Her Brawlers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 2)

by Taylor Blaine

  His eyes darkened as he ducked his head and our faces came close to touching. Tiny lifted his fingers, brushing them down the lower line of my jaw. I inhaled deep and then exhaled, swallowing as I stared into his eyes.

  “You know, Stryker, this one is special.” Tiny didn’t look at any of the Jameson cousins. He just watched his fingers as they touched me. “I wanted to shoot you, Stryker, but I couldn’t because Dominick wanted me to. I owed your dad, you know? Ah, the price tag was solid, though. Then Vlasi called me while I was in place to pull you out of the audience for Dominick. He outbid Dominick and I got to shoot Sergio who I found very annoying. So, win-win, right?” His lopsided grin threw me off. Than and the fact that he hadn’t stopped stroking my face.

  Stryker shifted to stand directly beside me, pushing on Tiny’s chest with a stiff arm. “You need to back up, Tiny.” There was no compromise in the angle of his jaw or the heavy way he thrust his chest forward. He wasn’t backing down.

  Tiny didn’t look away from my face, but he slowly dropped his hand to hang slightly between us. “You’re just like your mom.” He said it almost reverently, ending on a sigh.

  A hitch in my breath filled the silence as Stryker, Gunner, and Brock stared at Tiny like they expected him to try something else and they had to be ready to attack.

  “What do you know about my mom?” I blinked, but held his gaze, careful not to scream and shout at him like I wanted to.

  Tiny didn’t answer and I stepped forward, grabbing his upper arms with desperate hands. Almost screaming, I shook him as much as I could shake a solidly built man who towered over me. “You know my mom?”

  Sadness twisted his maniacal grin into a depressed frown. He framed my face in his hands and shook his head as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. The contact surprised me and he pulled away, ignoring Stryker’s angry grunt and Brock’s hands pulling at his arms.

  Tiny smoothed my hair down the side of my head. “I loved her. So much. She was with your father and I never interfered there. Not until I saw what he was doing. Not until Dominick got involved. When I asked for a chance with her, he laughed and said I wasn’t enough for her.” He huffed and glanced down the length of his body. “I can’t be any more. I’m as big as they come.”

  I pushed closer, certain there was more he wasn’t saying. “Do you know where she is? Does she miss me?”

  He stared down at me, lost in something I couldn’t identify. He didn’t even struggle against Brock and Stryker’s holds. “You’re like her but stronger. I’m sorry this is happening. You have no idea how sorry.” He glanced at the cousins and dropped his hands from me. “Come on, boys. We have to see just how much we can mess up.” He grinned, like he and I hadn’t had a moment that left me shaking.

  Tiny turned away, his stride wide and strong. Whatever path he’d decided to go down, he was going down in style and to make a statement.

  Gunner caught me as I fell to the side. “Stryker, she’s losing it.”

  I wasn’t losing it. They didn’t know losing it. I hadn’t lost it. But my hands were shaking, my legs felt like they were made of jello and I think my back even deflated. Another man who knew something about my mom and I still had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

  Did she miss me? Why couldn’t anyone tell me that? I missed her. I hated that she most likely didn’t care what I was doing or where I was.

  While loneliness surged inside me, Stryker moved to my side, crouching next to Gunner and shifting me to his arms. Heat from his touch just simmered, nothing sent tingles through me. He wasn’t there to seduce me. Instead, everything in his touch and presence was focused on me and comforting me. He shushed me, wrapping me in his embrace.

  Was I going to survive the weekend? What else could I expect to happen?

  Was it bad to wish for normal?

  I curled into Stryker’s arms for a brief moment. I knew we didn’t have time. I recognized the urgency of the situation, but I needed a moment – just one – to find comfort.

  “Gray, you’re going to be okay. I know it’s been a lot. Come on. We can get out of here and sleep the rest of the weekend.” He grinned, his cheek moving against the top of my head where he’d pressed his face.

  Gunner and Brock split up, one checking the doorway and hall and the other peeking out the lines between the boards.

