“What is the choice?” Kristina asked, mirroring his hushed tone.
“The choice is freedom and fearlessness and the open road.”
His words sent a thrill of some unexplainable pleasure through Kristina. He had just put into words what she had been craving this whole time. She longed to feel that sense of abandon; she longed to feel that kind of freedom and fearlessness so that her life wasn’t always governed by the safe choices. He was sitting before her, the embodiment of everything she had avoided her entire life, and Kristina realized that she didn’t want to avoid it anymore. She wanted to grab it in her hands and pull it towards her, into her if she could get away with it.
“You make it sound so… tempting,” Kristina whispered, partially lost in her own dreams.
“It is,” Keith said. “It can be.”
Kristina leaned in a little further; she felt herself fall right into his intoxicating blue eyes and the urge to kiss him was overwhelming. She was just about to give into that urge when he cleared his throat abruptly and stood up, pushing Kristina out of her trance.
“I should be going,” Keith said in a voice that seemed loud in comparison to their previous hushed conversation.
“Going?” Kristina repeated.
“I need to get my bike and your roommate might come back at any minute,” Keith continued. He walked to the door and opened it, and then he turned at the threshold to look back at her, a perfect wild silhouette framed by mundane surroundings. He nodded once, and then he disappeared before Kristina could stop him.
Kristina just stood where she was, wondering how he had managed to empty her room of whatever life it had possessed. She sunk into her bed and closed her eyes, waiting for the color to return to her world.
Chapter Nine
Keith
“Quiet down,” Miles said, his tone was clipped and serious.
He didn’t have to shout to be heard. He had that quality of commanding attention no matter how quiet he was. His words carried through the meeting room where all the gang meetings were held and the group fell silent.
“I just got more news,” he continued after a small pause. “Another shipment has been hit.”
“Another one?” Gordon hissed. “What does that make…?”
“Fourth one this week,” Lewis interrupted. “Fourth fucking hit this week.”
“How bad is it?” Keith asked quietly.
“The whole shipment is gone,” Miles answered.
“What about Deronda and his boys?” Tucker asked. “Aren’t they supposed to be protecting it?”
“Deronda’s dead,” Miles said without tone or expression. “I don’t know if his crew is alive or dead. Half of them probably are by this point.”
“Fuck,” Keith spat. “Fuck.”
“They’re hitting us from all charters across the Southwest,” Miles went on in his calm, unhurried manner. It was only from the tension in his posture that Keith could tell the attacks on their shipments were wearing on him. “The money has stopped since the third shipment was hit, and we’ve lost two contracts already.”
“Has Finessy contacted you?” Durham asked bleakly.
“No,” Miles said. “But it’s only a matter of time. He’s not going to want to continue doing business with us if this is the result. It won’t take long for Kovic to wheedle his way into the heart of the arms trade.”
“We owe him a huge debt,” Tucker said standing up. “For all our contracts and for Keith.”
“Forget about me,” Keith said immediately. “I don’t need the Dragons putting their lives on the line for me.”
“Then you should have thought of that before you went to meet with Kovic,” Miles snapped, gaining Keith’s attention.
Keith stared at Miles for a moment. “I am the vice president,” he said in a low voice. “And I made a necessary call based on sound judgment.”
“You are mistaking pride for sound judgment,” Miles said.
Keith turned to face Miles…and he felt the atmosphere in the room change immediately. “I did what I thought was best.”
“No,” Miles said, shaking his head. “You did what you needed to do in order to face Kovic again—one on one.”
“That’s not true,” Keith said through gritted teeth.
“Then why didn’t you inform me about it?” Miles demanded. “I am still president. I should have been told.”
Keith took a deep breath. “You had enough to deal with; I didn’t want to give you more to worry about.”
“To fuck with worry,” Miles snapped. “That is the nature of the world we live in and the business we run. It’s part of the package…no matter what is happening with our personal lives. You didn’t tell me because you knew I would oppose it.”
“Opposing it would have been the wrong choice,” Keith insisted. “If you or I had not been there, Kovic would have taken it as an insult.”
“And who here gives a fuck about that?” Miles demanded. “I didn’t think you cared one way or another if Kovic’s pride was insulted?”
“I don’t—”
“Then why?” Miles hissed. “You did it because you wanted to take your revenge out on him for what he did to Natalie. You wanted to kill him; you probably would have if he hadn’t brought backup along.”
Keith stared at Miles struggling for words that would counteract his arguments. After a few seconds had gone by and no rebuttal came to him, Keith began to realize that Miles was right. He had been foolish that night and he had been arrogant. He had been trying to ease the pain in his gut that clawed at him every time he thought of the fact that Natalie was dead and Kovic was still alive.
