by E. M. Moore
“Mag and I aren’t done.”
“Oh, but you are,” I say. “Magnum’s taking me to my PT appointment for my neck.”
“I’m coming with you,” Johnny says, not even looking at me. He still has Mag pressed up against the door.
“Don’t you have to deal with Candy’s? We’ll be fine.”
Johnny finally turns toward me. He’s shirtless in a pair of low-slung sweats, and if he just wore that forever, I’d be the happiest woman alive. He lets Mag go and comes toward me. Reaching out his hand, he pulls me against him as soon as I put my hand in his. He turns me so my back is facing Magnum and then takes a handful of my ass. “That’s why Jiko is here. He can handle it. Your appointment is important.”
This is about more than my appointment, but it will also be a good test to see how Johnny will get along with the rest of the guys. Right now, it’s not looking too good.
“Just let me get dressed.” He pauses and glances back at Magnum. “Do we have time to do that, Dad?” Johnny sneers.
I smirk, hiding my face in Johnny’s neck. He’s trying to throw Mag’s age at him, but what he doesn’t realize is that his maturity is sexy as fuck.
Mag doesn’t answer aloud, but Johnny kisses my temple and swaggers his way into the bedroom. I turn, hesitantly. Mag glares daggers into Johnny’s back. It’s a look I’ve never seen him give the heir to the Crew before. “So, um...Johnny knows,” I say. Stating the obvious is kind of my specialty.
Mag barely lets the words get out of my mouth before he yanks me toward him and winds his arms around me. “Did he hurt you? Are you okay?” His gruff voice sends shivers down my spine.
“He didn’t hurt me. He was surprisingly cool with it. Way cooler than he was with you.”
Mag shrugs. “I deserve it.”
I pull away to stare into his hazel-green eyes. Specks of gold greet me. “Do you really think I’m all your saviors?”
“I think you’re that and so much fucking more.”
His words are like a tractor beam leading me forward until my lips press against his. He’s hesitant at first, but when I don’t give him the opportunity to pull away, he throws himself into it, kissing me nice and slow like we’re basking in our own private spot in heaven.
Moments later, a shuffle sounds behind us, and Mag tears me away from him. I reach up to touch my swollen lips, knowing Johnny saw that. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt any of them. That’s the last fucking thing I want to do with all of this. Is it naïve to think this is all some divine intervention though? I wasn’t supposed to come to the Heights. These guys definitely don’t fucking belong in the Heights. Yet, somehow, by pure accident of circumstances, we’re thrown together. Five lost people. Five humans with misguided morals and pasts. What if coming together saves all of us?
I pull my big girl panties on and glance over at Johnny. “Ready?”
Determination dawns in his gaze. “I’m always ready when it comes to you, babe. Let me just grab my gun.”
My eyes widen as Johnny goes into the closet to pull out his piece. I never know where he’s hidden the thing. I swear he tucks it away in different places all over the apartment, and I don’t know if it’s on purpose or if it’s just something he does.
“Ready,” Johnny says, brandishing the Glock with a glint in his ice-blue eyes.
Jesus fuck. I may have just declared war between a bunch of guys who are literally weapons in and of themselves.
Despite their spat, Johnny and Mag talk business on the way to my PT appointment, and I’m glad they can put their personal differences aside and still work on Crew shit. With how Johnny acted this morning, I wasn’t sure if he would just fire Magnum, but that’s in the same box as killing him. He can’t do anything to the guys without hurting me, and he won’t do that.
Sly thing, isn’t he?
Johnny traces his thumb over the skin of my hand. “Detective Reynolds was probably following you as much as he was Kyla yesterday. You did punch him.”
Mag’s jaw ticks. “He knew he wouldn’t get anywhere with that, though. No cameras, and everyone in that hall would’ve taken my side.”
“Wasn’t there another police officer there, too?” I ask, trying to remember. “Yeah, he handcuffed Oscar.”
Mag smirks. “Apparently, he’s someone who thinks Reynolds is a fucking dick. He also has a brother in the Crew, so...”
