I hovered when I reached the top, just before climbing all the way out. Where had the cops disappeared to? What if they were still standing there and they’d set a trap to catch us? What if Tiny was in on it?
That was a betrayal I wasn’t sure I could deal with.
Chapter 4
Gray
I could taste my panic as I waited for Stryker to come through the window, then the voices were there – loud and present and right inside the window. Was it the moment we were going to be found out? Or was that the moment Stryker took the punishment for all of us?
They seemed to move on, their voices disappearing and then reappearing outside by their car. I wasn’t sure if they’d found Stryker or not since I had no idea where he’d gone.
Sara and I didn’t move as we stared out at the trees swaying back and forth in the breeze, their dark silhouettes soft in the post-dawn light.
Why hadn’t I realized how early it was? There was no real heat for the morning since the sun had just recently risen. My adrenaline had kept the chill at bay, but the longer I stood there, the more aware I became of the cooler edge to the air.
The sound of wood scraping on wood filled the air around us as the window opened. Movement from the window made me cover my mouth with my hand. Had we been discovered? A relieved sigh left me at the sight of Stryker sticking his head out of the window.
He searched to the left, nodding at Gunner and Brock before he turned toward Sara and me. Something in his eyes told me everything was alright, but I couldn’t believe him – could I? How was everything going to be okay when we were running from the cops and the Russians?
Nothing would ever be okay, when I was the one who’d taken a life.
Fighting probably wasn’t an option for me anymore. I didn’t want to kill again and I didn’t want to feel that sense of complete helplessness that I’d experienced as Sonya had fallen to the ground, her eyes blank.
Stryker reached out a hand, taking my fingers in his. The sudden warmth spreading up my arm thrilled me while also filling me with a comforting heat.
He slowly pulled me in, as if more cautious about getting me inside than he’d been about getting us out.
I climbed through the opening, grateful when he gripped my waist and pulled me the rest of the way through. My legs were jelly and I wasn’t sure I could trust myself to stand without help.
Okay, who was I kidding? I could do anything. I just had to get past whatever was happening. I didn’t have to rely on Stryker. What I needed to do was get my butt in gear and get out of there. We weren’t safe or the cops wouldn’t have found us.
“What happened?” Brock’s soft voice broke through my mounting desire to flee.
I could talk myself into leaving without any of them, I just had no idea where I was going or what I was doing when I got out of there. It would be safer for them, if I wasn’t found with them.
“Tiny is taking them on a tour of his house. When they leave, we’re supposed to go up there.” Stryker didn’t look at Brock as he searched my face, questions in his eyes. He didn’t know what I was thinking – he couldn’t. But something in his gaze told me he understood more than I knew.
“You talked to him?” I folded my arms, pulling my hand from his hold. I didn’t want to be his when I wasn’t even sure what that meant. Did it mean I’d get treated like Jasmine and Jaeda? Did it mean I’d be left behind like Jenny and become a desperate girl looking for attention and money? I couldn’t be either of those things. I wouldn’t be.
Which meant, he had no claim on me, no hold on me. He hadn’t even explained why he’d set the town and the school on me. There was a shifting of dynamics and I knew for sure I wasn’t comfortable with it.
Did I want Stryker? I was a female with blood. It was impossible not to want him with the lines of his muscles distinct even under his t-shirt. The complete masculine aura around him left my mouth dry more than I cared to admit.
If this longing was desire, I could see how sex was something people had a hard time refraining from.
Especially around a guy like Stryker.
“It’s hard to explain.” Stryker kept his voice low, moving to unstack a couple of the tire piles and motioning for us to sit on them. “They’ll leave after that. He said he’ll have breakfast up at the house once they do.”
I was so confused. I shook my head, refusing to take a seat where he indicated. “What are you talking about? How could you know this, if you didn’t talk to him? How can we trust someone we’ve never met? We shouldn’t be here. We need to get out while they’re distracted.” Was I the only one interested in self-preservation?
