Redemption

by Alla Kar

  I scurried from my car and waited nervously for him to exit. This was going to be one fucked up summer.

  Chapter Nine

  Rage

  Taking my eyes off of her was way harder than it should have been. She kept her distance as we shopped, lurking in the background and checking her phone. Six guys had looked at her ass while she ignored me from across the store. The fact that I took a step toward her every time a guy showed interest should have been a red flag for me to get a grip.

  That aggravated eye roll came every time she caught me staring.

  The ache inside of me threatened to unleash, but I had to keep myself together. I wasn’t there to start something, and I wasn’t the kind of man that started something I couldn’t finish. Hannah had to be my first priority. After getting some jeans and a few shirts, I texted Dante for the second time.

  Me: I’m here. Meet me at the bathroom in fifteen.

  I shoved my phone into my pocket and started toward Neveah. She rolled her eyes, yet again, and pulled her purse higher over her shoulder. “Can we eat now?”

  “Let’s go.”

  We got our food at the food court and took a seat in a corner booth. I scanned the faces for Dante while the busy crowd around us buzzed in my ear.

  Neveah squeezed her ketchup out on her burger wrapper and dug in. I couldn’t help but smile because most girls wouldn’t eat around me, at least, not like her. “What?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Nothing.” I nodded toward her pink bag. “What did you get?”

  She took a large bite and gave me a narrowed gaze. She wasn’t going to get over what happened earlier, easily. Maybe that was for the best. Who knew what she would do to tempt me, and between friends, I had already started to wear.

  “Underwear,” she said. “And some yoga pants.” The corner of her mouth pulled into a small smile, and she giggled over her hand.

  My brows rose to my hairline. “Was that a giggle? It didn’t sound like something that would come out of your mouth.”

  Her cheeks flushed pink, and she bit the corner of lip. “I giggle sometimes. Is that against the law, Officer Samuels.” She rolled her eyes.

  “You’re such a smart ass.”

  “I’m sorry. Are you calling someone a smartass? You’re always being a dickhead. It’s my only defense.”

  God, I hate when her eyes go all sultry when she’s right.

  “I am a dickhead, get used to it.”

  Something crossed over her face, but she was quick to hide it. A soft sigh escaped her mouth, and my dick protested against my zipper. What in the hell is wrong with me? She’s just a girl.

  “I have to go to the bathroom. You okay by yourself?”

  She tossed a fry down. “I’m twenty-one, not three.”

  Twenty-one? Six years younger than me. Grabbing her wrist, I waited until she met my gaze. “Stay here.”

  She didn’t agree but pulled away to eat.

  I sped walked toward the bathrooms and found Dante leaning against the men’s room, crutches propped against the wall.

  Goddammit his entire leg is broken.

  Dante looked up and a smile crossed his face. At least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor. “Fuck man—,”

  Dante stopped me with his palm. “Save it. We all know you’re not the mushy type, and I don’t want to hear it. My leg will heal.”

  Dropping my head, I smiled at the floor. “You’re a good damn man, you know that?”

  Dante rolled his eyes. “Whatever, now let’s talk about your sister.”

  He’s frown told me everything I needed to know. “You talked to her?” I asked.

  He pushed from the wall and steadied himself on his crutches. “I did.”

  I lifted a brow. “What did she say?”

  “She doesn’t even know you’re out of prison.”

  What? “I wrote her—,”

  Dante laughed. “And you thought Denver wouldn’t keep your letters from her? She thinks you’re still in prison. She has a new cell phone and knows nothing about Denver’s career. He’s blindsided her, man.”

  Shit. Screwing my eyes shut, I tried to calm my anger. Denver was a dead man. “Did you tell her?”

  Dante shook his head. “We were interrupted, and the next time I tried to find her, Denver had hauled her off to Paris for the week.”

  “Paris?” I let out a bitter laugh. “The bastard took her to Paris?” What the hell is he trying to prove? He thinks I’m dead. “Well, he can’t keep her away from us forever. When does she get back?”

