Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1)

by Jaxson Kidman

  “I promise, no more crazy shit, sweetie,” I say.

  “Yeah right,” she says. “I’m going to regret this so much.”

  “But the thing is… you have to ask yourself why you showed up. And not the good girl answers either. You have to figure out why. Maybe not tonight, but you’ll get there. And I’m going to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?” Jolie asks. “You’re the one I should be protected from. And I could do that by going home.”

  Jolie touches her forehead.

  I laugh.

  She looks at me.

  She’s half mad, half ready to cry, but she finds the courage to smile.

  “See?” I ask. “Nothing to worry about.”

  And right on fucking cue, lights and sirens are behind me.

  “Mac…”

  “Stay here,” I say to Jolie.

  I get out of the car and walk back to the police SUV.

  Yeah, you’re not supposed to get out of the car and all that blah blah bullshit.

  Whatever.

  The door opens to the SUV and out steps Declan.

  “What the fuck?” I call out to him.

  “Going a little fast back there, weren’t you?” he asks.

  “Are you fucking serious right now?” I ask.

  Declan smiles.

  He looks at my car. “You have a passenger.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Maybe I should go find out her story.”

  I stare at Declan.

  When he feels like swinging his badge and balls around it can get annoying.

  I don’t respond to him.

  I’m not going to play into his power game.

  “You’re coming from back there… with a passenger…”

  “What do you want?”

  Declan punches my shoulder. “Nothing. Just fucking with you.”

  “Do you know what happens to people who fuck with me?” I ask.

  “Are you going to do something?”

  “One call and your career is over,” I say.

  “Same for you,” he says.

  “Not a chance,” I say. “What do you want, Declan?”

  “Our little friend Stimmy…”

  “What about?”

  “I didn’t take him in,” he says. “Wasn’t worth the time or paperwork. But I’m going to use him.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want to see where he’s getting his supply from. Just to make sure there’s not a bigger problem on the horizon.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “So I have your permission, Mac?” Declan asks with a grin.

  I laugh. “Yeah, you have my permission. Just make sure he knows if he tries anything like that again at the skatepark he’s going to become shark food.”

  “Chomp chomp,” Declan says.

  “Don’t say shit like that,” I say. “You sound stupid.”

  “You’re pissed off because I’m cock blocking you.”

  “I’m not looking to have anything blocked or unblocked,” I say. “And it’s none of your business.”

  “I just wanted to let you know about Stimmy,” Declan says.

  I shake my head and walk back to my car.

  Declan stands in the road, lights on, and I look in the rearview mirror at him.

  “Mac?” Jolie asks.

  “Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” I say.

  I slam on the gas pedal again and take off.

  “You got pulled over,” Jolie says. “And you just drove away…”

  I look at her. “That’s right.”

  “How is that possible?”

  I reach for her hand and squeeze it tight.

  Then I bring it to my lips and kiss her hand.

  My car is going fast and my eyes are looking at her.

  She bites her bottom lip again.

  I nod.

  “Scared yet, sweetie?”

  9

  There’s a million places I could take her.

  And each one she’ll see someday.

  Tonight I want it to be just about us.

  Logically it would have been easy to just take her up on the rocks.

  Van had it cleared for me but I wasn’t in the mood for that shit.

  Soon enough I’d hold Jolie under the stars next to the ocean and just waste time away.

  I’m a little bit away from BC, heading to the warehouse that’s like a second home to me. There’s a long story behind the warehouse and it involves Mama Dae.

  “Where are we?” Jolie asks as I pull up to the building.

  On the outside it looks boring.

  It’s a warehouse.

  It has a bunch of doors.

  Nothing exciting.

  Which is the point of the building.

  I climb out of the car and Jolie does the same.

  She’s hesitant, hugging herself, looking around.

  Waiting for the next spot of trouble to creep up.

  I light a cigarette and walk around to the front of my car and lean against the hood.

  I look at Jolie and nod to the spot next to me.

  She comes over and sits on the hood of my car, still hugging herself.

  “What do you think you know about me, sweetie?” I ask. “Give me the story.”

  “There is no story, Mac,” she says. “It’s nothing you haven’t heard about yourself either.”

  “Like what?” I ask.

  “Look at you,” she says. “You drive a really fast and expensive car. You smoke. You have a bad reputation for fighting. You go to a place like that skatepark and you don’t go there to skate.”

  “Anything else?”

  “You get pulled over by a cop and you get out of the car first…” She swallows hard. “And then you talk to the cop and you command him around. Then you just leave. And the cop doesn’t follow you.”

  I nod. “What else?”

  “And now you bring me here. To some creepy looking warehouse building.”

  “And that all means what?” I ask.

  Jolie shakes her head. “I’m not sure.”

  “But it scares you.”

  “A little.”

  “Do you want me to take you back?”

  “Would you if I said yes?” Jolie asks.