Brock and Gunner looked at Stryker, quirking their eyebrows as they claimed spots around the loft. Gunner lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug as if to say it was all on Stryker.
Moving to lean a hip against the wall by the window facing forward, Stryker folded his arms and watched me for a moment before speaking. “We know Tiny. He was in Afghanistan with our dads.”
I blinked from where I stood, unsure if what I was hearing was the truth. What else could it be? Suddenly, our arrival in Tiny’s yard didn’t seem so random or lucky. It seemed more orchestrated.
I understood why they’d been willing to hide there, if they actually knew the guy. I lifted a hand from my tight hold across my chest. “That doesn’t guarantee that you can trust him. That I can trust him.” Afghanistan didn’t mean anything to me. Loyalty wasn’t something you could get from family; let alone someone your parents had been with on the other side of the world.
Stryker shook his head, his expression intensifying as he stared at me. “No, you don’t understand. They served over there together. Tiny and Gunner’s dad were the only ones who made it back.”
A lot was left unsaid. Gunner’s dad made it back but the others hadn’t? Did that mean they had died over there?
I wasn’t sure how to take that. Tiny and Gunner’s dad had made it back to the States and now Tiny was the one they trusted?
“Where is Gunner’s dad?” I didn’t ask Gunner directly. I couldn’t make myself turn from Stryker. He kept me anchored, solid, and if I looked away, I had a feeling I’d run out into the woods and never look back. The conversation kept me in place and I stared at Stryker for more than just answers.
Voices carried to us from outside, the frustration complete and evident in the officers’ clipped tones. Stryker shifted to his side, flicking his gaze from my face to the window. He watched as the sounds from outside told us that the cops had returned empty-handed. The engine started and tires crunched on gravel as they drove away.
My shoulders slumped forward and I leaned my head back, closing my eyes. Just because they’d left, didn’t mean they wouldn’t return, but at least for the next little bit, we were in a place that was off their radar.
“Come on. Tiny has breakfast going.” Pushing off the wall, Stryker waved us forward, waiting at the top of the stairs for each of his cousins to pass by and then Sara.
I trailed behind, still uncertain just who I could trust and who I couldn’t.
Stryker reached out, stopping me before I could follow Sara down the steps. “I grabbed this for you before we left the party last night. I forgot to give it to you.”
I glanced down at his hand where my phone rested. Slowly taking it, I looked up from the shiny screen. He’d done that for me, a small thing considering the situation, but at the same time, monumental. He’d had the forethought to grab my phone when I’d barely had the wherewithal to walk in a straight line.
Nodding, I tucked it in my pocket. “Thank you.” Did he know I didn’t thank others easily? I didn’t like to owe anyone anything and yet, there I was, owing him more and more with each passing moment. I could only hope he would try to collect one day, and in a way I was more than willing to repay him.
He stared at me; his eyes heavy-lidded. “You know, you can trust me, right?”
Every cell in my body screamed that I could. Yet, everything I’d
ever learned about anyone had taught me that I couldn’t. Even my own mother wasn’t trustworthy. Why would Stryker think I could trust him, when everyone else had proven to be back-stabbing losers?
“We’ll see, right?” I moved past him, ignoring the confusion on his face. He didn’t need to worry about me. I could handle myself just fine.
And anything else that came along.
Stryker
I couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Gray that drove my senses insane. All I knew was I wouldn’t be able to pin her into one hole. With too many dimensions, she had a distinct advantage over any other girl I’d ever messed around with. She was hard to figure out which made the game that much more interesting.
She didn’t trust me – yet. Not that I blamed her. I didn’t trust many, but Tiny was on that very short list and not just because he’d served with our dads.
He’d proven his loyalty over and over again and we’d done the same. He was the lost uncle we hadn’t known we needed. Gray could trust him and she could trust me. She just didn’t know it yet. I had patience. She would learn to trust the Jameson name like she would learn to rely on me.
