Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  Luther’s features softened and he pressed a hand to my shoulder then shoved me aside, flicked the light on and strode down the stairs. “It’ll take more than a dodgy step to kill old Luther Harlequin, son,” he called back over his shoulder with a laugh and I shared a panicked look with my brothers. Chase darted to the cupboard beside the basement door, taking out a handgun stashed there and my heart beat furiously as I turned and raced after Luther.

  I’m not gonna let him kill my dad, am I?

  But what if he finds Rogue, what if he tries to kill her?

  I hated Luther, but I wasn’t sure I could watch him die. If it came down to him or Rogue though, I knew who I’d choose. And it wasn’t him.

  As he made it to the bottom of the stairs, I almost crashed into him as he whistled for Mutt. “Where are you, boy? Did my wretched son lock you down here?”

  “I didn’t,” I gritted out, looking around the place for Rogue. Where the hell was she?

  Mutt came bounding over, his little paws tapping across the floorboards as he ran at Luther and dove into his arms.

  “Who’s a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are,” Dad cooed like an idiot and I frowned at the great Luther Harlequin who was apparently a complete sap for that dog. “Is my son not taking care of you? Do you want me to lock him up and beat his head in for you? Yes you do.”

  Ah, there’s the man I know and hate.

  Mutt licked his hands and wagged his little tail like crazy as Luther scooped him into his arms and turned to me with a stern look.

  “You need to take care of your animals, kid. I raised you better than that,” he said sharply and the air got choked out of my lungs as I spotted Rogue’s legs dropping down from the ceiling behind a wooden beam. Her body followed and her legs kicked frantically as she tried to get back up to wherever the hell she’d been hiding, but her strength was clearly failing her. Had she gotten up into the damn piping in the ceiling?

  “Sure, yeah,” I forced out at my dad, my eyes snapping firmly back onto him.

  “It’s not right, is it Mutt?” he said to the dog then glared at me again. “And give him a proper name.”

  The rest of Rogue’s body came into view and I could see she was about to let go, panic sending my heart into overdrive.

  “MUTTLEY!” Chase bellowed just as Rogue lost her grip and dropped to the floor, his voice covering the sound of her feet hitting the floor as she stared at us in horror.

  “Why the fuck are you shouting?” Luther demanded.

  “I just got…overexcited,” Chase said. “We could call him Muttley?”

  “That’s a shitty name,” Luther muttered, frowning at Chase like he was a weirdo.

  “I think Mutt might need to go pee,” JJ said, jerking his head at the stairs. “He’s got that look in his eyes, don’t you boy?” He gave the dog a look and Mutt whined as if playing along with the lie.

  Luther scratched his ears before heading past us with a tut and carrying him upstairs.

  I looked back at Rogue as she bit her lip anxiously, desperate to go to her, but I just pressed my finger to my lips and led my boys back upstairs.

  I locked the basement tight and released a breath of relief as I followed Luther back to the kitchen where he was opening the sliding door to let Mutt out.

  We finished our breakfast and he soon headed off, leaving us with orders to hunt for Shawn and his men. My head was still reeling from the fact that Rogue had been that twisted motherfucker’s girl. It made me sick. Had she really hated us that much that she’d gone to our enemy’s bed? And as I thought of that, my mind latched onto Maverick and I picked up one of the island stools and hurled it out the door. It hit the concrete and bounced into the pool as my breaths came in furious pants.

  “Let’s just hear her out,” JJ reasoned.

  “Bring her to me,” I commanded through my teeth and JJ hurried off to fetch her.

  I took out my phone, dialling Kenny’s number as my pulse thundered in my ears. It went to voicemail and I practically spat venom. “You listen here, you useless little shit. I’m going to rip out your intestines and strangle you with them if you don’t call me back before sundown.”

  I cut the call and shoved my phone into my pocket as Chase pushed a cigarette into the corner of his mouth. I snatched it from his lips, putting it in my mouth and swiping his lighter from his other hand. I didn’t smoke anymore, but I was being pushed to my fucking limits today as I tried to remain ‘reasonable’, and I just needed to do some damage to myself right now to stop me from doing damage to someone else. Chase gaped at me as I dragged the smoke down into my lungs and I cursed the world for how fucking good that was.

