Defy You: A Brother's Best Friend/Age Gap Romance (Rebel Ink Book 3)

by Tracy Lorraine

  “Aw look, you even dressed up for me,” he says, taking in the red lace of my thong.

  “Fuck. You,” I spit.

  “Oh sweetheart, you’re going to regret that.”

  His knife is under the lace, ready to rip it from me, when there’s a commotion out in the hall.

  He flinches as his guys move to see what’s going on and the knife cuts into my skin. His eyes drop to where he’s caught me, and an evil smirk appears on his lips.

  “Looks like you’ll have a permanent reminder about tonight.”

  This time, when my throat burns, I’m unable to stop it. I twist my head to the side and chuck up the contents of my stomach.

  Jet’s grip on me never loosens.

  The next few moments happen in a blur. We’re joined by others who clearly aren’t part of Jet’s little gang, because seconds after the crash of the door being forced open sounds out, what I can only assume is gunshots and a load of shouting fills the room.

  As the commotion continues, Jet releases me, pulling a gun from his waistband, and turns toward the action. That’s as far as he gets. The next thing I know, I’m sprayed with blood and his dead weight crushes me to the desk before we both fall to the floor.

  18

  Spike

  “Will you chill the fuck out?” Zach barks as he watches me in the rearview mirror.

  Both of my knees are bouncing nervously as we sit outside the warehouse where fuck knows what is happening inside, like we have for the past ten minutes.

  Watching those guys frog-march her inside tested my restraint in a way I’ve never experienced before. I thought it was hard denying her every time she tempted me, but sitting there and watching as they roughly manhandled her was fucking painful.

  “Cruz has got this,” D says encouragingly from the passenger seat.

  “How aren’t you worried about this?” I snap at Zach.

  “What the fuck good is worrying going to do?”

  Our eyes hold in the mirror for a few seconds before I lose my fight.

  “Fuck this,” I bark, shouldering open the door and launching from the back of his car.

  “Spike, no. Wa—” I don’t hang around long enough to hear the rest of Zach’s warning. I can’t just sit out here while she’s going through whatever might be happening inside.

  “Fucking hell, Spike,” D calls, jogging up next to me.

  “You can’t tell me that you’re happy just waiting.”

  “Fuck no, but it’s what we agreed.”

  “Fuck what we agreed. She might need us.”

  He glances at me briefly. “Fucking hell, Spike. You’ve got it bad.”

  “I’ve got nothing other than a need for this to be over.”

  “Riiight.”

  Thankfully, Zach and Titch catch up with us, stopping him saying any more, but I don’t miss his knowing look as he continues to keep his eyes on me.

  “You sure about this?” Zach asks, glancing between me and the door keeping us from seeing what’s going on inside.

  “Nope. But it’s not stopped me in the past.” Okay, so I’ve never been outside a warehouse with basically two gangs inside holding a girl hostage, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.

  I pull the door open.

  The second we step inside, the sound of gunfire stops us in our tracks.

  “Fucking hell,” Titch mutters behind me. “We should maybe wait a few.”

  “Fuck that.”

  Ignoring their hesitation, I rush forward, focusing on the door at the very end where it seems the gunfire is coming from. Before we get there, everything goes quiet.

  Peering around the doorway, the scene before me makes my breath catch and my stomach turn.

  Bodies litter the floor, blood seeps from them while guys in cuts stand over them with their guns still poised.

  Dragging my eyes from the guy closest who’s face-down in his own blood, I scan the room looking for her.

  At the other side of the room, I find a desk with two people lying on the floor beside it.

  Racing over, I spot an arm with tattoos I instantly recognise.

  “Kas,” I cry.

  “What the fuck are you—” I glance up to see Cruz staring down at the two of them. Recognition flashes in his eyes when I look up at him, and he lowers his gun.

  “Fucking help me then,” I bark, wrapping my hand around the body covering Kas.

  He’s dead weight, and the second we pull him off, I recognise him instantly as the guy who had Kas pinned up against the wall outside the club last weekend.

  “Shit.” Dropping to my knees, I take Kas’ face in my hands. “Kas, Kas.” I rub my thumbs over her eyes, wiping the blood away that I hope to fuck isn’t hers. “Tiny?” I whisper, my heart racing as I search for signs of life.

  A noise rips from her throat, and I swear the world around me comes to a stop right there and then.

  “I-I’m okay.”

  “Fuck. Fuck.” I drop my head to hers as relief floods me.

  I give myself two seconds to get it together before I pull back. My teeth clench to the point at which I think I’m going to crack one when I look down to find her clothing ruined and her body on display for all the cunts in this room.

  Without putting any thought into it, I reach over my head and pull my shirt off. I’m just pulling it down over her torso when feet come to a stop beside me.

  “Is she okay?” Zach asks in a rush.

  She’s fallen limp in my arms. Honestly, I have no idea.

  “She spoke to me. She was awake.”

  I watch as he bends down and attempts to scoop her up into his arms. He’s almost lifted her from the floor when she starts to fight.

  “No, no,” she wails, her arms flailing and legs kicking.

  “Whoa, Kas. It’s okay, it’s just me.”

