Savage Vandal (82 Street Vandals Book 1)

by Heather Long

  And I knew better.

  God, did I know better.

  Lifting my chin, I forced myself to meet and hold his gaze. “I just haven’t seen you in a few days. But I don’t suppose you have to check in with me. It’s kind of the other way around.” Clearing my throat, I nodded more to myself. “Speaking of which…”

  I walked past him, but I didn’t even make a full step before he clasped my upper arm in a gentle grasp and pulled me closer, even as he moved us farther from the kitchen. “You’re mad at me.”

  The hint of wonder in his voice made me frown. “Don’t pretend with me.”

  “What?”

  I blew out a breath. “Look, you were great the other night. Got me back here and kept me compliant and cooperative. You’re like the good cop to Jasper’s bad cop.”

  Honestly, the fact that he blinked and then started laughing at me annoyed me more than the rest. I tugged my arm. It took two times before he finally let me go.

  “Dove…”

  “I have a name, and that’s not it.” Folding my arms, I walked away from him and headed into the kitchen. He was right behind me though, still chuckling. Glad I could provide some amusement.

  The kitchen was full.

  Fuller, I thought, than I’d ever seen it. Rome and Liam were both present, so apparently, like Vaughn, they’d crawled out of wherever they’d gone to hide. Jasper stood by the counter, his own arms folded and facing Kestrel, who glared at him. Doc was also there, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in hand, while Freddie gestured wildly.

  “You guys are blowing this all out of proportion,” Freddie said, flicking a look at me. “Back me up here, Boo-Boo. If a woman tells you she needs your cock, it would be rude to tell her no, right?”

  I stared at him a beat, and the corner of my mouth curled almost involuntarily. It was really hard not to laugh at just how outrageous Freddie could be. I honestly never knew what would come out of his mouth. “If a woman told me she needed my cock, I’d have to apologize because I don’t have a strap-on.”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it with a pop that the sudden silence made audible. Behind me, Vaughn’s soft chuckles turned into very real laughter. Kestrel crossed the kitchen and slapped Freddie right upside the head. I flinched.

  I tried to suppress it, but it happened anyway. Freddie didn’t seem remotely disturbed as he laughed. Liam just gave him a baleful look as Rome groaned. Rome seemed paler than the last time I’d seen him, and I tried to look anywhere but at Kestrel hauling Freddie up out of his chair.

  “You have got to learn to think with something that isn’t your dick,” Kestrel scolded him. “Now move so Sparrow can sit.”

  “That’s not her name,” Vaughn announced from right behind me. “She has one.”

  Kestrel pivoted to stare past me, and Jasper raised his brows. In my attempt to find somewhere else to look, I locked gazes with Doc. The thoughtful patience in his eyes trapped me until he nodded to the chair. “Join us?”

  Arms still folded, I moved over to the chair and sat down.

  “What crawled up your ass and died, princess?” Liam asked a moment before Rome jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

  “She doesn’t want to be called princess.”

  “Sounds to me like she doesn’t want to be called a lot of things—”

  “Shut up, Liam,” Jasper and Kestrel said in the same breath, with Vaughn only a quarter syllable behind them.

  “Yes,” Freddie chortled with a fist pump. “Suck it, you Irish bastard. For once, it’s not me.”

  “He’s not a bastard,” Rome said with a smirk. “That’s still you.”

  “Enough, Freddie,” Doc said with this quiet snap that silenced the lean jokester with the quick smiles and easy humor. “Rome, don’t provoke him.”

  “He’s a prick,” Rome retorted as if that were a defense, but raised his hands before glancing at me with a frown.

  “Emersyn,” Doc said as he sat forward.

  “If you ask me what’s wrong, I’ll throw this cup at you.” The cup in question being the one that Kestrel slid onto the table in front of me. Black coffee, just the way I’d drunk it pretty much every day.

  “Thanks for the warning,” Doc said as he covered my hand on the mug and locked it down. “What’s wrong?”

  Liam snorted a soft laugh, but it ended as abruptly as it started. I stared at where Doc held my hand on the cup and shook my head. “I came down because Jasper said you wanted to take the splint off.”

