Welterweight (Hallow Brothers Book 1)

by Tricia Andersen

  She smiled and sighed as he continued. “Take me to your bed. Take me there and I promise you a night you won’t forget.”

  Caleb pulled free and stood. Meg followed his lead, but couldn’t move until he claimed her lips again and again.

  She took his hand and led him down the hall to her room. “Here. Big bed and everything.”

  Caleb let go of her and wandered inside. He climbed onto the bed and slowly stretched out. The way his body moved reminded Meg of an animal finding a comfy place to rest.

  He twitched a finger to her. “Close the door and come here to me.”

  She obeyed without a word. He cocked his head at the door as she laid down beside him. “I take it you’re an Austin Graves fan?”

  “He was my boyfriend until I saw a girl blowing him tonight at the club.”

  Caleb frowned at her as he motioned between the two of them. “So this thing between you and me? You’re just getting back at your boyfriend?”

  “Ex.” The word leaped from Meg's lips. “At least for now. We have an off again, on again thing.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have explained.”

  “No reason to. I’m all right with this situation. I get to have the best sex I’ve ever had in my life with no strings attached and you get to piss off your boyfriend. Win-win to me.”

  “Ex,” she reminded as her face flushed hot. She was the best sex he ever had? Her heart fell a bit. No strings attached? It shouldn’t bother her. She only wanted Austin. Right? Why did the no strings bother her?

  She parted her mouth for Caleb’s tongue as he pulled her face to his. “Whatever. No more talk. More sex.”

  She surrendered to his kisses as she melted against him. She let her thoughts fade away. They didn’t matter anyway. There was only one thing she could be certain of. It was going to be a long night.

  »»•««

  Meg shot up in bed at the slam of the neighbor’s door. She snarled at the invisible offender. Her body ached from the night before. She glanced over at the empty spot next to her on the bed, the pillow rumpled from the head that had once been there. She rubbed her face and groaned. The night before wasn’t a dream.

  She fell back on her pillow with a sigh. She didn’t know what time she’d finally fallen asleep from exhaustion. At some point, Caleb Hallow found a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses in her kitchen. It was wine and sex repeated over and over. She’d scoured his skin with kisses. He’d made her feel ecstasy she never knew existed.

  And the way he commanded her blew her mind. Had any other guy, including Austin, told her to blow him like Caleb did, she would have told him to suck himself. But when Caleb demanded it from her, she wanted to follow his every wish. It turned her on. She still trembled at the thought of his touch.

  Meg scooped up her cell from the floor to find seven text messages waiting for her. The first three were from Sunny. It seemed that she caught Meg climbing Caleb like he was a jungle gym in the middle of the club. The poor girl lost her mind over it. She all but tore Meg a new one over the expanse of three texts. The next three were from three other friends echoing Sunny’s feelings about Caleb.

  The last was from Austin. He saw her and Caleb, too. He called her every name in the book and a couple she’d never heard of. He accused her of being a cheating whore. And he threatened to kill Caleb if he ever saw the two of them together again. The message terrified her. Her heart sank into her belly as she erased it.

  She stared at the poster of Austin hanging on the door. She had spent hours drooling over the image, daydreaming of sex with him. Now his shine was gone. She frowned. Last night, before the face-off, before that invisible force took hold of her, she was hopelessly in lust with him. Today, she wasn’t interested at all.

  She shook her head. All she knew was that she needed to bathe as soon as possible. Maybe a warm shower would clear her mind.

  She stepped into the hot stream of water and let it run over her skin. Taking her shampoo bottle, she flipped the top open and squirted a glob on her hand. Slowly she massaged the lather into her hair and then rinsed. Then she squeezed the body soap onto her loofa. As her arm passed her nose, she swore she smelled Caleb on her skin. She huffed. She hated the thought of cleansing him from her flesh. Get over it, Meg. He was just a quick lay. Stop trying to pick out curtains with the dude.

  She dried off with the towel hanging on the peg and wrapped it around herself. She picked up her brush and faced the mirror. She smoothed the locks carefully as she stared at her reflection. The knot of the towel came undone. She caught it in time and then stretched her arm across the sink to set the brush where she always kept it.