Slowly, Keith sunk back into his chair and kept his head lowered. He heard Miles adjust his position, and slowly he felt the tension drain out of the room.
“Give us a minute,” Miles said, and moments later the gang cleared out and left them in silence.
“I understand why you did it,” Miles said finally, breaking the silence. “But I still don’t agree with it.”
“I know,” Keith nodded. “And you were right. I had made an unconscious decision about Kovic… but I should have considered…”
“You should have considered a lot of things,” Miles said. “But it doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done. Let’s move on, ok?”
“Ok,” Keith nodded. “How are we going to handle Kovic?”
“We can’t reason with the man,” Miles said. “He’s like a petulant child when he doesn’t get his way.”
Keith nodded. “He’s dangerous,” he said. “Especially because he doesn’t play by the rules. We need to be extremely careful; he’s capable of anything.”
Miles looked up. “What do you mean… exactly?”
Keith sighed and repeated the threat Kovic had made just before they had parted ways. “I’m going to kill the Dragons and sell their bitches,” Keith said the words with bitterness in his mouth. “But this time, I’m going to fuck them first. Those were his exact words.”
Miles eyes turned dark. “He’s a rabid dog that needs to be put down.”
Keith nodded in agreement. “That’s not going to be easy though.”
“No, it’s not,” Miles nodded. “But it’s the only way to rid ourselves of this problem.”
“What are you suggesting?” Keith asked, leaning in.
“Contact our remaining charters,” Miles said. “And tell them to prepare for war.”
Chapter Ten
Keith
Keith went to sleep thinking about gang wars and woke up thinking about Kristina. He felt a strange sadness in realizing that she had managed somehow, to replace Natalie in his early morning stupors of confusion. Despite the sadness, there was a feeling of freedom that was tied to it. Keith no longer felt as claustrophobic and that made him strangely hopeful. The down side was that it heightened his need to see Kristina again.
He recalled their meeting—now almost two weeks ago—when she had found him beaten, bruised, and bloodied, and she h
ad taken him to her room to patch him up. It was amazing the things he remembered about her. They were little details that got stuck in a person’s head after a certain level of intimacy had been established. Like the way Kristina had smelled, she had smelled of cinnamon and pinecones. She had smelt like a fresh winter’s day, and yet somehow, she managed to radiate warmth.
That was not all that lingered in Keith’s mind. He recalled in perfect detail the way her hands had felt as they had washed away the blood and cleaned all his wounds. Her touch was soft and gentle. She touched him as though she were scared he would break. Keith was not used to that feeling, the feeling of being taken care of. He had always looked out for himself, and in most circumstances, he had been the one to look after others.
It felt strange, sitting in Kristina’s room, surrounded by her life and all the little things that it comprised of, but Keith realized he was interested in everything. While she cleaned his wounds, he took notice of her whimsical bed sheets, the alternative rock band on her laptop screensaver, the frame on her desk, hugging the image of Kristina with her parents. They were all clues that made up the whole, and when Keith had finished his observation of her, he realized with a start that she was far from a mystery anymore.
While this knowledge might have alarmed him once, it no longer held the same weight. There was a resigned acceptance that came with knowing that Kristina was not a stranger anymore, and she probably would never be. She had sneaked into his life slowly, so slowly in fact that he hadn’t even noticed. Chance and circumstance and kept pushing them together, and now she was cemented into his mind.
Keith closed his eyes for a moment and recalled the last time they had met. She had been wearing dark jeans that hugged her hips perfectly and a tan sweater that clung to her body. He tried to picture what their walk to her dorm must have looked like—a massive man leaning against a woman half his size. Strangely, it had not felt that way to Keith in the moment. At that point, Kristina had felt like the giant. She had supported him without one complaint or expression of discomfort. She had been the rock that had steadied his labored breathing and worried thoughts. If it had not been for her presence, Keith wasn’t sure what he would have attempted.
Once she had patched him up and he was feeling better however, Keith’s anger had abated and sense had slowly crept back into the forefront of his mind. He knew he could not attempt to get close to Kovic again so soon, and he realized that he needed to be smart in order to achieve his end goal. He still wanted revenge on the man. That had not changed. What had changed was the knowledge that his actions would set off a chain reaction that would affect everyone who surrounded him, so he had to be careful. He had to protect those he cared about. It only mildly surprised him that he now included Kristina in that group.
