“Guys, you won’t regret it,” Addie cajoled, glancing from face to face. “Trust me, this place has amazing food.”
“Well, if Addie says it’s good then there’s no question,” Conner said, winking at her. “There’s no way she’d let us waste our time with bad food.”
Addie reached over to punch him, having figured out he was teasing her over her voracious appetite.
“You’re one to talk.” She’d just settled back in her seat when they called Jake’s name. He stood up and nodded to Danny. “Help me?” Without hesitation, Danny swung his leg over the bench seat and joined Jake.
Jake saw his questioning look and smiled. “The place is always packed and can take forever to get your food. Addie made me ask what everyone wanted and we ordered before you got here.”
Danny chuckled, both at Addie’s methods and Jake’s loose use of the term ‘made him.’ There was nothing Jake wouldn’t do for Addie, evidenced by the two gunshots he’d taken to protect her over the past summer.
“How’s physical therapy?” Danny asked, as he nodded to the guy handing over the massive plates of food.
“Slow, but it’s getting there. I’m ready to get the hell off desk duty though.”
“Captain still got you on lock down then?”
“Hell, yeah.” Jake gave him a rueful look. “Granted, I’m not sure if it’s my shoulder or punishment at this point.”
Jake and Connor’s boss hadn’t appreciated the trouble they’d all gotten into when solving a decades old mystery at the lake house Addie had inherited. It hadn’t helped that Connor and Addie had managed to get arrested for breaking and entering.
“From what Addie says, he’s a fair guy,” Danny mentioned, uncomfortable with the topic of the police captain. He wasn’t a fan of the police in general and still wondered why he accepted the position at the PI agency since most of the cases they worked were given by the police.
“He is,” Jake replied, the words coming easier to him now. There had been a time when he wouldn’t have admitted the captain had any good points, but Addie had been slowly changing his opinion. Jake chuckled. “Addie has him wrapped around her little finger, that’s for sure.”
“Who doesn’t she have wrapped around her finger?” Danny asked rhetorically, setting down the food.
“Are you talking about me?” Addie’s forehead wrinkled and Connor answered instantly.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Addie.”
“You either, Connor.” Their voices wouldn’t have been out of place on a playground and it caused everyone to smile. Their relationship was equal parts loyal and childish, and Danny envied them it. They had forged a bond, a friendship that was as strong as the one they had with their respective lovers.
“I still find it hard to believe you’re married,” Danny mused, grabbing a rack of ribs from the spread in front of them. “At least Addie knows she’s too young, but you.” Danny shook his head in consternation.
“Hey!” Connor managed to sound offended even around all the food he had stuffed in his mouth and Jules shook her head.
“He’s really…something,” she finally sighed, handing her husband a napkin as he grinned at her.
Carly’s soft voice broke though the laughter catching Danny’s attention.
“Hey, I think that guy is staring at you,” she whispered, her eyes darting to a dark corner. Instantly, Danny went on alert, his own eyes sweeping the area as he tried to discover who had caught Carly’s attention. She picked at her food, clearly uncomfortable by the eyes watching.
His own eyes slide over the guy at first, but a jolt of familiarity brought his gaze back. There was no mistaking the narrow face and burning eyes, but this was the last place he’d ever expected to see him again. The nightly news or a mug shot, sure, but a barbeque joint on the outskirts of town?
The past came rushing back as he uttered a name he’d hoped to forget.
“Jace.”
Chapter Two
A fist came flying at his face with lightning speed and zero time to duck. Daniel staggered back from the blow, but even as unexpected as it was, it wasn’t enough to bring him down. The guy throwing it just didn’t have enough strength.
His own reflexes were dulled by the alcohol he’d consumed, but he managed to dodge the next wild swing. A crowd had quickly gathered around them to watch, their cheers vibrating through his head as he tried to focus on his strung out attacker.
