Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  I stepped into the kitchen, desperate for a glass of water, but found Fox and JJ there, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the sink in their boxers, their arms folded and eyes narrowed. My heart jerked uncomfortably and I frowned.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice gravelly from the countless cigarettes I’d chain-smoked last night.

  “At the risk of me sounding like a middle aged woman trying to deal with her kid’s weed habit - this is an intervention,” Fox said simply, his green eyes sharpening on my gym bag.

  I tucked it a little tighter under my arm. “For what?” I scoffed.

  “Give me the bag,” Fox growled and Rogue’s little dog barked like he fucking agreed as he came to stand by Fox’s feet.

  “No,” I said simply. “I’m going to work.”

  “Come on, Ace,” JJ said gently. “Just hand it over. We don’t wanna do this the hard way, but we will.”

  “I dunno what you’re talking about.” I waved a hand dismissively, turning around and heading for the door, but two sets of strong arms accosted me, dragging me back into the room and wrestling the bag from my grip while the fucking dog bit my ankles.

  “For fuck’s sake,” I growled.

  JJ kept a tight hold of my arm, wheeling me back around and I cursed as Fox dropped the bag onto the kitchen island with a loud donk.

  “This is ridiculous,” I muttered as he unzipped the bag and produced a bottle of rum from within the folds of my clothes. Then another, and another. And okay, another.

  Mutt caught my attention as he sat on his furry ass and cocked his head to one side with the most judgmental fucking look I’d ever seen on a dog.

  “You’re gonna kill yourself, brother,” Fox snarled furiously, but when his eyes flashed onto me, there was only concern there. “This isn’t the answer to getting her back.”

  “You think that’s what I want?” I laughed dryly. “Her back in this house, back in the middle of us ready to rip us all apart?”

  My gaze flicked to JJ and his eyes implored me not to tell Fox his dirty little secret. The fact that he thought I would showed how little he thought of me right now. But the whole point of this was to try and keep us three together. I’d do anything for my brothers and I wasn’t going to tell Fox he’d laid his hands on Rogue. Ever. That would be akin to setting a grenade off right here in this kitchen, and frankly the critical hits would probably be lower by comparison.

  “I’m not gonna argue with you about Rogue right now,” Fox said evenly, walking to the sink with the rum bottles and placing them down on the side. He twisted off the cap of the first and poured it down the drain, the glug, glug, glug of the rum spilling out of the bottle filling my ears. I could get more, he knew that. But he was making a point, and I got it. I really did. But if I didn’t have alcohol to numb my pain, I was going to have to face it. And fuck, I really didn’t wanna do that.

  While Fox’s back was turned, JJ mouthed, “Don’t tell him,” to me and I pressed my hand to his shoulder, giving him a look that swore I wouldn’t. I hated lying to Fox, but I wasn’t an idiot. My only goal was keeping us as one unit and that truth would be the end of us. Fox would never forgive JJ for it. It would ruin them. Us. Which was exactly why she’d had to go.

  “Gimme your wallet,” Fox gritted out when he was done pouring the rum away, facing me and holding out his hand.

  “Come on, man,” I tried, but he just closed in on me while JJ moved to block the nearest exit.

  I blew out a breath of frustration then took my wallet from my pocket and placed it in Fox’s hand. “What now? Am I grounded?” I rolled my eyes as Fox placed it on the counter and picked up a box beside it, taking something out of it.

  I frowned at the handheld device with a little tube extending from the side of it. I knew what that was. A breathalyser.

  “I’m hungover as shit, I’m not gonna pass that test, brother,” I laughed dryly but neither of them cracked a smile.

  “I know,” Fox said. “I just want you to say hello to your new best friend.” He gave me a dark smile and my heart sank. “You’re gonna keep this breathalyser on you wherever you go. And if I text you asking for a reading, you’re gonna send me a video of you taking it. And I want those numbers on dead zeros after the alcohol has left your system today, do you understand me, Chase?” He asked in his most dominating tone.

