SMITH (The Beckett Boys, Book One)

by Olivia Chase

  “Hey Caeli, where’s order eighty-seven?” one of those minions—Blake--screamed out.

  Uncle Billy’s three sons (Marvin, Blake and Devin) were every bit as awful as their dad, and they usually worked right alongside me at the restaurant.

  The restaurant was a popular spot not far from Bradley University, which meant that it was open late to get that drunk frat boy traffic.

  Fun times, especially for a girl working at two-thirty in the morning on a Friday night after the local bars shut down and all the drunk, horny and pissed off guys wandered in.

  But I’d have rather dealt with any drunken asshole over Billy’s three brats, especially today.

  Today had just been one thing after another.

  First of all, I’d gotten in a fight with my Dad when he’d showed up at my apartment and demanded the rent a week early.

  That’s what I got for renting from my folks, which I only did in the first place because otherwise the place would have sat empty and they already couldn’t make the payments as it was.

  Then I got rear-ended by some joker who’d tried to tell me we didn’t need to deal with the insurance companies, even though he dented my fender and broke my tail light and got his paint all over my car.

  And then I’d been busting my butt all shift long at the restaurant, because it had been nonstop busy and one of the other girls quit after Marvin had harassed her one too many times.

  I knew how she felt, even though they were my cousins. Harassing a family member wasn’t beneath them—nothing was.

  “Caeli, is eighty-seven up or not?” Blake shouted again.

  I was trying to get the large vanilla milkshake and put the plastic cover on it as he shouted at me. I wiped sweat from my forehead.

  “Coming up!” I called back, getting the cover on, finally, as I picked up the tray at the counter that was stacked with enough burger meat to choke an elephant.

  Marvin turned towards me and pointed to a rowdy table of guys sitting in the corner of the restaurant. “They’ve been waiting forever for that order, Powers. Now hustle over and be nice—try smiling for a change.”

  I should throw this entire tray of food on him and walk out, I thought, but of course I did no such thing and kept my mouth shut.

  Another few months and I’d have worked off enough of my parents’ debt to finally quit and get back to college like I’d been planning.

  Just a little longer. Hold it together, Powers.

  I took a deep breath, put on my best smile, and carried the tray of food to the table of guys who were the exact types that I dreaded serving at this time of night.

  The men turned their attention to me.

  “Finally,” the best looking of the group said. He flashed his gorgeous green eyes at me and grinned that cocky frat boy grin that I’d grown to hate since working at the restaurant this last year. “I thought we were going to have to kill the cow ourselves,” he continued, “and I’m hungry enough to do it, too.”

  “Sorry for the delay,” I told him, handing the tray over, my smile dissipating.

  Did he not see the huge line out the door? Was he dumb and entitled enough to think he was the only customer in the place?

  Probably yes on both counts.

  As I was thinking about his attitude and how much he embodied everything I despised—clearly handsome and cocky, never had to work or suffer a day in his life—I lost focus and bungled the handoff of all the food.

  The tray capsized and although the green-eyed frat boy was able to catch most of it at the last second—even managing to snag the fries and keep the container upright with one hand—he couldn’t stop the milkshake from dumping all over me.

  “Shit!” I yelled.

  Some of his friends were snickering now and I felt my cheeks start to flush with embarrassment as I knelt down to pick up the half-empty cup off the ground. There was lots of vanilla milkshake on the floor, but a lot of it had gotten on my top, and even a few specks had sprayed my chin and cheeks.

  I licked my lips, tasting vanilla ice cream.

  “You all right?” Green Eyes asked, looking a little concerned for a moment as he saw the state I was in.

  “I’d be a lot better if you’d held onto that tray instead of dropping it,” I shot back, even though I knew I was the one who’d fumbled it. But something about the look on his face had upset me.

  I don’t want his pity.

  Anything but that.