  I toss my cigarette across the parking lot and reach for her face.

  My hand strokes her cheek. “You’d have to ask me to find out, sweetie.”

  She just stares.

  Disbelief.

  That’s usually what I offer people.

  Complete and total disbelief.

  I move from the hood of the car and turn to face Jolie.

  It’s the perfect spot and moment to live up to my reputation.

  In my mind, I already picture her leaning back to her elbows on the hood of the car. My lips starting at hers and then inch down to her neck. My hands sliding under her hoodie…

  I make fists and put them to the hood of the car.

  One on each side of Jolie.

  I’m inches from her.

  “Did you figure out why you’re here yet?” I whisper.

  She shakes her head.

  “Then let’s keep going,” I say.

  I move back and put my hand out.

  She takes it and I walk her to one of the doors.

  It’s one of the biggest doors to the warehouse.

  I unlock the door and look at her.

  “Ready for this?”

  “No,” she says.

  I open the door and turn on the lights.

  I lean against the massive doorway and fold my arms as she steps into the warehouse.

  Jolie takes a few steps and looks back at me.

  “Before you ask, yes, they’re all mine,” I say.

  “How…?”

  It’s a valid question.

  How can I afford everything I have?

  Then again, do you really want to know the truth?

  I have a little collection.

  Some street rides. F
ast cars. Fancy cars. Big tank-like SUVs. And some crazy shit in between. I have two trailers where I can tow things around. Like if I want to take some four-wheelers down to the beach. You know, just for the fun of it.

  Jolie looks around the warehouse. “Is this yours too? The building?”

  “Sort of,” I say. “For most purposes, yes. Just leave it at that.”

  “What else is in this place?”

  “That doesn’t matter,” I say. “Which ride do you like best?”

  “I don’t know,” Jolie says. “I’m not really into this stuff.”

  “So cute boys with fast cars don’t impress you?”

  Jolie looks at me and lifts an eyebrow. “Number one, I’m not thirteen years old. And number two, that shit impresses Violet.”

  “Damn,” I say. “Can I have her number then?”

  Jolie’s cheeks turn red.

  She walks to the street rides and stops at my favorite one.

  All black with custom flames and skulls that you can only see if you’re really close or if the sun hits the ride at the right angle.

  “You like it,” I say to her.

  “What?”

  “That ride,” I say. “It’s won me money.”

  “How?”

  “Not sure how much you know about the area,” I say to her. “But there’s places you can go to race. Make money. For fun. Down near HCH. You know that?”

  “Heard of it. Hidden Creek High.”

  “Yeah. Bullshit stuff though, sweetie. Used to go down there every now and again. Meet up with a guy named Ryland. Do you know that name?”

  “No,” she says.

  “That’s okay. He’s dead.”

  “What?”

  “Things got too noisy,” I say. “Then they got quiet. But anyway, I would take this ride down there and race. It wasn’t much money. Just a bunch of rich punks throwing cash around. Something to do.”

  Jolie touches the seat.

  “Climb on,” I say to her. “Or better yet, take it for a ride. Out in the parking lot.”

  “What? No.” Jolie laughs. “I can’t ride this. I’ve never… I’ve never even ridden on one.”

  “What? You’ve never been on one of these, sweetie?”

  “No.”

  “Let me get you a helmet.”

  “Mac, stop…”

  “Too late,” I say. “You’re not going back home until you ride this thing with me. I won’t go fast. I won’t hurt you, Jolie. At least not this way.”

  She scoffs. “So that means you’re going to hurt me in other ways?”

  I touch her face again. “I’m not going to promise you the world and be your hero, okay? I said I’ll protect you. You know sometimes a seatbelt can save a life but still hurt?”

  Jolie nods.

  I grin.

  I don’t know what I’m fucking saying.

  Am I the seatbelt? Am I the car crash?

  All I know is that I want to hold her and keep her safe.

  But before that…

  We need to go for a ride.

  I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone for a ride for fun.

  Just to jump on something and go cruising around.

  I start out slow and take her around the building.

  Jolie’s behind me, arms wrapped way too tight around me.

  She’s scared as hell.

  Which is so fucking sweet and innocent.

  The last thing she should be scared about is my street ride.

  After we circle the warehouse twice, I take the ride to the street.

  This thing is made for speed.

  It’s not made to be driven slow.

  One little hit of the throttle and this thing wants to fly.

  So I have to fight what it’s made to do and ride slowly.

  I take it down the road and then turn.

  I ride back to the entrance to the warehouse and I stop.

  I put my feet down and turn my head a little.

  The engine is sleek and quiet, just like my car.

  “You okay back there?” I ask Jolie.

  “Yeah,” she says. “It’s not bad.”

  “You really never were on one of these?”

  “Nope,” she says.

  “Can I show you what it really does now?”

  “Mac…”

  “I’ll protect you, sweetie,” I say.

  “Fine,” she says.

