Beautiful Soldier: A Dark High School Romance (The Heights Crew Book 3)

by E. M. Moore

“He told me he wouldn’t open his mouth because he believes in his cause. He said we’d have to kill him because he’s not giving us anything.”

  “It might come down to that,” Johnny says, glancing up at me through feathered lashes. His light blue eyes stand out, almost like a spotlight in the grimy room around us. This room is definitely an interrogation room. The tile, the stripped walls. Hell, there’s even a drain in the middle of the floor. The Crew isn’t playing around. The safe house is as well stocked as the tower. Maybe this is what the basement of the tower looks like.

  “We got a crew checking out the tower right now. Whoever this guy belongs to, they set off explosives, but it was a piss-poor job. The bark was bigger than its bite. We’ll call in the builders to check the foundation, but it’s probably still livable. The team is also bringing the device here, so I can take a look at it. I might be able to find some clues as to who placed it.”

  I tell him my thoughts on the attack being deliberate based on him coming home and his nickname. A small smile crosses his face. “I thought of that too, babe. It wouldn’t surprise me.”

  The sound of clothing ripping splits the air. Johnny turns, and we both find Magnum in front of the asshole, ripping the shirt from his body. He’s inspecting a tattoo on his right side.

  He rears back, punching him in the face and then turns to stalk toward us. The other guards, once again, close ranks to shield us from the captive’s eyes.

  Mag drags his fingers over his scruff. A honey brown permeates his irises with a sour look of concentration. When he joins our small circle, he says, “He’s got a dragon tattoo.”

  He’s talking to Johnny, but he’s looking at me. My stomach twists. That’s the second guy today who had a dragon tattoo. I wonder if Mag thinks this guy is in the same gang his cousin is, and if so, why his cousin would try to “help” us. Or even fake it, when hours later, someone else is trying to take us out.

  “Can we be sure?” Johnny asks, not needing Mag to confirm his suspicions. “Dragon tattoos are popular.”

  “I think we need to have a talk,” Mag says, lowering his voice. “The others can handle this guy overnight. He’s not budging, but give him a couple of days down here, and we’ll see if he changes his tune. There’s no point in killing him right away.”

  Johnny’s gaze darkens as he looks back at the guy who tried to hurt me. For a moment, I wonder if he’s going to be as reckless as his father and just whip his gun out and shoot the guy. He doesn’t. He turns on his heel, grabs my hand, and leads me up the stairs with Magnum following close behind.

  My bare feet scruff against the cement in the upstairs barn area. Right as I step outside, I barely get two paces before Magnum scoops me up in his arms and walks me over the gravel driveway.

  My face flushes a terrible crimson that I hope doesn’t ruin everything. I meet Johnny’s gaze as he looks at us, but the expression on his face is indecipherable.

  As soon as we get to the porch, Magnum lowers me to the well-kept floor, and Johnny once again puts his hand in mine without a word.

  It might be me, but I think we’re making progress. Johnny is either lessening his natural caveman tendencies, or he just really likes Magnum. Both work for me.

  The clock in the open plan living room reads four in the morning. Soon, the horizon will light up over the trees of this canopied forest. It’s been a long night, but I’m with Magnum. This needs to be said. How can Johnny make decisions if he doesn’t have all the information?

  Johnny sits on the couch. I go to sit next to him, but he pulls me to his lap, arms wrapping around my middle. He sets my feet up to the couch and starts rubbing the dirt and tiny stones from my feet before massaging my heel.

  Mag sits opposite us in a chair just beside the fireplace. He’s only a few feet from us, and normally, I would say he seems so far away with Johnny in the room, but right now, it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like we’re all on the same page, which gives me even more hope.

  Mag runs his hands through his hair. “I kept something from you, and I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was relevant, but now that it is, I’m making sure you know everything.”

  Johnny stiffens underneath me, and it’s so subtle I doubt Mag even notices.

  I silently cheer Magnum on, urging him with my eyes to just tell Johnny. Underneath his hard facade, he’s a decent human. He may do things for the Crew that are decidedly indecent, but that’s not who he truly is. I know it in my heart.