  “It’s quiet out there. Tiny is too quiet.” Brock whispered from the hall. His shoulders didn’t bend under the stress of the moment and I had to acknowledge that Stryker wasn’t the only one with muscles or strength. He might be the strongest but he definitely didn’t have all the muscles in the family.

  Gunner spoke as if he waited his turn. “Officers are moving toward the house. It looks like a different SUV is driving up the drive between the stationary cars.”

  Stryker nodded. He lifted me to a standing position and straightened beside me. Taking my face in his hands, he stared intently into my eyes. “You can do this, okay? I have no doubt you want to lose it. You’re dealing with more over a couple days than most people have to deal with spread over their life time. I need you to stick with me. You can do this.”

  He had no idea how strong I could be. I pushed myself onto my own feet and stabilized my own balance. I held out a hand, staving off his arms that came to steady me. “I can do more than you think I can.” I lifted my chin, refusing to let my exhaustion control me.

  If we could get away, I’d be able to sleep for a week. But only if we got away.

  “What do I need to do?” I could see Stryker had a plan in mind. “I’m ready to get out of here.” More than I could explain.

  Multiple clickings echoed through the house. They were more like bursts of air that ended in a popping sound.

  “He’s shooting into the yard. We have to go now.” Gunner jumped to his feet, pushing at Stryker and me from the backs as we turned. “Get going. This is the distraction we were waiting for.”

  “Does he still keep the side-by-side in the lean-to?” Stryker wrapped an arm around my waist and picked me up, striding quickly across the hallway and shoving me at an unboarded window.

  “Yeah, I think so. I think he got a four-wheeler, too.” Brock acted like I wasn’t there or like they weren’t opening a back window protected by a bush in the rear of the house.

  The pops I heard were gunshots. Tiny was actually shooting into the front yard. Yells and screams indicated he’d hit his targets and others called to him to stop.

  I couldn’t see what was happening from behind the thick foliage of the bush. Trusting Stryker implicitly had become my priority. He wanted me to die about as much as he wanted himself to. I could see that as he constantly put my safety ahead of his own.

  I only hoped we were going to make it out of there alive – together.

  Chapter 24

  Stryker

  My imagination wasn’t strong enough to get inside Gray’s mind. What she was going through and what I thought she was feeling were entirely different things. I tried to soothe her and she had to convince me she didn’t need help.

  As much as I was impressed by her strength, I didn’t need to rely on others. I wanted her safe and I was going to do whatever it took to make it happen.

  Shoving her toward the window, I grabbed Gunner and pulled him to the side as Brock slid the pane open. I couldn’t hear what Brock said to Gray, but it didn’t matter. I needed her attention elsewhere as I made sure she was safe.

  “Look, get Gray to the ATV and get back to the bunker. Don’t look back, don’t stop. Do you understand?” I held up my hand when Gunner shook his head. “I’m serious, G. You’re doing this. Brock and I need you to get out. We’ll be right behind you, but we can’t let Tiny go out like this. He’s lost it… but, I can’t help but think maybe he’s suffering from the same guilt your dad did, you know?” Uncle Hunter hadn’t been able to handle the fact that he couldn’t stop killing. He’d grown to crave that danger and high. He’d been a sniper, one of the best, and a skil
l like that wasn’t needed in civilian life.

  Hunter had hated fighting normal when he felt mediocre in every other aspect of life. Not to mention he’d constantly mentioned how it wasn’t fair that he’d come home and his brothers hadn’t.

  Rearing back at my mention of his father, Gunner blinked. “You’re not staying here, right? You’re not going to be able to help us, if you’re arrested by the cops or killed by Dominick.”

  “You’re being obvious, man. I can’t do what I need to do, if I’m worried about her or you.” I nodded in Gray’s direction but kept my eyes on my cousin. “Do this. I need you to get her out of here.”

  Gunner held my gaze, staring in my eyes as if he could read my thoughts and label my intentions. He finally nodded. “Fine. But if you’re not there behind us, I’m coming back for you.”

