by L. A. Casey
My dad regarded me for a long moment, then said, “Deal.”
“Good,” he continued. “Now, come on. No more bullshit talk about your brothers. From now on, our only conversations are to be about runs.”
He rounded on me and returned to the strangers who were talking quietly until my father returned to their circle. I felt my heart pound against my chest, and my palms were slick with sweat, but I didn’t care because I had done something I had never done ... I stood up to my father. I made it clear to him that he was nothing to me and my brothers, and that I was the parent he should have been.
He didn’t care ... I knew he wouldn’t, but he now knew that if he wanted me to head runs and to make them successful, then he would ensure my brothers were taken care of when I wasn’t around. It meant nothing to my father, but it meant everything to me. Once I did this job well, it would be extra security for my brothers. Their safety was all that mattered to me, and if it meant I had to run drugs and weapons ... then so fucking be it.
CHAPTER FOUR
Twenty-five years old ...
“Ryder, what are we gonna do?”
I looked from the frosted windowpane to Kane, and said, “Whatever we have to do to keep Damien safe.”
Kane swallowed but nodded, agreeing that no matter what, our brother’s safety was the most important thing. I looked from Kane, to Alec and Dominic who, like us, sat in a chair in front of a large desk owned by Marco Miles. This piece of shit ... he had my family right where he wanted us. For as long as I could remember, Marco and my scumbag father were grooming me and my brothers for their business. I had been working for them for years—running guns, drugs, and a few times, people ... once the price was right. I shifted in my seat, feeling my stomach swirled with dread.
An hour ago, Damien had gotten into a fight with Marco’s nephew Trent. Damien was the only one of my brothers who grieved our parents’ deaths, and when Trent taunted him about them, he exploded into a fit of rage and attacked him. The fight turned deadly, and Damien somehow got his hands on a gun and shot Trent. The doctor pronounced the kid dead not long after, and since then, me and my brothers were on lockdown.
“He’ll kill Damien,” Dominic said, his hands shaking. “I know he will.”
I was terrified of that too, but I forced myself to think logically.
“Killing Damien won’t benefit Marco,” I said, firmly. “Marco is like Dad in more ways than one. He doesn’t care about family; he only cares about money. If he can make a profit moneywise out of Trent’s death, then he will.”
“What do you mean?” Kane asked, perplexed. “How can he make money from this?”
I looked forward. “We work for him. We work off the debt that Damien would have to pay to keep his life.”
“You already work for Marco, though,” Alec pointed out.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “but I think he knew that my intention wasn’t to stick around now that Mom and Dad were dead. This worked out well for Marco; if he accepts our offer, then he owns us until we pay off the debt.”
“What offer are we making him?” Dominic asked. “And how do you know he’ll accept it.”
I looked at my little brother and patted his shoulder. “We’ll offer to work for him, and he’ll accept it because he is a greedy prick who loves money.”
My brothers grunted in agreement.
“We’ll only make the offer if you’re all happy with it,” I said, looking at each of them. “I can’t make this decision for you guys.”
“Ryder”—Alec blinked—”of course we’re happy with it. If it means keeping Damien safe, then we’re doing it. Period.”
Kane and Dominic bobbed their heads in agreement to the plan and looked at me as though they thought I was crazy for suggesting otherwise.
“I just can’t believe all of this is happening,” I said as I rubbed my eyes. “We were supposed to be out of here in a few weeks. I had it all planned.”
I had thought about it every waking hour since my parents died. The only thing keeping me, Alec, and Kane under my dad’s thumb were the twins. They were still kids, and if I took them, I knew Dad would send a manhunt after us. I was biding my time until they were adults so we could freely leave, but things sped up when Marco had them killed for double-crossing him. I had money saved, and I was going to move my brothers to Canada. I was going to get us out of the States and away from Marco completely ... then everything went to hell when Damien killed Trent.
