The bed is soft and very comfortable and yet sleep doesn’t come. I see minute after minute slip away on the clock and when it’s two hours later I’m still wide awake. There haven’t been any sounds coming from the room across from me for the last half hour. Last thing I heard was glass shattering and I tried to get inside his room but he’s locked the door.
I should check to make sure he isn’t bleeding to death right? I’d probably be too late to save him anyway with me waiting this long. Ugh. See? Why am I even in this bed while all I can do is think? Angry at myself, at the guy across the hall, and at the whole damn world, I throw the sheets off me and rumble through my jeans pocket to get my keys.
Found it. I have this little lock pick set attached to my keys. You never know when it can come in handy. Like now. I tiptoe across the hall and take my time picking the lock. Doesn’t take too much effort to open the door and when I do, my heart instantly squeezes for the man before me.
He’s sitting in the middle of the bed and the light in the bathroom across from it is on and clearly he threw the bottle in there where it exploded into little pieces. There’s glass everywhere. Note to self; do not head into the bathroom barefoot.
His body is slightly shifted to the left and it looks like he drank himself to sleep. His clothes are scattered around the floor. Without thinking things through I close the door behind me, pick up his shirt, throw it over my head, and slide underneath the covers next to him. There are some words falling over his lips but it’s all gibberish.
His thick muscled arms reach out and pull me against him as he buries his face into my short hair. He inhales deep and releases his breath and with it all his worries, or so it appears because his whole body goes slack. I have to admit it has the same effect on me.
My eyes are suddenly heavy from the warmth of his body against mine along with his spicy, herbal scent. His strong, comforting arms allow me to drift off to a peaceful sleep for the first time in days.
Soft strokes on my temple rouse me from my sleep. I reach out for the warmth I was cuddled against but I come up empty. My eyes flutter open and I glance around to find Kray glancing down at me. He’s fully dressed but his eyes are bloodshot, probably from drinking all the liquor last night.
I never have a hangover, headache or anything. Except for being thirsty, it’s the only aftereffect I get from drinking. I rub my eyes and slide my fingers through my hair. One thing I don’t have to worry about too much with a short haircut is a bad hair day. It’s always a wild mess and I like having it spiky and standing on end.
“What time is it?” I mutter and squeeze my eyes open and shut a few times to fight the burn from the lack of sleep.
“Seven thirty. We have a long ride to the clubhouse ahead of us and if you need coffee or some breakfast,” Kray groans and rubs the scruff on his jaw. “Not to mention it would be best to get out of my bed before North sees you in it.”
Heat fills my cheeks as realization settles in. I swallow hard and swing my legs out of his bed. I rush past him but not fast enough because he grabs my upper arm.
“Hold on a minute,” he growls.
I rip my arm away. “I don’t think so. Look, I’m sorry I ended up in there okay?” I point at the bed and let my finger slide into the direction of the ramification on the wall and to the bathroom. “But I only wanted to check to see if you were okay with the whole banging and smashing. I couldn’t sleep and thought it was best to keep an eye on you. I could only do so if we were in the same room. Nothing happened and nothing will. Last night was screwed up with too much scotch and bad decisions. Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I’m here for your help to get my sister back safe and sound. Believe me when I say I won’t mess things up again.”
His eyes are flaming and I can tell he wants to say something but no words are being said. I’ve embarrassed myself enough within this man’s presence. I stalk over to the room where my clothes are and head into the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I decide to take a quick shower because I can’t seem to get out of the fog my head is wrapped in.
After rubbing my hair dry with a fluffy towel, I grab my jeans, making the purple lace thong fall out. Great. No clean underwear. This day just keeps getting better and better. I snatch up the lace and throw it in the trash; I might as well go commando.
Fully dressed I make my way downstairs and find both Kray and North in the kitchen. They’re leaning in close and murmuring. Not trying to be rude, I clear my throat to let them know I’m about to approach.
