Smash: A Stepbrother MMA Romance (Includes bonus novel Rock Hard!)

by Hamel, B. B.

  Which meant that you could actually see the stars. There were hundreds of them, way more than most people saw in their light-polluted suburbs. Maybe the darkness hid other things, other dangerous things, but it also revealed some things, too. You could learn a lot about yourself in the darkness, about what kind of man you were when it came right down to it.

  We all have a little darkness in us. But I was learning it was more about how you managed that darkness than anything else. Being a good person doesn’t mean being perfect, it means trying to do your best in a fucked-up situation.

  And there were few situations more fucked up than mine.

  I pulled my truck in next to the other cars and took note of a little red Miata. It was Lindsey’s car, an old used little sports car that she bought relatively recently. I had no clue how she could afford it, but I wasn’t too concerned with that.

  I stepped out onto the soft dirt and headed over toward the party. Instantly, I got a weird vibe: something was up.

  I noticed the guys first. They stood out like lions in a zebra pen. They were older guys, rough around the edges, and clearly not part of the usual crowd of this party. It took me a second to realize that they were probably mob dudes, though what the hell they were doing here was beyond me.

  I waded into the people, nodding at those I recognized.

  “Climber!” I glanced at the voice and smiled.

  “Hey, Jen.”

  She smiled back at me. Jen was about five feet tall and maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet, but I had known her since high school. She had always hung around Thom and his friends, though why I had no idea. She was nice, or at least as nice as you could be and still be a functioning coke addict.

  “What are you doing here, Climber?”

  “Looking for Thom.”

  She nodded at the trailer. “He’s in there with some pretty weird dudes.”

  “Weird dudes?”

  “Yeah, like, tough guys. I don’t know. They were assholes so I left.”

  “Catch any names?”

  “One guy was called Jay, I think.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Tattoos? Real square-looking?”

  She laughed. “Square like a truck, sure.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “So why haven’t you been around much lately?”

  “Been busy. Got a lot going on right now.”

  “I heard your mom is in remission.”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “That’s really awesome, man.”

  “Thanks, Jen. I’ve got to find Thom. I’ll see you later.”

  “Sure. Later.”

  I turned and stalked off, not in the mood to get caught up in any further bullshit with her. Jen was nice and all that, but she sure as fuck could talk a lot, and I had business to attend to.

  Plus, there was the matter of Jay being at the fucking party.

  What would a high-ranking mobster be doing at some shitty, lame local spot?

  I moved through the people, ignoring comments, and banged on the door of the trailer. I heard voices inside immediately stop talking.

  “What?” someone called.

  “It’s Reid. Looking for Thom.”

  There was a pause. “Come in.”

  I pulled the door open and stepped inside. It was dank and dim, but instantly I made out about six people lounging around. Two of them I didn’t recognize, but they were clearly more of those mob-looking dudes. Two were girls that I’d seen around but never bothered talking to, probably drug groupies looking to score.

  The other two were Jay and Thom, sitting at the little table like they were best buds. I felt my blood run cold and had to stifle my anger. What the fuck had Thom walked me into?

  “Ah, Climber, it’s you,” Jay said.

  Everyone looked at me. “Jay. Thom.” I nodded to them.

  “Come in, Climber. Join us.”

  I walked into the space and found an empty counter to lean up against. As soon as I was in position, the others went back to talking. I noticed the girls snort coke from a little white mirror and the two guys laugh at them.

  “What brings you here?” Jay asked me.

  Thom looked nervous but I tried to ignore it. “Just hanging out. Thought I’d say what’s up to Thom.”

  “You want a bump?” Jay motioned to another mirror covered in coke.

  “Nah. I’m good.”

  “Come on, Mister Climber. Have a little hit. Or maybe a beer?”

  I glanced down and noticed a cooler. I grabbed it and pulled out a drink, cracking it open. I didn’t want to get fucked up with the mobsters around and figured beer was the lesser of the two options.

  “You don’t do coke?”

  “Not often.” I sipped my drink.

  Jay leaned forward and snorted a line with a rolled up hundred. Thom gave me an apologetic look, though I had no clue why. Jay threw his head back, his eyes a little wild and excited as the drugs hit his bloodstream.

  “Fuck yes, that shit is good,” he said.

  Thom laughed nervously. “Yeah, it’s really good shit.”

  “Mister Climber, you’re missing out.”

  Thom took the hundred and snorted his own line. I took another long drink.

  “What are you doing here anyway, Jay?”

  He cocked his head. “Why do you ask that?”

  I shrugged. “Seems like this isn’t your kind of scene.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. I have many scenes.”

  “You go to local parties out in the woods often?”

  He laughed. “No, maybe I don’t. But tonight I’m doing business.”

  My pulse quickened. I wanted to press but I didn’t want to seem too eager. “I hope Thom isn’t trying to rip you guys off,” I said jokingly.

  “Oh, if he tried that we’d tear off his balls and shove them down his throat.” Jay’s expression didn’t change, and I assumed he wasn’t kidding.

