“Gray, you’re not running things. I am.” He reached into the space beneath his seat and pulled out a miniature aerosol spray bottle. He cracked his window and I stared at him. What was he doing?
“I’m serious, Blaze. Why don’t you just pull over. I’ll get a ride from someone else.” I’d hitch hike, if I needed to. I didn’t care. I just needed to get home and check on Dad and then make sure I did whatever I was told so no one else got hurt.
Blaze grinned, his lips pulled back in a maniacal twist I’d only seen when he ruthlessly beat another person. The man lacked empathy and I’d been a fool to think I could rely on him.
“Pull the damn car over, Blaze. Now.” I clenched my teeth, the hair rising on the back of my neck.
He didn’t even slow as he turned his face toward the breeze coming in the open window. He lifted the bottle and pointed it in my general direction.
I clamored my fingers over the door, looking for the window handle, but my hands met empty paneling. He’d taken out the capability to roll down my window.
Unlocking the door and jumping would be my only option, except as I turned to face the door to jerk up the lock, my fingers met more air. He’d taken out the button for the lock.
I whipped back to face Blaze, swallowing the whimper working its way out of my throat. Before I could draw a deep breath to scream, he squirted the bottle my direction and everything went hazy.
My lungs burned and I coughed, covering my face with my hands. My eyes watered and stung and I coughed with such force, I threw up in my mouth.
It didn’t take long before I passed out.
Chapter 6
Stryker
I didn’t think I could be more pissed after that loser put his hands on Gray at The Pike. Until she’d slammed her lips on Gunner’s in the kitchen.
Just thinking about it sent a roiling wave of nausea through me. I pulled back my fists from the tornado of anger I’d unleashed on the extra punching bag hanging in Tiny’s barn.
The ammonia smell didn’t bother me anymore, not when I realized what it was there for – another measure of protection that guns and motion lights sometimes didn’t lend. It could be surprising how much people would do to avoid the stank of rodents.
I leaned on the bag, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead. I’d only been down there about fifteen minutes but it felt like hours as I’d gone over and over the image of Gunner kissing Gray.
My cousin. Kissing Gray.
The image replayed over and over. She didn’t want to kiss me? Was that why she’d kissed him? I didn’t understand. None of it made sense.
When I touched her, she panted. Her lips moistened. Even her eyes dilated. I knew I affected her. My pride wanted her to admit that I affected her as much as she did me, but at that point, I’d take even that she was aware of me.
Because when she pushed past my arm to throw herself at Gunner, I could have been invisible.
Then. To make matters worse, Gunner had kissed her back… good.
Thud. Thud. Thud. I picked back up on punching the bag, the rhythm comforting and steady.
Something moved out of the corner of my eye, toward the perimeter of the yard, but when I moved to brush my hair out of my eyes, it was gone. Probably a deer or something. It wouldn’t be the first or the last time I’d worked out with an audience consisting of forest animals. Skunks were the best, and I say that with all the sarcasm available in my soul.
The minutes droned by as I pummeled that bag, thud, thud, thud. My stomach muscles clenched, tight, then loose until I remembered Gunner holding Gray, kissing Gray, his arms around her and I’d start the onslaught on the bag anew.
I couldn’t get the image of them to stop replaying in my mind, over and over.
After I wasn’t sure I could take it anymore, I shoved the bag away from me, yelling in frustration. “Argh!” The bag swung back, slapping into my open palms and letting me lean on it for a moment.
“You know, you can’t beat that bag.” Tiny’s low, melodious tones didn’t startle me. How many times over the years had he found me in just such a position and offered assurances? There wasn’t much Tiny didn’t know about us, including our operation under the mines.
“Yeah, but… I still want to try, you know?” I turned, still half-hanging on the bag as I shrugged.
He laughed, but not in a cruel or mocking way, just an understanding chuckle that I knew he meant. “You like that girl.” It wasn’t a question. I probably wouldn’t have answered one.
The statement, though, caught my attention. I furrowed my brow and stared at him. After a minute, I swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I think I do.” That’s as much as I was willing to admit to. I wasn’t even sure how much or if I really did like her, or if I just wanted to screw her brains out – probably both the way I was feeling.
“Then what’s the problem? I mean, you’re out here trying to kick the shit out of my bag and ruining a perfectly good pair of jeans and a shirt when I’ve got your spare workout gear inside. Is it something besides the girl?” Tiny folded his massive arms and leaned against the doorjamb leading to the interior of the barn.
I’d left the door open to allow some fresh air in and to help with the heat. I wasn’t stupid. I’d run myself ragged on that bag a time or two and the barn got claustrophobic and hot fast, even in the dead of winter.
I sighed and pushed away from the bag to stand on my own. Pulling off the thin gloves I’d pulled on when I’d gotten to the barn, I slapped them on the metal table by the wall. “Lately, everything is about her. The Russians are after her, and from what you told us, Sergio is going to be after her more than the father.” I rubbed my eyes with both hands. “The cops are after us for throwing bottles on their windshield.”
Tiny lunged forward, dropping his arms to his sides. “You did what?”