  “No,” she cries, the broken sound to her voice ripping me open, but that’s nothing compared to what happens next.

  She relaxes slightly, enough that she can reach out. Her eyes are still shut, so it’s just chance that her hand connects with my arm. Her fingers tighten around me, almost pulling me to her, although she’s not got the strength to actually do it.

  Zach looks from her to me, his eyes tormented and torn about what’s best to do for her, but I don’t miss the anger and accusation within them. I fear that whatever act we’ve been putting on might just have been shattered.

  “Spike?” he asks, fury dripping from his words.

  “Not now,” I snap, standing closer to take the decision out of his hands. I pull her to me and she immediately wraps her arms around me, tucking her head into my shoulder.

  Zach’s jaw pops with frustration, but he doesn’t say anything. Not that anything he could say would make me give her up right now.

  “Let’s go.” I take a huge step forward, more than ready to get away from this war zone. I turn back at the last minute and plough my booted foot into Jet’s ribs. He might already be dead, but my need to get my own bit of vengeance for how he’s treated Kas gets the better of me.

  I pass D, who’s talking to his brother while his men begin to clean the place up. I don’t bother to attempt to hear what they’re saying, I just need to get her away.

  We’re already in the back of Zach’s car by the time the three of them join us a few minutes later. Kas is curled up on my lap. She’s not said anything since her refusal to have Zach hold her, and she still hasn’t opened her eyes. She’s breathing, though, so I take that as her telling the truth earlier and that she isn’t hurt. Not physically, anyway.

  “Where to?” Zach’s voice is rough, his eyes zeroing in on me through the rearview mirror.

  “Home.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Zach.”

  “Okay, I’ll call Biff to meet—”

  “No,” I spit out. “I’ve got this.”

  “But—” He starts to argue, but as our eyes hold in the mirror he backs down.

  The drive back to my flat is in
silence as we all digest what happened tonight. Anger comes off Zach in waves, but I really couldn’t give a shit about anyone but the girl in my arms right now. It’s not an everyday thing for the four of us to go running into a room full of dead bodies.

  When we pull up outside my building, everyone moves to get out with us.

  “I’ll call you,” I say harshly.

  “Spike, I need—”

  “I know, Zach. But right now, we should be worrying about what Kas needs. I’ll call you as soon as I know she’s okay, and then I’ll get her to call you when she’s up to it.”

  His jaw pops as his teeth grind. He’s not happy about this, I don’t expect him to be, but it’s the right thing to do. Kas doesn’t need an audience or a whole room of people fussing around her right now. I might not know her all that well, but I can say that with confidence.

  Titch insists on helping us up and opening the doors. I’m grateful, because I have no idea how I’d have done it alone, but the second he drops the keys to my kitchen counter he turns to leave.

  “Thank you, Titch.”

  “Anytime. Message us later, just to let us know she’s okay. Danni’s going out of her mind.”

  I nod at him and he slips out of the flat without another word.

  Kas stirs in my arms the second we’re alone, and when I look down, her blue eyes are staring right back at me.

  “Kas,” I breathe, relief flooding me.

  “I’m okay.”

  Glancing at the sofa and then back to her, I try to decide what to do next. But when my feet move, they must decide for me because I find us in my bedroom.

  Gently, I lower her down. Her dark hair fans out over my light sheets, her makeup is smeared over her face, and she’s got a trickle of blood running down from the split that’s opened back up on her lip. Her skin is splattered with that cunt’s blood—the only good thing about that is that it’s not hers.

  “Tiny,” I breathe, shaking my head. I have no words to say to her right now that will make any of this any better, but she seems to perk up at just the sound of my voice. “What do you need?”

  I stand awkwardly beside the bed, not knowing what’s best to do. I desperately want to crawl in with her, but I have no idea if she wants that or not.

  Looking to the door, I wonder if I should have taken her to her own room. She might not even want to be here at all.

  Shit. I’m totally out of my depth.

  My eyes run the length of her once more, taking in her ruined jeans, and I make a snap decision.

  “Where are you going?” she asks in a panic when I march from the room.

  “Just to the bathroom. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She nods, and I keep going.

  Pushing the plug in the bath, I turn the taps on before rummaging around in my cupboard for the bubbles I know Maureen bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago.

  I find them, twist the top, and pour a generous amount into the running water.

  The room almost instantly fills with the floral scent before I check the temperature and rush back to Kas.

  She’s exactly where I left her.

  “I’m running you a bath,” I explain in case the sound of running water wasn’t enough of a giveaway.

  Resting on my knees beside her, I lift my shirt and take in her ruined trousers. “Okay?” I ask when I grasp the fabric. She nods once again and lifts her hips to help me. “Fuck, you’re bleeding.”

  “It’s just a scratch.”

  “Kas,” I warn, flashing a glance up at her, but the second I find her sad eyes, I lose the words. I want to tell her not to try to make out like she hasn’t just been through something huge, but then I realise it’s not for me to tell her how to cope. I just need to be here for her. And the reality is, I’ve no idea what she went through in that room. She might not have been there all that long, but it was long enough… too long.

