Reid had been the youngest and handled it the best. I went into full-on denial and had pathetic reunion fantasies for a solid two years before it sank in. But Matty? He fucking hated her guts from the second she walked out. By the time social services picked us up after we missed school for the fifth day in a row, he couldn’t even work up a single tear.
Nowadays, he was friendly and charming on the outside but trusted no one except me and Reid. Everyone else, he held at arm’s length, and they were one wrong move away from nabbing a spot his eternal shit list. At this point, Olivia was close to the top. He very definitely blamed her for everything that happened, and seeing me with her tonight obviously added fuel to the fire, but that didn’t give him the right to humiliate her.
He was going to give me major shit when I walked in, but not before I reamed his ass for that little stunt.
“You should go in and talk to him,” Olivia said, running a hand through her mussed hair. “I’m fine, really.”
Part of me wanted to use the out. Especially now that I’d taken her up on her offer, not even giving a second thought to consequences or how she would feel when it was all over and nothing had changed.
“Don’t say anything, okay?” she said without looking at me. “Go home. Sleep in your bed, have a good meal, and then don’t think about any of this for a few days. When you’re ready, we’ll talk. I have a couple other things I wanted to tell you, but now’s not the time. Can I call you later in the week?”
I reached for the door handle, grimacing when I remembered that I had come in my pants like a fourteen-year-old and had a mess to contend with. “Yeah. I’ll be here. I’ve got to take advantage of the time to train while I have it.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
I opened the door and climbed out of the car, wishing I could invite her up and fall asleep with her next to me. “Thanks for bailing me out, Liv. I really appreciate it,” I said, and closed the door behind me.
I heard her pull away as I opened the gym door, but I didn’t look back. I was too busy staring down my younger brother Reid as he scowled at me from the foyer.
Matty was standing behind him, twin lines of fury bracketing his mouth. “You ever think about calling somebody to let them know you’re out of jail, or is that too much to ask?”
Shit.
I pinched my eyes closed and nodded, some of the anger draining out of me. I’d been so caught up in Olivia from the second I saw her standing in the parking lot, I hadn’t even considered the fact that my brothers were worrying themselves sick every second I spent behind bars. I could’ve saved them an hour of pain and they would have been thrilled to have me home. Instead, they were both practically shaking with fury and I knew I’d hurt Matty’s feelings. I was batting a thousand today.
Reid raked a hand through his short dark hair and blew out a sigh. “Look, that was a dick move but I’m not going to ruin your night by raking you over the coals about it. Or her.” He jerked his head toward the parking lot. “But I want to go on record as saying that I agree with Matty. I don’t think it’s smart to see her.”
Reid was a major pain in the ass at times, but he was also the most forgiving. I should’ve taken the olive branch. Instead I shoved my way past both of them, half hoping Matty would test me. Maybe going a few rounds would take the edge off.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call. That was wrong. But I’m a grown-ass man, and I’m going to do what I’m going to do as far as Olivia is concerned,” I said, making my way into the wide-open space of the main gym floor. The place was empty, and I headed straight through to the apartment stairs with both my brothers tailing me.
“Don’t you walk away from me, you cocksucker,” Matty shouted up the stairs. “I want an explanation. What is she, your girlfriend now?”
I swung open the apartment door and stepped through, leaving it open as Matty came bounding up behind me.
“Messing with her is only going to make things worse. If Andrew Abernathy knows you two are still together, he’s going to press this even harder. I got the money, you know. I just have to pick it up tomorrow and I was going to bail you out. We can pay her back and let her walk. We don’t need her.”
I ignored him and crossed the living room to the bathroom, stripping off my T-shirt as I went.
“What is wrong with you? She’s bad news and you’re so frigging blind you can’t see—”
I slammed the door shut in his face and locked it. He was still talking when I cranked on the shower.
Chapter Four
Olivia
When the sun came streaming through my window, I had the same thought I’d had for the past three days every time I woke up.
Bash was free.
That alone was worth getting out of bed for. The nausea that had been my constant companion since he’d gotten arrested was gone. Even if I never saw his face again, at least he wasn’t locked in a cell.
My morning optimism was short-lived, though. It was 9:00 a.m., and for the third time in as many days, my mother had neglected to keep her promise to call me back so we could have a discussion about Andrew. She was going through a lot right now, so I’d given her some slack, but my patience was at its end. I picked up my phone and hit redial. When she didn’t answer, I hit it again. And again. It took seven tries, but eventually she picked up.
“Dear God, Olivia, what’s wrong?”
The annoyance in her tone led me to believe that she wasn’t actually worried that there was an emergency, so I cut to the chase. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“I’m busy right now but I can—”
“Nope. It can’t wait.” I swung my legs over the side of the mattress and sat up. “I need a favor.”
The silence on the other end lasted so long, I wondered if she’d hung up. “And what might that be?” she asked, finally.
She wasn’t used to me pushing her around, and clearly she wasn’t a fan, but I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about her feelings right then. People’s futures were at stake here. I knew it was a long shot, but if I didn’t ask, I’d always wonder if I’d done enough.