  Chase lit up his own cigarette then folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, his aura dark.

  “Shawn,” I spat his name. “Fucking Shawn?”

  “Fucking Shawn,” Chase confirmed with a nod, his jaw working.

  “How could she?” I snarled.

  “How could I fuck a beautiful bastard with a big dick and a nice, comfy bed I got to sleep in every night? Hm, seemed like a viable lifestyle once,” Rogue mused as she stepped into the kitchen.

  JJ flanked her like a bodyguard and I gave him a dry look. What did he think I was gonna do? Hit her? I’d sooner cut my own hand off.

  “Are we all smoking?” Rogue asked lightly, bouncing past me to Chase and stealing the cigarettes from his pocket. He offered her the lighter, his gaze cold and hard as he stared at her lips around the smoke and JJ strode forward to grab one too.

  “Well now we’re all firmly back to being sixteen years old, let’s play the truth game,” I said icily, working very fucking hard to keep my anger in check, but it wasn’t working.

  “What’s the forfeit?” Rogue asked, sweet as pie like she gave no shits that we’d exposed the truth about her and Shawn Mackenzie. But she did, I could see it in the depths of her ocean blues. And I was going to get every dirty piece of it.

  “Whoever refuses the truth first has to sleep in the basement. Naked,” I said.

  “And tied up,” Chase threw in with a smirk.

  “Fine,” Rogue said with a shrug, turning her back on us and walking outside. We all followed. “What’s on your mind, Badger?”

  “How long were you Shawn Mackenzie’s girl for?” I demanded.

  “Two years,” she said then whipped her dress off to reveal a tiny blue bikini and the fading marks all over her body from Maverick’s touch. I nearly lost it there and then, blinded by rage, hatred. How could she want him? I knew what she’d thought I’d done when she’d been arrested, but that didn’t make it feel any better. She’d cut my heart open the second she’d gotten into bed with him and she knew it. She fucking knew it.

  “How big’s your dick?” she asked me lightly, throwing me for a fucking loop as she dropped down onto one of the sun loungers and picked up a bottle of sun lotion.

  JJ laughed and I shot him a glare that shut him right up.

  “Nine inches,” I answered. “Did you fuck Shawn just to get back at us?”

  “Nope, I had no idea he was your enemy,” she said easily with no hint of a lie, her eyes falling to my crotch with a raised eyebrow like she was trying to tell if I’d lied.

  “They’ve been an enemy of the Harlequins on and off for years,” I snarled.

  “I don’t keep track of all your gang shit. I swear every gang you hate is called something beginning with D. The Dog Dicks, the Damned Dicks, The Dead Dicks, I don’t fucking know,” she said earnestly. “So how many girls have you fucked?”

  Chase pulled up a seat for the show, seeming angry as hell and I glowered at my girl, knowing she was just trying to screw with me.

  “I dunno,” I said.

  “Take a ballpark guess,” she encouraged.

  “Thirty,” I threw at her. “Is Shawn Mackenzie the one who left those bruises on your throat when you showed up here?”

  “Yup,” she said and I felt a vein throbbing in my temple that was definitely going to b
urst.

  I went to the most villainous place inside me and made a vow to kill that motherfucker so good that his death would go down in history in this town. JJ and Chase looked ready to pack some weapons and get bloody right there with me too.

  “Have you ever had a bi-curious experience?” Rogue asked me, making my head rattle.

  “What? No,” I balked.

  “You let me hold your dick that time you needed to pee when you were too drunk to do it yourself,” JJ pointed out unhelpfully and Rogue tipped her head back as she laughed.

  “Thanks, J,” I deadpanned. “I don’t think that’s quite the same as a bi-curious experience.”