  I ground my teeth, my breaths coming heavier. Alright, so maybe I’d gotten a little too reliant on the booze lately. But I wasn’t an alcoholic. I wasn’t my fucking dad. This was just a phase, a blip. I didn’t need rum, it just…helped.

  “This is extreme,” I said. “I don’t have a problem.”

  “That’s what someone with a problem would say,” JJ said, moving to my side and giving me a worried look.

  “Fuck off.” I shoved his arm then looked back at Fox. “This is too much, bro. I’ll cut down to a couple of drinks a day, but I’m no T-totaller.” I laughed, they didn’t, my stomach knotted.

  Fox folded his arms. “If you don’t give me dead zero readings from tomorrow onwards, you’re out of the Harlequins.”

  My heart thundered in my ears as I glared at him. “You’re really pulling that shit with me again?” I growled. “Are you just gonna threaten me with that every time you want me to jump through one of your hoops, asshole? You don’t own me.”

  He strode up to me, chest to chest with me and his eyes endlessly dark. “I don’t need a drunk in my crew,” he said in a deadly low voice. “You’re a liability. You’re not just a danger to yourself, you’re a danger to anyone you’re out on a job with. So until you can prove to me that you can keep your head straight and deal with your own shit, you’re not going on jobs and you’re not taking part in Crew meetings either. You show me you can stay sober for two weeks and I might let you start climbing the ranks again, but until then, you’re a pledge and I expect you to prove your worth to me and my gang.” He stepped past me, sweeping out of the room and slamming the door behind him to emphasise his point.

  Mutt barked again then hopped up into a potted plant and took a piss and I swear the little fucker held my eye the entire time like that was aimed at me.

  Rage coiled through every fibre in my body and I began to shake with it. He couldn’t do that. I’d been a part of this crew as long as he had. Luther had initiated me, not him. I wheeled towards JJ, looking for at least some glint of him having my back in this. Fox had gone too far, but JJ just frowned sadly at me and hung his head like an obedient little lapdog and I growled through my teeth.

  “You can’t seriously think this is okay?” I snarled.

  “You need to look after yourself, Ace,” he said, reaching out to me, but I jerked away from his touch.

  “Fuck you,” I snapped, grabbing my gym bag from the island and heading through the door towards the garage. I grabbed my motorcycle key from the box as I jogged downstairs, putting my bag on my back. I jogged over to my Suzuki and swung my leg over it, starting her up.

  The electric door opened and I flew out of it at high speed, tearing towards the gate as a couple of Harlequin guards scrambled to open it in time. I sped through it, the engine roaring as I shot down the street with the wind twisting through my hair, weaving through the traffic before loosening the throttle as I hit The Mile.

  I went as fast as possible, the world becoming a blur, everything just merging into a sheet of colour either side of me.

  I parked up outside Raiders Gym and kicked the stand down on my bike as I dismounted before unlocking the doors and marching inside. I’d work out until my muscles screamed and everything burned. If my heart was going to hurt like this, then the rest of my body might as well follow.

  ***

  Fox:

  Take it.

  I ground my teeth, my phone locked in my hand as I guzzled water, sitting on the floor in the boxing ring after a third round with Terry. Sweat dripped down my spine and the pain in my skull from the alcohol last night was finally easing, its place taken b
y my aching muscles instead.

  I considered refusing him, I really fucking did. But that was just the stubborn asshole in me. After a few hours, I’d calmed down enough to know I was going to do exactly as he asked, because I knew he was just psychotic enough to really kick me out of the Harlequins if I didn’t obey his every word and the thought of that was terrifying. I’d lose my brothers, my home. And there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to stop that from happening.

  I pushed to my feet, heading into the office and asking Brandy to give me some space. She jumped up from behind her desk and tottered out into the gym on her vibrant orange heels, shutting the door behind her. I dropped down into my seat and set up my phone on the desk to record me as I took the breathalyser test, casually flipping Fox off as I did so then stopping blowing into the device when it beeped. I showed him the low reading he was hoping for and switched off the camera before sending the video to him.

