“Bitch!”
I laugh as I bend down to get in the car, ignoring the pained groan coming from Kaiden. “And you’re a tosser, but you don’t hear me whining like a little girl.”
“Really, Kai?” he asks when he gets in the car.
“Oh, like he can stop me.”
Kaiden looks at me through the rear-view mirror, his expression always so serious. “Can I trust you to keep your mouth shut?”
Oh shit. Where the fuck are we going?
“Like she won’t tell. This is a bad idea.”
“What’s a bad idea?” I ask, ignoring Grant’s moaning.
“You,” Grant snaps.
“Will you keep what happens tonight quiet? You can’t tell anyone.”
I shrug. “I’ve got no one to tell anyway, but sure. Anything beats going back to listen to Nova.”
“This is a mistake,” Grant warns as Kaiden begins to drive. He stops at the gate, and shares a look with Grant when they don’t open.
“What the fuck?” Grant whispers.
“Get down.”
“Who?” Grant asks, but I’m one step ahead, lying down on the seats and covering my body with the hoody I found next to me. Hopefully he can’t see through the open window, and it’s lucky the rest are tinted.
The security guard nervously steps up to the driver’s side. “I’m sorry, Mr Kingsley, but Miss Monroe called down and said not to let her niece out.”
“Do you see her here?” Kaiden asks, his tone lethal.
“Um, n-no. I’ll, u-um, let you go on with your evening.”
“Good,” Kaiden barks. “And if you ever stop me from leaving again, I’ll have you fired.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
When we drive off, I sit back up, watching Kaiden’s jaw harden.
“You really want to punch something right now, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Kaiden answers Grant.
Grant sighs. “Then let’s go.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
We pull up to an old warehouse after an hour of driving, the gravel road crunching under the tyres. I peek out the window, in awe at the scenery. There are cars everywhere, all of them looking like they cost a mint, all kitted out to the nines.
Holy shit!
What is this place?
“Where are we?” I ask, not caring which of the two answer. There’s an old rusty sign hanging from a chain, words missing; still, it’s clear it used to be a carpet factory.
“It used to be a carpet factory. It closed down years ago when the foundations collapsed on the outbuilding,” Kaiden answers, driving past all the cars parked out the front.
I’m confused when he keeps going, away from the building and up a long, spiral dirt road.
“Yeah, I can see that from the worn-out sign back there, but what is it now? Why are we here?”
“You’ll see,” he replies, pulling the car over to the side.
All right then. We’re back to being cryptic.
He holds the seat up so I can get out, and I run my hands down my arms at the chill brushing against them.
He eyes me for a moment before bending down into the backseat, wordlessly handing me a zip up jacket.
“Thanks,” I tell him quietly.
He doesn’t say anything, and goes to meet Grant at the back of the car. “Are you sure about this?”
“Grant,” Kaiden warns.
“If you get caught again, your granddad is going to disown you, man. You’ll lose everything you’ve worked hard to get. Your dad—”
“Grant!” Kaiden barks. “Not now.”
I blink innocently when they both turn around to face me. “Don’t mind me. I don’t understand all this cryptic shit anyway.”
Grant scoffs. “Bringing her is a big mistake.”
“I need the release,” Kaiden replies.
“I thought you got that earlier,” Grant bites out.
It takes us ten minutes to get to the building, and instead of going through the door, they move around the side, heading towards the back.
The noise is booming; people yelling and cheering fill the air. The smell of blood hits me, and it doesn’t take long to realise why. A guy younger than me walks past us, his face busted up and covered in blood.
When we step into the back, I take in a lungful of air, taken aback by how many people are here. There are more cars, more people, and a ditch dug into the dirt where a crowd of people are congregated.
Through the sea of people, I see a guy land a knockout blow to his opponent, and wince. Fucking hell. These guys are savage. Lads where I lived fought all the time, but it was nothing like this, nothing organised. I don’t know whether to be impressed or sick.