  He shrugged, then looked back at Rogue with a frown on his brow. He always used humour to hide his mood, but his eyes said it all. The fact that she’d been with Shawn was gutting him deep. It was a betrayal on a level she clearly couldn’t even comprehend. The guy was like fifteen years older than her too. What the fuck had she been thinking?

  “Did you love him?” I demanded of Rogue and she tsked.

  “No. What is love?” she tossed back with a shrug and I took it as her next question, striding toward her until she was in my shadow.

  “Love is obsession. Love’s the thing you can’t control, that binds you to someone whether they want you or not. It’s a gift to those who feel it towards each other, and the most excruciating curse when it’s unrequited.” I leaned down, gripping her chin and making her look at me. “You made love your enemy, hummingbird. You rejected it with all your soul because you think you’re not worthy of it. But I’ve never seen a girl more worthy in my life.”

  Her eyes softened for half a second before she jerked her head out of my grip. “Next question,” she pushed.

  “Did you fuck Maverick?” I asked in a low voice just for her, but I could feel Chase and JJ listening in.

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation and my world crumbled, the single crumb of doubt I’d had on the matter flying away on the wind.

  Mutt jumped up at my legs, sniffing my pockets as he hunted for treats.

  “Do you want him? Is that why you came back to town?” I asked, desperate for that answer as much as I feared hearing it.

  “It’s my turn to ask a question,” she said, her voice thick with emotion which she didn’t let spill over.

  Her eyes moved to meet mine and the breath got trapped in my lungs as I waited for some stupid question and got lost in the depths of those eyes I’d missed so much, for so damn long.

  “Did you try your hardest to find me when your dad sent me away? Did you do everything within your power to look for me?” she asked, her throat bobbing and I could tell how much she needed this answer. The pain in her eyes made my anger ebb away just enough for me to reach out and take her hand.

  “Yes,” I swore. “I searched for you for ten years in every place I could think of, but the only place I ever found you was in my dreams.”

  Her features pinched and she hooked my sunglasses off the table beside her, putting them on to hide, taking a drag of her cigarette. “Ask me again then.”

  I swallowed the sharp lump in my throat as I prepared myself for a truth that would ruin me. “Did you come back to Sunset Cove for Maverick?”

  “No,” she said. “Shawn tried to kill me, left me on the edge of town and I figured coming back here was my only option. I didn’t come here for Maverick.”

  “What did you come here for?” I rasped.

  “To rip your heart from your chest,” she admitted.

  “Well good work, hummingbird.” I stood upright, done with this game. “It looks like you got what you wanted then.”

  I stubbed my cigarette out in an ashtray and strode inside, heading down into the garage and grabbing my truck keys on the way.

  I drove into town with one face in my head and a gun loaded on the passenger seat beside me. I was going to find Shawn Mackenzie and skin him alive for laying his hands on Rogue. It was the only thing that would sate this beast in me. Besides, no one hurts her and gets away with it.

  ***

  I set every one of my men out hunting Sunset Cove for signs of Shawn and his thugs, but the day had turned to night and I hadn’t yet found one lead to go on.

  I returned home just after sunset, weary and with several missed calls on my phone from Chase and JJ wondering if I was alright and I finally shot back a couple of texts to say I was. I stepped into the house and headed to the kitchen, immediately starting to cook dinner for everyone. As I was babysitting Chase, I might as well cook enough for the household, so I soon had a stir fry ready for all of us.

  Chase appeared at the scent of food, wearing low riding black gym shorts and a grey wifebeater, his hair a mess like he’d been taking a nap. He looked better already from a couple of days of good food and no alcohol in his system.

  “Show me,” I demanded as I dished up a plate for him and he rolled his eyes before taking the breathalyser from his pocket and breathing into it. It beeped a moment later and he showed me the neutral reading which helped ease the knot in my chest a little. “Good. Where’s JJ and Rogue?”

  “Rogue’s in her room and JJ’s working,” he said as he started eating like the food was about to vanish before his eyes.

  He always did that. I guessed it came from having hardly any meals on the table when he was a kid. His parents had failed him on so many levels, it still made me angry to this day. If it was up to me, I would have shot his old man a long time ago for what he’d done to my brother. But Chase wanted him to linger on in loneliness with only the company of his bad leg and dodgy lungs, and I guessed that was a sweeter kind of justice.