  Even as I sat there for a couple of minutes, the anxiety kicked back in hard and the guilt over Rogue started gnawing at my gut again. I chewed the inside of my cheek, my instincts telling me that rum was the answer. But it couldn’t be now. So I was just going to have to suffer through this and hate myself.

  By lunchtime, after I’d worked every muscle in my body, showered and changed into some navy shorts and a white tank top, I knew I had to eat. I was shaking from the lack of food and my head was spinning like a motherfucker. Before I could make up my mind on which takeout I was gonna go eat alone on the beach, Fox messaged me once more.

  Fox:

  Come home for lunch. You officially eat all of your meals with me.

  I cursed him under my breath, then stormed out of the gym and got on my bike to ride home.

  When I walked back into Harlequin House, Cuban music was playing and I headed to the kitchen, finding the sliding doors open and Fox out on the patio, sitting at the table under an umbrella with all kinds of breads, cheeses, fruits and salad laid out in front of him.

  He was wearing aviator Ray Bans that reflected my exhausted looking self in them and Mutt was on his lap as he casually stroked his head and I swear the dog scowled at me. Fox’s tanned chest looked like it had been gilded by the sun this morning and the artful ink dotted around his body seemed to shine brighter than usual.

  “Help yourself,” he said, pushing a very green looking smoothie across the table towards me. “And drink up.”

  “What are you, my momma?” I asked, striding over to sit down opposite him and inspecting the smoothie.

  “We both know your momma never made you anything this good, brother,” he said, not to mock me, just stating plain old facts.

  “Lunch!” JJ bounded out onto the patio and Mutt wagged his tail, though he seemed content to stay on Fox’s lap for some reason.

  I was pretty sure he’d taken to carrying treats around in his pocket to buy the pup’s favour. But I didn’t think the dog would like me even if I had a prime rib in my pocket. I didn’t know how the little beast knew that I was responsible for getting rid of his owner, but he did. I could tell. And I swear he was out to get me for it too.

  JJ sat down beside me, grabbing a plate and starting to pile it high with food.

  “You only ever make us food on Sundays.” I narrowed my eyes on Fox.

  “Well lucky you, now I’m going to make you every meal,” Fox said, popping a grape in his mouth and crushing it between his teeth.

  “You don’t have to babysit me,” I bit out, still not touching anything despite the way my stomach growled for food.

  “Oh, on the contrary, Ace, I abso-fucking-lutely do,” Fox said, eyeing me with a challenge in his gaze and sipping his smoothie. “Drink. Up.”

  I blew out a breath then picked up the smoothie and downed a mouthful of it. It tasted like a vegan’s asshole, but I drained every drop of it then wiped away the green slush from my lips and grabbed a plate, heaping it high with food and acting like a savage as I ate my way through it. If he wanted to be my personal chef, then fine. I wasn’t gonna complain about that.

  “Did Luther pick up his cut yesterday?” JJ asked Fox.

  “Yeah, and he’s gonna up it this month by five percent,” Fox announced.

  “What, why?” JJ gasped.

  “Because he thinks Shawn Mackenzie is going to strike at us hard soon and we need to buy more weapons. Plus, we lost out on the extra cash we would have had from the ferry job,” he said with a frown. “It’ll only be temporary. You can just take on some extra escort jobs to make up the difference, right?”

  “Oh er…yeah, of course,” JJ said, going quiet as he tucked into some more food.

  “I can increase the membership a little at Raiders,” I said. “And we could get working on the next job-”

  “I told you, you’re not running jobs right now,” Fox clipped and my jaw worked furiously.

  “Oh come on, you need me. Who’s gonna get the vehicles? Who’s gonna drive the getaway car?”

  “Basset,” Fox said simply.

  “Fucking Basset?” I snapped. “He hasn’t even got half the talent I have boosting cars.”

  “Fair point,” JJ agreed.

  “He’s good enough, and maybe the extra practice will bring him up to par,” Fox said with a shrug.

  I slammed my hand down on the table, sending a papaya flying off of it onto the ground. Mutt barked at me, baring his teeth as I bared mine at the guy holding him.

