by Dawn Doyle
“Please, sit down,” I begged, my heart already running away with me, and with his reaction, it caused it to spike, like I’d sprinted until my legs burned and my chest was ready to give out.
“Robyn, I’m not the kind of guy who waits for a fucking story to play out. Tell me what is it you’re trying to say. I can take it—I’m a big boy.”
I swallowed hard and ran my hand over my mouth, a ridiculous effort to calm my raging nerves. “Okay.” I gestured to the couch, but he shook his head. “Um, so, one night, there was a race set up. I’d usually drive alone, but Aaron insisted he rode with me. We argued, he got in and refused to get out.”
Blaine crossed his arms over his chest, then rolled a hand forward for me to go on. “Then?”
“It was a time trial. I had to beat a guy who’d burned around the track in less than two minutes. I knew I could do it, even with Aaron in the car. I flew off the starting line, changing gears and drifting around wide corners, flying down the straight, the sound of the engine roaring and the turbo whizzing spurring me on.” In my excited memories of my once beloved car, the details that came next dragged me right out of my fond memory. My lips turned down, and I used the cuff of my shirt to wipe my face. I shook my head when Blaine was about to come to me again, no doubt to console me, to take me in his arms and whisper that everything would be all right. That’s who he was, and why I loved him. He got me, he knew what I wanted without me asking for it, and he pushed all my buttons, driving me crazy, one of the main reasons I could never get him out of my head. He’d gotten inside of me, and I wanted to keep him there.
“I had no idea what he was going to do,” I continued, my voice quiet as I recalled the incident. “He said I needed to turn quicker to make the bend. I knew he was full of shit, and told him to sit tight and let me do my thing.” I snorted, my head shaking back and forth. “He thought he knew better and reached over, grabbed the wheel, and yanked it to the right.”
The scene flashed into my mind—the car swerving too fast for me to control, the sky moving in circles with the ground, the sounds of crunching and metal crumpling deafening me. Glass shattered all around me, my arms lifting to shield my face from the blast toward us. My seatbelt dug into my skin, holding me in place, but the friction caused me to cry out as the tough fabric dragged over my clothes, burning me. White-hot pain seared through my body as we slammed into something, my car coming to a sudden stop, the force throwing my head back with so much force, I blacked out.
When I came to, sirens were all around me, the noise of machinery pulling me out of my impact induced sleep. I couldn’t move, but I could feel. My body was screaming with blinding pain, but I’d been trapped in my seat by crushed metal and deflated airbags.
“They were cutting me out of the car,” I said, ending my story, although that wasn’t all of it.
Blaine was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands over his mouth. “You crashed hard,” he stated his brows knitted together and his jaw set. “Then what?” When I didn’t say anything, he spoke again. “Come on, if Nate has dug this up and used it against you to get to me, then I need to know.”
My eyes widened. “How did you know what he said?”
He shrugged. “I know Nate, babe. He works with Charlie most of the time. Charlie said he was working on Mica’s sudden obsession with me, but it makes sense that you were his target, not Mica.”
“His what?” My chest resembled a jazz percussion, everything going off at the same time, but not necessarily in the same rhythm, and this was one of those moments. The thuds were hard and loud, my blood whooshing through my veins faster than ever, but it was the adrenaline pumping that fired me up, panicking that Nate had been sitting on this for a while and was waiting for the right time to strike.
“Finish your story,” Blaine said, and my eyes snapped to his while I tried hard to control my erratic breathing. “Then tell me what the fuck he said.”
“I don’t want you to think badly of me” I whispered. “I never meant for any of it to happen.”
His lips turned up. “Robyn, I couldn’t think badly of you. You screwed up, we all do, but that isn’t going to make me change how I feel about you.”
