by Brooke Page
My father cocked his head to the other side then glanced at one of the men to his left. The man I didn’t know looked at him then to Mitch, making his way with a duffle bag while putting rubber gloves on his hands.
Max began to walk towards Chino. He looked so strong and confident, standing taller and broader than times before. His eyes were hard as they pinned to meet Chino’s stare. He didn’t look like one to be reckoned with and surely didn’t look like the man who brought me into this world.
“I thought I told you to stay away from the Conklins,” Max said as he approached Chino.
Chino stood tall, meeting my father head to head. “I had them first Stine. You already took Martel’s business from me; I won’t let you take Conklin’s too!”
Martel? Holy shit! Ray! Heather’s husband!
My father shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “Oh Leeland, if I remember correctly, RJ Conklin put a squash on that a few years ago. If a business says no, you back away. You know the deal. You keep your shit away from my daughters and son.”
“It’s your shit too, Stine,” Chino snarled.
I held in a gasp. His shit too?
Max’s eyebrows narrowed as he studied Chino. Then his head tilted to the side again, his eyes finding Tyler being held down. “Let go of my future son-in-law.”
“Yes, sir,” Chino’s thugs said compliantly, immediately taking a step back. They looked terrified, as though they didn’t realize who they were holding down.
Who exactly was in charge here?
I ran into Tyler, my body still trembling as he wrapped his protective arms around me. He looked just as confused as I was. His lips found my forehead as he squeezed me, moving me so my body was out of the direction of men with loaded guns.
Max turned back to Chino, closing his eyes briefly before he spoke. “It is my shit and my rules. You know what happens if you break them.”
Chino laughed, but his eyes held a different expression. Max licked his lips in contemplation then searched Chino’s face. He tilted his head, communicating with Anderson. Anderson obediently took a step forward, handing my father a gun.
I let out a loud shriek as my father lifted the gun to Chino’s head. Tyler covered my mouth and eyes with his hands, pulling me as close to his chest as he could.
A gunshot rang through the Arena then a loud scream belonging to Chino roared through the air.
“You fuck! I never thought you’d do it!” Chino shouted at my father.
I peeked through Tyler’s hand, seeing Chino curled on the ground, holding his foot.
“It’ll be your head next time. Don’t forget, I’m in charge,” my father growled. He bent down so he was level with Chino. “Stay the fuck away from my kids. I won’t give you anymore warnings.” Pulling the gun to Chino’s forehead, he continued in a dangerously low tone. “Next time, I’ll use the right piece to drive a bullet clear through your head and into any goon who’s helping you.”
Max stood up, turning to look back at the man who was working on Mitch’s bullet wound. “Tend to this prick when you're done with him. He still has work to do for me.” He turned to Anderson, giving him another nod. Anderson proceeded to walk towards Tyler and me. Tyler’s grip tightened on me, moving me behind him even more than I already was. “Let her go, Tyler. I promise he won’t hurt my little girl. I can keep her safe… which you keep failing to do.”
For the second time in my life, I was torn from Tyler’s arms, and everything faded to black.
Chapter 28
Tyler
“What are you doing?” I shouted at Anderson as he jabbed a syringe in Becca’s neck, making her melt in my arms. Her eyes rolled shut, her head lolling to the side.
“Give her to Anderson,” Max commanded. “Like I said. She won’t get hurt.”
I reluctantly complied, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat as I lifted her, handing her to Anderson. Anderson gave me a sympathetic nod as he walked out of the Arena.
I should have known that asshole was a dirty cop.
“Nathan, take your brother to the hospital. I need to have a word with Tyler,” Max said, handing the piece he used on Chino to the bald headed twin.
Nathan looked around then to me, his eyes terrified.
“I’m not going to kill him, Nathan,” Max said irritably. “Now get your brother to the hospital before he bleeds all over my Arena.”
Nathan obeyed, giving me a nod as he helped Mitch walk after Anderson.
Watching Nathan leave caused my heart to constrict wildly in my chest. I was so confused with what just happened. I knew Max Stine was someone you didn’t mess with, but I never believed any rumors about him having a dark side. How Becca talked about him, and the few interactions we’d shared, he proved him to be a harmless, hard working man.
Maybe when I asked him for his blessing on marrying Becca his tell showed, but I always thought the gun cabinet he constantly referred to was just a joke.
I was obviously wrong.
Chino whimpered while Stine’s henchman worked on the bullet in his foot, and a sick feeling found its way right to my gut, knowing I would most likely be on the ground next to him in the matter of moments.
Max was quiet like usual, but this type of quiet was agonizing. He was plotting in his head. There were two types of businessmen: the fast paced, smooth talkers like Nathan, and the silent, well thought out stone faced ones like Stine.
His hands found his pockets then his eyes met mine. “I wasn’t sure about you at first, Tyler.” He took a step towards me then looked around the Arena. “There’s something to say about a quiet man. Everyone assumes they’re harmless, but I beg to differ. Silence just means you’re thinking thoughts most people shouldn’t hear.”
I gulped, terrified where he was going with this.