“Kai, my man, you racing tonight?” a guy with long, wavy blonde hair asks, clasping his hand with Kaiden’s before bumping his shoulder against his.
“Not tonight, Dane.”
Dane scans Kaiden’s expression before giving him a single nod. “You’re in luck. Remington is fighting tonight.”
Carter Remington?
Grant chuckles, happy about the news, and Kaiden’s lips twitch, like he’s happy about it too.
“When’s the race start?” Grant asks.
“Main race starts at eleven. We’ve had to change course since the fucking pigs keep trying to break us up.”
“You need to find a new location,” Kaiden tells him, his voice a warning.
Dane shrugs. “We know. We’re trying to find someone who wants to buy the land. Police can’t come on then, unless they have a warrant.”
Grant and Kaiden share a look. “We’ll talk about it.”
Dane grins. “Knew I could count on you two fuckers,” he says, before losing his smile. “Please tell me the twins aren’t here.”
Grant laughs. “No. We left them at home tonight.”
Dane visibly relaxes. “Thank fuck. Grey is here, and I think he’s looking for them.”
Kaiden’s jaw hardens. “If his girlfriend dropped her knickers for my brothers, that’s on her. They’re single. Is he fighting tonight?”
Dane grins. “Sure is. Want me to put you with him?”
Kaiden nods. “Yeah, save Carter for last.”
“All right,” he tells them, then his gaze comes to me, and a flirtatious grin spreads across his face. “Newbie?”
“Hands off,” Kaiden warns, something else in his tone now, something more lethal.
It takes Dane by surprise, and he nods, audibly swallowing. “Got it. See you later.”
The minute Dane walks away, Grant spins to face Kaiden. “Man, I’m not trying to be a nagging wife, but you heard him. The cops are onto him.”
“Go find a pussy to fuck and let me worry about the cops.”
Grant scrubs a hand through his hair. “All right.”
When he’s gone, I stand a little closer to Kaiden, pulling his jacket tighter around me. “You do this a lot?”
He looks down at me, his smoky green eyes watching me. “Fighting? No. But every now and then, I need the release.” I feel like he’s blaming me for that need. “Racing, however, I do every fortnight.”
“You seem popular,” I murmur, noticing the curious glances.
He ignores their stares. “They’re interested in my family’s money.”
“You mean your money?”
He clenches his jaw. “No. It’s not mine. I didn’t earn it.”
I nod, because I can understand that. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”
I shrug. “That’s fair,” I tell him, taking a deep breath. “Earlier, on the boat…”
“It was what it was.”
I roll my eyes at him. “That’s good to know, but that isn’t what I’m talking about. I meant Grant. He said my mum said something to his mum that caused her to drive in a storm. What did she say?”
He sighs, closing his eyes briefly. “We don’t know, but he’s spent all his life hearing how your mum killed his
. He grew up to hate you.”
I think about that for a minute. “And you?”
“My mum isn’t the mum I remember. She has good days and bad days, but she’s spent most her life popping prescription pills and staying at spas because of something your mum did to her. I resented you.”
“Because I took your mum away?”
“Yes. No. Fuck!” he says, running his hand over his face. “It’s fucking ridiculous when said like that, but it’s been hard for us.”
I snort. “You don’t know the meaning of hard. It sucks. It really does suck that he lost his mum, that you lost yours to drugs. But I never had a mum. I had a roommate that brought back men so she could get her next fix or get some money to get her next fix. I had to constantly sleep with one eye open, sometimes not at all because I was scared one of her boyfriends would try to get into bed with me again. No one at school wanted to be friends with me once they found out who my mum was. We didn’t have food. And until I moved into Nova’s, I had never owned anything new. I lived in a mouldy flat with no carpets, wallpaper peeling off the walls, and where everyone inside was a drug addict or a prostitute. I’m not making anyone’s life hell for her choices. So please don’t tell me it was hard. Ever.”