“They had their brights on, man. I didn’t know it was a cop.” I winced, even as I made the excuse. It was a lame reason to do what we’d done. I shook my head and licked my lips. “No, it was stupid. I don’t need you to tell me that. I’m glad it was a cop. If it hadn’t been, the people might have been hurt. Brock was drunk and I was frustrated after dealing with the crap around Gray. It was… stupid. There’s nothing else it can be called.” He’d probably suggest that we go to the police and accept our punishment.
“If your father was alive, he’d tell you to go turn yourself in. Hell, he’d probably drag your ass in himself.” Tiny studied me and shook his head, his clean-shaven appearance more intimidating than if he’d been shaggy and dirty.
I closed my eyes and moved to stand by the doorway as well. I stared out at the house; grateful we were able to hideout at Tiny’s before going to the bunker. The last thing we needed was to move more than necessary.
“Dad would be mad.” He’d be disappointed and turn away after shaking his head. I closed my eyes and inhaled as deeply as I could. There was no way I could fix what I did. We had to turn ourselves in. “I should probably tell the boys to get ready. We can have the cops come pick us up. Can you watch out for Gray?” I looked at Tiny, a knot in my stomach at what I’d decided to do.
Tiny slapped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “Kid, you’re not turning yourself in. No good will come of it. You’re too close to getting expelled and arrested as it is and all to help the town. That’s something your dad and uncles would do.” Tiny fell silent beside me as we stared out at the gloomy fall sky. Was that relief rushing through me or more disappointment?
Gunner suddenly appeared at the top of the rise, closing the distance between the house and the barn with a surprising speed I’d like to see in boxing practice. He stopped in front of us, breathing harder than normal but not like he was dying. He glanced behind us and then studied my face. “What’d you do?”
I blinked at Gunner. The bastard had kissed Gray. What did I do? “Yeah, you’ll need to explain that one.”
“Is Gray down here?” Gunner moved past us, almost winning an undercu
t to the jaw that he dared even say her name after the stunt in the house. Why was he looking for her? Did he think they were together or something?
I took a deep breath, clenching my fists under my arms as I kept them folded against my chest. “Nope. She’s not here, so you can look somewhere else for another make out session.”
Gunner stopped his search, moving back to pause in front of me. He narrowed his eyes and curled his lip in a smirk. “Yeah, you think that I orchestrated that? She was trying to make you jealous, douchebag. That’s it. She didn’t want me. If she did, we’d be up there screwing right now and long into the night.”
He moved closer to me and thrust his finger into my chest. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but she’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere and she’s not answering her phone. Sara tried calling her. Everyone is up there worried and you’re down here, pouting.”
I stared at Gunner, disbelief holding me in check. After a moment, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I’d silenced it after Dominick’s call. I didn’t want to hear from him or anyone else, not when I could guarantee none of them wanted to hear what I would say.
Multiple messages from Dominick, Danielle, and two numbers I didn’t recognize would have to wait. Nothing from Gray.
“She has to be here. She doesn’t have a car.” I paused as the memory of something moving toward the forest flashed in my mind. “Wait. I think I saw her leave, but I wasn’t certain. When I looked a second time the movement was gone.” I pointed toward the woods on the north side of the property, leading toward the highway.
Gunner glanced at me and shook his head. “I think she bailed, man, and I don’t know why.”
But I did. She’d been texting someone right before the fight. I shoved past Gunner and broke out into a sprint, crossing the patchy grass and cutting through the brushy forest. Bush and tree trunks made me dodge and weave to find a path through the woods. It didn’t take long and I was suddenly standing in a ditch with an inch of water over the height of the grass blades.
The road stretched from side to side in front of me, empty along its expanse.
“Gray!” I looked left and right. I didn’t need to have it confirmed. She was gone and she’d left exactly how I thought she had.
I wasn’t sure what would convince her to go, but I had a feeling her worthless father was a part of it. I pulled out my phone to try calling her when my screen lit up with a text message from a different number I didn’t recognize.
This is Blaze. Show up at The Pike on Friday night or you’ll never see Gray again.
If I’d read that message before standing there on the street, I might have scoffed at his text. But there I stood on a road so empty I could feel it in my soul. She’d been there and now she wasn’t.
I didn’t reply to his text. I got his message. I just had to see what I could prevent before Friday.
~~~
Tiny loaned me a blue and yellow Jeep CJ5. The guys planned on staying at Tiny’s until I was ready to pick them up the next day. I had a few places to check for Gray before I started storming the towns for her.
If she left on her own, it was probably to go back to check on her dad. I could respect that, but we were in this together at that point. How could she leave without saying goodbye or letting us know? Any of us? She hadn’t even told Sara. And that girl was not one I would willingly piss off. She was mad and hurt and yet, she still understood.
One more reason not to trust Gray, to ditch her behind and let things fall where they would. Except… the shitty part was I didn’t want to do any of that. I didn’t want to leave Gray to the consequences of what had happened the last couple days.
Looking for Gray the day before hadn’t been an option. We needed to keep our heads down after the bottle incident. I’d been willing to wait until Sunday but I’d chomped at the bit as I waited. I wasn’t patient and didn’t pretend to be.