“I almost killed someone,” I blurted, and his mouth dropped open. “The guy had driven to the open fields to walk his dogs. The crowd was way back near the barn where the race started. The track I’d rolled off was nowhere near them, but when I woke up, his car was destroyed.” I sucked in a shaky breath, my lungs aching from trying not to lose it and break down. “He was about to get in his car and didn’t even see me coming. It was lucky he dropped his keys, because if he hadn’t stopped to pick them up…” I couldn’t finish, because I knew the outcome of what that would’ve been. He would’ve been sandwiched between the cars, and the force of the impact would’ve crushed every single part of him, killing him and his beloved pets instantly.
“When I was in the hospital, I was officially arrested. The casts hadn’t even set, and they were reading me my rights,” I sobbed. “Aaron turned that fucking wheel, then denied even being in the car.” Strong arms wrapped around me, a low voice hushing while fingers ran over my hair.
“But you didn’t kill anyone,” Blaine said. “It wasn’t your fault.” He pulled back and wiped my tears with his thumbs. “Where was Aaron when you woke up?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that he’d managed to get out through the window, then he left me there.” I hiccuped, then lifted my head, my eyes stinging from crying and my face burning from my scorching tears. “He wasn’t even the one that called the ambulance.”
“Where is he now?” Blaine ground out, his body stiff as he held me.
“I don’t know. The last thing I heard about him was that he’d moved, but I don’t know where.” I tilted my head back. “Blaine, I’ll understand if you don’t want to be with me.”
“What? Why would you think that?” He placed his hand on the back of my head and cradled me to his chest.
“Something Nate said. He said being associated with me would cause people to look closely at you, and that we would both be fucked.”
Blaine stiffened again. “Nate’s talking out of his ass.”
“I thought maybe it was to do with where you work, because of the cars. He told me you work at Blacklocks.”
“It’s not,” he assured me. “My job isn’t interesting enough to talk about, that’s why I never mentioned it.”
“Then why would he say that?”
Blaine pulled back and ran his hands down my arms before cupping my face. “I can’t tell you right now, but it has to do with the times I have to take off.” When I opened my mouth to talk, he kissed me, stopping any questions from escaping. “But when that time comes, it’ll be you not wanting me.”
“I love you, Blaine. Nothing could make me not want you.”
A wide smile spread across his full lips, lighting his face, but it began to fall, a somber expression replacing it, as though me saying that had caused him pain.
He pressed his lips softly against mine and ran his hands down my sides. “I love you, Robyn,” he whispered, warmth flowing out from my chest at his returned declaration. “I fucking love you, but my feelings for you only put you at risk.”
The warmth turned to solid ice. “What are you saying?” I asked, panic gripping me, my hands twisting into the fabric of his T-shirt in case he chose that moment to pull away and walk out of the door.
Blaine’s thumbs rubbed across my cheeks, his eyes firmly on my mouth before meeting mine. “I can’t involve you in the shit I was mixed up in before we met. Just know that I’m doing everything I fucking can so I can be better. I am better, right now, because of you.” He kissed me once more, then let me go.
“Where are you going?” I asked when he backed up, then turned toward the door.
“I’m still not good enough for you,” he said over his shoulder. “But I intend to rectify that as quickly as fucking possible.”
; Blaine
Five minutes was all I had to get this fiery girl off, but I wasn’t feeling it at all. Boosting for fun hadn’t been something I’d needed for a while, but that didn’t mean I could stop. Fuck, I wanted to. I had to get this list out of the way, then I could work on making sure my girl didn’t have to worry about a single fucking thing. I was gonna make sure that asshole paid for leaving her.
She could’ve died.
That thought turned my stomach, acid burning my gut as I had to swallow down the threat of hurling all over the upholstery. That would’ve been a serious fuck up. My DNA would’ve been ground deep into the fibers, and I would’ve had to destroy the evidence.
When Robyn told me what had happened, I couldn’t stop the horror movie playing in my head, the thought of her car rolling over and over, hitting every obstacle on the way, rattling her frame around as though she were nothing, only to smash into another car. To trash the other ride completely, it would’ve needed some force to do it. Aaron had a lot to answer for. Causing the accident in the first place wasn’t what caused my fists to clench, my jaw to grind, and my body to tense up so fucking much it felt like I’d spent a whole damn day working out, it was the fact he’d left Robyn alone, unconscious, and hurt.