I shake my head at how far the Crew’s reach is. Well, I already knew they had the cops in their pockets. Obviously not Reynolds, but they have to have at least someone higher up in their pockets for Big Daddy K to get away with my parents’ murder among the others. “Who’s on our payroll?” I ask as discreetly as I can. This shouldn’t seem weird since I am one of them now. Mag meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. I can’t decipher his look, but I push on anyway. “In the police, I mean. You have people turning a blind eye to illegal activities. Magnum shot someone and didn’t get in trouble for it. Like, who is it? It must be someone big.”
Mag clears his throat. “Technically, I got out of that because their phony witness disappeared.”
Oh, right. I forgot about that.
Johnny stops moving his thumb over my hand. “That’s one of the most closely guarded secrets my father has.”
“So, you don’t even know?” I peek at him, finding that hard to believe. I thought Johnny was involved in everything the Crew did.
“I have my suspicions, but no, I don’t know.”
The finality of his words makes me pause. It doesn’t really have any effect as to why I’m here. I’m here to kill Big Daddy K and get the fuck out. With my guys. I don’t care what happens to the Crew after that. My beef was never with the whole Crew, just the fucker who took my parents from me. I do think it’s crazy that they can get away with so much stuff though.
Mag pulls up to the PT office. I stare at a building filled with windows. They’re not see-through though. They’re the kind that just reflect back whatever is in front of them. So, right now, our car’s profile is mirrored back to me. “I hope this place is better than the last.”
Johnny turns toward me, brows pulling together. “What?”
“Those guys hated me,” I say, actually dreading walking into this new place. I don’t want another repeat of that PT asshole. “Dicks.”
“Who was it?” Johnny grinds out.
I turn to him and pat him on the leg. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over now. Plus, I can’t really blame him. He thinks I killed a little girl.” Even though the “evidence” against me was shotty at best. Reynolds just wanted to peg me for something, and whoever put my prints on the gun, handed me to him on a silver platter.
“I’m going in with you,” Johnny says.
Johnny throws the door open, and I get out after him. I give Mag a small smile as he frowns. As soon as we close the car door behind us though, Mag whips the car into a parking spot and joins us.
Johnny’s whole body locks up, and he squeezes my hand tighter.
Though I walk hand-in-hand with Johnny into the PT place, I’m with both of them, which makes me that much happier. No one will treat me like shit with both guys by my side.
A nurse waits for us as soon as we get inside. She’s all smiles, which immediately puts me at ease. She, however, looks at Mag and Johnny with wide eyes like she’s impressed I have such a brood of men surrounding me.
First, she takes me into a separate room where I get some x-rays, and then I’m escorted out in their hideous gown to a private PT room where Johnny and Mag are already sitting. Johnny has my shirt and bra in his hands, and I bite my lip to keep from thinking how domestic this all looks. It’s like I’m here with my husband or boyfriend, except that there are two boyfriends and not just one. Oh, and my other two boyfriends are sitting at home with probably zero idea Johnny knows what’s going on. Unless Mag has told them.
I sit on the table, and we don’t wait long. A doctor in his mid-forties strides in. His silver-streaked gray hair is
handsome, silhouetting a boyish face. He shakes hands with me first, without the added extra grip strength of showy masculinity that I appreciate. Then, he shakes hands with Johnny and Magnum. Johnny introduces himself as my boyfriend, leaving Magnum to say friend with a scowl. He wants to say he’s my boyfriend, too, but what we’re doing is all so different from how others walk around. We don’t need to be drawing added attention to ourselves.
“Let’s see what we got here,” the PT guy says. He opens my gown in the back and peers at my spine. He thinks for a moment. The mirror in front of me shows the furrow of his brows. “You know what, let me have you sit in a chair for a second.”
Magnum immediately jumps out of his stool and rolls it toward us. The PT guy grabs my hand to help me off the table and then I sit, giving him a better view of my neck. His hands massage into my spine, asking me to tell him when it hurts. When I don’t say anything at all, he asks me the last time it did hurt. “It aches every now and then,” I tell him.
