Savage Locke (Locke Brothers, 2)

by Victoria Ashley

  I don’t say anything else, because truth is I can’t just let this go. I will go after that bastard. I will make him pay.

  I will avenge the woman I love.

  Wynter is far from selfish for wanting to hurt that prick back. For wanting me to hurt him for her.

  The fact that she came here in the first place makes me happy as shit. It means she trusts me to protect her. It means she’s thought about me over the years—and that’s all the push I need.

  “I need something from you, Wynter.”

  She tilts her head up to look at me. “I’ll give you anything you need, Sterling.”

  A savage smile tugs at my lips. “I need you to tell me where that motherfucker lays his head at night. My brother and I have a little trip to plan.”

  “It’s about three hours from here. In Gaylin.”

  Grinding my jaw, I look up at the old clock on the wall. It’s just past two. “Ace and I can make it there in just over two.” I stand up and start packing a bag of shit I’ll need. “Aston will stay here with you. If you need anything, let him know and he’ll take care of you while I’m gone. Got it?”

  Her gaze stays on me as she reaches over and into her purse and pulls out a key, holding it out to me. “You’re gonna need this. It unlocks the back door.”

  I grab the key and shove it into my pocket before crawling above her, covering her small body with my big one. “Tell me you feel safe here, Wynter.” I place my hand around her neck and give it a light squeeze. “Tell me this doesn’t scare you.”

  I feel her swallow as her gaze meets mine. “I feel safe here and you don’t scare me, Sterling. You never really have.” She closes her eyes and lets out a small moan as my body moves to settle between her legs. “Still not scared,” she breathes.

  I move my lips down to press just below her ear. “Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”

  With that, I crawl out of bed and finish packing my bag, happy as hell to hear she’s not afraid of me.

  ‘Cause I’m anything but gentle.

  My family is anything but gentle and I need her to realize that and still feel safe here.

  Ace better be ready for a motherfucking road trip, because this shit is happening tonight.

  STERLING

  After throwing our shit into the back of the SUV, Ace jumps into the passenger seat and yells out the window for me to hurry my ass up.

  As if I’m not in as much of a hurry as he is.

  That motherfucker is lucky he’s family because it’s not going to take much to set my ass off right now.

  Good thing his hammer’s in the back, because I have a feeling he’s gonna want to use it on me by the time we reach our damn destination.

  “Give me a fucking minute, asshole.” I take one last drag from my cigarette before snubbing it out and jumping into the SUV. “When Wynter was writing down the address she told me he’s got a few friends most likely staying with him now that she’s gone. You ready for this, brother?”

  Ace gives me that twisted grin he’s known for. “I’ve been looking for another excuse to use my baby and you’ve just given me one, brother. Drive . . . fast,” he demands.

  His response gets me even more pumped up and ready to teach this prick a lesson.

  Wynter may not have told me all the details of what Kevin did to her, but she didn’t need to. I know he hurt her bad, not just physically, but pretty fucking badly in the emotional department too.

  Seeing her in the bathroom with her head hung low showcased just how much damage he truly did, giving me every reason in the fucking world not to wait another day.

  I smile and hit the gas.

  “Let’s get bloody.”

  Two hours and fifteen minutes later, we show up outside of a big brown house that has two cars and a motorcycle parked out front.

  Unfortunately for these assholes, the house is at the end of the street, secluded from the other houses.

  More room to allow things to get as messy and loud as needed.

  I park the SUV and look over to see Ace grinning again. “Fuck, this is perfect.”

  “No. It’ll be perfect after I smash that motherfucker’s face in and teach him what true fear feels like.”

  We both jump out at the same time and walk around to the back of the Expedition. Ace reaches for his hammer, while I grab for the small bag in the back and unzip it.

  Keeping my gaze on the big brown house, I slip my brass knuckles on before tossing the strap of the bag over my shoulder.

  “It’s going to be a long night for us, brother, so be sure not to bust the coffee pot with your ten pounds of titanium this time when we get back.”

  He shrugs and swings his hammer around a few times, before setting it atop his shoulder. “I can’t make any promises. Let’s go.”

  It’s late as fuck, and the perfect time to do this. No need to have the fucking neighbors see all the heinous shit we are about to do.

  We make our way up to the front of the house. The lights are off, but I can hear the steady thump of music coming from the back.

  “Come on,” I say, and we head around to the back. I see a light on from a basement window, and know the music is coming from there even though I’m not close enough to make sure.

  Ace gets close to the window first, crouches, and peers inside. I do the same and see a group of guys sitting around a poker table, bottles of opened and half-drunk liquor sitting on the table.

  I may not know what the fucker Kevin looks like, but I don’t need to, given the fact the only one with a nasty fucking bruise on the side of his head is the damn prick.

  My rage comes alive even more as I stare at the motherfucker. I curl my hand into a tight fist, the brass knuckles digging into my skin.

  I stand slowly and roll my head around my neck. I am feeling pumped, juiced up, ready to kick ass and take names. Hell, I hope his little friends jump in on the action.

  The more violence the better.

  We make our way to the back door, kick that fucker in, and head inside. This is going to be fun, like broken bones kind of fun.