The mustiness of the barn dissipated when we reached the outside. Fresh air gave us a new perspective and in no time, we’d climbed the rise to Tiny’s modest home.
Since the man was family, we’d stopped standing on formalities a long time ago and I pushed open the front door. “Tiny? You in here?”
“Yeah, man. Come on in.” Tiny walked around the corner of the wall section jutting into the living room, separating the dining space from the rest of the area.
With the simple floor plan, the house seemed larger inside than it did outside, similar to the man we’d grown attached to. Drying his hands on a red and white checkered cloth, Tiny looked up and froze as he took in the girls standing amidst the three of us boys. He arched an eyebrow. “Have you taken to stealing girls now?”
Gunner snorted. “We don’t steal anymore, Tiny. You know that.” He shook his head and strode into the kitchen, following the intoxicating smells of pork cooking.
I shook my head and motioned toward the girls. “This is Gray Asher and her friend, Sara.” I realized I didn’t know her friend’s last name. Something I would have to rectify, if I wanted to take care of her uncle. Something that was still on my list to delegate out.
Tiny furrowed his brow and reached out cautiously to shake Gray’s hand and then Sara’s. He shifted his gaze from Gray’s face back to me. “Asher? As in Alex Asher?”
Gray stepped toward him. “How do you know my dad?” Her long dark hair moved behind her shoulders and I fought the insane desire to reach out and run my fingers through the silky strands.
“I don’t know him, sweetheart. I heard the name from an associate last night.” He looked to me; his expression tight. “Apparently, this Alex Asher killed some girl in the ring.” He glanced back at Gray and tilted his head. “If Alex Asher is actually a guy, I’m guessing the fighter was…” He didn’t finish it, but his eyes softened as he looked back at Gray. “That fighter would have had a helluva night last night.”
I nodded. “Yeah, she fights as Alex. What’d you hear?” Knowing Tiny, his acquaintance was a seedy type and might know more than the information we’d been able to scrape together at the party which wasn’t much.
“Word has it, she killed the girl, but my Russian friend knows more than most.” He took a deep breath and turned toward the kitchen. “Come on in, we need food to handle this story.”
As if following the Pied Piper, Gray slowly moved after him, her eyes wide. I wasn’t sure about Sara, but Gray had nerves of steel and she looked terrified which meant she was even more scared than a normal person would be.
As a group we moved into Tiny’s spacious kitchen, claiming a stool at the counter as Tiny moved into the U-shaped cooking space. Moving chunks of ham around on a flat cast iron griddle, Tiny flipped a pancake and then cracked an egg, giving us a few moments of insatiable curiosity. What wasn’t he telling us?
He finally turned to face me, bracing his hands on the edge of the counter closer to our group. “Look, I’m just going to tell you what I heard. I obviously don’t have enough information about any of this, but you can fill in the holes.” He stopped staring at me and looked at Gray. As much as we trusted Tiny, I didn’t like him studying the girl beside me. She was mine and I didn’t want any other guys to look at her the way I saw her.
“From what I understand, Sergio was in line to take over the family business. He’s been like a dom-in-training for the last few years.” Tiny reached into a drawer and pulled out forks and then retrieved plates from a cupboard.
“I’m sorry. What’s a dom?” Gray blinked, glancing from Tiny to myself and back as if that one question stood between her freedom and hell.
“A dom is the person in charge of a mob family or business. What they say goes. There is no option to go against their wishes.” I looked back to Tiny for him to go on.
“Well, last week, the Ivanovs’ dom announced Sonya would inherit the empire. I don’t know all the details around why or anything, but suffice it to say Sergio didn’t like that at all. He beat his sister and then injected her with some kind of an anti-clotting medication – like heparin but in a concentrated dose. If she took any punches from him that caused bleeding or bruising, she would have been bleeding out before you even got to her.” He glanced at Gray and then grabbed the pan and slid some pancakes and eggs onto a couple plates. “If you hit her in the head, she’d easily develop an aneurysm and die from that.”