  I think about telling her to hang on tight but she was already doing that.

  The worst thing she could do now is get nervous and loosen her grip or panic and try to get off the ride.

  I’d seen that happen more than once and it never ends in a good way.

  I throttle the engine and make it purr a little bit more.

  Then I start to go.

  I cruise down the street, picking up more speed by the second.

  I was still not going as fast as I was used to.

  When I get to the end of the road, I turned the ride around.

  Before I can turn my head, Jolie starts to talk.

  “Faster, Mac.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “Go faster.”

  That’s not the only time I want Jolie to beg me to go faster…

  I smile and I take off.

  The way I always like to ride.

  Because if I’m on a ride, I’m on a mission.

  I guess I’m on a mission here with Jolie too.

  A mission for love… or just some wild fun. I want to see how much innocence she really has left. And whatever is left, I’m going to take. And if there is no innocence left, then I’m going to see how wild she can be.

  Just thinking about it makes me go faster.

  I’m picking up speed like crazy.

  I have the road memorized so I know I’ve got plenty of space to go as fast as I want.

  There’s not a single thing in my way.

  I pass by the entrance to the warehouse and it’s a blur.

  I keep gaining speed.

  Jolie’s grip gets even tighter around me.

  She’s not saying anything so I just keep picking up the pace.

  We finally break triple digits in speed and I let off the throttle. And that’s only so I can get us down to a safe speed to turn around. What that means is that I take the turn as fast as I can without dropping the ride.

  The street ride is tipped over so far, I can feel the worry pouring from Jolie.

  It makes me smile.

  I know what I’m doing.

  I’m not going to drop us to the ground.

  After I turn around, I pick up speed again.

  I can’t go as fast as before because I need to be able to turn into the warehouse lot.

  I do that and circle around the building one more time and then pull the ride back into the warehouse and come to a full stop.

  Jolie gets off the ride first.

  I follow her and take my helmet off.

  She’s still wearing hers.

  She looks sexy as hell with the giant helmet on her head.

  I reach for the helmet and gently lift it off.

  She touches my hands and pulls the helmet the rest of the way off.

  Her eyes are the most innocent color brown that I’ve ever seen.

  I take the helmet and throw it to the ground.

  My hands grab her face and she grabs my hands.

  I can’t stop myself as I kiss her.

  I’ve waited all my life to taste her lips.

  That’s complete and total bullshit to think but it’s all I’ve got.

  I kiss her more than once, savoring her lips.

  I nibble on her bottom lip, chasing away the jealousy that’s been bothering me after watching her bite her own bottom lip a handful of times.

  My tongue playfully teases her bottom lip.

  The tip of her tongue touches mine for a quick second before she pulls away.

  I move my hands down to her hips and pull her against me.

  Her hands sm
ack at my chest and stick like she’s got glue on them.

  “This is one of those times where you can really help things by saying something good,” she whispers. “Even if it’s not true.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not that guy, sweetie. I don’t need sweet whispers to get into your panties. I am who I am. I’ll crush your heart and make you come so hard you’ll forget your name and the pain I’ve caused.”

  Jolie’s cheeks blush apple red.

  She moves her hands to my wrists and pries my grip away.

  She turns and walks out of the warehouse.

  I just smile.

  She’s used to guys telling her anything she wants to hear to feel good about her decisions.

  I’m the opposite.

  I walk out of the warehouse, kill the lights, then shut and lock the door behind me.

  Jolie leans against the hood of my car.

  “Well?” I ask her.

  She looks at me. “That was crazy. I can’t believe I did that.”

  “Still not sure why you’re here?”

  Jolie shakes her head. “I should get back.”

  “So soon?”

  “So soon,” she says.

  “Okay,” I say. “Get in the car. I’ll drive you to your car. Avoid the skate park. I’m sure by now it’s even worse.”

  “Worse?”

  I open the driver’s side door. “Sweetie, they go all night. And they get worse and worse. When the devil licks a vein, he doesn’t just want a taste. He wants it all.”

  Jolie stares at me and swallows hard. She’s blushing again too.

  Because she knows I’m the devil to her. And I’ve had a little taste.

  And I want more.

  That’s why she wants to leave now.

  She knows where this is going to end up.

  I get into the car and wait for her to join me.

  When she does, I leave the warehouse lot and start my way back to the beach.

  I give her a good minute of silence, letting her mind, heart, and body fight the hell out of one another.

  I reach across the seat and touch her hand.

  She doesn’t pull away.

  “Sheltered, beautiful, and rich,” I whisper. “Where does that get you, sweetie?”

  “Asshole, cocky, and rich,” Jolie says without looking at me. “Where does that get you?”

  “It gets me in a car, holding your hand,” I say.

  “No, it doesn’t,” she says.

  She pulls her hand away from mine.

  I smile.

  “Tomorrow night, Jolie,” I say.

  She finally looks at me. “What?”