  “I’d never do that, Jay,” Thom said quickly.

  I grinned at him and finished my beer. “By the way, Thom, speaking of business, I got those amps you wanted.”

  He looked confused for a second and then nodded slowly. “Okay, cool.”

  “They’re out in my truck if you want to take a look.”

  “Amps?” Jay asked. “What’s this shit?”

  “For my guitar,” Thom said. “My other one’s fucking busted.”

  “You play guitar? Like rock music?”

  Thom nodded. “Sure. I got a little band.”

  Jay laughed loudly. “You have your guitar here? You can play for us.”

  Thom shook his head. “No guitar. Sorry, Jay.”

  “Ah shit. You have to play for me sometime. Play your rock music.” He laughed loudly.

  Thom stood up. “We’ll be back in a few.”

  “Be fast. We have more terms to negotiate.”

  Thom nodded and followed me back out of the trailer. As soon as we were out of earshot, he turned on me.

  “What the fuck was that, Climber? Joking about me ripping him off?”

  “You deserved it, asshole. What the fuck is he doing here?”

  “Jesus, he just showed up. I had no clue they were coming.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “I swear. He just showed up and started negotiating terms or some shit. Really, I think he’s just fucked up and bored.”

  “This is pretty shitty, Thom. The guy we’re planning on trying to fuck over just appears at this party?”

  “I know, man. I swear, I’m not trying to pull anything. I’m as in this thing as you are now.”

  I clenched my fists and turned away.

  “Fine. Let’s talk at my truck.” I stalked off and he followed me. I figured we needed a little privacy for whatever he had to say, and it didn’t hurt to keep up appearances.

  I leaned against the bumper and crossed my arms as Thom looked around sheepishly.

  “So, where’s the amp?” he asked.

  “Are you fucking kidding?”

/>   “What? You said you had an amp to sell me.”

  “I only said that to get you out of the trailer. Jesus fuck, Thom.”

  “Okay, man, sorry. What am I supposed to tell Jay if he asks about the amp?”

  I stared at him. I knew he was an idiot but holy shit was he pushing it. “Tell him you didn’t want it.”

  “Okay, yeah. Good call.”

  “Am I going to have to fucking strangle you or are you going to tell me why you made me come out here?”

  Thom nodded and twitched slightly. He was obviously a little high, which probably explained his extra stupidity.

  “Right, yeah, so. I heard some shit today about the mob.”

  “Tell me.”

  “So you met those guys up north, right?” I nodded and he continued. “Apparently the guys up there aren’t happy with how things are being run down here. There’s some kind of war going on.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “An internal struggle?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Why?”

  “Hard to say. I heard something about money. Not getting enough of it, I guess.”

  “Tell me more. Who’s involved?”

  “I don’t know, man. Jay is definitely involved somehow. Who’d you meet up north?”

  “Guy named Rigley.”

  “Rigley! Shit, I knew it was a weird name. Yeah, he’s important up there.”

  “Why is he meeting with me, then?”

  “Hard to say.”

  I leaned back against the truck and crossed my arms, thoughtful.

  “So there’s a civil war going on and it’s all over money, right?”

  “Seems that way.”

  “And we know where they keep their money here.”

  “We do?”

  I nodded. “Or at least where they launder it.” I felt like I was talking to a child.

  “I’m not sure I like where you’re going with this.”

  I glared at him. “You don’t know where I’m going with this and don’t pretend like you’re capable of following along.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever, man, so long as I get my ten grand.”

  “You will.”

  “Hey, you sure you don’t got that amp? Mine really is a piece of shit.”

  I only heard half of what Thom was saying, though, as I looked across the field and my heart skipped a beat. Standing with Lindsey was Becca, and they were both talking to a group of three mobsters.

  “What’s Becca doing here?” I said softly.

  Thom turned and looked. “Oh damn. Yeah, your sister is here.”

  “She’s with Lindsey. And who are those guys?”

  “That’s Jay and his goons, man.” Thom laughed. “What’s she doing with Lindsey?”

  “They’re friends.” I pushed up off the truck bed and began walking fast back toward Becca. I needed her to get away from Jay before she gave away who she was.

  I couldn’t put her in more danger. The more Jay knew about her, the worse it could be for her. I practically ran to get there.

  “Lindsey is bad news, man,” Thom said, but I barely heard him. “She’s connected as fuck right now.”

  I crossed the field, rapidly closing in on Becca and the mobsters. I had to get her out of there.

  Nothing else was on my mind but keeping her safe.

  Hours later, in the van out in the middle of the woods, Thom’s words came back to me. She’s connected as fuck right now,

  he had said.

  But what the hell did he mean by that?

  Lindsey was definitely an addict, and she had been standing really close to Jay, but that was no surprise. I assumed she was fucking him for drugs or something.

  But what if it was more than that? Lindsey had been working at the Blue for a while.