“So, it wasn’t Gray’s fault.” The girl was a hard fighter, but that didn’t mean she’d killed someone. A wave of relief washed over me. If she hadn’t been the reason why that girl had died, maybe she’d recover faster from the incident. The last thing I wanted her to do was give up on fighting.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I caught a glimpse of Brock leaning back and looking at me with a thousand questions in his eyes. I held up a finger and pulled the phone out of my pocket.
Dominick.
My uncle was turning into a pain in the ass and I didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that luxury.
I stepped around the side wall as Tiny slid two plates in front of Sara and Gray. They’d be distracted with the food while I dealt with my uncle.
“Yeah.” I moved further down the hall toward the bedrooms Tiny had set up for us when we needed to get away from the comfort of Nana’s house. Some pain you had to deal with and being comforted wasn’t the way to cope.
“Alex Asher killed the Russian princess? What is going on, Stryker?” Dominick’s shrill voice pierced through the distance between us and I winced at how much he really did sound like a weasel.
“No, Alex didn’t kill anyone. He’s not my responsibility anyway, remember? Gray got in a ring at The Pike. She was against Sonya Ivanovs. The girl is dead.” That’s all he was getting. I’d never report anything that could get back to whoever told me. I needed to keep Tiny safe. I could do that, but only as long as I didn’t divulge information he’d given me.
“I don’t care how much I need this girl. Get rid of her.” Dominick’s hysteria mounted, his words coming fast and hard. “Do you hear me, Stryker? I want her gone by tonight.”
“Gone?” I’d never been ordered to kill anyone before. Dominick seemed to understand I was just a kid – or at least the law said I was underage. He’d never had me do anything as permanent as killing someone, least of all ordered it in a fit of rage.
“Gone, as in kill her. I don’t care how you make it happen, but hide the body. I want her listed as a runaway. We can’t get mixed up with the Russians. They’ll ruin everything. Do you hear me?” Dominick didn’t wait for me to reply before he hung up.
Tightness in my chest grew, wrapping around my ribcage as if it would strangle the life from me. How was I supposed to kill Gray when I was finally letting myself realize that I needed her around more than I
needed her controlled?
Maybe Dominick needed more time to process what he’d ordered. If nothing else, that just meant I had to get Gray to a safehouse where the cops, the Russians, and Dominick couldn’t find her.
Because if any of them did, I had no doubt she’d be dead by morning.
Chapter 5
Gray
Stryker stepped out and I finally felt like I could breathe. He consumed every centimeter of space around me. If I let him, he’d take over everything and make all my decisions, control all my choices. I couldn’t let him or anyone have that kind of power over me. Then I’d just be a hapless idiot like my father – bitter and resentful but so desperate for something, I’d chase happiness by gambling away what I already had.
My chest seemed to rise and fall with less constriction as Stryker stepped around the wall. I didn’t have to focus on the words between Tiny, Brock, Gunner, and Sara. I could just sit on that stool with my fork in my hand and quietly eat
I had difficulty processing Tiny’s home and the fact that he’d so easily welcomed us into his house. I didn’t understand loyalty of that depth. If I wanted to focus on a pitiful excuse for myself, I’d have to admit that a loyal mother would have made that concept easier to grasp.
I rolled my shoulders back as if physically shrugging off the desolate emotions creeping in while I was tired, traumatized, and unsure.
“Can you pass the syrup?” Brock held his large hand my direction, breaking through my thoughts.
I lifted my gaze, reaching for the bottle of dark amber-colored liquid at the same time. Understanding tilted his eyebrows at the edges and he offered me a soft smile. Brock. Who wasn’t exactly known for sympathy.
Maybe I had let myself become too engrossed in the events of the last couple days. Maybe I needed to let myself take a minute and just be appreciative that no one that I cared about had gotten hurt, or killed, or whatever else could happen.
Her Brawlers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 2) Page 4