“Maybe I should call for help.” Danielle straightened her shoulders, lifting her chin as if she wasn’t sure the threat was enough.
Stryker paused in his retrieval of his uncle and growled, “If you do that, be prepared. We’ll claim you set all this up and that you were looking for a way to steal his empire from him. Easy as that.”
Danielle’s bravado released like someone had deflated a balloon. She dropped her gaze and her shoulders slumped. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”
“Get in and wait.” Stryker pointed at the modified bench seat that had been set up against the side of the van cargo space. With only a driver and passenger seat in the front, the van was designed to carry plenty of things. I’m not sure it was meant to haul people.
Danielle picked her way over Vlasi’s body and then over my father’s, ignoring both of them like they were dirt beneath her shoulders. She claimed a spot gingerly on the edge of the bench, reaching out to hold onto the support bar running from floor to ceiling of the inside.
Maria climbed in after her, moving close to the bench but not sitting down. After she settled beside her sister, leaning her butt against the wall of the van, she moved quickly and wrapped a zip tie around Danielle’s wrist and then secured it around the bar, pulling it tight and backing out of arm’s reach of Danielle.
Staring at her arm while trying to pull away from the bar, Danielle screeched and then slapped her free hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.
Everyone froze and waited. What if rapid footfalls reached us? We’d be made. The only one who would have gotten justice was Vlasi. That wouldn’t be fair. We all deserved to see justice meted out.
“What are you doing?” Danielle’s whisper barely reached us as she glared defiantly at my mom when only silence answered our anticipation.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll find out soon enough.” Mom jumped down from the back of the van and motioned toward Stryker and Gunner to load Dominick.
Their uncle didn’t weigh as much as the heavier, older Russian. They bent in, pulled him out and then threw him in the back of the van. They shimmied him up closer to Danielle, holding out a hand to my mom for an extra zip tie which she produced from her bust area.
They tied Dominick to the same bar as Danielle, only lower than the bench, and they climbed down from the van.
My mom stepped close to me, turning me to look in my eyes.
I wrinkled my nose and slightly shook my head. “Don’t look too close. I’m all sweaty and gross.” I didn’t want her to see me like that after it had been all that time since she’d last seen me.
Where did we go from there? Was my mom going to be in my life now? Were we going to have family dinners with Stryker and his cousins coming over? Where would we live? What would we do? Would we stay in Jameson? I had the sudden desire to make sure I finished high school in the small town. I had so many questions but I couldn’t ask them. Not yet.
She reached out with both hands, gripping my biceps in each hand as she stared at me. “You’ve grown so much. You’re gorgeous. I always told your dad you’d be more petite like me.” A softness in her eyes like I remembered from before made me hold my tongue. I wanted to make a smartass remark, but something told me I wanted to hear what she had to say.
She released my arm for a brief second, wiping at the sudden moisture under her eyes. “There’s… so much I want to say that I’ll never get a chance to. I didn’t leave you because I wanted to. I didn’t mean to leave you to this… mess. You’re my everything, you know that? I love you so much. I just also thought I could love my sister enough to stop all of this, but…” Mom reached up and brushed the hair at my hair line with her fingertips. I blinked at the warmth pricking behind my eyes.
What was she saying? It felt like goodbye all over again, but that wasn’t possible. I just found her. She could be free from Dominick now. We had him; we were winning.
“I don’t understand. What aren’t you saying?” I bit my lip to keep from begging. I couldn’t say goodbye. Not again. Not now. Not when I just found out my dad had traded me. Where did I go from there?
She ignored my question, looking past me to Stryker. “Can you take care of her?”
Take care of me? What was she talking about?
Stryker wrapped his arm around me and nodded. “That’s all I have planned.”
“I wish I could have known you better.” Mom reached out and shook his hand, smiling as she spoke. “You pissed Dominick off to no end. I liked you before I met you.” She winked and reached out, closing the doors on the mess in the back. Ignoring the pleas from her sister.