  Dante pushed a mop of dreads from his face. “They’ll be back next Thursday night. I plan to tell her everything when he goes to lunch with his family.”

  God, that’s an entire week away.

  I nodded. “Okay, one week isn’t that bad.”

  Dante pursed his lip. “No, but what’s the plan once she is back? I talk to her, but what if she doesn’t believe me?”

  She will, won’t she? I swallowed the painful lump that formed in my throat. “We’ll cross that path when we get to it. Right now, I just need to stay low until she gets back.”

  Dante’s gaze flickered over my shoulder and a smile pulled at his mouth. “And take care of that unbelievably gorgeous girl you’re staying with, right?”

  I frowned and glanced over my shoulder.

  Neveah stopped beside me, crossed her arms and then narrowed her gaze. “This isn’t the bathroom,” she said, jutting her hand out toward Dante. “I’m Neveah.”

  Dante grinned, sidestepped me and took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Dante.”

  Neveah gave me a quick sideways glance. “Nice to meet you, too. Are you Declan’s friend?”

  Dante’s face morphed into confusion, but he took my death glare as compliance. “Yeah, old friends. I love ole’ Declan, here.”

  I gripped Neveah’s elbow. “Well, this has been great but we need to leave.”

  She slipped from my grasp and eyed Dante’s leg. “What happened to your leg?”

  Dante didn’t bat an eye. “Four-wheeler wreck. I crushed it.”

  The corner of Neveah’s brow lifted. “Funny how you both have such severe injuries.”

  Dante kept his cool but my heart skipped a beat or twelve. That’s all we need is for her to get curious and start snooping. “Why don’t you mind your own business? Didn’t I tell you I’d be back?”

  She grinned. “What made you think I’d do what you say? Plus, I need to get back home. My Aunt Shelly is coming over for family night.”

  Family night? What is this? The Brady Bunch? “Well, let’s go then.”

  Neveah reached for Dante’s hand, and he took it. “It was nice to meet you. You’re more than welcomed to come over for dinner.”

  Dante smiled. “Thanks, but I need to get out of here. My car is waiting for me outside.” His gaze lifted to mine. “I’ll talk to you soon, brother.”

  We hugged, and I watched as he wobbled out of the hallway and toward the front entrance of the small mall.

  When I turned back Neveah had already grabbed our bags and headed out the same entrance, her hips swayed the entire way. Her tenses shoulders told me she was still pissed.

  It’s better this way, I think.

  ***

  “Harder.”

  The rage inside of me coursed through like lighting. The gloves on my hands brought back so many memories and none of them good. But despite the images of prison, it felt good. It felt like fate.

  “Jab. Jab. Jab,” Wes called out from behind the punching bag. My knuckles burned from the impact, but I pushed harder, loving the pain that my body fought against. “There you go. Jab.”

  The image of Denver’s hands on my sister flooded me, my hands quickened and my pace tripled. Something drove me on the inside that I’d never experience. An outbreak of hell

  “Wow. Wow. Hold up!”

  I stopped mid-swing. Wes stared at me from behind the bag with a huge smile on his face. “That’s enough for today,
Kid. Damn you’re fast.”

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  Wes chuckled and gestured for me to follow him into his office. The other fighters eyed me but none made eye contact. I didn’t blame them. Some random man comes in and takes over their gym and their coach’s attention.

  Wes guided me through the double doors to the lobby where Neveah sat behind the desk. Her gaze drifted up my naked chest to my eyes. Heat rushed me and threatened to blind me from the promise I’d made her father.

  She was so damn beautiful.

  “This way,” Wes called out.

  I kept eye contact for as long as I could before walking into the hallway behind Wes. His office was messy with trophies and stacks of paperwork. “Sit down.”

  I took a seat opposite of his desk.

  The smile on his face told me he had ideas, and I was scared to hear them. No matter how good I was in the ring, I needed to keep my mind on my sister.

  “You’re good,” he said, leaning backwards. “You’re talented beyond belief. A little old to start boxing but something tells me that this isn’t your first time.”

  He’d be right. I’d boxed to relieve tension before and got good at it. It was always my daily stress reliever. “Once or twice.”