It was on the heels of this thought that he recalled the last few moments in Kristina’s dorm room. He could feel the moment before it had happened. She was asking about him; she was interested in his past, in his life and in his choices. He could see the interest; the curiosity burn behind her eyes, and it lit this fire inside him that he couldn’t quite understand. He answered her questions as best he could, and he could see the respect in her eyes grow. He felt his breast swell with pride, as her reactions turned emotional and she started to lean towards him.
Keith understood three things in that moment. The first was that Kristina was going to kiss him. The second was that he desperately wanted her to kiss him, and the third was that he was terrified of what would happen afterwards. It was the last thought that dominated, and in the end, he had pulled away and made an abrupt departure. So abrupt in fact, that he had not even bothered to thank her for the way she had helped him.
Keith opened his eyes, but her face was still looming in front of him, a constant reminder that his life was starting to change. Keith tried to shake away her image, but even after he had washed, dressed, and eaten breakfast, Kristina’s image still lingered.
“I should thank her,” Keith whispered to himself.
He got on his motorcycle and sat there for a few minutes, wondering whether he should head straight for the garage or if he should head in the direction of the campus. He battled with himself for a long time before he finally admitted defeat and wheeled his bike around towards Kristina. It took him less than ten minutes to get there. The dorm was more crowded than the last time he had been up there, and he didn’t miss the passing glances and the suspicious stares he was afforded by the students who passed him in the halls.
He made it to Kristina’s dorm room and knocked once. When the door opened, it was not Kristina that stood before him, but a taller woman with light eyes and dark hair. The expression of annoyance on her face froze there for a moment before it turned into one of worry.
“Who are you?” she asked in a tone that suggested she already knew.
“My name is Keith,” Keith replied. “I’m… a friend of Kristina’s.”
“A friend?” the girl replied, as though she didn’t believe it. “Are you from Lee and Seton Motors?”
“Yes,” Keith nodded. “Are you the roommate?”
She narrowed her eyes infinitesimally. “I am,” she said. “The name’s Marie.”
“Nice to meet you,” Keith said in an attempt to be cordial.
“Kristina’s not here,” Marie said abruptly.
“When will she be back?” Keith asked.
“I… not anytime soon,” Marie said a little too quickly.
“You’re a bad liar.”
“And you shouldn’t be here,” Marie countered without missing a beat.
“Why not?” Keith demanded. “It’s a free country.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to do whatever the hell you want,” Marie said pointedly, and Keith got the feeling that she had read up on all the local news clippings about the gangs in the area. “Freedom only goes so far.”
Keith smiled peaceably, trying to calm her down. “I just wanted to give Kristina a message,” he said.
“I can give it to her,” Marie said.
“I’d rather tell her myself if it’s all the same to you,” Keith said. “If she’s not going to be long, I think I’ll wait.”
“You’ll wait?” Marie asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Don’t worry,” Keith said with a shrug. “I can wait out here. Feel free to slam the door in my face.”
Marie stood there and stared at him for a moment. She looked as though she were trying to figure out what to do. “Maybe you should just come another time,” she suggested finally.
“I have a little free time now,” Keith said pleasantly. “I can wait.”
Marie stuck her head out and looked back and forth down the hall. A few students milled about. “Oh, all right, come in then,” she snapped. “I don’t want people thinking…. things.”
“What things?” Keith asked, amused by her reactions.
“Just… things,” Marie said evasively, as she avoided his eyes.
“Do you spend a lot of time worrying about what people think?” Keith asked conversationally, as he sunk onto Kristina’s bed without invitation.
“No… I… normal people usually do,” Marie said huffily, as she sat at her desk and turned her back to him.
“Sounds like a waste of time in my opinion,” Keith told her.
“You would think so.”
“You talk as though you know me,” Keith said calmly. “You don’t.”
“Oh, I’ve known plenty of guys like you,” Marie countered. “You’re all made from the same mold.”
“That’s rather a stereotypical view to take,” Keith said. “I would expect more from an educated young woman like yourself.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Marie said, as she swirled around to face him. “Kristina is my best friend, and we have always had each other’s backs. She’s a good person, and she doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”
“I don’t intend to hurt her,” Keith said quietly.
“That might not be your i
ntention,” Marie said. “But it might be an inevitability. She was brought up in a different world with different values. She’s not capable of handling the kind of world you live in or the kind of lifestyle you have. She’s going through something of a… graduation crisis if you will, and that’s made her want to… experiment a little. But this is just a phase that will pass. You’d better not think for a moment that she actually has any real feelings for you.”
Keith kept his expression neutral and unconcerned as he regarded Marie, but there was a small part of him that hoped she was wrong and feared she was right. “I told you before, I’m just a friend of Kristina’s. There are no feelings involved.”
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