  As the insulting words left my lips, his expression changed. His green eyes hardened and he gave a little grin, sitting back in his seat and looking at me as I knelt beside the table.

  “You know, if someone just walked in on this scene right here, they might get the wrong idea…” he said, scratching his jaw.

  His friends burst out laughing.

  At first I didn’t know what was so funny until I realized that the position we were in…me on my knees, him sitting there, looking satisfied while I had white liquid splattered on my chest and face.

  For a moment, I wanted to scream and toss the rest of the milkshake at his face. And I almost did.

  But then I stood up and he was still grinning, folding his arms as if daring me to try something stupid.

  The strange thing was, for a brief moment, picturing the situation as it might have been were I truly to have done what he was insinuating it looked like I’d done—my nipples stiffened and my lower belly tightened.

  Are you crazy, Caeli? You’re actually attracted to this douchebag?

  No, not attracted. Repulsed.

  “I’ll have someone else bring you a new milkshake,” I said, turning away.

  “You bring it,” Green Eyes called out authoritatively.

  I gave one last look over my shoulder as I continued walking on back. I wished I had a witty retort, but my mind was a blank.

  Marvin saw me as I came back into the kitchen and shook his head. “Clean yourself up, Powers. Christ.”

  I took a stack of napkins and wiped most of the crud off my shirt and face and hands, before getting a new large vanilla shake and bringing it back to the table.

  I was nervous as I approached him once again.

  And looking at the green-eyed frat boy, I realized he was more handsome than I’d initially given him credit for.

  He was like a GQ model come to life, all buff under his leather jacket, and he had that crew cut look that I’d always found sexy.

  But I quickly reminded myself that he was just another cocky frat boy and I was beyond tired of dealing with guys like him. All the rich kids went to Bradley University and they all drove Porsches and BMWs that their parents had bought them.

  “A new milkshake,” I said, not smiling as I handed it to him.

  “I hope you didn’t put something in it,” he said, sniffing as if I’d poisoned it.

  “I didn’t, but that’s because I’m not low-class like some people. And I’m not rude, either.”

  Even his friends had fallen silent now, as their heads turned back and forth, like they were watching a tennis match.

  His lips twitched into a smile and he lifted the milkshake as if in a salute. Then he took a long gulp.

  I couldn’t help but admire his neck as he swallowed. His skin was smooth and perfect, his jaw chiseled.

  Girls must fall all over him everywhere he goes.

  “Best vanilla milkshake I ever tasted,” he said, licking his red lips. “Worth the wait.”

  Something about his words made my skin break into gooseflesh.

  Worth the wait.

  Was it my imagination or did there seem to be a lot more to that sentence than he let on?

  Is he flirting with me or insulting me?

  Or is it just fun for him to come into a dingy, greasy burger joint and mess with the poor, pathetic girl with the stained trousers and the damp, frizzy hair—show his buddies how easy it would be to…

  To what?

  To fuck you?

  To cum all over your face and tits like he’d been
insinuating when you got that vanilla milkshake all over yourself?

  “Well,” I said, blinking and shaking my head, feeling my cheeks flush. “I should get back to work.”

  I turned and walked away, very aware suddenly of my hips swinging, feeling his eyes on me, knowing he would be looking and even worse—wanting him to be looking.

  He’s bad news.

  I knew it was true, but somehow I couldn’t help enjoying the thrill, if only for a moment. And not even quite understanding the emotions I was feeling.

  The guy had been a total egocentric jerk, plain and simple.

  When I got behind the counter once more, another huge rush hit and I was running around crazier than ever. But even so, every free second I had, I would try to find an excuse to look over at the table where the green-eyed frat boy had been sitting with his friends.

  A few times I looked and they were all still there, talking and laughing.

  It was obvious, somehow, that he was the leader. They all looked up to him.

  Maybe he’s not just any old frat boy, maybe he’s the president of the fraternity or something.

  One time, I glanced over as I was bringing a tray of food over to the counter and he actually turned and looked back at me.