  “Earlier, when I went to check on Farmingham’s body, Cole was there.”

  Johnny’s hand stills on my feet. “Cole?”

  Mag nods. “He didn’t tell me anything I wouldn’t have been able to find out for myself, but he acted as if he was there to help, telling me about the Runts in Farmingham’s pocket.”

  “Like you wouldn’t have checked his pockets anyway…”

  “Exactly.”

  “So, how does this intersect with the guy in the barn?”

  Magnum presses his tongue against his teeth. He doesn’t look over at me, but I feel like he wants to. “They both have a dragon tattoo. His was on his neck. I didn’t ask him about it, and he didn’t offer up any information either, but it just seems like too much of a coincidence right now.”

  “And the Dragons are, what?” Johnny pinches his nose in thought. “Three? Four hours away?”

  Mag nods. “There are different chapters in a few of the surrounding states, but the closest one is about three and a half hours away.”

  Johnny shifts on the seat, holding me close to him. “We’ve never had a problem with them before.”

  “It’s hard to know what’s going on, but Cole showing up was a red flag. He knew I was going to check out the body, so he beat me to it.”

  “Do you think he killed him?”

  Matter-of-factly, Mag answers, “I can’t say yes, and I can’t say no. Is he playing the Gregory angle? Is it really the Dragons? Cole knows I’m not stupid. Part of me believes he really was trying to help, even though—”

  “He was never smart,” Johnny says, sighing. He takes a deep breath. “You’re aware there’s a kill order out on him.”

  I try to relax even though the way Johnny said it is threatening. Accusing.

  “Anyone who defects is shot on sight.”

  “I know,” Mag says, straightening in the chair. He faces him like a man. He’s not cowering or shying away from the subject. He made a decision, and he’s dealing with the consequences...on his own. He’s wisely keeping Brawler and I out of the story.

  “Why didn’t you do it?”

  “He’s just...dumb,” Mag says. “He didn’t pose a threat. He wasn’t even armed.”

  “And he’s your cousin.”

  “And he’s my cousin,” Mag solidifies.

  Johnny chews on his lip, and the palpable tension in the room beats its own rhythm. With each ticking second of the clock, it ratchets higher and higher.

  For Mag’s part, he doesn’t look disturbed. A lesser man would. He just admitted to his gang leader that he kept vital information secret. He put family above Crew.

  What Johnny does with this information will tell us a lot about how his mind works.

  “Kyla, can you go upstairs please?”

  I don’t even register the words at first. It isn’t until Johnny places my feet softly on the carpet that what he said actually seeps through my brain. I want to balk, but I have no reason to, and I also don’t want to get Johnny in a pissy mood now that he potentially has something on Magnum.

  “We’ll sleep in the master bedroom tonight. Why don’t you lie down, so I can talk to Magnum alone?”

  Johnny squeezes my hand lightly as I stand, his reassuring hand on the small of my back. I lock gazes with Magnum, but the look I receive back tells me nothing. He’s just empty. Waiting.

  I walk toward the beautiful ornately carved banister and glance back. They’re still locked in a staring match. Apprehension crowds me like a stocked subway train with no room
to breathe. This is a moment on the precipice. I don’t even know if Magnum has ever defied an order before, or what Johnny usually does to people who do, though I can take a guess. If I was lining up a shot on a dartboard, I’d aim for the big circle that says, He makes them pay.

  Before I’m caught staring, I move to the top of the stairs and stop. I sit, making sure I’m out of their view, but can still hear them when they begin talking again.

  “You know what I’m supposed to do, right?” Johnny asks.

  “Punish me,” Magnum says. “That’s at your discretion.”

  The sofa creaks, and my heart lodges in my throat. Images flicker by of Johnny pulling out a gun and shooting Mag point blank in the face just like Big Daddy K did to Dunnegan and Roza. I’m on the point of thudding down the stairs and calling out to him to stop.

  Only, it turns out I don’t have to. “When someone has a secret, that makes them friends.”

  Magnum doesn’t say anything.

  “When two people have secrets on each other, that makes them allies.”