  “So now you’re gonna replace me?” I demanded, my heart warring and panic tearing up the centre of me. This was the only thing I was good at, and Fox was just dismissing it like even fucking Basset could learn to reach my standard. “Is that how disposable I am to this crew?”

  My father’s words echoed in my head and I tried to force them out, but they were carved into my mind and I couldn’t get rid of them. Worthless. Useless. Nothing.

  “No one said you’re disposable,” JJ tried, but Fox cut in, pointing at me.

  “You wanna be valued here, then prove your worth,” he growled. “Basset is a hundred times more reliable than you are lately and I don’t give a fuck if it takes him twice as long as you to steal a car and he stops at every red light during a getaway because there’s more to a Harlequin than just being good at one thing. You need to show up on time, you need to have a clear head, you need to have your crew members’ backs no matter what.” His eyes were furious and the accusation cut deep. He thought I’d abandoned Rogue, and that I might do the very same thing to him or JJ. But he didn’t understand, it wasn’t like that. I would never leave them, and under any normal circumstances I wouldn’t have left her either. But I’d thought it was the only answer to getting things back to normal. How wrong I’d fucking been.

  I didn’t snap back at him, I just gazed down at the half eaten food on my plate as my appetite died and I realised he was right. About all of this. He was trying to give me a chance I didn’t deserve. And it was one he wouldn’t have offered to anyone else if it hadn’t been me. So if I wanted to stay here, I really was going to have to prove my worth. The problem was, I just wasn’t sure I had any to offer.

  The doorbell rang and I frowned in confusion, the three of us looking between each other as if doing a headcount.

  “Who the fuck is that?” JJ muttered.

  “Luther wouldn’t knock,” I said.

  “Only a Harlequin would get through the gate,” Fox said thoughtfully.

  “I’ll get it.” I pushed out of my seat as Mutt growled at me and Fox stroked his head to shush him.

  I headed through the house to the front door, unbolting it and pulling it open.

  I froze, turned to a statue of ice as my mind took far too many seconds to catch up with who I found standing there.

  Rogue was on our porch wearing ripped denim shorts and a white baggy cropped shirt with a picture of a hand with its middle finger up.

  “Hello, asshole,” she said brightly then punched me in the dick.

  I stumbled back with a wheeze, clutching my br
uised junk and cursing under my breath as white spots burst before my eyes. It took several long seconds for me to recover, in which time she stepped into the house, kicked the door shut behind her and fluffed up her rainbow hair while looking in a mirror on the wall.

  I finally stood upright and all my instincts went to shit as I still couldn’t quite comprehend that she was here, despite the very real pain in my balls which said she was.

  I lunged at her, pulling her into my arms and crushing her against my chest in a fierce hug which I wasn’t going to overthink as she wriggled violently to try and get free. She smelled like coconut and hope and all the good things I’d been missing ever since I’d lost her as a teenager. All the things that didn’t belong to me and never would.

  Fury bubbled under my flesh at this whole situation and as she tried to knee me in my tender balls, I pushed her back, keeping a tight hold her shoulders.

  “Did he hurt you?” I demanded, searching her eyes for the broken girl I’d thought she’d be after her time on Maverick’s island. But she looked fiercer than ever and all I found in her shimmering blue gaze was hatred.

  “Only in the good ways,” she tossed at me and I released her like she’d burned me.

  My heart beat out a panicked tune and all the anger I’d felt at her choosing Maverick over the rest of us when we were sixteen came flaring up and tearing through every inch of my soul.

  “You fucked him?” I spat.

  “That’s really none of your business.” Her eyes narrowed and suddenly I was panicking for a thousand more reasons as she lowered her voice to a whisper and moved into my personal space.

  “By the way…I know what you did, Ace,” she hissed. “I know you left me on purpose. I know that you worked alone. That you wanted me gone and thought you’d pack me off to prison to solve your little problem. And I know that Fox and JJ don’t know.”

  A lump of freezing ice lodged in my throat as those words rang in my head and I saw the Devil in her eyes. She was going to ruin us, rip us apart for good. That was her vengeance on us and she was here to deliver it. No.