms. “Some men came in here. They asked for some money. Said he owed him from a year back,” he said.
“I don’t care about his financial situation. Down here, on this side of the bay, we’re all fucked,” I said, frantically. “I’m asking you what happened, physically. And you better hurry because this wound won’t stop bleeding.”
“You’re pregnant…” the bartender said.
“Nice observation, Poindexter,” I said. “But somehow I’m doing a more thorough job than you are. Now, tell me what the fuck happened!”
The man gulped and took a step forward. “It all happened so fast. He was knocked around. He tried to pay the guys, but they wouldn’t accept the money. I don’t know anything else, except that I saw him hit his head on the corner of the bar there,” he said.
Riley and Jared shared a look with each other. Riley nodded and ran to grab a first aid kit. When he came back, Brady was trying to stand up.
“Whoa there, partner,” I whispered. “Just sit down, and I’ll take care of you.”
“But…” Brady stumbled on his words. When he looked at me, I could see all of the bruises on his face. His body was holding up, but he looked terrible. “…why would you help someone like me?”
“Don’t worry about that now,” I said.
I took the first aid kit from Riley and lightly applied the alcohol to clean the wound. I remembered the first time I hurt myself in Riley’s trailer, when he tried to fix my minor wound. I was so embarrassed that night.
Brady didn’t even flinch, but the next part wasn’t going to be easy. “Okay, bud. I’m going to need you to take a few deep breaths. This is going to sting, but it’ll heal correctly in the end,” I said.
Riley stared at me in wonder and disbelief. Brady started crying, and that’s when I realized that he was fairly drunk. I felt bad for him, and I wished there was something more we could do for him.
“I’m a failure,” he said.
“Stop that,” I muttered. “It’s bullshit. You are not a failure.”
“Do you know how it feels to be involved with bad people when you’re a cop? I’m worse than any criminal I’ve arrested,” Brady said.
I sighed,
but I was trying to focus on threading the stitching through the needle. “Just calm down, Brady. This all stems from old problems. Everything will work out in the end if you’ve truly changed,” I said.
I had no idea if that was the truth, but it was definitely possible. If it happened with Riley and I, it could happen with Brady.
“You’re not a bad person. Not deep down, anyway,” Riley added. “You’re on the right path.”
Brady nodded and then sighed in pain. “Okay. Fuck it. Stitch me up. I need to get home to my wife and Chihuahua.”
“Brace yourself,” I whispered.
Brady’s face contorted as I held the needle up to his head. I delicately pressed the point against the flesh, and finally, pushed it through. “Fuck!” Brady screamed, tears running down his eyes. “God damn you, son of a bitch!”
“Watch it, Brady,” Riley muttered.
“It’s fine,” I said. “It must hurt like hell.”
“Just keep going. I want this to be over with,” Brady said, sucking in deep and loud breaths.
I moved quicker this time. I threaded the needle in zig-zag motions. Finally, I finished. I ran a clean towel over the back of his head and told him, “You’ll need to see a doctor. Don’t wait. It could get infected.”
“I can’t see a doctor. They’ll ask what happened. I can’t tell them about my addiction. The whole department will find out. I could lose my job,” Brady said, shaking his head. “God, what is wrong with me?”
“Then, keep an eye on it. You seriously don’t want your head to turn green and fall off,” I said.
Riley shook his head with incredulity. “How the hell did you know how to stitch someone up like that?”
I swallowed, thinking about the one thing I had been missing this whole time: my beautiful horse, Sonny. I’d never see him again. It tore me up inside.
“Plenty of accidents happened at the ranch back home,” I said.
When we first bought Sonny, he was all messed up. His leg was a disaster, and they wanted to put him down if he didn’t heal. Sonny took to me at once, but there was one night, where he was feeling cornered.
During those dark hours, I made a mistake. I came on too quick to his backside. Sonny bucked high into the air, and eventually he kicked behind him. Twice.
I woke up with a concussion and a massive, deep slice on the top of my head. Luckily, it was underneath my hairline. Still, I had to close the wound or my parents would have sent him to the death factory. I couldn’t let that happen, so I stitched it up myself.
“Anyway, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Brady is safe now,” I said, smiling.
“How much do you owe them, Brady?” Riley asked.
“Brady sat against the wall, closing his eyes. I handed him an icepack and said, “It’s okay. You can tell us.”
“I’m embarrassed,” he whispered. “I got too deep into their game. Far too deep. I wanted out. I wanted a better life.”
“We all do,” I said. “But it’s not that easy.”
“I know that now. But I have nothing anymore. I thought I was turning things around, but it’s hard to keep that feeling going when people are constantly reminding you of your fuck-ups,” Brady whispered.
The whole time, Jared was pacing the bar with his workers. He was worried. Most likely, he wondered whether or not the men who did this would be coming back or not.
“I don’t like this,” Jared said, staring at both Riley and me. “I don’t like this one bit. Next thing I know, they’ll be coming after me. I’m sorry Riley, but I’m going to have to cancel this party. Maybe we can do it another time, but I’ve got a family to think of. This bar is my only income.”
After all of this adrenaline, I felt exhausted. I sat down on a barstool, holding my belly. I took a few deep breaths, but I kept silent. I knew that Riley was fuming, but I didn’t dare look at him.
“Just tell us how much they want from you,” Riley said, side-eying Jared with anger.