Two short raps sound on the door, and Johnny jumps into an offensive stance as it opens. The nurse on the opposite end screams as Johnny fills her line of vision.
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. Johnny apologizes profusely, giving her the lame excuse that she startled him, but I saw his hand dip into the waistband of his pants. He was two seconds away from pulling a gun at the intrusion, and I’m not sure Magnum was far behind him.
The nurse giggles warily and hands the doctor a folder. He quickly shoos her out of the room and then places my x-rays on the wall, flipping on a light so they illuminate from behind. He studies the pictures for a few minutes while we all look, too, acting as if we know what we’re looking at. I mean, they look good to me. I see vertebrae that move into a neck that holds my skull. That’s good, right?
“Huh,” he says. He turns, his finger pressed against his lips as he regards me. “Honestly, you seem fine. You don’t have much pain. Your x-rays look good. I asked your previous PT place if they could send over your previous images. The ones they sent were from when the accident occurred. You say you’ve been going to the specialist all along?” he asks.
“Yes. When I moved back here, they’d just started this electric shock therapy, as well as the exercises I was doing previously.”
The PT guy shrugs. “What they did worked.” He turns to peek at the x-rays again. “What I see here, and based on my examination today, I don’t believe you need to see a physical therapist, Kyla.” He launches into a spiel about doing the exercises they showed me if my pain ever flares up again, including what kind of pain medicine I can take when—or even if—that happens.
“Are you sure?” Johnny interrupts.
“Quite sure,” PT guy says. “Your girlfriend is well. That doesn’t mean you can’t come see me again if you have increased pain that lasts a few days. That might be a trigger that you’re regressing, but as of right now, no, I don’t see a reason to treat her. I’m honestly surprised they treated her for so long.”
Mag and Johnny share a hard look. The doctor shakes all of our hands again and walks out the door. In his absence, I release a breath. Johnny hands me my things, and I turn away from Magnum to put my bra on. Not that I wouldn’t mind getting dressed in front of him, but the next time he sees my breasts, I’d rather it be because we were two seconds from jumping in the sack together.
I pull my shirt on next just as Mag says, “Reynolds.”
“Huh?” I ask, turning.
“Reynolds,” he says again, moving his glance from Johnny to me. “Reynolds kept you in PT so he could keep an eye on you. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Fucking asshole,” Johnny spits.
“No wonder why those guys hated me,” I muse. I imagined it was because they saw me on the news or read my file or because they’d been briefed on who they were dealing with, but maybe the Crew isn’t the only group who has people in their pocket?
The police do too.
26
Johnny plants me on his lap in the backseat while Mag drives us to Jax and Finn’s boxing gym after the PT appointment. If anything, he’s being more touchy feely than usual, which is fine by me. Except, I don’t like knowing why he’s acting like that. It’s as if he’s trying to provoke Magnum, who, as always, is as cool as a cucumber. Johnny won’t be cracking that tough exterior anytime soon, try as he might.
Magnum pulls into a parking spot in front of the gym, and Johnny follows me out of the car. I turn to say goodbye, but I run right into his chest before backing up. “You’re not heading right to Candy’s?”
Johnny threads his fingers through mine with a small grin. “Jiko’s going to pick me up here, so Magnum can stay with you.”
“And that’s okay with you?” I ask, lifting a brow. It’s always been okay with Johnny that Magnum stays with me, but the dynamic has changed now. He’s been claiming his territory all day, but now he’s going to willingly leave me with him?
“Despite the fact that he should’ve fucking told me he’d grown feelings for you, I do trust him with you. Trust him to keep you safe, that is.” He watches Magnum as he walks around the side of the car toward the door. He doesn’t wait, almost as if he’s trying to give us some space. “It’s odd though,” Johnny muses, the cute little crease in his lip showing up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mag with a girl before.”
“He stays pretty busy keeping you safe,” I tell him, reminding him of Magnum’s loyalties. Nothing’s changed. Well, other than the fact that I have a few boyfriends. But I mean, no other aspect has changed. The guys are as they always were. He doesn’t have to worry that Magnum will act differently.