  “I’ve heard the terms.”

  I smile because I’m fairly sure Magnum said almost the same thing to me once.

  Johnny blows out a breath. “We were talking before Kyla woke up, and you told me I could talk to you.”

  “Anything,” Mag says.

  “I was once in your position.” Johnny’s voice sounds off, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard the same tone come out of his mouth before. He’s sad, confused, and lost. Everything all wrapped up at once that what comes out is a tenor so lonely it makes my heart break. “I found one of my family members before. Someone who defected. I didn’t kill them either.” There’s a long pause before he speaks again. “I wanted to, and I almost hate myself for it now.”

  “Who was it?” Mag asks.

  “My mom.”

  My body trembles with the ache to go to them. To both of them. His mom got away, so yeah, she defected. He told me as much earlier, but he didn’t tell me he’d found her. He’d only told me he hated her for it.

  “She was living with a new family. A new life. They had a house in a posh neighborhood just on the outskirts of a quaint town. It was perfect…and I was bitter.”

  “That would’ve been a lot to take in, man,” Magnum says.

  “I left her there. To lead her new life. I walked away.” The ticking of the clock extends. “But it didn’t matter because he killed her, anyway.”

  I gasp. I’m so thrown by his admittance that I don’t cover my mouth until it’s too late. Then, I’m just sitting there with my hand over my face, my lip tucked between my teeth.

  “My dad found her, and he wasn’t as nice as me,” Johnny continues. “He killed her. I just want you to know that I know how that feels, and I would never do that to anybody. Your secret is safe with me.”

  My heart drums so loud it’s like there’s a concert going on in my chest cavity. I pull myself up to shaky feet and retreat into the master bedroom, sinking down into the insanely comfortable mattress and curling up into a ball.

  That bastard killed his own wife. He killed his son’s mom.

  He deserves everything coming to him.

  14

  When Johnny finally makes it to the master bedroom, I pretend to be asleep. I don’t want to look him in the eye and pretend I don’t know anything. I spend the time lying next to him getting my game face together. A time will come when I will ask about his mom, but it won’t be right now. He can tell me when he’s ready, and besides, we have current things to worry about right now.

  The next morning, I slip off of the mattress and head into the en suite shower. Getting ready for the day when you don’t know what you’re going to face is awkward. At least when I was at my aunt and uncle’s, I knew I’d have to deal with petty bitches and guys who think their shit doesn’t stink at the prep school. In the Heights, everything is a toss-up. It could be school, it could be training, it could be getting fucking shot at.

  Regardless, since it’s called a safe house, I’m hoping for an easier existence here. However, I don’t know if that will be the case considering we’re holding someone captive against their will. Someone who’d tried to take me out yesterday. I have a feeling it won’t be a quiet, reserved day in the middle of the woods.

  I leave the shower followed by a billow of steam. Tying the towel around my chest, I walk into the enormous bedroom to find Johnny sitting on the edge, shoulders tight with his head hung low. He looks as if he’s carrying the weight of the world. I move to him and thread my fingers through his hair. “Hey...”

  He peers up at me. He takes a moment to watch me like I’m his favorite work of art. He doesn’t say anything, just roams his gaze all over me. “I don’t know if I said this before, but this is my favorite time with you. In the mornings when we haven’t had to deal with the day yet.”

  A smile peels my lips apart. “And what is today going to bring?” I ask. “More interrogation? Bloodshed? Clandestine meetings?”

  He chuckles. It’s a deep sound that catches me off guard. Surely, I’ve had to have heard him laugh before, right? Maybe this time is different. “Do you think I have clandestine meetings?”

  “Oh, all the time,” I whisper. “When I’m at school or training.”

  He tangles his fingers with mine and brings my hand to his face, brushing a soft kiss against my semi-sore knuckles. I got a couple of good shots in on the guy yesterday, so it’s no surprise. A grimace crosses his face. At first, I think it’s because he’s seen how red my knuckles are, but instead, he says, “My dad’s coming back today. He wants to see this guy in person.” He slides his gaze to the nightstand. “I heard this morning that the damage to the tower was inconsequential.”