“Plans have changed.” Kane regained my attention. “We’ll make new plans.”
I nodded and looked towards the door when it open and Marco entered on his own, closing the door behind him. He looked very fucking chirp for a man whose nephew had just been killed, and it made my blood boil.
“I think we need to have a little chat, boys.”
He took a seat behind his desk, clasped his hands together, and looked from each of my brothers until his eyes landed on me. He didn’t speak for a long moment, and I found myself playing with the ring on my middle finger that my dad gave me after my first successful run. I hated it, but I had to keep it on my finger until I was free of this life.
“Where is Damien?”
“At our place,” I answered. “He doesn’t need to be here for this.”
Marco raised a brow and sat back in his chair. “Is that so?”
“Look”—I leaned forward—”can we get past the bullshit and straight down to business? None of us have time for this.”
Marco, who looked incredibly interested in what I had to say, waved his hand, giving me permission to speak.
“We know what Damien did means he has a life debt hanging over his head, but instead of him paying that debt with his life, my brothers and I have decided we will pay it by working it off for you ... if you’ll agree, that is.”
I held my breath as Marco digested what I said.
“Let me get this straight.” Marco tilted his head. “You four will work for me, working Damien’s debt off, and in return, you just want him to remain unharmed?”
“Yes,” the four of us said in unison.
“Deal,” Marco said almost instantly.
I knew he would like my deal and eventually accept it, but I didn’t think he would be so ... eager.
“How long?” Alec asked.
Marco looked at him. “How long what?”
“How long will be work for you?”
“Well,” Marco began, “Trent had a promising future heading runs for me, but now that he is dead, I’m losing profit he would have brought to me. Let’s say once you guys earn at least ten million for me, we can discuss job termination.”
Fuck.
I got a decent profit in my run for Marco, but it’d take me years to rake up ten million for him. Trent would have never made Marco ten million bucks, and he fucking knew it. He pulled that number out of his ass, but I couldn’t say a word against him on the matter, and he knew it. Not when Damien’s life was on the line.
“I’ll teach the guys how to head a run and—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Marco cut me off. “Runs are your thing, Ryder. I’ve other jobs that your brothers will do for me.”
I looked at my brothers then back at Marco, and said, “Like what?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he answered. “I’ve other shit to deal with, thanks to your baby brother, so before I leave, I wanted it understood that we are in agreement. You four work for me, and Damien remains unharmed.”
“Unharmed and uninvolved in our new operation,” I pressed. “We work for you, not him.”
Marco nodded. “Good, that’s a deal to me.”
He left his office then without a word, and for a long moment, my brothers and I remained seated and didn’t say a word as silence embraced us. I was relieved that Damien’s life was no longer under active threat, but I was all too aware that it would be if my brothers or I didn’t do a job well done for Marco. Worry piled onto my shoulders, but I refused to let it show. I had to b
e strong for my brothers; I had to be.
“Come on,” I said, getting to my feet. “Let’s go home and get some food. We can talk when we’re alone with Damien.”
They got to their feet, and Dominic looked at me, and said, “It’s gonna be okay, isn’t it, Ry?”
“Yeah, bud.” I forced a smile. “It is, I promise.”
I would do everything in my power to keep that promise to my brother because if I didn’t, it would mean the end of my family ... and I wasn’t going to let that happen. Not a fucking chance.
CHAPTER FIVE
Twenty-eight years old ...
“It’s busy tonight,” I shouted to Damien as he plonked down next to me.
He nodded, and leaned his head back against the seat. “Kane wants to go home already.”
I sighed. “We haven’t even been here long.”
“He wanted to leave before we even got here.” Damien shrugged. “You know him and crowds; they don’t go together.”
Truer words had never been spoken.
“Where’s Dominic?”
“Getting ready for his fight,” my brother answered. “Alec and Kane are with him.”
I nodded my head in understanding, then raised my brows when Damien got back to his feet. “Where are you going now?”