She stepped back in front of me and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I’d missed the way she’d hugged. With her whole body, just wrapping you tight as she held you close.
“Mom, you don’t have to go back to that. You… I mean, we won, right?” I glanced up at Stryker, seeking confirmation for my question.
She smiled at me, shaking her head. “It’s not considered a win unless you’ve gotten rid of the opponent, remember?”
She was throwing boxing philosophy at me? At me? She’d never really seemed to pay attention to the sport, just seemed to tolerate it and there she was throwing a random training mantra at me?
That just didn’t seem fair.
“There’s a railroad crossing near here, right?” Mom looked at Stryker as if everything hung in the balance of his answer.
He nodded, squeezing me tighter against his side. “Yeah, it’s down about a mile just before you get to the highway. There are a few different trains running through there this time of day. Be careful, they go pretty fast.”
But he was saying something else. He knew what she was going to do. I could barely grasp the import of her intentions as I blinked at her.
She shook her head, smiling sadly as she reached for me again, this time the embrace felt like it might be our last. “This won’t be our fresh start, Gray. It will be yours. That’s the best I can give you.” She kissed my forehead, like she did when I was little then pulled back to stare at me one more time. “I missed you so much. I’m so proud of you.” She didn’t bother blinking back tears that coursed down her cheeks as she glanced once more at Stryker and then patted both our arms on opposite sides.
“Mom?” I leaned forward as if to follow her and she gave a meaningful look to Stryker who tightened his hold on me.
He knew. He knew what she was going to do and he’d helped her. I couldn’t breathe and yet at the same time, I couldn’t stop gasping.
My mom turned and didn’t look back as she rounded the rear of the van. The door closed with a deep snap and I winced.
Stryker’s arms wrapped around me, holding me tight like in a vice. He wouldn’t let me go. I couldn’t chase the van with my mom and my dad in it. Even my aunt had been trapped inside. Everyone in my world, hated or otherwise, was in that van or holding me back.
What exactly was I supposed to do?
Chapter 24
Gray
“You have to let me go. Stryker, I have to stop her. Please.” I sagged against him, calling out as the van’s engine turned over and rumbled. Sickly sweet exhaust poured from the pipe in the back, puffing around us. The shiny white vehicle shifted into drive.
I turned my gaze up to him, my eyes wide. “Please. I have to try to stop her.”
Stryker stared down at me, softly shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you.”
In his arms, I turned and watched the van drive slowly away. Heat coursed down my cheeks and I gripped the shirt material over Stryker’s chest. “But that’s my mom. I can’t just let her go.”
“You have to. I’m sorry, but you do. It sucks and it’s not fair, but if you run after her, it will be that much harder on her than it already is.” His words didn’t rebuke me but instead gently reminded me that I wasn’t the only one in this situation.
I leaned forward, resting my cheek against his shoulder, staring after the van as it pulled out of the p
arking lot. “I need her though, you know?” I sniffed. I didn’t want to admit my need for anyone. Wasn’t that what I’d worked so hard to prove?
“I know. But…” His voice faded and I wondered if Stryker even knew what was happening. He must. He’d restrained me from following my family, from joining them. For a split second I’d considered it. If they were all going to die, why shouldn’t I?
The thought of them dying left me feeling lonelier and more betrayed than anything had until that moment. I closed my eyes as the van taillights slipped out of sight. Sobs ripped from me and I turned my face into Stryker’s chest, moving my hands around his sides and gripping the muscles of his back. “Why did she do this? I don’t understand.”
His hands stroked my back as his hold softened. Stryker leaned his cheek against the top of my head and sighed. “Because she wants you to be safe and can’t guarantee that, if any of them live. Think about it – if Danielle lives but Dominick dies? She will see revenge. If Alex lives, he’ll continue to try to trade you to pay off his debt. If Dominick lives, we will never be safe, and with Vlasi in the van, it’s obvious they were trying to get rid of the body. We can let this go and move on.”