“I need you and Dad to call Andrew’s parents and convince them to make him drop the charges against Bash.” Once the arrest had gone down, I’d had no choice but to tell her what happened. I wanted to make sure my parents got the truth before the Abernathys told them whatever lies their son had been feeding them. My mother had been sympathetic but guarded and asked me not to tell my father until she’d had a chance to talk to him. The financial crisis they’d been going through had come to a head and she was concerned about his health. I’d agreed, as long as she promised to keep the Abernathys from telling him lies about Bash. As far as I knew, he was still in the dark about it, but it wouldn’t be that way for long.
“Kitten, you know we can’t do that. We’ve been friends for decades. I can keep my nose out of it for your sake, but I can’t take up for a stranger.”
My body went hot with anger and I gripped the phone tighter. “That stranger saved your daughter from getting beaten up by their son. Or do you think I’m lying about that?” At first I thought she was laughing and I saw red, but then I realized she was crying. It was a sound that was so unfamiliar, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d heard it. “Mom?”
She sniffled softly and sucked in a shuddering breath. “Yes, I’m here. It’s just…I’d wanted to protect you from this, but it seems like we’ve reached a crossroads.” She cleared her throat and sounded much more composed when she continued a few seconds later. “I want to help your friend. It’s kept me awake at night since you told me what happened, but your father is in some trouble.”
Oh, Jesus. I leaned forward and closed my eyes, bracing for the blow.
“He got involved with something he shouldn’t have. A financial deal. People lost money. They were very angry about it, and it could’ve gone to a criminal court, but Andrew Senior…fixed it. Your father’s reputation is ruined and his business is worthless, but
at least he won’t do jail time.”
She sounded almost indifferent regarding that last part, and I wondered if their marriage was in jeopardy because of this. If she hadn’t been a party to whatever this bad deal was, she must have resented the hell out of him right now for turning their lives upside down.
A part of me had known, or suspected, at least, that he’d done something unethical. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I was relieved that he wasn’t terminally ill. And sort of angry that his shady dealings had left him in a position that he couldn’t take a stand for his own daughter. But most of all, I felt disillusioned. Like that last little bit of rose-colored glass had faded and I was looking at life through a magnifying glass. Was this what it was to be an adult? To find out the people you believed in were full of shit and nothing was as good as you thought?
“I wish you told me sooner. I could’ve come home and…”
And what? Helped her through it? She knew as well as I did that, up until a few months ago, I had no clue about real life. I didn’t know about sadness or fear or responsibility. Not really. My biggest worry was whether I should wear a long dress or a short dress to the next mixer. Now that I was knee-deep in ugly stuff, I marveled at that silly girl.
“I’m sorry, Mom. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
She let out a short, wet-sounding laugh. “Aw, honey, that breaks my heart to hear you say that. I’m the mother, that’s my job, and I hate not being able to fix this for you. I was already trying to figure out how I was going to manage to bite my tongue around that arrogant shit the next time I saw him.”
That got a small smile out of me. Okay, so my father was at best a major screwup and at worse a thieving bastard, but at least my mother believed in me and would have had my back if she could have. It wasn’t perfect, with the way things were going, it was something.
“Don’t worry about Andy. I don’t think he’s be around much. He’s having his last laugh toying with Bash, but I think he knows better than to come near me again. If we can get through this, I think it will be over.” And I already had plans for that in motion. With my statement on record and with the new crack-shot lawyer in the wings, who knew what could happen?
“You do whatever you have to do. If it goes to trial and you get called to testify, you tell the truth and don’t worry about us. I might not be able to go to bat for this Bash of yours, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t, and if Andrew Abernathy has an issue with it, he can come talk to me.”
We hung up a few minutes later, and I promised to keep her posted on everything that was going on. I hadn’t told her about the jewelry, but for the first time, I felt like she might understand if I did.
I glanced at the clock and decided it was time to stop procrastinating. I’d given Bash the time that he so obviously needed, but with the grand jury hearing just a few weeks away, he had to start working on his case and I still hadn’t told him about the lawyer. I made a pot of coffee and then dialed.
“Hey.”
Just the sound of his gravelly voice made my skin tingle. As terrible and emotional as a lot of our last exchange had been, touching him again was a revelation. All my fear and confusion had gone away for those blissful few minutes in his arms, and I felt whole.
“Hey yourself. Think you can spare an hour to talk at some point today?” I held my breath and waited on pins and needles. Matty had surely blasted him for being with me the other night, and who knew if he’d convinced him that he was better off forgetting he’d ever met me?
“Sure.”
I bent at the waist, weak with relief, but managed to keep my tone even. “Okay, you want to come to my place or…?”
“No. I have to spend at least another two hours training and then I have to keep an eye on the gym. Reid has a kickboxing tournament in New York tomorrow and Matty’s going with him. I can meet you somewhere for coffee after I close up, around eight tonight, or you can stop by the gym late afternoon. Friday nights are slow, so we’ll have time to talk.”