  That’s when she saw it. It started from the tip of her shoulder and ran to her lower back. It spanned from her spine to her ribs. It was a beautiful, almost floral, tribal pattern in solid black. And in the middle of the design were claw marks inked into her skin. Bear maybe? Wolf?

  “That son of a bitch!”

  Meg threw her towel on the floor as she flew back into the shower. She cringed at the burst of cold water that shot out of the shower head. She grabbed her loofa with a growl. Straining to reach, she scrubbed her skin furiously. The material scraped her skin raw. For all she knew, she was bleeding. She couldn’t tell with the freezing water streaming down her flesh.

  She flipped the knob off and bent down to pick up the discarded towel. She shivered as she wrapped it around herself. Her body screamed in protest. As hard as she’d scrubbed, the mark had to be gone. She turned her back to the mirror and glanced over her shoulder.

  It was still there, black and bold against her fiery red skin. It hadn’t faded at all. “You have to be fucking kidding me.” She reached back and rubbed frantically with her hand. She shook her head in disbelief as a whimper escaped her throat.

  Meg dried off and stormed out of her bathroom. She tugged on another pair of shorts and a T-shirt and grabbed her car keys and purse. The void in her heart was quickly replaced with rage. How could she sleep through a fucking tattoo? Did he drug her?

  That cock she spent the night worshiping? When she finally found him, she was going to rip it off.

  Grabbing her purse and toeing on her sandals, she threw the door open. She slammed it shut and then stormed down the hall to the staircase.

  Although the club was only a couple of blocks from her apartment, Meg jumped in her little beat-up two door coupe and sped there. The windows were dark and the door was closed. The lit-up neon beer signs that usually flooded the sidewalk in rainbow hues were lifeless. It didn’t stop her from parking in front of it and hopping out. She pounded on the door with both fists, screaming as she did so.

  “What the hell do you want?”

  She spun toward the voice to find a tall, gangly man standing at the corner. By his polo shirt, khaki pants, and horn-rimmed glasses, he looked like he belonged in an office. There weren’t many of those in this neighborhood.

  Meg scowled at him. “I need to talk to someone at this bar.”

  “I own it. Again, what the hell do you want?”

  “I need to find Caleb Hallow.”

  The guy chuckled. “I thought you looked familiar. You’re that blonde he had wrapped around him last night. Sweetheart, I don’t know where he lives. He’s not from around here.”

  “No shit. Do you have an address? Phone number?”

  The bar owner reached up and tore a poster off the outside wall of the bar. He strode up the street and handed it to her. “Call the promoter. His number is at the bottom. Now, get your piece of shit away from the front of my bar. You’re in a loading zone and I have a beer delivery coming.”

  She gave him an awkward smile. “Umm, thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He spun on his toe and returned to his sentry on the corner. Meg hurried back to her car and drove away. It took her five minutes to find an empty parking lot to make her call. The first three tries went to voice mail. After the third she left a message. Tossing he
r cell on the passenger seat she huffed, aggravated. Grabbing her purse, she stepped out of the car and crossed the street to the convenience store for a cup of coffee.

  The phone was ringing on the seat when she returned. She yanked the door open and answered it. “Hello?”

  “This is Leroy Nelson. You called me, babe?”

  “Yeah. I need to reach Caleb Hallow.”

  “I don’t give out my fighters’ information, sweetheart.”

  “It’s a matter of life and death.” My life. His death when I get a hold of him.

  There was a pause. “All right. I don’t have an exact address for him, but I have one for a Sharky’s Garage. He gets his mail there. Here’s the address and his cell phone number.” Leroy rambled the information to her.

  Meg dug in her purse for a piece of paper and a pen to scribble it down. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”

  “No problem. If he asks, you didn’t get that from me. Those Hallow brothers can be dangerous. But they’re also huge money makers. People love watching them. I can’t lose that.”

  “Brothers?” Meg questioned.