His own size should have ended the fight pretty quickly, but his attacker wasn’t feeling any pain and kept coming. A couple of sharp blows finally ended the impromptu fight to the groaning disappointment of the crowd.
“That was so hot,” Dovie gushed, running up to him as he stood there swaying. “I knew you belonged here.”
Daniel gazed down at the guy who’d unexpectedly attacked him and shook his head. The guy was thin but stronger than he’d expected. However, it was the track marks on his arm that held his attention.
“You were a beast,” Dovie whispered, her lips distracting him from the guy still on the ground. No one seemed concerned that he was still out cold and as Dovie stroked him, he became less concerned as well.
“Nice right hook,” a voice said admiringly, but as Danny glanced at the speaker he felt himself stiffen. Dovie stilled next to him, her body huddled close as if she could hide from the man standing there with the false smile and calculating eyes.
“Thanks,” Daniel replied shortly, as instinct warned him that showing any sign of fear would be dangerous.
“What’s your name?”
“Daniel Phillips.”
A nod and then, “How old are you?”
“Sixteen.” A hint of defiance threaded though the single word answer as he watched to see how the older man would respond. He was clearly important, but a faint smile was his only response as the man walked off, people giving him a wide berth.
Dovie let out a breath as she gazed at him with stars in her eyes. “I thought knocking Jace out was hot, but that was incredible.”
“What? Answering some old guy’s questions?” He scoffed, not wanting to admit the ‘old’ guy’s stare had his heart beating a lot harder than the fight with Jace had. His false bravado seemed to thrill Dovie even more as she wrapped her arms around him once again.
He draped his arm around her, nodding as she whispered they needed to get out of there so she could show him how hot she thought he was. He stepped over the guy on the ground, giving one last look at him – Jace – and wondered briefly why he’d started the fight. Dovie’s roving hands distracted him though and he shook it off, grabbing a bottle off the table as they left.
***
“Who?” The question brought him back to the present and he glanced down into Carly’s clear blue eyes. Eyes that had never been clouded by alcohol or drugs like Dovie’s had been. Or his own, he added in disgust.
“Jace,” he answered, a heavy sensation pressing in on him. “An old…” he hesitated, about to say friend, but really that had never been true. “…foe,” he finally finished.
“So the fact that he’s coming over here is probably not good,” Carly mentioned, her voice a little higher than normal as Danny’s gaze jerked up.
“You fucking snitch!”
Daniel leapt to his feet to meet Jace’s charge, knocking Carly off the bench in the process. He didn’t have time to check on her though as a fist came straight at him.
There was nothing in his system this time and he’d spent more hours sparring with Jake and Connor than he could count. He ducked the wild swing easily and caught Jace by the shoulder, pulling him away from his friends.
“You should be dead!” Spittle flew from Jace’s mouth as he raged at Danny. “You’re a rat and you know what happens to them.” The next swing revealed a blade clutched in his hand, one Danny was easily able to avoid.
Faintly, he heard Connor mutter, “Again, why didn’t I bring my gun?”
“Because we didn’t know someone from
Danny’s past was going to show up,” Addie answered knowingly, and Danny felt his lips twitch involuntarily. Trust Addie to have an answer in the midst of chaos.
Another crazy movement had Danny lifting his arm to block the blade from coming at him, but this time he felt the sting of the blade cutting him. By now they’d gathered a crowd and Danny knew he needed to end it quickly. No doubt cops had been called and the last thing he wanted was to deal with them. They would haul him down for questioning and they wouldn’t go easy on him since they weren’t in Jake and Connor’s jurisdiction.
He waited for Jace to make his next move and it didn’t take long. As the blade came arching at him once again, he reached out and grasped the wrist holding the blade. A burning sensation told him the blade had caught him, but he twisted the arm he held forcing Jace to drop the blade as his arm bent in an unnatural angle.
“Still a shitty fighter after all this time,” Danny ground out as he brought his other arm up to slam into Jace’s face. Jace flew back and landed on the ground so Danny took the opportunity to see where the blade had landed.