I twisted my lips to the side and pulled back, glancing up at him. “But why did she have to die? She didn’t have to go with them. We could have figured something out.”
Stryker studied me, an incredible sadness darkening his silver eyes to stainless steel. “No. I think she chose that part herself. The things she’s had to do since leaving you… I can only imagine the torment she’s been going through.” He shook his head. “She probably wanted to escape the mental pain. Living in Dominick’s world couldn’t have been easy.”
I thought about what he wasn’t saying. She’d been in so much emotional and spiritual pain that death was preferable.
Getting rid of everyone in that van had saved me from that exact fate. She’d sacrificed herself so I could live my life. That act disproved everything I’d believed about my mom for so long. Not only did I have to reconcile what had really happened with what I’d believed to be true, I also had to retrain my thoughts around my family, my relatives, and what traits I used to define myself.
“How will we know that… she succeeded?” I didn’t want to say that they were all dead. I wasn’t ready for that just yet.
“I’m not sure.” He shook his head and glanced up as Gunner’s phone rang.
“Yeah.” Gunner listened for a minute and raised his eyes, taking in Stryker and then me. His lips pursed and he nodded. “Of course. Thanks.” He ended the call and tucked the phone back in his rear pocket. “We have a problem.”
“Another one?” Stryker lifted his chin, ready to take on whatever Gunner gave him.
I tensed. I wasn’t ready for more. I hadn’t yet recovered from the previous pile of problems. In fact, my heart had shattered into a million pieces and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pick them and put them back together.
“We need to get out of here. The cops are on their way. Someone just discovered Blaze overdosed in a trailer full of hookers. The tournament is over.” He nodded toward the SUV we’d come in two spaces over from where we stood. I still wasn’t sure how Stryker had gotten to the school that morning when I’d ridden with Gunner and Brock in the SUV.
Had I heard him right? Blaze was dead because he’d been with hookers? He’d overdosed before his fight? Somehow, that didn’t surprise me.
Stryker didn’t hesitate. He shifted me to his side and we strode toward the SUV, climbing inside when we got there. Gunner claimed the driver’s seat and started the engine. He glanced back at the rest of us. “Should we go home?”
Home. Odd how we had become something of a family.
“I think the bunker will be our safest bet for the next few days until things blow over. Maybe we can hit up the house later this week and get back to school. Something normal.” Stryker shut the rear passenger door with a snap. “We need to pick up Sara and Brock, too. Do you have a bead on them?”
Gunner passed his phone back to Stryker, pulling from the lot with a slight bump as we went over the line between the road and the parking lot.
Stryker dialed Gunner’s phone and pressed the piece to his ear as he continued to hold me close, like he worried I’d disappear or something. “Brock, is everything okay?” As he listened, Stryker ran his fingers lightly up and down the outer line of my bare biceps, up and down, slowly and softly like a feather.
I focused on his touch, ignoring the sensations of loss and grief. I wanted to forget. I needed to forget what was happening. What I couldn’t control needed to be forgotten as well. What I could control, I needed to take by both hands and wrap myself up.
“Got it. I’ll send Gunner over next. He’s in the SUV. Don’t go with anyone else. Got me?” The orders were unmistakable. Stryker hung up and glanced at me and then at Gunner in the rearview mirror. “Sara was treated for injuries she can recover from at home. We won’t be sending her to her parents’ place for a bit. Her house caught fire and they’re investigating her parents and uncle for meth production. Brock is bringing her home with us for a bit. Can you drop us off at the bunker and then you go grab them? They’re at County in the emergency room.”
Gunner didn’t question as he drove, he just nodded. He’d had a lot to process as well, but he had to be feeling better about his dad since finding out his father hadn’t actually killed himself. That relief would be overshadowed with the knowledge that his dad didn’t have to actually die then. That would be an entirely different grief to process.