  “Any sign of Shawn?” he asked hopefully.

  I knew he’d been out searching himself this afternoon even though I hadn’t given him the order to do it. I’d seen him down at the beach questioning people and I wasn’t going to call him out on it because frankly, he’d just deny that he was as desperate to find him as I was. He wanted to make Shawn pay for Rogue’s sake, and no doubt JJ did too. I’d made sure J had stayed home to keep an eye on my girl though. Or fuck…was she even my girl anymore? Had she ever been? Me laying a claim on her hadn’t made a bit of difference to how much she wanted me in return. I just didn’t know what I was doing when it came to her and maybe it was time I tried reading one of JJ’s mommy porn books because I really didn’t know where else to turn.

  After my rage had simmered down this afternoon, I knew I couldn’t just give up on her. No, I had to up my game. Make her see why we were meant to be together. I still planned on gutting Maverick for laying his hands on her, but she was in my house now, not his. And I had to find a way to make her see how perfect we were for each other so she could choose me for herself.

  “Are you babysitting her tonight?” Chase asked. “I’ve gotta go to Raiders.”

  “Yeah, I’ll stay home,” I said and he nodded, getting to his feet and moving to load his plate in the dishwasher.

  “I could um, do a sweep of town before I come home later, check in with some of the Crew and see if they’ve gotten any leads on Shawn?” he offered, looking hopefully at me to set him a job.

  I eyed him for a moment, considering that. “Alright,” I agreed. “Be home by midnight though.”

  “Yes, Dad,” he mocked and I rolled my eyes as he headed out of the kitchen towards the garage.

  I dished up a plate of food for Rogue, placed it on a tray with a glass of apple juice, some cutlery and a chicken treat for Mutt then headed upstairs and placed it down outside her room. This was probably a douche move, but whatever.

  I knocked on her door then walked away and slipped into my bedroom, shutting it tight and listening as she opened her door. There was a pause and Mutt yipped enthusiastically.

  “I know you’re there, Badger,” she sang, but I didn’t answer. She didn’t know shit.

  The sound of her door pulling shut reached me and I cracked my door open, finding she’d taken the food. Maybe all I had to do was cook m
y way into her heart; she certainly loved food more than she loved me. So I could try and associate the two.

  I crept back out of my room, heading into JJ’s and walking up to the black bookshelf he had against one wall. My gaze roamed over the book titles and I frowned, having no fucking idea where to start. The only one I’d heard of was Twilight, so I plucked that off the shelf, figuring it was as good a place as any to begin and headed back to my room.

  Three hours later, I was confused.

  I’d pretty much been doing exactly what Edward had done to win Bella over. Following her everywhere, protecting her at all costs, stopping her from seeing hot werewolves - AKA other men. I supposed the one thing I hadn’t done was the gentleman thing. The old fashioned dating stuff which I was a complete amateur at.

  Alright then, Edward Cullen, teach me your sparkly vampire ways.

  I read on a few more chapters until an idea came to me and I shot a text to Saint Memphis for a little help on something I was pretty sure the posh bastard would know about.

  Fox:

  Hey dude. Any chance a guy like you knows what kind of classical music is the most romantic?

  Saint:

  Hello, ‘Dude’,

  I require more information. Do you mean romantic as in the western classical music associated with the period of the nineteenth century – more commonly referred to as the ‘Romantic Era’? Or are you referring to the definition of romantic as in expressing affection to one’s counterpart?

  Hell, was this guy for real?

  Fox:

  The second one I think.

  Saint:

  Suite Bergamasque – Claud Debussy

  The Carnival of the Animals - Camille Saint-Saëns

  Vesper – New Tide Orquesta

  Ombra Mai Fu – Malena Ernman

  Serenade, Opus 20: II – Edward Elgar

  Fox:

  That’s a lot of weird words, bro, but thanks.

  Saint:

  *Squid emoji*