“But then I saw you with Rebecca. She had a little more life in her eyes than normal when she looked at you. I had my doubts, thought maybe you’d treat her poorly like your father treated your mother. But… you’re just as much like your father as you are different.”
“I love Becca, more than anything. I’d never hurt her—”
“I know,” he cut me off. His eyes were hard as they bore into mine. “There’s more than one way you can hurt someone though. For instance,” he walked over to Chino, tapping his shoulder with his foot as he lay on the ground in pain. “With wealth, there’s always going to be some idiot trying to gain your power. They’ll do anything to get it. Including threatening the ones you love.”
“I want you to know, I had nothing to do with your father’s death. That was a mistake,” Max scowled down at Chino then turned back to me. “If I had any indication that was going to happen, I’d have put a stop to it.”
So it was true. Chino killed my father, put the bullet in his head. What a sick and twisted man. Then play it off like it was a suicide. Pushing all my anger and hurt away, I remained on topic, simply nodding at Stine so he knew I believed him.
“I wasn’t going to sign Chino’s deal,” I said quickly. “Only because he was going to hurt Becca. That was the only reason I said yes just now. I’d find my way out of his deal once she was safe. I couldn’t risk him shooting her.”
He nodded his head. “I had Anderson checking up on you, making sure you were staying away from Chino’s outlandish propositions. And you passed. I even smiled when he told me how you hit him.”
Amusement crossed his face, and for a split second, I let my lip quirk at the memory. It felt good to punch that asshole square in the jaw.
Any trace of amusement left Stine’s face, and I quickly followed.
“I let the tear gas incident slip, figuring that really was out of your control. The junkie breaking into your house… that hit a nerve, but Chino kidnapping her, taking her here and tying her up… it’s unacceptable.”
My eyes widened.
Max made his way to me; now we were toe to toe. It didn’t matter that I was taller than him, I was still scared shitless.<
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“I’m going to take care of this fuck. He won’t be doing business in Grand Rapids anymore. If he tries to make any type of contact with you, you tell me, got it?” Max said, his calm demeanor still in place.
I nodded my head. “Of course,” I whispered.
He patted my shoulder with one hand, a satisfied smile on his face. “Good. I sure hope we won’t have any more trouble.”
Sighing with relief, I thought I might be off the hook after all.
I was wrong.
With his silent communications, the red headed twin walked towards us, handing Max another gun. My eyes widened.
Fuck.
“I want you to know I mean it when I say if you ever hurt my little girl, or let anything happen to her, you’ll regret ever existing,” he murmured, his breath hot on my face.
Grabbing the gun, he held it up to my trembling arm and cocked the trigger.
Bang!
I immediately fell backwards on the ground, my heart racing as I reached for my arm. Holy shit, he just shot me! I must have been in shock because it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. My head whipped to my arm, waiting to see blood trickling from the new hole in my jacket. But there was hardly any. Would it take time for it to surface?
I looked up at Stine as he stood over me, handing the gun back to the red head. He began removing the handprints from the piece just as he did when Stine shot Chino.
“Now you and your brother-in-law, Ray, will have matching scars to remind you whose little girls you’re meant to protect. The only reason it grazed your arm instead of going through your foot like Ray’s is because you have to walk Becca down the aisle in two weeks.”
Holy hell. Ray. I remembered Stine saying a shot to the foot was the price for knocking up one of his daughters. I thought he was joking. Apparently not.
“That’ll be sore. He’ll take care of you once he’s done with that asshole.” Stine said, nodding his head in Chino’s direction.
My arm started to hurt the second he pointed it out, and a few trickles of blood were making their way on my hand that was covering it.
Max silently walked away, turning just as he was about to leave the Arena. “I trust we can keep this between us. Becca is going to be groggy, and hopefully won’t remember much. I know you’ll do your best to keep it that way.”
“Yes, sir,” I obeyed, more frightened than ever of my future father-in-law.
“Oh, and Tyler? Don’t mess with the tracking system in her car either.”
Wow. So it was Stine who had that thing installed, not Chino.
Stine turned his back, walking casually out of the Arena like nothing had just happened.
***
Anderson was waiting for me in an SUV outside the Arena. He tilted his head to the back for me to join him.
Holding my now bandaged arm from Stine’s on call medic in an expensive suit, I opened the door to find Becca sprawled across the seat.
“Jesus, what did you put in her?” I asked in horror, lifting her head so it was in my lap. It felt good to run my hands through her hair. It took all of me to not lift her completely on my lap, kissing every bit of exposed skin I could. She was safe, and that was all that mattered right now.
“I’m sorry, I had to give her a sedative. Trust me, it was best for everyone involved. If Becca knew about her dad…,” Anderson trailed off as he made his way onto the highway.
“What? Knew he was fucking crazy? I always thought Chino was the bad guy controlling everyone. Never did it cross my mind that Max Stine was really his puppet master,” I said still in shock.
Anderson glanced in the rearview mirror. “I bet he grazed you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I answered softly, still stroking Becca’s hair. “Said he only did it that way because I had to walk Becca down the aisle. How the hell am I supposed to keep this from her?”