  “Yeah. Seven of them. Caleb is the one dead in the middle. You didn’t know that?”

  An uneasy feeling filled Meg. Seven dangerous brothers. Fantastic. “Nope. I didn’t.”

  “And you said this is life and death? How well do you know Caleb?”

  “Intimately.”

  “Hey, lady. You need to tear that address up. If you ruin my business I swear…”

  “See ya.” She quickly ended the call. The phone almost immediately started to ring. She glanced from the number on the screen to the flier. “Shit.” She silenced it. Once it passed, she blocked the number.

  “Now to find out where Sharky’s Garage is,” she muttered to herself. She tapped the maps app on her phone and typed the address. She nearly dropped the phone with the result. “Almost a hundred miles north? Are you kidding me?”

  Meg dialed the little coffee shop where she was employed. Working up a cough, she played sick to get out of her shift that afternoon. It was the first time since she worked there that she’d called in. I have a four year degree and I make uppity people espresso. I need this day to get this thing off me. She tossed the phone on the dash and slumped into the driver’s seat. A growl escaped her throat as she flipped the ignition and turned on the radio full blast. She called the cell phone number Leroy gave her. It just rang. There wasn’t voice mail. She fired off a nasty text or two to Caleb. Taking one more look at the directions, she pulled onto the highway headed north.

  She ignored the fields that flew by her window as she raced up the road out of Duluth. She had never been so furious in her life. Her mother had strong feelings against tattoos. What was she going to say when she showed up with one that covered half her back? Might as well not go home. Thanks, asshole.

  She was officially in the middle of nowhere when she found Sharky’s Garage. She pulled up to an ancient gas pump that would sell for a pretty penny in an antique store. She glanced around at the miles of wild grass that surrounded the place. To the north, a ridge of thick woods formed like a wall to keep intruders out. The highway slimmed to a two-lane road at the tree line. Where the hell am I?

  Meg strode across the dirt-covered parking lot and slipped inside. Like the outside, the inside looked like a throwback to a fifties sitcom. An older man, about the age of her dad, stood behind the counter. He ran a weathered hand through his slicked back, thinning hair. “What ken I do ye for, Miss?”

  “Where am I?” Meg questioned.

  “If yer lost, take a U-turn and go back. About fifty miles down the road, ye’ll find an interstate that runs east and west. That’ll get ye where yer going.”

  “I’m not lost. I was looking for this garage. How far am I from Canada?”

  “Canada is about another hundred miles. What brings ye looking for my garage?”

  “I’m looking for Caleb Hallow. Is he here? I need to talk to him. Now.”

  Sharky chuckled. “Caleb ain’t be here.”

  “How do I find him?”

  “What do you want with Caleb Hallow?”

  Meg spun around. In the doorway stood a tall man about Sharky’s age. His silky black hair was streaked with silver and flowed to his waist. His bronze skin contrasted with his white T-shirt. Meg answered him. “Frankly? I’m gonna kick his ass. Do you know where I can find him?”

  “What is your business with him?”

  “We slept together. Then I woke up to find this.” Meg turned her back to the stranger and gathered her T-shirt up her back.

  “Well. My. That is something.”

  Meg turned back to him. His eyes were wide as he examined her. “So?” Meg demanded.

  “I’ll take you to the Hallows’ camp.”

  “Wait? Are you a Hallow? Is that your tribe?”

  “No. My name is Adam Littlefoot. My family are friends of the Hallows. We have been for years. I’ve watched Caleb grow up. The Hallows aren’t a tribe. They’re more like a pack.”

  “A pack?” Meg frowned. “Wait. Do you know what this tattoo means? Did he make me one of them?”

  Littlefoot chuckled. “In a matter of speaking, yes. Are you ready to travel?”

  “I need gas.”

  Sharky scuttled around the counter. “That be my cue. Fill ’er up?”

  Meg nodded warily. “Yes, please.”

  The room filled with an uncomfortable silence for the several minutes it took for Sharky to fill Meg’s car. She pulled her wallet from her purse as he scurried back inside. “Checked yer oil and wiped yer windows too, Miss.”