I shifted into third as I turned the corner into the town of Jameson. My namesake was everything our family protected. The town, the mine, the people in the community, every inch of that haven in north Idaho belonged to Jameson, if not legally, then we still thought of it as ours and protected it as such. We didn’t exploit it. We would never take advantage of the people. At least, not a true Jameson.
Putting the money of the factory into the local economy was saving people and I’d never been prouder when I saw residents updating their homes and their lives because of the things we were doing with the factory and their jobs.
I slowed the Jeep as I got closer to the Asher rental. The lights were off which was surprising at nine o’clock on a Sunday night.
Pulling up to the curb, I glanced around as I climbed from the Jeep. No one seemed to be watching the place, but just because I didn’t see anything, didn’t mean no one was there. I’d learned that from my dad.
I climbed the patio to the front door and pounded on the door, dropping my hand as I waited for someone to answer.
If only Gray would answer, then I would know she was fine. I just needed to know she was okay. She didn’t have to be with me. That was fine. But… What if Blaze really did have her? What if she’d gone with him willingly? What if she was having sex with him right then?
That last thought made me cringe and I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t going to focus on her sleeping with anyone. I couldn’t, or I’d slowly lose my mind.
The house stayed dark. I banged on the door again, my closed fist hammering with the deep bang of my anger and frustration.
Still, no one came.
I checked behind the fence and Coach Asher’s truck was nowhere to be found.
Reaching out to Dominick and Danielle wasn’t an option. If I went back to either of them without more information than what I had, I’d have more to worry about then just Gray’s disappearance and Brock and Gunner hiding from the law.
I drove to the factory office and the backup bunker we had and hunkered down for the night. I’d see what I could find at school the next morning.
~~~
I didn’t sleep much.
The lack of information and worry through the weekend had taken its toll. I pulled into the parking lot shortly before school was set to start. I scanned the cars, certain I’d see Asher’s truck, Gray’s truck, or even my truck which I knew to be impossible.
Instead, Sara approached me across the grassy front yard. She jerked her chin and waited for me to park and climb out of the jeep.
I approached her, furrowing my brow. “What’s going on?”
“I haven’t heard from Gray. Blaze isn’t answering my texts or my calls. I can’t get into her house. Have you heard anything?” Sara stopped, tapping her toe in thick, cheap leather boots. She looked at me as if I hid all the answers to Gray’s location.
“No. I can’t find her either.” Blaze hadn’t answered his phone… interesting. I tucked my hands in my pockets and looked past her shoulder, ignoring other students as they passed us by and checked us out.
“Let me know as soon as practice starts, if she shows up or not. She can’t miss that. She needs the count.” Sara turned and then came back, holding up her phone. “Number?”
I recited it to her, my syllables clipped with worry and anger. What was I doing searching for a girl who wanted nothing to do with me? She wanted Gunner or anyone else but me.
Sara didn’t move, staring at me until I nodded with a jerky movement I couldn’t explain. She nodded back and spun on her heel, tucking her phone in her pocket.
Needing to hear from Gray was going to keep me on the edge of my seat all day. I didn’t dare skip any classes. What if she showed up in one?
My classes passed in a painstaking blur and I realized not only was Gray missing, but Danielle and Coach Asher hadn’t shown up either.
As I strode into the gym for class, I stopped at the sight of a note taped to a punching bag. A foreboding in my chest slowly tugged me forward.
The note, written in scrawling script, read:
; Be at The Pike Friday night or Gray dies.
I slowly removed the note from the bag, the tape giving me some resistance as I pulled it from the leather casing. The paper crinkled as I crumpled it in my fist.
No matter how long I waited, Gray wasn’t going to come to practice that afternoon.
Friday was my deadline to find her. It didn’t matter if I showed up or not to The Pike. The Russian letter at the bottom of the note guaranteed she’d die one way or the other Friday and my attendance at The Pike was only a technicality. They wanted me for something and I wasn’t sure what that was.
Gray was going to pay for killing that girl. I had to do whatever I could to stop that from happening.
Chapter 7
Gray
I slowly turned my head to the side, wincing with the movement. I couldn’t move my arms. Wiggling my shoulders just brought more pain shooting through my upper body. I stopped, taking a breath. My hands were tied behind me and I’m not sure I’d ever get feeling back in my fingers.
Shivering, I tried to lick my lips with a dry tongue. I hadn’t been able to figure out where I was or what had happened.
The chair I sat in dug into the backs of my thighs and the soft flesh just under my shoulder blades. Honestly, I’d give anything to just lie down. A small amount of light outlined the shape of a door about ten feet from where I’d been left, but I wasn’t able to make out much more than that.
Desperate to relieve the pain in my thighs and back and maybe even some of the circulation issues in my hands, I kicked my tied feet at the ground, but nothing happened.
I leaned as far to the left as I could, inhaling sharply as the chair rocked to the side and then toppled with my weight. Turning my face to the right, I grunted when I landed on my side, my shoulder taking the brunt of it. I swear I heard something crunch. The chair legs clattered on what I could tell was dirty cement flooring
Her Brawlers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 2) Page 6