“Unfortunately, that sedative won’t completely erase her memory. In time, she’s going to remember everything. It might feel like a dream for a while, but Becca’s smart. She’ll start to put the pieces together,” Anderson sighed.
“How did you get mixed up in all this?” I bravely asked.
“I’ve known Stine for a long time. Back when I was in the academy. They breed criminals as well as cadets. But as far as criminals go, Max Stine is the most like a Robin Hood.”
I stayed silent, knowing my opinion was completely different from Anderson’s. Maybe Anderson didn’t have anyone and found companionship with the bad guy. That seemed to be the usual case. I could have easily gone down that path if I didn’t have my Becs.
The news of who her father really is would crush her. I was going to have to be there to pick up the pieces just like she did when I found out the ones I loved really weren’t who they said they were.
***
Anderson wanted to help me with Becca, but I didn’t want him stepping foot in my house. I laid Becca down in our bed, stripping her of her clothing and dressing her in one of my t-shirts the best I could. The lump on the side of her head was pretty big, but the swelling would go down as long as I put ice on it.
After I stripped down to my briefs, I rummaged the freezer to find a cold pack, wrapping it in a cloth so the sting of the cold wouldn’t startle her awake, although I was positive she’d be asleep for quite a few hours, if not a day or two. Anderson said a medic would stop by in the morning to check on her when he dropped us off earlier.
I gently moved her head so the cold was being applied to the lump. Hopefully the swelling would go down by the wedding. She’d still be beautiful, but I’m sure her mother wouldn’t let her forget it was there.
Running my fingers down her face, my emotions hit me like a ton of bricks. I kept picturing Chino holding that gun to her head, my heart shattering with what felt like the inevitable. I used all my strength on those goons to try and get to her, but I couldn’t move from their grasp. It was the worst feeling ever, seeing the one person you love more than life itself in the path of destruction and being helpless. If she would have been shot, I think I would have begged Chino to shoot me in the head too.
I bit my lip, the sting of tears escaping my eyes. I knew I should have left her alone so she could rest properly, but I had to hold her, bask in the fact that she was here with me, a few bumps and bruises, but she was safe.
I kissed her eyelids, her nose, cheeks, forehead, breathing her in as though I needed her scent to survive. My hands found her smooth, warm skin, making a path to find out if there were any other cuts and bruises that needed to be tended to.
I hated how her body just lolled when I pulled her against me. That awful sickness formed in my stomach, making my hands rub her skin at a faster pace, relishing the fact that she was warm and alive, not cold and comotose like RJ’s body was.
I squeezed her, letting my tears escape like a faucet. I couldn’t control it and just cried. I cried until I passed out with her warm and safe in my arms.
***
The loud chime of the doorbell startled me awake. It was dark out now, and I was still clinging to Becca’s body. She hadn’t budged. I felt her chest, just to make sure she was still breathing.
The chime rang again, and I reluctantly stood from the bed, covering Becca with a blanket and kissing her one more time before I went to see who the hell was at my door.
Pulling on my jeans, I checked the time on my phone.
“11:00 p.m.?” I said out loud. I didn’t need anymore drama today, let alone the rest of my life.
I squinted as I tried to see through the window before turning on the lights.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Nathan as I flipped on the lights and opened the door.
“Jesus, you’re okay!” he said with a tremble in his voice. His pale white face was shocking as he practically leapt at me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Fuck, I thought I’d find you in a pile of blood at your front door.”
I tentatively wrapped my arms around him, my body sinking i
nto him. It felt good to have my big brother here.
“What the hell happened?” Nathan asked, letting me go and finding a seat on the couch in the living room.
I closed the door, taking a deep breath before I told him everything.
He sat quietly, but was mainly stunned, only speaking when I got to the part about Stine grazing my arm with a bullet.
“Holy shit! He actually shot you?” Nathan gasped as he stood to examine the bandage on my shoulder. “Another reason why I’m staying the fuck away from women. I don’t need some chick's dad putting a bullet in me.”
I thought of bullets then thought of Mitch. “How’s Mitch?”
“He’s in the car. They cleaned and cauterized the wound. Stine must have people everywhere. They didn’t even ask how the bullet was taken out of his leg. Took forever to get out of there.”
“In the car?” I asked, puzzled.
“I told him to stay there while I made sure you were okay. I didn’t know if you’d want to see him or not, you know… put another bullet in him for being such an idiot. He feels awful for believing Chino wasn’t a lunatic. He tried to help Becca, that’s how he got shot.”
Nathan sighed as he went to search through my cupboards. Most likely he was looking for liquor.
My jaw ticked, and surprisingly, I wasn’t upset, but wanted to make sure my little brother was okay. I’d already lost one family member before mending our relationship. I needed to make things right with Mitch before it was too late. “Becca’s passed out in our bed. Can you keep an ear out for her? I doubt she’ll wake up, but just in case.”
Nathan nodded. “Don’t strangle him, please.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked out the front porch to the driveway.
Opening the car door, I slid into the driver’s side. Mitch didn’t look at me but stayed silent. We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything.