  “That doesn’t answer the question.”

  “You’re right,” I agreed and met his gaze. “But it’s the only one I have.” I wiggled my hand some, and he lifted his grip. The silence splintered the room as he drew his hand back, and I debated whether I should reach for the coffee or just wait. As it was, Kestrel and Jasper were glaring at each other. Vaughn stood so close behind my chair, I could feel the heat rolling off him, and I swore Doc and Rome both stared at me like they could see through my skin.

  The only two ignoring me were Freddie and Liam. The former was rooting around in the fridge, and the latter slathered butter on some toast. It was the first time the scent of food registered. Including pancakes. There was even maple syrup.

  Doc downed his coffee and stood.

  “Let’s go ahead and get that splint off.”

  Fine by me. I left the coffee behind and rose. I nearly collided with Vaughn as I stood, but he steadied me with a hand on my waist. The contact sizzled, even through the leotard. I might as well have been wearing nothing.

  With care, he pulled my chair out of the way and then stepped aside to let me follow Doc. We went to the little living room area. I wasn’t sure why we had to do this in here rather than the kitchen. He was just taking the splint off, right?

  “She doesn’t need an audience, boys,” Doc said without glancing back.

  I did.

  Jasper was at the doorway to the kitchen where Kestrel seemed to be blocking him, but Vaughn prowled right behind me.

  “I’m her friend,” Vaughn announced. “Not an audience.”

  I stopped dead and turned to face him.

  “You’re my what?”

  “I’m your friend, Dove. You may not think so, bad communication on my part. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it.”

  The flutter that hit me at that promise sent heat pulsing through my system. Even my chest seemed to lock up against taking another breath.

  Grinning, he touched my shoulders lightly, then turned me around before whispering against my ear, “Whatever is going on, we’ll figure it out. Okay?”

  I wanted to believe him so badly.

  It was actually kind of pathetic how much I wanted to believe him.

  “You don’t have to believe me,” Vaughn murmured, even as my gaze locked on Doc’s where he watched us almost impassively. The silken velvet of Vaughn’s voice smoothed out the roughness in my system, sanded down the jagged bits, and even broke up lumps of fear that kept trying to collect in my throat. “I’ll earn that belief from you. I promise.” Then, raising his voice, he continued, “Now let’s get this splint off and get Doc to tell us you’re all healed.”

  Then what?

  What happened when Doc pronounced me one hundred percent healed? Did I end up in that room where Eric was? That seemed pretty farfetched. They’d been looking after me. I had my own room.

  And my own keepers.

  Still, it was like chasing my own tail as I tried to solve this riddle. I didn’t have all the pieces to the puzzle.

  Doc motioned for me to take a seat on the sofa, and he took a seat next to me. Vaughn actually kept his distance, arms folded as he leaned against the doorframe to the room.

  None of the others showed up.

  Not even Jasper.

  Another puzzle piece.

  Except I didn’t even know what picture I was supposed to be making.

  I didn’t even know if it was a picture.

  “Little Bit,” Doc said as he reached for
my wrist. “I’m going to take the splint off, then we’re going to test your mobility and the stress on it. If it even twinges, I need you to tell me.”

  I nodded.

  “Now, I expect there to be some weakness, probably muscle tone loss in this forearm. We’ll work out something to help build that back up.”

  Vaughn’s phone rang, and he ducked out of the door to answer it.

  “And if you want to get out of here,” Doc continued as the splint came free. “Just tell me. I’ll find a way to get you out.”

  Chapter 18

  Emersyn

  I had no way to follow up Doc’s surprising offer because Vaughn walked back in. “How’s she looking?”

  “We’re just getting started,” Doc told him without looking at him. “And friend or not, you don’t get to ask the questions.”

  I bit back a smile, but not before Doc noticed it. The corner of his mouth kicked up a little higher, and then his warm hand wrapped around my wrist. It felt weird to have the splint off. Even as he flattened my palm to his free hand, I schooled myself for the inevitable discomfort.