  Our eyes locked from a distance and I felt my entire body lock up.

  Worse yet, I felt my nipples tighten again, poking through my bra and the shabby material of my restaurant uniform.

  Fuck. He is hot, isn’t he?

  It was easier to admit it from a distance, somehow.

  And then Green Eyes looked back at his buddies, said something else and they all broke up into raucous laughter.

  I felt my cheeks flush yet again.

  I turned away and resolved not to look back at that table again. He’d just made fun of me to his friends, I was certain of it.

  Probably said something about how that milkshake had looked on your face, and how easy it would have been to bring you home and do it for real. Except he would never take a girl like you home in a million years.

  God, he was just playing you, Caeli. He was trying to show off to his friends how easy it would be to get that poor little fast food bitch to get her panties wet if he showed her even a little attention.

  Even if he insulted her.

  I shook my head and redoubled my efforts at work, wondering what had gotten into me in the first place…

  Not five minutes went by, and like a magnet was pulling me, I found my head turning to look once more at the table.

  Only this time, I found it empty.

  My heart sank and I felt my stomach do a sad flip. It was like high school when you’d see the most popular boy sitting so close to you in class and you just hoped for one glance, one smile, one bit of acknowledgment that ultimately never came.

  I did remember exactly how that felt, and it bugged me that I’d fallen for Green Eyes’ act. Men like him could treat women however they wanted to, and they got away with it because they were good looking and came from good families and had good jobs.

  I prided myself on not being silly and insecure enough to fall for that sort of thing, but it turned out, I was no different or stronger than anyone else.

  Maybe I was even weaker.

  Finally, we were closing up the restaurant. And one good thing was happening, at least, which was that I was being paid for the week.

  Devin handed me my check as he walked by and locked the front doors. “Closing time,” he said. “Hopefully tomorrow we can keep the incidents to a minimum, Powers. My Dad is tired of hearing about you screwing up.”

  “Whatever,” I said, tearing open the envelope. I walked out the doors as I opened it, and it was only as I was leaving, Devin and his brothers coming out behind me as I noticed that the amount was wrong.

  It was way wrong.

  Sure, they always took out fifty percent to pay off my parents’ debt, but this time they’d left me practically nothing.

  “Hey,” I said, calling out to them as they made their way to Marvin’s Porsche that they all drove home together. The burger joint did that well—Uncle Billy made sure his boys had the best cars, the best clothes.

  But no amount of expensive toys could hide their white trash ways.

  “Good night!” Blake shouted in a singsong voice, cackling afterwards.

  I ran toward them. “Hey, this check is short!” I said. “It’s almost two hundred dollars short and I need that—“

  “Bring it up with my Dad tomorrow,” Devin said as he unlocked and opened his door.

  “Dammit,” I said, the tears finally starting. “You can’t do this to me again. Last time he never paid me what he owed—“

  Suddenly, Marvin came towards me, pointing, shouting. “We never stiffed you, you dumb cunt. It’s not our fault your broke ass parents needed my Dad to bail them out. Where would ya’ll be if we hadn’t bought your fucking shitty ass house so they didn’t take it to auction? Huh?”

  I backed away, tears pouring down my face. “Just go away,” I said.

  “You have the balls to complain about a couple hundred bucks when you’d be fucking homeless without us.” He smirked. “Get the fuck outta here.”

  Suddenly, a deep male voice boomed from nearby. “Damn, your folks should have taught you better manners, son.”

  The three men turned to see who had been talking. I followed their gaze too.

  The parking lot was almost completely dark and empty, but there was a pickup trunk idling nearby, and a man was sitting in the truck bed, bathed in shadow.

  My body awoke with a jolt. That voice. It couldn’t be but it had to be—

  No. No way. He’d been waiting in the parking lot? For me?

  “Hey, buddy, why don’t you mind your own fucking business?” Devin said.