“Danny,” Carly cried out and he got his head up just in time to see Jace charging him again.
“You’re gonna pay, asshole.” The words were almost incoherent and Danny grunted as Jace slammed into him, knocking him off balance and pushing them both into the crowd.
“Glad to see you still don’t know when to quit,” he grunted as the crowd shoved him back into their impromptu ring. “You gotta fucking be kidding me.”
Jake and Connor were standing by, their eyes anxious but unwilling to step in as long as they thought Danny had it. The rest of the crowd was cheering them on, eager to see blood spilled.
A glancing blow caught Danny off guard, and a flicker of the old rage came back. He fought it back, blocking Jace’s next hit and resisting the urge to pulverize him. Jace swayed and for a moment Danny thought it was done, but within seconds he came at Danny again, this time from the side.
The thin thread of control Danny had maintained broke as Jace continued to fight, his wiry build strong but no match for the training Danny subjected himself to. The next blow was stronger than the last and caused Jace’s head to snap back, but Danny wasn’t content to leave it at that, and followed up with another punch. And another. He took Jace to the ground in a mindless rage as bits of the past came roaring back.
“Danny!”
“Danny,” the sound of his name barely pierced the blood pounding in his ears, but the arms grabbing hold and hauling him back penetrated though the red haze.
“Dude, you’re a damn monster.” Conner said it admiringly, but the words made Danny sick.
Monster.
As he gazed down at Jace he was relieved to see he hadn’t done too much damage. Connor and Jake had pulled him off almost immediately, no doubt sensing his loss of control.
“Hey,” the soft voice made him flinch and he turned away as Carly stepped toward him. He felt her hesitation, then resolute determination as she rested her hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said again, her hand attempting to budge him with no success.
“Danny,” she muttered in frustration, leaning down to look him in the eye since he was on his knees. Her shorter height almost made them eye level. She snorted and he glanced up to see a smile on her face. The sight was so unexpected he blinked. “I’m taller than you,” she said, giving him one of her mischievous smiles.
The words were so incongruous he shook his head.
“You’re something else,” he managed and she nodded, but they were interrupted before she could say anything else.
“You need to go,” this time it was Jake and there was enough urgency in his words to get Danny to his feet. The faint sound of sirens reached him a moment later. “Addie, any security cameras?”
“Nope,” she answered promptly.
“Connor, grab the knife.” The sound of sirens had trickled through the crowd and caused them to scatter. It seemed there were more than a few around that didn’t want to be on the police radar.
“What do we want to bet he’s got some priors?” Connor mentioned to the group at large.
“Possession, trafficking, and driving without a license,” Addie rattled off, ticking them off on her fingers as she spoke.
“I didn’t actually….you know what, never mind,” Connor said, shaking his head ruefully.
“Danny, get out of here. This isn’t our jurisdiction and they’ll haul you in if they see you.” Jake’s expression was concerned, and Danny felt Carly’s hand curl around his arm. He hissed at the sudden pain and she let go. Glancing down, he saw the cut on his arm that his adrenaline had managed to mask, but now it throbbed.
“We need to get this taken care of,” Carly said firmly, carefully avoiding the wound as she wrapped her hand around his arm. “Let’s go.” She tugged on his arm, not that it did any good as Danny glanced back at Jace lying there.
“Go, Danny,” Jake said, raising his voice.
“None of us need to be here,” Connor mentioned, his eyes scanning the area. “We’re already on thin ice with the Captain.”
Danny lingered, not wanting to run away from the scene of a crime, but also not wanting to be caught in the middle of it.
“Another day, Danny,” Carly’s voice had risen as the sirens became louder. “We should go. There’s no point in being here. He started it.”
Guilt held him back a minute longer, the old anger stirring inside of him, but a quick look at his friends convinced him this wasn’t the time or place.
“We should all go.” This time it was Jules’ quiet voice that broke though, jolting them into motion. Jake still looked reluctant, but at Addie’s urging he moved.