  Wes grinned, scratched his neck and rested his elbows on his desk. “Look, I think you could go pro. You’re fast, strong and a good thinker. You’ve got massive potential, and I want to help you achieve it.”

  I smiled at my interlaced fingers that rested on my belly. Sure, it was tempting. Hell, there had been a part of me that wanted to jump up and scream yes. But the rational part told me Hannah was my number one priority.

  “I boxed for years,” Wes said. “I went pro and broke my leg.”

  Ah, now I understand the passion. “You were good then?”

  His grin widened. “I was great. I—am great. We could try it out and see where it takes us. No commitments just yet. Just try.”

  Trying wouldn’t hurt, right? I could try for a couple of weeks until Dante talked to Hannah, and we rescued her. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll give it a shot. I appreciate your faith in me.”

  Wes smiled and stuck his hand out. “I can tell you’re a good man, son. You just need a little guidance.”

  I’d never heard anyone refer to me as a good man. But I’m not Rage to them, I’m Declan. They were two completely different people.

  This family has no idea the things I’ve done.

  ***

  Shelly sipped on her wine and eyed Neveah over the rim. Something was going on with those two, and it made me nervous.

  Wes’ fork clanked against his plate. “Why is everyone so quiet today?”

  Shelly lifted a brow. “I was just wonderin’ the same thing. Neveah you haven’t said one word tonight.”

  Neveah sipped her water. “I’m tired.”

  “Liar,” Shelly said. “What’s goin’ on? Does it have something to do with Heath posting that old picture of you two on Instagram?”

  Neveah’s mouth popped opened. “He did? What the—,” she trailed off into a groan. “What a douchebag.”

  Shelly laughed. “You can do so much better than him.”

  Neveah kept her eyes down and moved her food around her plate. “What happened?” I asked. “I mean, he cheated. But what happened?”

  “She found a condom wrapper in his jeans and punched him in the face,” Shelly said. “I would have given my right tit to have been there for that.”

  Wes laughed. “That’s my little girl. Was it an upper cut?”

  The worry line on Nev’s face vanished. “No, it was a right hook. You know those are my specialty.”

  Wes laughed. “Well, I was thinkin’ since Declan is going to start training that you two could run together. I mean there has been some gang activity close by, and I don’t want you running by yourself.”

  Neveah’s ponytail whipped around. “Dad,” she whispered. “I’m perfectly able to run by myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  Shelly hid her smile behind her drink. “Who doesn’t want company when they run, Nev? I think it’s a good idea.”

  Nev’s eyes rounded, then shifted to me. Something hot formed in my stomach. My body wanted to run with her, but my mind screamed ‘don’t put me through the torture.’

  “What do you say, Declan?” Wes said, ignoring Nev’s death glare. “Neveah is just a loner, she’ll get used to the company. You up for an early run with her? All of my boxers run, it’s good cardio.”

  Licking my bottom lip, I slowly nodded against my better judgment. “Sure. It’d be great to have a workout buddy.”

  Shelly’s slight laugh beneath her breath made me smile. I didn’t look over at Neveah, but I could feel her glare against the side of my face.

  Wes smiled. “Great. I’m going to bed, I have an early day tomorrow. Shelly you okay to clean the kitchen?”

  She rolled her eyes. “After another bottle of wine, maybe.”

  Wes sighed and pointed toward the cabinet in the far corner. “It’s behind the protein bars. No one looks there.”

  She lifted her glass and went back to watching Neveah. “Thanks, Shelly,” Nev said, rising from the table. She was in jeans, surprisingly, but I suddenly realized it didn’t matter what she wore, because she was sexy as sin in everything.

  A laugh vibrated in my chest. “Oh, come on,” I said, standing, looming over her. “It won’t be that bad. At least you’ll have someone to talk to besides Lucy.”

  Lucy’s head rose at the sound of her name.

  Neveah’s mouth parted, and her body tensed. I couldn’t wait to see those muscles working tomorrow morning. “What time do you want to meet?”