Clearly, he didn’t want to be alone with me, which I understood. We were highly combustible and if he really was trying to quit me, it would only make it harder. I vowed not to test his resolve, to follow his lead and be there in whatever capacity he needed.
And right now, what he needed most was someone to keep his ass out of jail. I only hope he saw it that way too.
“I’ll see you at the gym at four, then.”
We disconnected and I set my phone down on the desk before picking up my coffee mug and taking a deep sip. So far, so good. After a long, downward spiral for both of us, I had to hope this new upswing was a trend. The key was making sure that this new lawyer earned his money, and me keeping Bash’s spirits up in the interim.
***
“Are you nuts?” He stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “You spent fifteen thousand dollars you didn’t have, to pay for lawyer I might not even need?”
We were sitting on a faded blue mat in the back corner of the gym so we would have some privacy, but it hadn’t been necessary. The two guys who’d been sparring when I got there a half hour before had just left, which was a lucky thing, because Bash was close to yelling now and privacy would’ve been out the window.
“You could’ve used that money toward college for next semester. Where did you get it?” he demanded, eyes flashing angrily.
I looked away and toyed with the water bottle he’d given me when I first walked in. This wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped, and telling him I’d sold my jewelry was definitely not going to improve the situation. I didn’t want to lie, so I went with deflection instead.
“That’s not relevant to this conversation. The important thing is that you now have someone to represent you who knows what he’s doing and wins cases like this all the time. He thinks if the prosecution presses for the felony assault, we have a great shot at getting this thrown out during the grand jury hearing. It might not even get to trial. He wants to meet with you on Monday.”
He wouldn’t be swayed off topic, though. “I don’t understand you people. Matty’s borrowing money that he doesn’t have the means to pay back, and you’re pissing your future away. If I’m going down, the last thing I want is to take someone I care about down with me.” He clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Was it a loan? Maybe you can still return it.”
I squared my shoulders. “Not a loan, sorry.”
That wasn’t a hundred percent accurate. Technically, I had ninety days to go into the shop with my paperwork and buy back my stuff at a slight markup, so I could’ve returned the money that hadn’t been spent and gotten a few of the more sentimental pieces back.
But I wasn’t going to.
“Please at least tell me you didn’t get the money from your parents.”
I perked up, partly because he’d labeled me as one of the people he cared about, and partly because at least I could respond to this question without subterfuge. “Of course not.”
I’d briefed him quickly on my family financial struggles earlier, so he seemed slightly less irritated once I reassured him that the money hadn’t come from them, but operation Keep Bash’s Spirits Up had clearly gone off the rails in a bad way.
“I know you’re mad at me, but what’s done is done. I wanted to do it, I did it. Now let’s move on.”
I was talking a good game, but my stomach jiggled with nerves as I waited to see if he’d call me on my false bravado. He didn’t, opting to stare me down until I couldn’t look at him anymore.
I took the opportunity to scope out the room in search of something that screamed “fun distraction,” dismissing a pile of stained jump ropes, the heavy bag, and what looked like a scarecrow with no straw before scrapping that plan and going rogue.
“You have the whole weekend ahead of you. We hang out, can get Chinese food, turn off all the lights in here, and tell ghost stories.” It smelled like sweaty socks and even sweatier balls in the ancient gym, but I didn’t care. If he cou
ldn’t leave, then I’d stay to keep him company.
“I can’t eat Chinese food when I’m training for a fight, and I hate ghost stories.”
“Okay, now you’re just being a baby. Stop sulking.”
His lip quirked, and for a second, I got a glimpse of what Bash might be like if things weren’t so shitty all the time. If he had something to make him smile more often.
Or someone.
“Fine. Not Chinese, then,” I said, rolling my eyes. “We’ll get sushi. That’s healthy. And we can play a game instead of telling ghost stories.”
The last of annoyance faded from his face and his gaze went hot. “What kind of game?”
What kind of game, indeed? My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and I shifted, leaning forward to toy with the laces of my sneaker to buy some time. I’d been jabbering off the cuff and had no idea what to play, but after the other night, I couldn’t help but wonder if I suggested seven minutes in heaven, would he go for it?
That was the thing about Bash McDaniels. If he had seven minutes, I knew from personal experience he could take me to heaven and back with three to spare.
I swallowed hard, and my throat felt like I’d been sucking on fiberglass. Should I play it safe and go for rummy, or take a chance?
Decisions, decisions…
“What about truth or dare?” he asked, a half smile curling his lips.
“Okay.”
The word was out of my mouth before what he’d said had really sunk in. Pretty pathetic, but there was almost nothing he could’ve suggested short of Russian roulette that I would’ve said no to. Upon consideration, though, it was an interesting and confounding choice. Games like that could be fun in a “get to know you” kind of way, but they could also go a whole other way.
My nipples tightened and I said a silent prayer of thanks for the hoodie I’d slipped on over my long-sleeved T-shirt. “Let’s order our food, and then we’ll play while we wait.”
Fix You: Bash and Olivia, Book 2 of 3 (McDaniels Brothers) Page 3