  His hand was warm and calloused against mine. They were also scarred, like the rest of him. He had tatted over the worst of it, the tale of what happened to him etched into his flesh. Not that he’d told me what happened, just shown that like me, he also had his scars.

  With the heel of my palm against his, it was easy to see how his fingers dwarfed mine.

  “You really are a little bit,” Doc said with a grin. “Now I’m going to manipulate your wrist. Relax and let me do the work.”

  I nodded, not quite trusting my voice when my mouth went dry. He began to rotate it slowly, first clockwise, then counter-clockwise. There were faint twinges, more protests from neglected muscles infuriated by the action after so much forced passiveness. The stretch along my forearm offered its own complaint, but there was no sharp pain. No grind of bones.

  Weakness could be trained away. Broken bones healed stronger.

  That was the old saying, right?

  I should be a woman of steel then.

  “Good?” He gave me an assessing look.

  “Achy, but that’s to be expected. It’s not my first break.”

  “Oh, that I know. You’re going to want to get right back to work on that, I suppose. But we’re going to focus on stretching and strengthening first. Too much stress could re-injure it.”

  I shrugged. “That depends. It wasn’t broken from my work.”

  Not that I could dance or perform at the moment anyway. It would be nice to shower without having to wrap the wrist. Or maybe even just soak in a bath without my arm up or propped at some weird angle.

  “Let’s check the ribs.”

  I raised both brows. My ribs were fine. We both knew it. Most of the bruising had faded. What few yellowish-green marks remained weren’t even painful. It was just the body being sluggish to clear it all. I stood and Doc rose with me. Like all of them, he towered over me.

  “Starting at the bottom,” he told me, telegraphing and announcing every move he intended before he did them. He took his time, moving rib by rib up my sides, and I stretched my arms out as he brushed the sides of my breasts, then down again. “No discomfort?”

  I shrugged. “Not really. I’m sure there will be when…if I ever train again.” If I ever trained again. “I’m fine, Doc. I’m pretty sure you’ve fixed all the broken bits and put me back together.”

  Whatever that meant for me now that I was healed.

  “Pretty sure I haven’t done that,” he said in a low tone that I nearly missed when Vaughn surrounded me from behind in an unexpected hug. Even knowing he was there, I wasn’t ready for that embrace. Fortunately, the minute I stiffened, he loosened his hold.

  “Sorry, Dove. Just excited about the good news.”

  Doc packed up his stuff. “We still need to talk about rehabbing that wrist and doing more for the ankle.”

  “I actually know what I need to do. I’ve rehabbed after a lot of injuries.” I lifted one shoulder, hoping that Vaughn would get the hint and let me go. Despite the initial surprise, it was kind of nice to have his warm arms around me. Too nice. Rather than let me go, Vaughn settled his hands down on my hips and tugged me back a couple of steps as Doc finished packing up.

  “How many injuries is a lot?” Vaughn asked.

  I shrugged again. “Dancing is pain. I’d really rather not discuss this.”

  “I’m just asking a question, Dove.”

  Stepping away from him, I pivoted to face him. Sure, it put my back to Doc, but for the most part, he’d seemed to be on my side. Granted, he’d left me here, but after Jasper pulled a gun on him, I couldn’t really blame him for that.

  And I’d seen what they’d done to Eric.

  “I’ve asked a lot of questions. I’ll answer yours when you start answering mine.”

  The pale brown, almost topaz eyes remained guarded as he frowned. “Dove, there’s some things you’re better off not knowing.”

  “Right back atcha then.” I folded my arms, and it felt weird to not have that brace on anymore. Not that I was complaining.

  “What’s the final verdict?” Jasper asked from the doorway before Vaughn could respond with whatever he planned to say.

  “She’s good,” Doc said. “She will need to rehab the wrist and the ankle. I have stuff at the center she can use—”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Dark gray eyes arrested me as Jasper cut off Doc and stared at me. “Come on, fierce dancer, I have something to show you.”

  Fierce Dancer?