  I grin. Yeah, time to settle the fucking score.

  WYNTER

  I wake up with a start, my heart racing, my body covered in this light sheen of sweat. I glance around the room, not seeing Sterling and having this feeling in the pit of my stomach intensify.

  I know where he is, know what he is doing right now. I’m scared, not for Sterling, because I know he can handle himself, but for the repercussions that might happen because of all of this.

  I stand and make my way into the bathroom, turn on the light and stare at myself in the mirror. Beads of sweat cover my forehead, and I turn the faucet on and splash water on my face.

  I try to grapple with everything that’s going on, with everything that will go on after this is all said and done. I freeze when I hear a knock on the door. Before I can see who it is, I hear the door opening.

  I leave the bathroom and see a young woman standing in the doorway. I recognize her from when I first came to Sterling’s place. She’d been sitting on Aston’s lap, the love on her face as she looked at the Locke brother clear.

  “Hey,” she says softly, her smile making me feel a little easier. “I’m Kadence.”

  “Hi.” A moment of silence passes. “You’re Aston’s girl?”

  She nods but doesn’t move any farther into the room.

  “Come on in,” I say.

  She comes in and sits on the chair in the corner, looking nervous, or maybe she’s worried about me. I have no doubt that she knows good and well why I’m here and what happened.

  The Locke brothers don’t keep anything from each other, and I made my presence known pretty strongly when I first arrived. I also had a nasty bruise covering my face.

  “How are you feeling?”

  I shrug, because honestly I don’t know how to answer that.

  We sit in silence for several long minutes. I know she’s probably trying to make me feel better, maybe lett
ing me know I have somebody to talk to if I want, but there’s nothing I really have to say.

  “Everything will be okay,” she finally says.

  I nod, but to be honest I don’t know really if that is the truth. Yes, Sterling will handle everything, take care of Kevin and make sure I am never hurt again. But what about after?

  I care about Sterling so much, but I don’t know if a man like him can ever really be with somebody. And even if he is with me, can I really stay in town, my own past tarnished and darkened?

  I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, knowing that right now Sterling is probably destroying Kevin. But to be honest all I can feel is a mixture of emptiness, but also this spark of happiness over what is happening.

  Maybe Sterling and I aren’t so different after all?

  STERLING

  Keeping my jaw tightly clenched, I make my way down the basement steps, prepared to take out any motherfucker who gets in my way.

  Ace is following at my heels, no doubt his face plastered with a wicked grin, the adrenaline rushing through his veins just as it’s coursing through mine right now.

  The thrill of destroying someone who hurt a woman I care about has completely taken over and transformed me into a beast ready to take out its prey. There will be no fucks given tonight, no matter how hard he begs.

  As soon as we hit the bottom of the steps, the asshole facing us jumps up from the table and tosses his cards down. “Who the fuck are you assholes?”

  I smirk as everyone at the table turns to look at us. “You’re about to find out if you don’t sit the fuck down.”

  The first guy throws his hands up. “Look, we don’t want any trouble. If you’re looking for Kevin he’s not here. He went looking for his girl around town.”

  “Not his fucking girl,” I growl out, ready to rip this motherfucker’s head off.

  “Who’s this little prick then?” Ace walks up behind the guy with a bruise covering the side of his face and places his hammer across this throat.

  “James,” he squeaks out. “My name is James. I swear I’m not Kevin. I’m telling the truth, he’s not here.”

  This son of a bitch is testing my patience right now. “Throw me your fucking wallet.” I hold my hand out and wait, but the asshole is moving so damn slow. “Now!” I yell.

  “Okay . . . I’m getting it. It’s kind of hard to function when there’s a hammer across your throat.” He pulls a black leather wallet from his back pocket and hands it to Ace, who tosses it to me.

  Disappointment washes through me when I open it to see the fucker isn’t lying. “What happened to your face, James?”

  “Got into a fight a few days ago with my ex’s new boyfriend.”

  “Kevin took off a few hours ago when Wynter never showed back up. My guess is he’s either out getting laid or looking for her.” The little guy gives us a confused look. “Why are you guys looking for Kevin, anyway? What did the dumbass do?”

  Rage boils throughout me, making it hard not take my anger out on one of these innocent pricks just to let off some steam. “He hurt someone I care about. Now he’s gonna hurt.”

  “Fuck.” Some tall blond guy grabs for the bottle of whiskey and tilts it back, looking pissed off now. “That son of a bitch.”

  Looks like blondie has a thing for my girl.

  I walk around the table and stop behind blondie’s chair, getting all up in his ear. “Whatever the fuck feelings you have for my girl . . .” I growl, “I suggest you lose them real fucking fast. You wouldn’t want that pretty face of yours getting all jacked up and unrecognizable.”

  He stiffens but doesn’t say a word, so I squeeze his shoulder hard as fuck and grin. “Now enjoy the rest of your game as if we were never here.” I grab a slip of paper and write my number on it before flicking it across the table. “If Kevin shows up you call. Don’t tell the little bitch anything or you become our problem too. Got it?”

  “Yeah,” James says. “We’ve got it.”