She could’ve fucking died!
My eyes misted, knowing for damn certain I would never have left her side, no matter what.
I knew what I had to do, but first, this girl had to be finished off.
I made it through the lights, slamming on the brakes to take the sharp left, lifting my right foot, then stepping down on the gas to open her up, the engine roaring as the needle rose higher and higher on the speedo.
I’d broken the speed limit, and just kept on climbing, but instead of my heart racing along with the ride, my chest was hollow. All I could fucking think about was Robyn almost crushed inside that fucking car, her douche of an ex leaving her.
Now I truly understood what it meant to love someone. You would rather die than see them hurt, you would gladly switch places with them so that they would be safe. And Robyn was my girl to protect. I hadn’t known she existed then, but it didn’t make it any less agonizing knowing she’d gone through hell and it wasn’t her fault, and even if it were.
“Fuck!” I yelled, jabbing the heel of my hand on the steering wheel, the jarring of the movement running up through my wrist and into my elbow, and I winced with the sharp pain. “She thought I would hate her for what happened.” I was alone, but that didn’t matter. Speaking those words in my head or out loud, it made no difference. What Robyn had done was nothing compared to the shit show she’d gotten involved in, and as I spotted the people waiting for me at the junkyard, I knew it had gotten so much fucking worse than I possibly thought.
“Eddie, it’s so good to see you,” I said as I got out of the car. I took off my gloves and shoved them in my pocket. “I see you’ve brought your favorite reptile.”
Darcy hissed at me, her face twisted into a snarl. “Keep mouthing off, Blaine, but remember where you are and who you’re talking to.”
I snorted, giving her the once over. Her arms were crossed over her chest, lifting her tits high under her white jacket. Her matching gloves were either a fashion statement or there to inspect the car. “I’m obviously in Hell’s pound because I’m surrounded by Satan’s dogs,” I said, looking around.
She threw her head back and laughed, but Eddie and Preston didn’t, and neither did the hulking goons standing behind them.“Woof,” she said, then growled before snapping her teeth at me. “You must be the pup, then, because whether you like it or not, Blainey, you’re stuck with us.”
I slowly shook my head as she sauntered over to me, her skin-tight shiny black pants reflecting the headlights of the car. “I’m a lone wolf,” I replied. “I don’t run with mongrels.”
Darcy pressed her hand to my chest, then slowly ran her tips down my side. I wanted to grip her fingers and snap them like twigs for touching what would never be hers. She moved to my dark jacket, then dipped her hands in my pockets, swinging the fabric side-to-side. “You’re funny, I think I’ll keep you around.” She bit her red bottom lip and winked. I wasn’t going to be around for much longer, and if my plan worked as it should, neither would they. “But not right now. Right now, you have to fulfill the last order, so scoot.” She brushed me off, then gave me a little shove backward while a sly smile spread across her evil mouth. “I’ll be in touch.”
She turned and walked away, her words staying behind, driving into me with a vicious blow. They were the words Larry used on Lucian time and time again, and the realization hit me square in my fucking face. He was still in this game, and he’d called my hand. Now I had to raise the stakes high enough to get him to fold. I just needed to know what the fuck Darcy had meant by it.
Alpha cabs was out of the question. To avoid using any service, I’d brought my car. Yeah, stupid, but parking in the lot of the supermarket, there was a chance someone would see that I was there; namely my friends.
Since Nate had practically cornered Robyn in the kitchen, I was beyond pissed at both Luca and Lucian for leaving her alone with him.
‘Come on, we didn’t have a fucking clue what he was gonna do. How the fuck would we know he had anything on her?’
I stared down at the text from Brady, the only one I hadn’t ignored. Childish? Fucking ay, but did I give a shit? Fucking no. It took Brady to call me to see what the fuck had happened because Nate, in his usual cryptic, psycho ways, told them to ask me. In my eyes, Nate was no better than Larry with the shit he’d pulled. Did he think I was gonna leave Robyn? Did he think I was gonna confess all my sins and beg for forgiveness as she turned her back on me for what I’d done?