  He didn’t have anything to worry about. I wouldn’t get caught. I punched his shoulder and moved toward the window. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to leave you alone with Gray any longer than necessary.” My side-grin brought a chuckle.

  Everything happened in seconds and I tried to ignore the urgency of the moment. Tiny was shooting into his yard which was covered with cops. Dominick was probably there in the mystery SUV and we had to get out of there. Now.

  But if I let the moment get to me, I’d be unnerved and slip up. Mistakes would be costly and I wasn’t willing to lose anything more than I’d already lost.

  “Gray, in case we get separated, you need to get to the ATV at the bottom of the hill. Gunner knows where it is. There’s a key. Start it in neutral. I’ll be right behind you.” I winked, despite the seriousness in her eyes. She didn’t smile in return and I didn’t blame her.

  Four more pops came from the front living room and I flinched. Tiny wasn’t even using intimidating ammunition. He’d put a silencer on his .22 a year or so ago and swore he’d never use it on people. Another lie.

  “Get out of here.” I wrapped my fingers around her upper arms and took a deep breath. I was a big guy, known around town for my brute strength and my ability in the ring. The slight girl in my arms made me feel powerless with her ability. She didn’t need me. She didn’t need anyone.

  She reached up and cupped my face in her hand, her eyes soft but strong. “Don’t get stuck.” She nodded and faced the window, her brown hair spinning out in a slight circle around her shoulders.

  I jerked two fingers in the air in a goodbye and get going sign to Gunner. He ducked out the window ahead of Gray, reaching back into the opening to help her out. As soon as the shadows swallowed them, I admitted to myself that for once, I was nervous I wouldn’t make it out of the danger I was in. For once, I wanted to get out of there and be present somewhere besides my life.

  The sound of gunshots burst through the house. I didn’t need to make eye contact with Brock as we both slammed to the floor. Bullets cracked through glass, shards tinkling as they hit the linoleum in the kitchen.

  Tiny’s laugh chilled me to the bone. I used my elbows to drag myself forward, crawling on my stomach from the room and out into the hallway.

  Moonlight spilled across the carpeted flooring of the rooms we passed. Their furniture created various shapes with shadows. Tiny had turned off the lights in the front rooms, the focus being on the floodlights outside. I held the majority of my weight on my forearms and my toes, shifting my balance to my knees when I moved forward.

  The control in the moment would determine if I could jump to my feet to run or if I’d die on my stomach like a coward.

  I could almost hear my dad’s voice repeating that line over and over in my head. Dad had once made a point to explain to me and my cousins that running away didn’t mean someone was a coward. Running away was sometimes the only way a person could escape to recover and try again a different day.

  So, if it was okay to run, why was I leading my cousin into the center of the fray? If I died, fine. But what if I put Brock in unnecessary danger? I would be devastated if anything happened to him and I’d never be able to forgive myself.

  Yet even with all that, I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and run. Tiny was a huge part of our family and even though he’d done some horrific things, I couldn’t just leave him there. Not when we could run together. We’d have to figure out the details later.

  I glanced back at Brock, making sure he followed. A part of me wanted to motion him back, tell him to run with Gunner and Gray. The only problem was, we’d been raised pretty tight on never leaving anyone we loved behind. Brock wouldn’t let me go alone. I knew it as surely as I knew I wouldn’t let him do it either.

  I moved forward relentlessly, heading toward the sounds in the living room.

  Brock stayed silent, following me in the same moves we’d learned when we played hide-and-seek with our dads. Everything was better when we played with our dads. In the still-dark hallway, Brock crawled up beside me and we inched out to view the living room, keeping our heads out of sight of the windows.

  Tiny’s massive hands manipulated the ammo rope or bandolier strung up through the Gatling gun he’d set up on a tripod by the window. Gone was the .22 he’d been shooting. There was nothing quiet about the bullets bursting from the end of the revolving gun. He wore a bullet proof vest, the black easily seen over his white long sleeve shirt. He wore an Army green helmet on his head, the chin straps dangling by his collarbones. He glanced at us, his peripheral vision on hyperalert, when he sensed our movements.