A pinch forms between Johnny’s brows. “Or he’s gay,” he offers.
I press my lips together. His desperate attempt at trying to steer me away from his friend is comical. “If he’s gay, I should hang out with more gay men because he’s a hell of a good kisser.”
Johnny reaches down and squeezes my ass to the point it’s almost painful. “I deserved that one,” he grits out.
“And more,” I say teasingly, wiggling out of his punishing grip. I pull on his hand, and we walk toward the glass doors. Johnny surveys the surrounding area, no doubt looking for Reynolds. He’s extra pissed about what just transpired at the PT office, even telling me he’s going to take me to see the Crew’s doctor to make sure they didn’t do anything to me that they shouldn’t have.
I don’t think they did, though the electrical pulse therapy could’ve been a way to stick it to me, but I don’t think it gave me any lasting damage. Who knows if I was even seeing actual PT qualified medical personnel? They could’ve been random people in Reynolds’ pocket.
When we walk into the gym, Mag has his bug detector out, sweeping the area while Finn watches him, clearly impressed. The badass bodyguard then orders everyone to take out their phones, using his device to check them, too. Oscar and Brawler are used to the treatment, but Jax and Finn haven’t been subjected to this yet. While Finn asks a bunch of questions, Jax just looks pissed as all hell.
Yay. This ought to be a fun day training when Mr. Morose is even grumpier.
Johnny walks me right up to the group, a smile on his face. Oscar and Brawler immediately look on edge. He threads his arm around my waist and teases the area just above my waistband. Then, he slips two fingers just under the top edge, massaging my skin just over my hip bone.
“I’d like to talk with these assholes for a couple minutes,” Johnny says, giving Jax and Finn a warning glare. The look in his eyes and the tenor in his voice are at complete odds with the grin on his face. I don’t know what he has planned, but I’m a little nervous to say the least.
“Cool,” Finn says. “Just call for us when you’re ready, Princess.”
He gives me a wink, and Johnny immediately turns toward me, gaze narrowing as if he’s wondering if Finn’s made it on my whore list. Honestly, he wouldn’t be a bad addition looks-wise, but just fucking no. I’m not adding guys to the list
because they’re handsome. I have a real connection with the four who are standing in front of me right now.
I give him a dubious look and move my shoe to press down on his foot, giving him a warning.
He shrugs as if he was only curious, but I could already tell the gears in his head were working overtime to see how he could take Finn out.
Brawler glares at the spot where Johnny’s touch meets my skin. I start to burn under the heat of his gaze. Johnny must notice, but he doesn’t give a fuck. If anything, he holds me tighter. “I just thought you all should know I’m aware of your shady asses, and if you think you’re going to steal my girl away from me, you’re even dumber than you look. She’s mine, and I’m fighting for her. All of her.”
Oscar takes the scene in, his dark eyes shadowed. Brawler actually growls though. A low hum in his throat that is mighty impressive.
“Got a problem with that, initiate?” Johnny asks, immediately pulling rank.
I step on his toe again. He can’t be pulling seniority on these guys. We’re all equal in this aspect.
Johnny only smirks. “Don’t worry. I’ll help my father pick out some of the best initiation tasks we’ve ever had.”
“Bring it,” Brawler says, not losing face at all. “I did all of this for her, and I’ll continue to do it all for her. You can throw whatever you want at me. Hell, you can even try to kill me—”
“No one’s killing anybody,” I say, answering that right off the bat.
“Look at you pathetic assholes,” Johnny says, mirth clear in his voice. “You all agreed to what? Share her?” He laughs, and my body locks up.
“Yeah, I guess maybe we should’ve claimed her and pushed her around a little first,” Oscar deadpans.
Johnny’s laughter cuts short, and the viciousness in his gaze cuts me. “Fuck you, Bat.”
Oscar steps up to him. “I mean this in the most disrespectful way possible. Just fuck right the fuck off.”