Danny headed for the driver’s side door and ran into Carly. She shook her head when he went to open the door.
“Sorry, gorgeous, you aren’t driving.”
He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut at her fierce look. He went around to the passenger side and slide in, careful to keep his blood from dripping onto the seats.
“I think the shirt is a lost cause,” he muttered, pulling up said shirt to check the cut on his side. Carly did a double take when she saw his exposed abs, but focused back on the road when Danny gave her an amused look.
“Where’s the nearest emergency room?” She asked, frowning as she glanced at him worriedly. “I should have asked Addie.”
“No,” he answered sharply to her bewilderment. He tempered his voice as he told her, “No hospitals. They’ll ask questions. Take me home. It’s not that bad.”
She wanted to argue, but his expression was determined and she was afraid he wouldn’t get out of the car if she did bring him to an emergency room.
“Fine,” she finally sighed. “Hopefully Wade has first aid supplies.” Danny leaned back against the seat, shutting his eyes once he was sure she wasn’t taking him to a hospital.
“He’s got an entire medical emergency kit. You’d be impressed,” he answered her, the lines on his face broadcasting how much pain he was actually in.
It wasn’t long before she’d gotten them back to the apartment and hurried around to open his door.
“I’m alright,” he said, climbing from the car and then almost falling to the ground. She managed to catch him under the shoulder, her slight build more of a crutch than actual help.
“I should get Wade,” she mentioned, taking a look at the stairs. If he could barely get out of the car, there was no way she’d get him up a flight of stairs on her own.
“I’m…”
“If you intend to say fine, then I’d rethink it,” Carly interrupted with a gasp. He’d leaned more of his weight on her by then and she’d begun to realize he’d lost more blood than she’d thought.
“Wade!”
“Damn,” Danny flinched at the volume of her sudden bellow. “How can someone so tiny make so much noise?” He wondered, propping himself on the car instead of using Carly. There was no way the entire city block hadn’t j
ust heard her, and the sound of a door squeaking proved it.
“Carly?” Wade questioned, flipping on the outside light. “What? Oh, shit.” Wade caught sight of Danny braced against his car and hurried down the steps.
He took the situation in at a glance and commented, “I liked that shirt.” Danny rolled his eyes as Carly hopped impatiently.
“We don’t have time for this. He’s bleeding to death,” she muttered, tucking herself under one of Danny’s arms. “Help me get him upstairs.”
“Bleeding to death might be an exaggeration,” Danny attempted to joke, but as the world swayed he was grateful for the additional support Wade offered.
“I probably shouldn’t ask the logical question, but why didn’t you take him to the hospital?” Wade grunted at Danny’s weight, their comparable heights making it awkward to support him.
“Well,” Carly started.
“Knife fight with an old friend,” Danny summarized, trying to help them as they made their way up the stairs in an odd three person shuffle.
“Ah, no cops.” Wade caught on immediately as he shifted to get them all inside. “Guess we’ll see how well I paid attention in my first aid classes.”
“You took first aid classes?” Carly asked in a bemused tone.
“Afraid so,” Wade answered, not offering any more information. “Put him in the kitchen. I don’t want him bleeding all over the furniture.”
“Your sympathy overwhelms me,” Danny managed to mutter, collapsing on the first chair he reached. He leaned back, more exhausted than he should have been from the short climb up the stairs.
“Get his shirt off so we can get him cleaned up,” Wade called as he headed to the bathroom for the first aid kit. Carly gave Danny an uncertain look, but came over as he struggled to lift his shirt.
“Here,” she said, her voice barely a murmur as she leaned into him. The curls she’d attempted to tame had loosened, some of them brushing her neck as she reached for his shirt. She tugged lightly, her small hands brushing his sides and he leaned forward to help her. She pulled on the shirt and he hissed as the fabric peeled away from a cut on his side.
Hidden Betrayals (The Hidden Series Book 4) Page 2