I storm off, angry all over again. A hand grips my arm, pulling me back. I don’t struggle, not wanting to draw attention to us.
I let him drag me towards the building. We walk into a darkened alley, heading to the end, which is blocked off. There’s no light, no people, just us.
“Why are we down here?”
He doesn’t speak. Instead, he grabs my face and kisses me.
Damn him and his fucking kisses.
I kiss him back, because that seems to be what I do now. Give in to him. He slowly pulls back, breathing hard.
“You weren’t meant to be you,” he whispers.
“Me?” I whisper back, in a haze.
“You represented everything that was wrong with our families. When we heard you were coming, we couldn’t let you stay. My mum’s broken. I don’t know how she’d react if she found out you’re here. And you’ve seen Grant’s reaction.” He slams his fist against the wall. “Our dads… They aren’t good men. My dad is an even worse husband. He uses my mum. He uses her for her name and her fortune, even though he comes from wealth himself. My grandfather is old-fashioned. He doesn’t care that his daughter is broken, that he’s using him. He never had a son, so Royce is that son. My granddad on my dad’s side is just as bad; money hungry, even though they have plenty. I’m all my brothers have. I couldn’t let you jeopardise that.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask for my mum to die. I didn’t force her to do whatever it was she did back then to cause everyone to hate her. But I’m sorry, she isn’t entirely to blame. She can’t be the only one guilty. Your mum, Grant’s mum… they both got upset enough to believe whatever she told them. Have you ever thought about that?”
“I know. I don’t know what to believe anymore. But I’m sorry—I’m sorry I treated you like shit.”
“You treated me like a whore. Your brothers groped me, made me believe they were going to rape me, and don’t even get me started on what Grant did to me.” I try to sound light, teasing, but the resentment is still there. I can forgive the twins; their goofiness made up for it, but Grant… I’ll never be able to trust Grant, even if he gave me the chance to.
His phone begins to ring, breaking the moment. He sighs, pulling his phone out. “Yeah?”
“Where the fuck are you? Dane is looking for you. It’s about to start.”
“Coming,” Kaiden answers Grant, ending the call without a goodbye.
I go to leave the darkened alley, but Kaiden stops me. I glance over my shoulder at him. “Stay with me.”
“Where else am I going to go?” I ask dryly.
“No, I mean stay the night with me.”
“What?” I ask, shocked.
“After the fight, when we go back—stay at mine,” he says, and my heart races. “You don’t want Nova to corner you, do you?”
“Um, sure… okay. I mean, to avoid Nova.”
“Let’s go,” he orders, squeezing past me.
I blink, wondering if that really just happened. “Wait!” I call out.
“Yeah?”
“Whatever this is between us, I need you to keep it quiet. People can’t know.”
He turns around before he reaches the exit. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly.”
He chuckles under his breath. “I’m good with that, but you have to be the first girl who doesn’t want to announce to the world she’s been with me.”
“I’m not most girls.”
He eyes darken. “I’m getting that.”
My stomach flutters at the husky tone in his voice. I want to grab him, kiss him, do other things with him, because his body was made to worship.
I shake the lustful thoughts from my mind when he turns around, heading out of the alley.
I take in a deep breath, following him out. I try to prepare myself for what I’m about to watch, but a face I recognise is standing in the crowd, looking back at me with a calculating expression.
Carter Remington looks to where Kaiden is heading, before coming back to me, a grin spreading across his face. He winks, and all I can do is stick my middle finger up at him. He mouths something, but I look away, heading towards the direction Kaiden walked.
I lick my lips when he rips his top off, jumping into the pit and landing on his feet.
Fucking hell, that was sexy.
A guy bigger than Kaiden steps up to the edge, his ripped body already out on show.
Wow! Does he eat babies for breakfast?
He jumps into the pit just as Dane jumps inside, stepping between the two. I move closer, pushing my way through bodies so I can get a clear view. Kaiden’s gaze meets mine, and he does something out of character. He winks.