  Meg handed him a twenty. “Thank you. Please keep the change.”

  “Thank ye. Any friend of Caleb’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Trust me. We’re not friends.”

  Meg followed Littlefoot out to her car. He pointed to an old, battered red truck nestled beside the building. “Follow that truck.” He redirected his hand toward trees. “We’ll be heading north into the forest. Stay close. It’ll be an hour before we arrive.”

  Meg nodded. “Forest. Got it.”

  Littlefoot stared at her intently for a long moment. “Evelyn is certainly in for a surprise.” He smiled at her and then headed for his truck.

  Meg watched him go as confusion filled her. “Who’s Evelyn?”

  Littlefoot never answered. He just climbed in his truck. She hopped into her car and started it to race after the truck speeding down the highway. As she caught up to it, the woods swallowed them whole.

  Chapter Three

  Caleb stretched as he stepped out onto the small wooden deck in front of his cabin, dressed in only a pair of jeans. Morning came early for him. At least, he thought it was morning. By the aroma that wafted around the camp, he could only guess it was almost lunch. His stomach grumbled in response. Yawning, he jogged down the deck steps toward the activities center. First he’d get something to nibble on, then he’d get a few rounds on the bags.

  He growled as Josiah stepped out of his cabin, his arms crossed over his chest in disapproval, as he did every time he was within five feet of Caleb. “Got in late, I’m guessing?”

  “Nope. Got in first thing this morning. The sun was just rising. It was beautiful. You should have saw it,” Caleb responded with a smirk.

  “Go ahead. Be a smartass.”

  “Josiah, when are you going to get off my ass?”

  “When you start acting like a man.”

  Before Caleb could open his mouth, Ezekiel, the second-to-youngest brother, strolled past. “Nice ink, Caleb. A little different.”

  Caleb frowned at his little brother. “I didn’t get a new tattoo.”

  “That’s not what I see.”

  “Caleb!”

  He spun around to face his mother. Her eyes were wide. He could swear he saw her tremble. “What is it, Momma?”

  “Where were you last night?” she demanded.

  “I had that thing at the club. The promoter wanted a
face-off. I told you about it.”

  “Where were you?” Her voice screeched. Her chubby face reddened as she tensed.

  Momma’s voice drew each of his brothers from wherever they were. Josiah ascended the steps of the activities center to comfort Momma. Micah, the second oldest, flanked her other side. He glanced over the woman’s shoulder to Caleb and back, his brow creasing.

  Caleb shook his head. “I told you. I had a promotion for my fight.”

  “That took until sunup?” Josiah snapped.

  “Of course not, asshole. I stayed with some girl.”

  “Stayed with some girl, huh? As in you slept with her?”

  “Where is she?” Momma pressed.

  “Back in town. Why the fuck are you interrogating me?” Caleb near shouted.

  “You’re mated, Caleb,” Micah announced. There was a sense of awe in his voice.

  “Excuse me?” Caleb’s heart slammed in his chest. Mated? That meant for life. He wasn’t ready to have a mate. Ever.

  “The tattoo on your back. The one you insist you didn’t get. It’s a lot like Momma’s mark.”

  “Bullshit. There’s no tattoo.” Caleb stormed across the camp and shoved past Josiah, Micah, and Momma. There were floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the gym to check their form when they were kickboxing. He’d be able to easily tell if they were lying to him. Of course they are. I would have known if I got a tattoo. I didn’t get that drunk and I only dozed off for a little bit.

  He stood in front of the mirror and then turned around. His mouth gaped open as he stared at the intricate detail in the art, the floral hints in the tribal pattern. In the center were claw marks. Just like Momma’s.

  “So do you even remember her name?” Josiah questioned.

  Caleb looked past his own reflection to see his entire family standing there, watching him. A sharp rebuttal jumped on his tongue. But the weight of the discovery stole it. He thought for a moment. Did he ever remember the names of the women he slept with? No. Their names were never important to him. What they were willing to give him was.

  But her name stuck out to him. He would never forget it. “Meg Riley.”