“Good morning. Hey, mind giving me the address to the clubhouse so I can meet you guys later? I want to swing by my apartment for a quick change of clothes.” I give a polite smile and make sure to keep my eyes on North, wanting him to answer.
It’s best to keep my distance from Kray because my body betrays me the second it has any interaction with this man. Even now when I’m trying to ignore him, I can feel his stare sliding over my skin.
“Kray,” North says, a hint of laughter in his voice. “What did you do?”
Aggravation slams through me. Mainly I blame myself for being in this whole situation and I might have screwed up last night but I’m dead set on making today my bitch and getting more results that I wasn’t able to get in the last ten days.
“He slammed his fist against the bedroom wall a few times and threw a bottle of scotch into his bathroom. Look, I don’t know you two and don’t intend to get all personal and friendly. The only thing I need is cooperation long enough for me to get my sister back.” I grab one of my cards from my jeans pocket and place it on the counter next to North. “Text me with the address.”
As I stroll to the door, I can hear North chuckle and say something along the lines of, “Yeah, man. First time flying solo...you, my man, screwed up. I shouldn’t have left...”
I don’t care what other words are being said. Clearly these two guys do everything together and sure don’t need me to throw out words, smile, and be all dandy. Everything in my life is messed up as it is and adding two men into it who share women, won’t ever be happening. Wait, two men? Yeah, I won’t even be adding one guy to my life, let alone two.
I grab my helmet and when I’m about to put it on, I can hear the crunching underneath boots. Great. I bet Kray thinks he needs to say something before I leave so things won’t be awkward between us when we meet later at the clubhouse.
“Save your words, Kray. I don’t need to hear them. Like I said; all I need is cooperation long enough for me to get my sister back,” I sigh and turn to face him. Shit. It’s not him...it’s North.
“I don’t think you’d be up for sharing...” The asshole’s got the biggest of grins on his face when he adds the rest of his sentence, “...what happened between you two last night when I left the two of you alone, right?”
I know it’s an inside joke to him but his whole demeanor completely rubs me the wrong way. I decide not to lash out like I normally would. If I’ve learned anything from last night, it’s the fact this guy doesn’t like my attitude at all.
“Text me the address, North,” I tell him in a detached voice and straddle my bike.
North touches my forearm and asks, “You really like him, huh?”
Ugh, what are we, in high school? “Listen, I get the whole living together and sharing one woman between the two of you ever since you became friends, brothers, whatever. I don’t judge, and I for damn sure won’t ever get in the middle. Not for sex and not to butt into whatever the two of you have.” A sigh rips from me. “This might sound freaky but it might make you become aware how I respect you guys. My sister and I were never apart more than a day or two, okay? We would freak out if we weren’t together. Hell, we shared a womb together. Not to mention the both of us never had a serious relationship because neither of us wanted to move out.”
North takes a step back and his eyes widen. “Twins?” he croaks.
A smile is now tugging my lips when I think about Reva. Though we might look like a carbon copy of e
ach other, we’re nothing alike. I’m straightforward while she’s timid. Hell, my hair is short and spiky while hers almost reaches her ass. North is still staring at me and suddenly a thought creeps through my head, making the smile fall right off my face. I’m off my bike and in his face with my next breath.
“No. Not just no, but hell the fuck, no. You get that thought right out of your fucked-up head, you hear me?” I poke him in the chest and growl, “Never going to happen.”
The feral smile is back on his face and I’m about to punch it right off when I’m being swooped away and pulled against a hard chest. Fuck. It’s Kray. Why in the hell does he keep dragging me away when I’m about to punch someone who really needs a fist to the jaw?
“What the hell is going on here?” Kray’s voice rumbles over my head.
I point in North’s direction and growl, “That fucker thinks he can nail my sister. Not going to happen, pal. I’ll slice your fucking throat before your dick can so much as twitch in her direction. You hear me? I’ll end you.”