“I’m restless on Dominic’s behalf,” he answered. “I need to find a girl and kiss her. I’ll meet you ringside when he’s is fighting.”
With that said, he walked away and got lost in the crowd, making me laugh. I didn’t get up to go and find Dominic. Once he had Alec and Kane with him, I knew he was looked after. I looked down at my phone and scanned through my messages. I felt eyes on me, so I looked up, and when I noticed two incredibly attractive women standing in front of my booth, staring directly at me, I pushed my phone into my pocket and gave them my full attention. The woman with the stunning breasts stepped forward and smiled while her friend stepped behind her, hiding from my view.
“Hiya,” the woman shouted over the blaring music. “I’m Aideen, and this is Branna. We thought ye’ might like some company. Ye’ look a little lost sittin’ over ‘ere on your own.”
I raised my brow and looked at Branna over Aideen’s shoulder, and it became obvious to me and to Aideen that Branna didn’t want me to see her. Aideen scowled as she turned to face her friend and roughly pulled her out from her hiding spot. Branna stumbled to her friend’s side and knocked her knee against Aideen’s, causing her to wince. She was about to reach down and rub her bare knee, but once she saw I was watching her, she froze. Her eyes locked on mine, and I saw her swallow.
“Hello,” I said just as the music lowered for the moment before a new track began to play.
She waved at me, and said, “Hey.”
My lips twitched at the action. From what I could see, Branna was a ten, beyond hot, but pairing that with a cute little wave and hiding behind her friend made her just about the sexiest woman I had ever seen. She was nervous and clearly approached me because her friend made her, and I wasn’t used to that. The women who hit on me usually oozed confidence and sex appeal, and while Branna had sex appeal, I got the feeling she did know she had it.
“Would you like to join me?”
Branna said nothing; she just stared at me. For a moment, I wondered if I didn’t speak loud enough for her to hear me, but Aideen suddenly jabbed her elbow into Branna’s side and answered for her. “She’d love to,” she gushed.
Aideen put her hand on the base of Branna’s spine and pushed her to the side of the booth where I was sitting, and I wasn’t sure why, but she resisted. Her eyes were doe like, her lips were parted, and she turned her head towards Aideen and said something to her in a rushed breath that I couldn’t hear. Aideen didn’t reply to her. In fact, she completely ignored Branna. Again, Aideen nudged Branna into the booth and to avoid falling, she had to turn to the side and drop into a sitting position next to me. She didn’t look at me, she only looked at her friend, and I saw her entire body tense when Aideen took a step backwards.
“I’m goin’ to go and get us some drinks,” she stated. “You two get to know each other. I won’t be long.”
Branna gasped and sat up straight as she searched for her friend in the crowd, and when she couldn’t find her, she said, “Oh, my God.”
I smiled. This was amusing me greatly, but it interested me more than anything. It was obvious that Branna didn’t want to hit on me, so I was confused as to why she didn’t just get up at leave. When she plucked up the courage to look at me, she relaxed when she found me smiling. She didn’t looked scared, just nervous as hell.
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head, and said, “I didn’t know she was goin’ to abandon me like that. I’m so sorry. It was her idea to come over ‘ere, not mine.”
I figured as much. “I’m glad she thought of it.”
Branna blinked. “You are?”
“Of course,” I replied. “I probably would have never seen you otherwise. I’ve found over the past few weeks that this club is always wall-to-wall full. You’re such a tiny thing; it’d be easy to miss you in the sea of bodies. And that would be a true tragedy.”
The booth was dimly lit, but I could see Branna blush scarlet.
“Darling, you look like I’m going to eat you up.” I chuckled. “I won’t bite you, I promise. Not yet anyway.”
Her lips parted. She cleared her throat, twice, and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Why’re you sorry?”
She scratched my neck. “For bein’ so awkward.”
“It’s not awkward,” I said. “It’s nervousness, which is the part I don’t get.”