  Uncle Billy’s three sons were knuckleheads and I knew that first hand. They liked to fight, and they weren’t afraid to fight dirty. I’d seen them stomp guys at parties in the recent past.

  They found it funny to gang up on people.

  Green Eyes spoke again calmly. “It is my business when cowardly men try to intimidate a young lady.”

  “Yeah, well suck my balls, faggot,” Marvin said, grabbing his crotch.

  I shook my head. “I’m leaving,” I said, starting toward my car. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. I felt scared and tired and completely undone.

  As I got closer to the car, I stopped and saw that the man had jumped off the back of the truck and was moving towards my three cousins.

  Shit.

  He was going to get himself beaten half to death.

  “If your parents didn’t teach you how to speak with respect, then I guess I’ll have to do it,” he said, removing his jacket and tossing it back toward his truck.

  “Please, don’t do this,” I said, knowing it was already too late.

  He turned to look at me, and now I was certain it was him. Even though I couldn’t see the telltale green eyes, I would have recognized that face anywhere, even half in darkness at night.

  Where had all his friends gone and why was he still here a couple of hours later, waiting in a dark parking lot?

  As he turned to look at me, my idiot cousins ran at him, all three at once.

  I shrieked.

  It was going to be horrible. I’d seen this play out before, only in the past someone had always been around to break up the violence. This time we were in an empty parking lot and I knew my cousins wouldn’t stop on my account.

  Suddenly, they converged on him.

  But in a matter of moments it became clear that this was different. This man wasn’t just an ordinary frat boy.

  I’d been wrong about him.

  Very wrong.

  He stepped back, dodged one of their clumsy punches and then attacked with a barrage of his own punches and kicks. Each blow that he threw was precise and intended to cause maximum carnage.

  He blasted Devin in the face with two quick punches, and Devin fell down on th
e concrete like a sack of bricks, completely still.

  Blake tried to grab a hold of Green Eyes, but the stranger easily broke away from Blake’s clutches, pivoted and threw a powerful kick that landed in Blake’s midsection. Blake fell backwards and crashed through some bushes.

  Now it was just Green Eyes and Marvin.

  “You like calling women names?” the man said.

  “Hey, just—chill out,” Marvin said. “You can chill, man. We get the point.”

  “Not yet you don’t,” he said, and then he leaned forward and head butted Marvin, and Marvin’s nose exploded in a fountain of blood as he collapsed to the ground and writhed in pain.

  The man turned and walked toward me quickly. “You okay?” he asked. He wasn’t even breathing heavily.

  I nodded, too frightened to talk.

  “Good,” he said, giving me that strange grin. “What’s your name?” he asked, sounding casual, as if he hadn’t just dealt out devastating violence to my three cousins, who were even now in various states of distress.

  “I’m Caeli,” I said, swallowing. Even after all of the madness, I was still struck by his gorgeous good looks. Nobody that good looking should be able to fight like that, I decided.

  It seemed almost against the laws of physics.

  “My name’s Zack. Zack Wild,” he said, offering his hand.

  I reached out and he took my hand in his, surprising me with his gentleness. “Hi, Zack,” I said. “I think you should probably go or you’ll be arrested.”

  He smiled and laughed a little. “Probably right.” He held my hand a bit longer and I felt the heat spiral up my hand and through my arm. “Caeli what?” he said, cocking an eyebrow.

  “I shouldn’t—“

  “That’s okay,” he said, letting go. “I get it.” And then he turned and walked back to his pickup truck.

  “It’s Caeli Powers,” I called out, just before he got inside.

  He stopped, gave a quick nod, and then opened the door of his truck and got inside. He drove away from the scene only a couple of minutes before the police arrived.

  ZACK

  Waiting outside for that girl had been stupid. I’d sensed that she was going to bring me nothing but trouble, and yet still I’d done it. I’d told my friends to leave the restaurant without me…