“What the hell?” Kray mutters. “North. Might wanna enlighten me?”
“Twins, brother. They are fuckin’ twins. I figured with the visual of a ten plus I might like the other one...you know how she explained about the computer shit and so on.” North grins. “Vienna here made the link before the thought even entered my head, so don’t blame me for thinking the obvious. These two were made for us, brother. Fuckin’ twins.”
“No,” I growl and try to wrestle myself out of his grip. “You shut your damn mouth right now and get my sister out of your head.”
“All right, you two, cut it the fuck out. Let’s focus on getting Reva back first before we get into this whole discussion. She might even kick you in the balls or poke your eyes out, brother. Might not even be a ten plus when you see her, even if she shares Vienna’s looks, being twins and all. You know how chemistry works and how you have your long list of demands about character and shit. Remember the twins part and the feisty bundle of woman I’m holding who wants to rip your damn balls off if you come near her sister,” Kray says and his arms fall away.
I take the opportunity to swing my fist and plant a good one against North’s jaw. “First and final warning, asshole. Stay away from my sister.”
North tilts his head and rubs his jaw. “You do know I can’t honor your request, right? At least not until I’ve found her. Not to mention I don’t owe you shit and you do realize your sister has her own life and can make her own decisions, right? She might fall in love with me on first sight. Have you seen me? I’m damn-fucking-handsome.”
“Why the fuck are we still talking about this? We need to be in Church in a few hours. Focus people. Reva is missing, let’s put our energy into finding her instead of standing here arguing and talking about how ugly North is,” Kray snaps.
My shoulders sag. He’s right.
“They live together, we should tag along with Vienna and glance around their home. You know Deeds will request it anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?” North says, suddenly all business.
“You got it. Let me lock up,” Kray replies and doesn’t even wait for an answer but dashes off.
“Don’t you need to lock up, grab some stuff or something?” I question, already planning my exit strategy.
I’m not liking the plan of the both of them knowing where we live. It’s not like I can hide it from these guys since, hello...they’re Broken Deeds MC, they were contacted to find my missing sister. Getting a home address is a twist of their pinky finger.
“Nope,” the annoying man pops the P. “I’m all set.” He puts on his helmet, straddles his bike, and fires it up. Asshole.
I have no other option but to wait for Kray to do the same before the three of us hit the road. When we finally arrive at the small apartment, I feel weird letting them inside. That’s because these two guys both live in an amazing home while me and my sister still share the tiny space we bought when the government offered the both of us a job in a special team.
We needed to move across the country. To be completely honest...they only wanted to hire Reva but she didn’t want to take the job without me. See how damn special she is? Reva is absolutely brilliant when it comes to computers.
And this little detail is also visible when you step inside our apartment. Where Kray has such a vibrant interior, we have dull and plain necessities. Because Reva is either behind her computer or fussing with Kazz, her bearded dragon, or combining the two for that matter.
Shit. I should feed the reptile some more green stuff. I never fuss with Kazz. Like I said, it’s Reva’s pet who she’s had for over five years. She feeds him crickets and other insects. See? It’s the whole reason I never go into her room but I had to because I know Kazz can go a few days without food but I had to give him something...it’s been eleven days now since she went missing.
I shove my pride aside and might cringe a tiny bit at the mess I left when all of us step inside the apartment. A few old pizza boxes are littered here and there because my main focus was finding information that could lead me to Reva, I didn’t care much about food. Well, other than making my rumbling stomach stop from acting up.
“Go do your thing, I have to do something,” I tell them and stalk to the kitchen to see if I still have some bok choy to give Kazz.
“Hang on,” North snaps. “Which room is Reva’s?”
“The one with all the computers,” I state without glancing back.
I have a reptile to feed and I hope it doesn’t go berserk like last time because the little guy needs his insects and has been a real fussy pain in the ass the last few days. I guess he misses Reva as much as I do. I chop up some greens and bring them into Reva’s room but I find North glaring at me with Kazz in his damn hands.