She shifted in her seat “What don’t ye’ get?”
I lifted my arm and stretched it out on the back of the seat behind her head before I leaned in closer. She smelled delicious. I wasn’t sure what perfume she had on, but it made me want to eat her up.
“I don’t get why a woman who looks as edible as you do is so shy.”
She leaned towards me ever so slightly, and I was sure she was unaware she had done so.
“I don’t usually do this.” She swallowed. “I’m not one to walk up to men and talk to them, which is why me friend physically pulled me over to ye’.”
I regarded her for a moment. “Usually, I’d call bullshit, but I think I believe you.”
She remained silent.
“What is your name?” I asked. “I didn’t hear your friend very well when she introduced you both.”
I heard Aideen perfectly when she spoke, but I wanted her to tell me her name. I wanted her to give it to me freely.
“Branna.”
I dipped my head closer, so close I could feel her panted breathed on my face.
“One more time, beautiful, I didn’t catch that.”
“Branna,” she said louder, licking her lips. “Me name is Branna.”
The way her tongue flicked in her mouth as she said her name caused my cock to harden.
“Branna,” I repeated.
“Yeah,” she replied, her chest rising and falling.
My gaze was on hers, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw her thighs clench together, and my mind screamed that she was effected by how close I was to her.
“I’m Ryder,” I said as I held my hand out of her.
Her small hand shook as she placed it in mine, and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Ryder.”
I held her hand and tugged her closer to me until our chests touched. “The pleasure is all mine, Branna.”
“If he says me name in that low, husky seductive tone one more time, I’m gonna to jump ‘im in front of all of these people.”
I was going to fuck this woman tonight. I could practically feel her wrapped around me already.
“Feel free to jump me at any given time, Branna,” I said, sliding my tongue over my lower lip. “I’m more than ready.”
Branna’s eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”
I grinned. “You said you
would jump me if I said your—”
“Omigod.” She gasped and pulled her hand free of mine and covered her face with it. “I’m so sorry,” she began. “I didn’t mean to ... not out loud ... this is awful.”
She was embarrassed, and I had no idea what for, but she was killing me. Her nervousness, her embarrassment, her desire for me ... I wanted to fuck her into next week, but I knew I had to do this at her pace. Like she said, she didn’t hit on guys often so I was counting my lucky stars that she wanted to hit on me. I placed my hands on her soft, bare, milky white thigh, and it caused her to drop her hands and looked at me.
“Hi.” I smiled. “Branna, was it?”
She hesitated. “Hi back ... Ryder, was it?”
“Yeah.” I snickered. “I’m Ryder.”
“Ryder.”
I lowered my face to her, and said, “You’re beautiful.”
Without pausing, she said, “You’re beautifuler.”
I laughed as her eyes widened, and said, “Who’s sweet-talking who here?”
Branna shivered. “You can sweet-talk me. I’ll be quiet.”
“I don’t know,” I mused. “I like this. You’re saying what you want to say, then you get embarrassed over it. It’s very cute.”
She cringed, and I noticed it. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just, I call me sister cute all the time and because we look similar it just weirded me out for a second.”
Cute is something you’d call a younger sister.
“How old is your sister?”
“She turns eighteen next month,” she said, and then she frowned ever so slightly. “She’s growin’ up very fast on me.”
I raised a brow. “On you?”
Branna nodded. “Yeah, our parents died when she was nine. I was nineteen at the time and refused to let anyone raise ‘er but me, so I put everythin’ on hold and brought ‘er up. She’s a good kid, too. I think I’ve done a good job with ‘er.”
My jaw dropped, and even though the music in the club was blaring, to me, I could have heard a pin drop. I had never met anyone who had to play the older sibling role, as well as the paternal role, like me. Granted, I was much younger than Branna when my roles switched up, but that didn’t matter to me. We had something in common, something selfless that told me a lot about her as a person.