“You don’t even want to know,” Brady said. “It’s more than enough. More than I was willing to lose. I am screwed. My wife’s going to leave me again. I’ll have nothing.”
“Come on, Brady. Spit it out. One thousand? Two? Just give us a number,” Jared said.
Brady swallowed, mouth dry. His face was glistening with sweat and the bruises around his eyes seemed to grow darker in shade. “Five thousand dollars,” he whispered. “Plus, there’s interest every month I don’t pay. It’s been nearly six months.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jared whispered. He turned around to face the wall. He put his hands against the wood beams and sighed angrily. Then, he turned around and punched the bar.
I had never seen Jared act like that before. I turned to Riley and looked at him, slightly scared. He stepped in front of me, holding his arms out to protect me.
Then, in a fit of alpha rage, he yelled, “Jared! If you don’t calm down right now, I’m going to have to smack you. I’ve got a four-month pregnant omega here. We don’t need any extra stress.”
“Fine. But I’m sticking by what I said. No fundraiser party. In fact, I’m closing the bar for the week. I need to take some time to think about all of this,” Jared said.
“Fine,” Riley muttered. “Do whatever you want. I’m out of here.”
I ignored Jared’s comment and took Brady by the hand. I pulled him onto his feet, holding his back to keep him steady. Slowly, the three of us walked outside into the night. Riley slammed the door behind us.
“We’ll help you,” Riley said. “We’ll pay your debts. You can pay us back.”
I looked at Riley, feeling my heart sink. I admired his act of empathy, but that meant we would lose everything. We would be right back to square one. The whole thing just sucked more than anything in the world.
“You can’t do that,” Brady whispered. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Like shit you will,” Riley said. “What does the department give you? Forty grand a year? And you have a mortgage, a wife, a dog to feed?”
“…we’re expecting a baby too,” Brady whispered, eyes pointed toward the dirt.
“We won’t let you falter. We’ll…” I tried to think of a plan to help him, but we didn’t have any spare money to give. “It’ll be okay.”
Riley put his hand on my shoulder and lightly kissed the top of my head. “We should give him a job,” he whispered.
“Babe, that’s actually a great idea. Why not? We’re going to need some extra staff with the new wave of customers coming in,” I said, smiling.
“Look, Brady. We need to get you checked out. I want to make sure that wound is okay,” Riley said. “But after all of that is said and done, I want you to think about something that could change your life forever.”
Riley looked at me and winked. “We want to hire you,” I said.
Without hesitation, Brady said, “Me? Leave the force? No fucking way. Once a cop, always a cop.”
I knew he was going to come up with a stupid excuse, but it was obvious that his heart just wasn’t into being an officer of the law anymore.
“Look, guy. You can spend the rest of your life working a job that doesn’t even pay you well for the dangerous work you do,” I said.
“Or you can work for us, make more money, and pay off your debts slowly. You’ll be around good food, great people, and you’re wife can rest easy knowing that you’re safe. It’s a total win-win,” Riley added.
“But I guess if you don’t want the opportunity to change your life around, it’s your choice. We don’t want to put words into your mouth. It’s your decision,” I added.
Brady looked at us blankly. His nose was practically broken, he had bruises all over his face, and the back of his head was still leaking blood. What other choice did he have?
“Fuck. That’s quite a sales pitch,” Brady whispered. “But me? Working in a kitchen? I’ve never cooked in my life.”
“Here’s the plan. First, we get the food truck going. Then, it’s the res
taurant across the bay. Who knows what’s in store for us afterward? Hell, maybe we’ll open a restaurant in Europe someday,” Riley said. “The world is your oyster if you want it to be.”
But just as Brady was about to answer, I felt my pocket vibrate. It was my brother. I immediately knew something was wrong.
Chapter Sixteen
Riley
“It’s dad. He fell,” Andy said over the speakerphone.
“What do you mean he fell?” Holden asked, nearly dropping the phone. He sat down and held onto the couch arm tightly.
Andy’s voice was solemn. It sounded like he had been crying for hours. “He was clearing the debris off of the roof of the barn,” Andy said.
“Why the hell is dad going up there? He’s not supposed to do that. That was our job,” Holden said.
“You know dad. He’s stubborn. Ever since he hit his mid-fifties, it’s as if he feels like he has to prove himself,” Andy said.
“God dammit,” Holden cried. “Okay, so, what do we do?”
“He’s having surgery in two days. It’s the soonest they can get him in. Right now, he’s at the hospital, resting as much as he can,” Andy said. “You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
I had spoken with Andy once before, but this time, he was behaving differently. Their whole family dynamic was changing for the better. Unfortunately, the change came through tough circumstances.
“We’ll be there, Andy,” I said.
“Is that Riley?” Andy asked.
“Yeah. It’s me,” I said. “And we’re coming. Just give us an hour to buy the plane ticket.”
Holden swallowed and nodded his head. “I love you, Andy,” he said. It was a touching moment, despite all of what was happening.
“I love you too. Thanks, guys. And… sorry for everything,” Andy said.
“No need to apologize. Things happen,” I said.
Within one day, everything seemed to have fallen to pieces. First, Jared canceled our fundraiser party. Then, Holden’s dad fell. When Andy called, it felt like we were just cursed.
To top it all off, the next morning I received a phone call. We were going to be featured on the Today Show. The worst part was that I couldn’t feel happy about it.