“Put him back.” I point at Kazz’s habitat but North slowly shakes his head and looks very pissed.
“Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve been feeding this guy since Reva went missing,” North growls.
I have to swallow because I seriously don’t want to reply to his question since I know damn well Kazz needs insects. I hang my head and give a slight nod. At least I don’t have to see the disapproval on his face.
Though the growling words, “It’s not a fucking vegan,” are hard to miss.
“I know,” I croak, suddenly feeling like I’m failing her even more.
“North, that’s enough.” Kray is standing in front of me and I hate feeling defeated. It completely knocks down the walls I had up to keep my distance from Kray. I guess it didn’t last long with him pulling me into his strong, comforting arms.
“Do you have a spare key? If not, give me yours. I need to go out and buy some normal food for this little guy,” North says and I feel relieved to hear his voice is kind instead of the harshness it normally holds.
I pull away from Kray and head into the kitchen to grab the spare key from the mug in the upper cabinet. I stalk back into Reva’s bedroom and hand North the key.
“Thanks. Why don’t you go pack a bag with a change of clothes? We hope to find your sister soon enough and I’m guessing you want in, which means you’re comin’ back to the house with us after we’re done at the clubhouse.” He shifts his gaze to Kray. “You can head over to the clubhouse with her. I’ll handle this guy and glance over the room to see if I can find something useful and then head over too, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kray replies.
My first instinct is to fight about the fact they want me to come stay with them. But North is right, I do want to know every move they make when it comes to finding my sister. And the only way that’s going to happen is when I’m right there with them.
“I’ll go pack a bag,” I mutter and slip out of the room.
Chapter Five
***Kray***
I watch as Vienna leaves to pack a bag, exactly how North suggested. From the looks she’s giving us and her whole demeanor, I can tell this situation is getting to her as much as
I’m struggling with it. Not to mention even North seems to be agitated. We had more than throwing around some words in anger this morning.
Mainly from my side because North couldn’t stop with the sneers he considered merely joking around from his side. Of course, it didn’t help I woke up with Vienna in my bed, draped all over me while wearing my shirt. It felt so damn good and even with the major hangover, I didn’t want to change a thing.
Though the guilt came crushing down hard and made me slip out to get dressed and head into the kitchen where I found my main reason to be guilty; North. I haven’t shared a damn bed alone with a woman in years. Hell, I didn’t even have sex either. I did kiss her, though. See how my emotions are all over the damn place and the woman walked into my life only one day ago.
“You’re gonna take the reptile with you, huh?” The corner of my mouth twitches, I know him all too well.
“Yeah.” North places the bearded dragon back in its habitat. “I’m going to head home and swap my bike with the truck, get a few things set before I can get Kazz and bring him home.”
I roll my eyes. “Fuck, man. You’re going to buy a new habitat for him and shit, right?” Words Vienna said slam through my head and it makes me whisper hiss in anger, “Motherfucker. Don’t tell me Vienna is right. The second you found out she had a twin you wanted her, didn’t you? Just the idea of her being a ten plus is enough for you to follow your cock. Are you kidding me?” I grab my head and give it a shake. This is insane. We’re both insane. “It’s a damn curse. The whole testing the merchandise together shit is now backfiring. Someone upstairs is yanking our chain with throwing two carbon copies in our path to mess us up.”
North points a finger at me. “I think you’re right.” North places the bok choy in Kazz’s habitat and makes sure the habitat is all locked up. “It’s weird, I know, but I’m also damn sure we need to do this. Whatever it is. Don’t you think it’s one damn coincidence this case landed in our lap? Listen...let’s find the girl first, okay? Then we’ll see how shit goes but you know damn well we can’t ignore a ten-fucking-plus. For fuck’s sake, brother...two. Even if I think yours isn’t a ten plus. She’s more like an eight plus.”
Kray (Broken Deeds MC, #6) Page 4