  “He didn’t actually mean to do it. He was going for my underwear.”

  My lips part, but once again I swallow down the words.

  “Let’s get it cleaned up and see how bad it is.”

  She nods once, and I rush to get the first aid kit, turning the bath off while I’m there. It’s never been used so much since she moved in. Actually, I’m pretty sure it had never been used at all.

  The second I wipe the blood away, I see that she’s right. My panic and the amount of blood covering her makes it look worse than it really is.

  “I-is the bath ready yet?”

  “But—” I say, looking down at the knife wound on her hip.

  “It’s hardly going to kill me.”

  My eyes fly up to her. No, but that cunt and his knife could have. “Let me dress it. I know it’ll come off, but it’ll make me feel better.”

  “Whatever,” she sighs, her body relaxing back into my mattress.

  I put a sterilised pad over the wound before covering it in as much tape as possible.

  “Okay, good as new.” I look at her and wish I could eat my words. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

  I hold my hand out for her, and almost immediately, she slips her small one into it.

  She allows me to lead her to the bathroom before coming to a stop in front of the bath full of bubbles.

  “Okay?” I ask when she just stands there, doing nothing.

  “Are you… are you leaving me?” Her voice is low, and the chill within it guts me.

  “I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” I say, taking her hand back in mine and squeezing in support.

  She nods but remains silent for a second as she thinks.

  “Help me?” Her words are almost a whisper, and for a moment, I think I misheard her. But when I look into her eyes, I know she said them. She’s running on empty right now.

  I check if she’s okay with it before lifting my shirt up over her head. The second I discard it on the floor and look back, I’m reminded of what happened tonight. Her own shirt and bra are ruined and hanging from her shoulders. She’s got red scratch marks running from her neck all the way down to her waistband.

  My fingers clench with my need to go back and hurt him. It doesn’t matter that he’s already dead. No man should ever do this to a woman.

  “Please… don’t look at me like that.” She twists her head to the side so I have no chance of making eye contact with her.

  “I’m not looking at you like anything. I just want to make sure you’re not hurt anywhere else.”

  “You are, you’re looking at me with pity, with disgust that I let him do that.”

  “What? No.” Taking her chin gently between my fingers, I encourage her to look back at me. She resists for a moment but soon gives in.

  “I’m in awe of you, Kas. Your strength, your ability to cope with this fucked-up situation. You blow my mind.”

  “I’m nothing, Spike. I just do what I’ve got to do to survive.”

  Anger swells in my belly that she doesn’t see even an ounce of how incredible she is.

  “That’s bullshit. You’re… You’re…” Her eyes fill with water as I search for the right word. Lowering down, I press my forehead to hers and continue staring into her eyes. “Amazing, Kas.”

  A sob rips from her throat, and I gather her up in my arms as her small body trembles with her cries.

  “It’s okay, Tiny. I’ve got you, no one’s going to hurt you now.”

  After long, agonizing minutes, she eventually pulls her tear-stained face from my chest. Her eyes hold so much pain when they meet mine that it makes my breath catch.

  I cup her cheek, my fingers threading into her hair as our connection holds.

  Every muscle in my body tenses with the need to lean down and kiss her, but I can’t. That’s the last thing she needs right now.

  “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She nods and takes a step back. I miss her warmth immediately, but I’m not the one who needs the support right now, and I remind myself that I have a job to do.

  Pushing her
ruined clothes from her shoulders, I drop to my knees and pull her ripped trousers and knickers down her legs. I run my fingers over the bandage I taped to her hip to ensure it’s still secure before leading her to the bath.

  “Okay?” I ask, holding her hand as she steps into the warm, bubbly water.

  I watch her until she’s submerged, and then I turn around to pick up her clothes. She doesn’t need to sit there staring at them as a reminder of what happened.

  “Spike?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you…” She shakes her head. She’s trying to be strong and hates that she’s so vulnerable right now. I understand it must be a bit of a shock to the system after taking charge for so many years.

  Dropping her clothes once more, I fall to my knees beside her and plunge my arm into the water to find her hand.

  “Anything, Kas. Anything you need.”

  She nods, accepting my words.

  “Will you get in with me?”

  My lips part, but no words make it past for a good few seconds.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

  “No, no, it’s fine. I meant what I said, anything you need.”

  Standing, I make quick work of shedding my clothes before stepping into the bath behind her.

  “Shit, this water is hot,” I say, as it burns my skin.

  She didn’t so much as wince when she got in. She shrugs, and I realise that she probably didn’t even feel it.

  My legs encase her body before I pull her back against my chest, my arms wrapping around her waist.

  “Better?” I ask once she’s snuggled back against me.

  “Hmmm…” she moans, twisting her head to the side and placing a kiss to my chest while lacing her fingers through mine.

  We lie there in silence for the longest time, her soaking up the support she needs from me and me trying not to think too hard about the fact that her hot, little naked body is pressed up against mine. I’m sure she really doesn’t need my cock poking her in the back right now.

  After a while, I sit forward slightly and grab the shower puff and gel from the side. I lather it up before starting work on her arms. She moans in pleasure as I rub at her skin, clearing away the visible reminders tonight has left on her.