  She lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to do anything,” she whispered. “But be ready at ten.” Before I said anything, she called Lucy and disappeared in her room.

  Shelly snorted, tossed me a smile and grabbed a few plates. “She’s lying, be outside at nine.”

  Chapter Ten

  Neveah

  You’ve got to be kidding me.

  I yanked my IPod from my ears, stared ahead and watched as the side of his lip pulled into a grin. “Good morning.”

  Shit. How in the hell did he —Aunt Shelly. It’s always Aunt Shelly.

  Lifting my chin, I shut the back door, stepped off the stairs and faced him straight on. I didn’t know if I’d see him or not, but I was definitely wearing workout pants that hugged me like a second skin. And my bright purple sports bra fit me just right.

  The most delicious look was on his face, and it started a tsunami in my stomach that threatened to make my life miserable if I wasn’t underneath him soon. His shirt was off, showing me every reason I was bitter toward him. Showing me what I couldn’t have.

  Each ridge in his stomach was hard, his skin pulled tightly over every perfectly formed muscle. Damn him to hell!

  Instead of answering, that would be too mature of me, I bent down and wrapped my arms around my right thigh to stretch my legs.

  “It’s not ten,” I said, grabbing my ankle and pulling my chest toward my leg. “Why are you out here?”

  He reached behind his head and stretched his biceps. Damn. “I can ask you the same question. You did say nine last night, right?”

  I tossed him a dirty look. “Let’s just get this over with. Can you keep up?”

  His heavy laugh scorched my skin, the smile hidden underneath those full lips was rare but impossibly perfect. He stepped toward me, his woodsy scent causing my body to tremble. “I can keep up, Champ. Just lead the way.”

  Stepping back, I kept eye contact for the quickest of seconds before turning to run. Having him run behind me had my heart skyrocketing in my chest. Each step I imagined him watching me, pretending to eat me alive like I wanted him to. I felt it.

  I dug harder toward the woods, and after a couple of minutes I felt him jogging beside me. Sweat built on his chest, his eyes locked frontward and a beautifully perfect determination etched his
face. Lucy jogged alongside of him, her tongue flopped against her cheek.

  Giving him a sideways glance, I willed myself to run faster. His laugh was low, but I felt it in my toes. The humid morning air sucked the breath from my mouth, but I pushed myself harder. Before I could look back, I felt his fingers against my elbow and then a tree against my back.

  I gasped for air and found myself staring into his gray eyes, hoping he’d lower his mouth one more inch so I could taste him. “Stop running away from me,” he whispered.

  Come on, Neveah, get it together. “I’m just jogging. I don’t even want to run with you.”

  “Liar,” he whispered, his left palm engulfed my waist and drug me closer. “You’re a goddamn liar. I know you what you want, we’ve been over this, Champ. I can’t touch you.”

  Fire bloomed under my cheeks. Why was I not embarrassed that he was denying me? Why didn’t I care that he was a stranger? “Let’s not talk about liars, Declan. I just met your friend that has a broken leg after finding you near death in the fucking woods.” I tried to push against him but he stepped closer, trapping me between him and the tree.

  His stormy gray eyes darkened, and his tongue dampened his parched lips. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. My past needs to stay in the past. It’s not good for you. And I promised your dad I wouldn’t let anything come back to harm you.”

  “That tells me everything I need to know. You’ve lied about everything so far, right? Is Declan even your real name?”

  For the briefest of moments, his face paled, but he tightened his grip on my waist, slid his other hand up to my mouth and drug his thumb against my bottom lip. “I haven’t lied about anything.”

  “No,” I whispered, desperately trying to avoid his dark eyes that were suddenly too much to look at. “You withhold information.”

  A throaty growl shook through his chest. “Drop it. I’m warning you. I’m not what you think I am, and I won’t bring you down with me.”

  Suddenly, he stepped back and raked his hands through his sweaty hair. The worry on his face was loud and clear. “Let’s go. Let’s just go.”

  I swallowed, taking a minute to catch my breath. I couldn’t breathe. His stare, his shaking body and furious eyes set me on fire. Was he aching on the inside like me?