  Tiny smiled like he was having the time of his life. He flicked at something at his waist and half-shrugged. “Can you blame me? They’re dirty cops and Dominick is out there… somewhere.” Tiny’s smile faded as he watched me closely. “Dominick wants to kill you, Stryker. He’s planning on getting rid of you. Watch your back.” He blinked and then glanced back at his gun, his finger pulling the trigger of its own volition. There was no way he even knew where he was aiming since he hadn’t directed his eye in the direction of the yard since we’d come out there.

  “Tiny, what are you doing?” I didn’t stand. That many bullets would only bring a barrage our direction again.

  “I’m getting free, Stryker. Brock, you and your cousins need to know…” Pausing his speech, Tiny poured more bullets out into the yard, striking a car and sending sparks to light up the dark of the evening. He turned to face us; his eyes tilted down at the corners. “Your dads were some of the best fighters I’d ever seen. They helped people, genuinely helped people, and they were great friends.” A single solitary tear slid down his coarse cheek, reflecting the modest light from the headlights outside. “I miss them.”

  The pause in gunfire earned him a round from outside. In less than a second, eight pops filled the air and Tiny’s neck exploded on the side.

  He fell to the ground, dead before he hit.

  I stared at the body of one of my dad’s best-friends. He’d been there for us in more ways than one. Yeah, he’d made mistakes at the end, but who was perfect? I refused to believe he’d ever meant to hurt us.

  There wasn’t a single mean bone in Tiny’s body. Whatever he’d done, he’d done because he had to – in whatever capacity. I had to trust that about him. If I didn’t, then every memory I’d ever had about my dad’s friend would be tarnished.

  I couldn’t allow that to happen. Not to Tiny, not to myself.

  Brock tugged at my sleeve, already backing up, ignoring the loss in front of us. “We need to get out of here.”

  “It’s not going to be by the front door, Brock. We need to get some guns and head out the backup.” I wasn’t the only one who refused to go through life without a backup on everything.

  Brock didn’t argue. He’d do what he was told. Another reason to keep the younger of my cousins with me. That and he would do what it took to get out of there. Gunner questioned what I said. If he got Gray out, he’d get some of that self-confidence he’d lost out on when his dad died.

  Instead of heading back to the rooms we’d used, Brock and I crawled on our hands a
nd knees in the hallway and then stood, rushing to the first bedroom on the left, opposite the front yard where Tiny had shot at the cops. We were running out of time as they would soon realize he wasn’t shooting back.

  They would storm the house and we had to make sure we were nowhere around to get handcuffed.

  Tiny’s room was bare of decorations or anything other than a well-made twin bed against the wall, a four-drawer dresser perpendicular to the foot of the bed, and a set of boots side by side under the head of the bed.

  We dropped to our knees and I reached into the boot on the right, pulling out a Taurus Slim, the pistol fitting exactly in my palm. Brock retrieved a similar sized piece from the bottom dresser, tucking it muzzle down in his waistband. “Let’s get out of here.”

  I nodded, waiting for him to shimmy onto his stomach and then crawl under the foot of the bed.

  A slight creaking gave away the opening of the crawlspace door. We’d have to go under the house to get away.

  Inhaling, I recognized the acrid smell of smoke as it worked its way through the house. Were they burning Tiny’s home? A fire would bring more law enforcement.

  I couldn’t guarantee we could out in time, if we didn’t get out immediately.

  Brock’s boots disappeared from view and I dropped into position. Tiny had kept an immaculate house, even keeping the floor under his bed dust-free.

  Shouting from the front pulled my attention away from the yawning hole in the floor. I glanced over my shoulder; sure I was seconds away from getting pulled back.

  “Stryker, get out here.” Brock called to me, spurring me back into action.

  I pushed and pulled to get under the bed, wiggling my shoulders to get through the tight crawlspace opening.

  As soon as I landed on the ground with a thud, my chest, arms, and head hitting almost at the same time as my knees, Brock reached up and slid the door back into place.