I didn’t know what he was playing at, but we were no longer friends, and if the others continued to have him around after what he’d done, then it was obvious they didn’t give a single fuck about me. I should’ve been used to it, but it hurt when it came from them.
I swiped over the screen, texting my overdue reply to his two-day-old message.
‘You open your fucking mouth, and you ask what the hell he’s been doing. You have no problem doing it to me when you wanna get up in my business.’
I reached my car when my phone pinged.
‘He just said he was working on something but didn’t have all the details. He said he would let us know as soon as it was solid.’
‘You mean when he threatened my girlfriend? Was it at that point his suspicions would be confirmed, or when we broke up over something that wasn’t her fault?”
My phone buzzed, and although I wanted to hang up, I answered. “What, Brady?” I snapped. I put on my belt and started the car, the call connecting to my system almost immediately.
“Blaine, I don’t think Nate was trying to split you guys up,” he said. “Come over so we can talk about it. Where are you? Charlie already went to your place when he couldn’t find your signal.”
Yeah, cos I turned off my phone.
I snorted a dry laugh. “I have a life outside of your cozy little group, ya know?” I sneered. “I don’t need to come running at the drop of a fucking hat, only to be insulted the minute I get there.” I’d been made to feel like I was worthless for the last fucking time. “In fact, I think I’ve overstayed my unwelcome. Don’t call me again, Brady.”
“Blaine, what the fu—”
I didn’t catch the last words because I hung up and turned it off. I took out my other phone, the one I’d used for only two reasons—Robyn, and the jobs, then quickly deleted her details and all of our old texts from before I’d given her my proper number, in case it fell into the wrong hands.
Her shit-head of an ex was in the fucking clear, and Robyn had to sit in court and be judged. It was only the fact that she was the only one to get hurt that she got probation instead of a sentence. But, the fact that Aaron would’ve gladly let her be put away than to admit what he’d done was what had my rage overflowing, a dormant volcano that had burs
t to life, the lava beginning to spill over the sides to wreak destruction on whatever was in its path.
It was almost three in the morning, and I knew Robyn would be in bed because she had a shift in the coffee shop in the morning. I hadn’t seen her since she’d told me about what happened, her arrest, then her texts about her court case and her shit-head parents disowning her and leaving her in the care of her Aunt Joan. In a twisted way, I was glad, and I wasn’t going to apologize for it. It’d brought her into my life. God, I missed her like fucking crazy. I’d told her so, but explained I had a few things to take care of before I could come over. It wasn’t just the fact I had a list to complete, it was also because Darcy knew how to contact her. It scared the shit out of me of what she would make happen if I didn’t come through with the deal.
I pulled up at home, and strode in on tired legs, ready to hit the sack, but it was clear I wasn’t going to bed any time soon.
My mom was in the kitchen, a cup of strong coffee in her hands as she sat at the round wooden table in the dining area.
“Mom?” I asked, walking over to her. “What are you doing up?”
She took a sip of her coffee then placed her cup down. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home. I knew if I called you, you would avoid me again.”
I sat opposite her. “Mom, I never avoided you, I’ve just been busy.” That was partly true. I didn’t want to talk about grandpa’s situation, because I knew exactly what had happened.
“Too busy to come home?” She lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“I’ve been with Robyn.”
“Blaine, you’re an adult, and I can’t give you a curfew or tell you what to do with your life, but I damn well deserve respect as your parent—the person you live with, to know whether you’re going to be coming home.”
My gut churned as worry lines appeared on her forehead, deepening the more her brows pulled together. “Mom, I’m sorry. I’ll text you whenever I stay out, okay?” I hated that she still worried about me at my age. I wasn’t old at twenty-three, but I was still her kid—her baby, and the only one she had. I’d never thought about that until recently when the thought of having my own someday entered my head.