  My eyebrows shoot up. “Inconsequential? The building shook, Johnny.”

  He smirks. “It’s rated to shake, babe. It’s meant for shit like that. We just didn’t want to go there last night because of the shooting, and in case they did some permanent damage to the building’s structure. Being there when it decided to fall would be a terrible idea.”

  “So, we’re going back to the tower?” I ask, hesitation whipping through me.

  Johnny shakes his head. “Not yet. Some of my dad’s men will take the guy to the tower, wait for him to return. I might have to sneak out to be there when that happens, but I’ll come back.”

  A flicker of hope passes through me. “We’re not going back to the tower?”

  He snakes his arms around me. The knot in my towel loosens with the contact. His gaze flicks to it and then back up to my face. “You really like it here, huh?”

  “Am I that easy to read?”

  “Not usually, actually.” He locks his light blue eyes on me, and a shiver crawls up my spine. “I’m happy you like it though. This is one of my favorite places.” A distant look flashes in his eyes. “I’d live here if I could, but we have to live in the Heights. We can’t just stroll in and expect people to respect us when we’re not even living in the city we control.”

  “Well, it’s not like you’re truly living like everyone else anyway,” I tell him. I get his logic, but it isn’t as if he’s living in the threadbare apartments everyone else deals with. The tower is posh. It’s a mansion compared to the holes everyone else lives in.

  “Yeah, but that’s what makes our life so enticing. People see what we have and then they want it. They recruit in during high school. The dream is to work their way up through the ranks. For some it doesn’t happen, but for others... Look at Bat,” Johnny says, animated now. “He was just a nobody until we took him off the street. Now he’s already made something of himself even though he hasn’t even graduated yet.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek. I don’t think my mind has gone to how deep Oscar is in yet. On his own admission, he joined the Crew because everyone was kicking his ass for leaving and coming back. He’s involved in a lot of the important meetings, and he’s worried about the rest of the recruits like he’s the one who look
s after them. Just what does Oscar do for the Crew? Johnny’s insinuating he’s kind of important. I press my luck and ask him. “What does Oscar do?”

  “You want to talk shop?”

  I point at myself. “Not a Kardashian, remember?”

  Johnny chuckles again. “This and that,” he says, intentionally vague, which only piques my interest further.

  I act like it doesn’t bother me though. Rubbing the back of my neck, I ask, “Are you going to tell your dad about Magnum’s cousin?”

  Johnny pulls me to the side and stands. “No, I’m not going to do that. What he did was stupid. Now it’s not only his ass on the line, but mine too.”

  Already, a barrier starts to descend between Johnny and me. Maybe it was all the Crew talk, but the guy who chuckled a couple of minutes ago, now has frown lines creasing his mouth.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him.

  This makes him pull up short. “For what?”

  “Ruining your favorite time of the day.”

  His jaw ticks as he glances over his shoulder. Whatever he sees there makes him come to me again. “You aren’t ruining anything. If nothing else, you’re the bright spot in all of this.”

  I give him a hesitant smile. “If my opinion matters, I think it’s a good thing that you trust Magnum and he trusts you. You need to open up to people...” I drop off the part that should’ve said, …who aren’t your father. He should trust people who don’t make him pay for it later.

  “You like the other guys here, don’t you?”

  I swallow. The lump in my throat is so big it practically makes my esophagus walls burn. “They’re good guys.”

  I desperately want to tell him he has a whole family waiting for him. People who will accept him even if he isn’t Johnny Rocket of the Heights Crew. At the same time, I know it’s too soon. A red flush creeps up my neck. “It was Oscar and Brawler who I was talking about before. They’re living in these small ass apartments. Their family life isn’t great, and I just wondered what they—and others—see when they get a glimpse into your life.”

  “They should see hope,” Johnny says. “It might take hard work to get here, but trust me, if it weren’t for the Crew, Rawley Heights would be a joke. A lawless land of the poor and decrepit. That’s what it was like before the Crew. The Crew brought jobs and a solid foundation to the Heights. The economy is booming compared to what it was.”