  I shook my head. That girl was too dumb to be that involved. Plus, Becca despised me as it was. I couldn’t keep pushing her further away. True, she was better off if I wasn’t in her life, but that didn’t matter.

  Everything had become about Becca.

  I wanted to get away from the mob not just for my own sake, but for my family’s, too. The longer I stayed in, the more possible danger they were in.

  And I couldn’t take it if anything bad happened to Becca.

  I sighed and rolled over, exhaustion weighing down my lids. I blew out the candle, turned off my phone, and wrapped myself in blankets.

  I needed to think. I needed to piece it all together.

  And I needed to keep Becca safe.

  I fell asleep dreaming about sneaking into her warm, comfortable room and sliding my hard dick deep between her legs.

  Chapter Nineteen: Rebecca

  He was hot and cold. Mostly hot, but suddenly something seemed to clamp down inside him and he’d pull away. I hadn’t seen it happen often. It had happened when he confessed the smuggling to me, and again when we were in the car, driving home from the party.

  He looked like he was stemming the tide. Of what, I had no clue, but there was something locked down there that he was keeping from me.

  He didn’t come home that night. I know because I woke up around five in the morning and checked his room. I felt like such a creep poking my head into his room, but I felt a little worried. Seeing his empty bed didn’t help my anxiety at all.

  Sleep didn’t come back, and so I was exhausted when I stumbled into the kitchen around seven. Cora was already awake and cooking pancakes.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “Morning,” I grumbled, pouring myself some coffee.

  “Want some?”

  I nodded blearily, taking the first delicious sip of the morning. I looked forward to that first cup of coffee every single day. It was the best kind of ritual.

  “Where’s my dad?” I asked, sitting down.

  “Took a weekend shift.”

  “Again?”

  “I keep trying to talk him out of it but he just keeps working.”

  I frowned. My dad was barely ever home anymore. I was beginning to worry that he had a second family, or maybe that he was going to work himself to death. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

  Cora finished the stack she was working on and plopped the three golden-brown cakes down on a plate in front of me.

  “Oh no, you eat first,” I said.

  “Already did. I was just finishing off the batter.”

  I nodded thankfully and dug in without another word. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the soft, fluffy goodness hit my lips. I poured on some syrup and went to town.

  Cora sat down across from me. “Hungry?”

  “Starving,” I said with a mouthful of pancake.

  She laughed. “I can make more if you want?”

  “No, thanks. This is great.”

  I continued to scarf down the cakes as Cora read the paper and drank her coffee. Finally, after every single delicious bite was gone, I leaned back in my chair. Cora grinned at me.

  “Hey, how about taking a walk with me?” she asked.

  “Okay, sure. Any place in mind?”

  “Nope. Just a little hike around the property. I feel like I’ve barely seen you.”

  “I know. Sorry I’ve been so busy at work.”

  “Don’t apologize.” She stood up. “Meet me out back in ten?”

  “See you there.”

  The woods were cool and crisp as we crunched and squished our way along the path. We walked slowly, avoiding the puddles. We had clearly gotten a lot of rain overnight, though I hadn’t noticed at all.

  Normally, my mornings would be spent curled up on the couch watching trashy TV and sipping coffee until I felt awake and human. I was admittedly a bit of a couch potato, but I loved being comfortable more than anything in the world. And I was really good at being comfortable.

  But as we walked, I had to admit that the forest was beautiful early in the morning. It wasn’t too hot or humid, and the trees and leaves were sparkling slightly with the damp dew leftover from the rain.

>   “How is it being back?” Cora asked.

  “It’s good. It feels like everything and nothing is different.”

  She nodded. “This place does that to you sometimes. Feels like it never moves.”

  “That can be a good thing, though, right?”

  “Sure. Your father loves it.”

  “You don’t?”

  “I’ve grown used to it. And I love your father.”

  “I can’t really say how I feel about it. I mean, I grew up here, so Ridgewood will always be special. But I’m noticing things that I never saw when I was a kid.”

  “Welcome to being an adult.”

  I laughed. “Being an adult sucks.”

  “Tell me about it.” She made a face. “Anyway, this is the longest you’ve stayed here in a while.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “Do you like your job?”

  “It’s okay. I don’t love being a waitress, but I like the place and the people.”

  “That’s good. Working with good people can make a bad job bearable.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been home more. You know I wanted to come back.”

  “Don’t start with this again,” she said, waiving me off. “You did the right thing.”

  “I know. I still feel guilty.”

  She smiled. “Well don’t.” She paused and looked out across the forest. “How’s Reid doing?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “I’m not sure, honestly,” I said cautiously.

  “He didn’t come home again last night.”

  “Does he do that often?”

  “Sometimes. He’ll disappear for a few days, and if we ask where he’s been, he makes up some excuse.”

  “Do you know where he goes?”

  “I have guesses, but no, not really. Do you?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I have no clue.”

  “He can be . . . frustrating, that boy.”

  I laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

  “But he’s been so helpful,” she said, continuing. “I don’t want to come down on him because he’s done so much for us, but I just wish he would be a little more open.”