  Ace finally removes his hammer from James’ throat and throws it over his shoulder all casual-like and shit. “Fuck . . . I’m hungry. Let’s go, brother.”

  I keep my eyes on blondie, reminding him of my warning, before I follow Ace up the stairs and into the kitchen, where he decides to begin digging through the fridge.

  “Seriously?”

  He pulls out some lunchmeat, cheese and lettuce, shrugging as he tosses it down on the counter and begins searching for bread. “Want a sandwich?”

  “Fuck no,” I say, annoyed. “I want to get back to Wynter. Hurry the fuck up with your sandwich before I take my rage out on you. Your hammer doesn’t scare me, asshole.”

  Laughing, he slaps his sandwich together, reaches for his hammer and takes off out the front door as if we weren’t just here on a damn mission, possibly to kill some asshole.

  I shake my head and step outside, pulling a joint from my jacket pocket and lighting it.

  I lean against the SUV, smoking and looking at the house, wondering what life could’ve been like if it were the two of us living here instead of that asshole Kevin.

  What if I would’ve told her how I felt back in high school? Would it have been us getting a nice place together, living a happily ever after in some other town away from the hell we grew up in? Or am I even capable of living that sort of life?

  Fuck, I can’t see myself ever living the suburban life. I never have seen myself in that situation. But truth is with Wynter I do want that, even if a fucked-up asshole like me may not deserve it.

  But I’m hoping to one day find out what being truly happy is really about . . .

  WYNTER

  Even though I hadn’t seen myself chatting with someone casually, talking about random things like I don’t have my own problems, speaking with Kadence is really nice.

  She starts talking about her life with her previous roommate, Melissa. Even in high school I didn’t have a ton of friends, and certainly not any that would be considered close enough to tell my deepest secrets to.

  But I wish I had known Kadence back in the day. I think we would have been good friends, real friends.

  I listen to the funny stories she’s telling me, no doubt to help keep my mind off things.

  It’s nice having someone to laugh with, and not worry about what’s happening in my life right now.

  It makes me feel, even for just a second, that I haven’t dug myself into this big, shitty hole.

  “So what’s going on with you and Sterling?” She smiles right before she scoops a big helping of vanilla ice cream into a bowl.

  I watch as she starts eating the ice cream right off the spoon.

  She’s a really sweet girl, maybe even a little naïve. Or maybe she’s not. Maybe she knows what she wants, and I’m just so used to the darkness of the world that I mistake innocence for not giving a fuck what anyone thinks.

  That has me laughing internally.

  “Silence usually means there’s something there.”

  I snap out of my thoughts and look at her again. “There’s nothing there.” I lie easily. Yeah, the sexual chemistry and tension is explosive, but aside from that there is nothing there.

  Truth is I highly doubt Sterling would ever want anything more than a fuck with me. And on the heels of that I don’t even know if he’d want that.

  Maybe he sees me as someone he wants to take care of? Maybe that’s where I am getting his affection from?

  Hell, maybe my need to have him—to be with him—is making me see things that aren’t really there.

  You wanting what you can’t have. Or maybe I can have Sterling but I don’t have the courage to actually make that first move.

  I start rubbing my head, this headache taking root right behind my eyes.

  “There’s nothing going on like that. He’s helping me out because we knew each other in high school.” I feel wrong saying that out loud, like there is something more there, like it isn’t just because we are “friends” that he’s helping me ou
t with Kevin.

  Kadence doesn’t say anything, but I can see she senses I don’t want to talk about it. Or at least I hope she catches on. I don’t want to bring up Sterling, and what may or may not be there between us.

  Before anything else can be said by either of us, the flash of headlights through the kitchen window and the sound of gravel crunching under tires has us both looking toward the noise.

  Kadence puts the ice cream away.

  “I’ll let you talk with him alone.” She gives me a smile before heading downstairs to be with Aston.

  I head outside at the same time Sterling and Ace climb out of the vehicle. I scan Sterling, but don’t see any blood on him. This pressure leaves me, my chest heaving as if this weight has been lifted off.

  I don’t care if he hurt Kevin; I wanted him to even. But I am worried for Sterling, about him and what this could mean to him . . . to us.

  Before I can say anything, if I was even going to, Ace leaves us alone. Sterling walks up to me, cups the back of my head, and for long seconds, just stares at me.

  And then he kisses me, presses his mouth on mine and makes me gasp. I reach out and grip his bulging biceps, feeling warm and happy, relieved he’s back here with me.

  The way his tongue swipes out to taste my lips has me opening for him, my heart practically beating out of my chest as his mouth captures mine and completely owns it.

  After a few seconds, he breaks away and we’re both panting. I want him, but I don’t want to be forward, don’t want to use this situation as a bandage because it feels good.

  “Let’s go upstairs and talk.” The fierce look on his face softens and he smiles at me.

  That sounds like the best idea, and something we both need right now.

  STERLING

  I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her downstairs just a few moments ago.

  After seeing how blondie had a thing for Wynter, it made the possessive side in me snap. I realized that even though my world is all kinds of fucked up and I may never be good enough for her, I want her anyway.