“You know the rules. You don’t leave the pit until one of you taps out or there’s a knockout. No weapons,” Dane yells. “Are you ready, Grey?”
Grey nods, and when Dane turns to Kaiden, he doesn’t look away from Grey, his intense stare burning through him. He looks lethal, deadly.
Dane smacks them both on the shoulder, before stepping back and dropping the white flag in his hand to the floor. He climbs out of the pit, his blonde hair falling down his back.
I drift my attention back to Kaiden, and immediately I’m taken aback by what I’m seeing. I didn’t think he had a chance. Grey’s size and muscle is bigger than Kaiden’s, but Kaiden has the upper hand, dodging Grey’s fists as he attempts to grab him.
Kaiden ducks under his arm, landing a blow to his stomach and knocking the wind out of him. He uses the distraction to punch him repeatedly in the face, blood spraying from Grey’s nose.
I grimace yet find the whole thing highly arousing. The way Kaiden’s body moves, each blow he lands on his opponent… it’s sexy.
Grey staggers backwards, holding his nose. He doesn’t look good, and Kaiden doesn’t have a mark on him. He brings his leg up, kicking Grey in the chest. He falls, dirt blowing around him as crashes into it.
I take another step forward, nearly falling into the pit. I’m used to seeing people fight. It happened on every corner, but this… this is something else entirely.
There’s no remorse in Kaiden’s expression when he looms over him, bending down on one knee and bringing his fist back, before punching Grey repeatedly in the face until he passes out.
The crowd goes wild, screaming and yelling.
“That’s a fucking record for Kingsley. Did you see how quick he went down?” a guy beside me says.
“I heard he pulls back at the fights, that he can knock someone out with one punch,” his friend says.
“Run! Pigs!”
Kaiden looks up from the pit, his gaze meeting mine, wide and panicked. He runs towards me, jumping up and grabbing my hand.
“We need to get out of he
re!” he shouts.
“What’s going on?”
Grant pushes through the crowd towards us. “We need to go. I can’t afford to get caught and neither can you,” he yells at Kaiden. “Police are everywhere.”
“Fuck!” Kaiden hisses.
I grip his hand tightly and look around as we run through the sea of people. Carter once again falls into sight, a smug grin on his face as he waves his phone at me.
He didn’t? He called the police!
“Fuck,” Grant whispers, suddenly stopping. We bump into him, nearly falling to the floor.
“What?” Kaiden asks, looking around him. “Shit.”
I look too, seeing a group of officers walking towards Kaiden’s car. It’s barely visible, but a few more steps and they will see it.
A plan forms in my mind, and I let go of Kaiden’s hand. “Go!”
“What?” he bites out, looking at me in confusion.
“Go.”
Grant rolls his eyes. “We don’t have fucking time to deal with you.”
“Fuck you,” I snap. “I’m going to distract them. Call Nova if I get caught.”
Kaiden and I share a moment, something passing through his eyes. Something must hit him, because he reaches out to stop me. I sidestep him, running into the forest, away from the direction of the car. “Hide the drugs! Hide them,” I yell from the top of my lungs, keeping an eye on the group of cops. They hear me, and all begin to run towards me. I knew I could trust using drugs to get them moving.
“We’re the police. Stop right there!”
I snort, wondering if that actually worked. I keep running until my foot gets caught in some roots.
“Shit!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I look up from my cot, pitying the cop in front of me. “You really need more funding. You live in a town full of rich people and you have beds like this?” I could have been sleeping in a king-size bed, either at Nova’s, or at Kaiden’s. I’m still not sure if I would have stayed with him or not, but I would rather have my bed back at mum’s than this cot. It’s painful.
PC Sullivan shakes his head at me. “It’s not a hotel,” he states dryly. “Your aunt is here. You could have said that before, rather than telling us she’s your mum.”
Wrong Crowd (Kingsley Academy Book 1) Page 15