  “Do you guys have an actual problem with people’s names?” All of them came up with some kind of nickname for me, and they were all different. Some were sweet, some were cute, and some were just downright funny.

  I possessed a dark enough sense of humor to appreciate Freddie’s Boo-Boo. At least he’d nicknamed me after my bruises rather than my pussy. Though, I supposed that could have been funny in some twisted way.

  Jasper smirked. “We tend to call people how we see them.”

  “And you see me as a fierce dancer?”

  “I do,” he agreed, extending his hand and curling his fingers in a beckoning gesture. It was the first time I got a good look at him today. He was dressed in slacks instead of jeans, and a dark gray button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows on both sides. The top button at his collar was undone, but the rest of it was neatly pressed. His hair, while a little on the longish side, brushed the collar, and his beard had been groomed. He was even wearing dress shoes.

  He looked…good.

  Curiosity burned through me as I side-stepped Vaughn and headed toward Jasper. I didn’t take his hand, I just nodded to the door. Despite all other appearances, we did need some boundaries. “The best part of being healed is I can manage on my own.”

  Instead of irritation, amusement filled his eyes. “Good point.” So he shifted and motioned to the door, arms wide to allow me to pass. It shouldn’t have surprised me to find the hallway filled with Kestrel, Rome, Liam, and Freddie.

  “Clean bill of health, Boo-Boo?” Freddie demanded as I exited. He didn’t wait for my answer as he stared at my newly-bared wrist and fist pumped. “Yes! I need a new partner in crime.” He slung his arm around my shoulders. “I nominate you. First of all, you’re prettier than the rest of these assholes and you smell better too. Notice, I’m not discussing how pretty your pussy is, though that was pretty damn spectacular too.”

  Kestrel glared at him, but I cracked up. I couldn’t help it. Despite the word vomit flowing out of Freddie’s mouth, he seemed genuine, and even the arm around me was light and almost affectionate. There was none of that crowding sensation. No matter how obnoxious and crass his statements were, there was zero threat in them.

  He reminded me of some of the dancers I’d worked with during my first professional show. They talked about everything from pussies to breasts to asses and dicks. I had a lot of information on all of that from those very
vivid discussions, but like Freddie, there was never anything invasive or even sexual about it.

  They talked about bodies because bodies were our business.

  Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, even as I laughed, but I blinked them away. That first tour had been the best one.

  Before everything changed.

  “You know,” Freddie continued, tugging me along at his side as we headed away from the kitchen and the living room down a hallway I hadn’t walked before. I mean, I’d known it was here. It was a mirror of the second floor above. But there’d been no reason to go down here. “We should totally show you the new addition before the guys take my head off. You know I’m harmless, right?”

  “I’m not a forty-year-old mom who likes it in the ass,” I told him glibly. “Pretty sure I’m safe.”

  Freddie threw his head back and laughed. “I’d never say no to your ass, Boo-Boo. I promise. But I can already tell you’re going to be my favorite. We’re going to have so much fun.”

  Before we made it another two steps, Jasper was in front of us and Kestrel peeled Freddie right off me, then Vaughn replaced him. When I glanced back to make sure Kestrel wasn’t throttling Freddie, I caught Rome’s wince and Liam blocking Kestrel and Freddie from bumping into him again.

  Was Rome all right?

  I didn’t get a chance to ask because Jasper caught my hand and tugged me from Vaughn.

  “Guys,” Doc said with an almost aggrieved sigh. “She’s not a damn bone for you all to fight over and play tug of war with.” Until he spoke, I hadn’t even realized he’d followed along.

  The scuffling around me ceased and Jasper’s grip gentled, but he still threaded his fingers with mine. When I glanced down at it and then up at him, he raised his eyebrows. “Is this all right? Freddie might be an irritating shit, but he is right—we have something to show you. I have something for you.”

  “Okay.” I mean, that seemed easy enough to say. “You all are officially the strangest kidnappers ever.”

  Because either they had lost their minds, or I was losing mine. Nothing about this made sense. Why would he have something to show me? I’d be worried it was Eric in that room, broken and bloody, but this wasn’t even in the same direction.