Stryker leaned forward, clapping a hand on Gunner’s shoulder. “Hey, man, you okay?’
Gunner paused, staring at the road and then shifted his gaze to meet Stryker’s in the mirror. “Yeah. I will be. At least I know the truth, you know?”
Stryker leaned back in the seat, nodding. “Yeah. I feel the same way.” He’d had to swallow a lot of information that day. We all had.
We rode the rest of the way to the bunker in silence.
I cleared my throat as we approached the gravel parking lot. “How will we know if… the van made it where it was headed?” What I wanted to ask was what if my mom had made it? What if she was still alive? What if I still had a chance with her?
“Gunner will check when he grabs Brock and Sara. Come on. You need to clean up.” What he wasn’t saying was that we needed to get out of view in case someone was looking for us for revenge.
Stryker pushed the door open before we’d come to a complete stop and stepped from the SUV as Gunner braked outside the tunnel. He held up a hand to me and I accepted his assistance. Right then wasn’t the time to push my independence.
I waved to Gunner half-heartedly and glanced at Stryker. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”
Stryker ushered me inside the tunnel, pushing us past the softly glowing lantern sconces and over the gritty floor. “Oh yeah, Gunner’s tough. He doesn’t need to be coddled. Plus, this is better news than you think. It’s hard to accept, but Dominick took all the blame off our dads. We thought Hunter killed himself which always filled us with shame. Knowing that he wouldn’t do that to his son makes me proud to know that he wouldn’t have given up. Gunner is going to be working through his emotions for a while. We just need to have patience.”
I nodded as we passed through the conference area and Stryker pushed open the familiar secret compartment.
A rush of warm air buffeted around us as the panel opened. We stepped through the doorway and then I sank into the closest chair as the door closed. For the first time since being in the locker room, it dawned on me that I was still barefoot. That didn’t seem to matter before that moment, though.
We were safe. No one could get to us that didn’t know where we were already. If nothing else, I could relax enough to breathe and try to process what had happened.
Except the more I tried to work through my loss and the events leading up to my mom driving away from me – again – I realized
just how much I didn’t want to face that. I wasn’t mentally stable for that. Not that kind of loss. Not yet.
I lifted my gaze to find Stryker staring at me, worry etching lines around his mouth and in his forehead. Licking my lips, I pushed myself from the chair and became acutely aware of my skimpy fighting clothes. Goose bumps rose down my arms and the back of my neck as I let my body do the thinking for once.
Stryker backed up as I advanced, pushing his hands out as if to stop me. I paused; his palms warm on my shoulders. “You still don’t want me?” Maybe the actions of my relatives had left me undesirable to him. Maybe he thought I would really trade myself for my dad and he wasn’t sure about me, now. Maybe I wasn’t what he wanted since I’d killed Vlasi.
I couldn’t handle rejection right then. I needed to feel him on me, his skin against mine. I needed to feel something other than the grief and loss enshrouding me and the disbelief from the last few hours. I didn’t want to think about the pain in my body from the fight I wasn’t sure I’d actually won – judges’ decision or not.
“I’ll always want you, Gray. But you’ve been through too much to put you through more right now.” He rubbed his thumbs over the skin he had access to on my shoulders. The dark of his eyes grew larger as he studied me.
I stared up at him, my chest rising and falling with each breath. “I need you. I want you. Please. I need this.” Was he hearing how I needed to feel something, anything other than what I was drowning in? Was that something I could say without embarrassing myself more than necessary? He was saying no. I didn’t to push him, but at the same time, I couldn’t help preparing to beg.
He looked at me, taking me in and he softly shook his head. “I don’t want you to regret anything.”
“I regret not doing anything like this last week. I regret a lot of things. Please. Stryker. I don’t want to think.” I reached up, circling my hands around the bends in his elbows. His muscles flexed and I inhaled, ready to beg, so close to begging. I needed his strength and I needed it now. “Help me forget. Distract me. I need you.”
Her Champions: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 3) Page 21