by Chloe Plume
I’d never been much for the cuddling bullshit with any other girl, but with Winter it was okay. I didn’t want to admit it, but it felt kind of nice. Her body pressed so close to mine, I could feel her breathing.
“What the hell is this?!” I pointed with astonishment at the screen. “They’re standing outside like thirty feet from the cabin and just waiting around getting rained on the whole time. They can’t even hear each other, never mind the ridiculousness of the whole thing.”
“That’s not the point Rev,” Winter said, cautioning silence as she stared intently at the screen.
Of course, the girl jumped into the guy’s arms and they started making out in the rain.
Never saw that coming.
I was much more interested in way her chest swelled out in front of her, covered only in the thin material of one of my cotton t-shirts.
I reached under the shirt and grabbed a handful of her breasts, massaging lightly.
She swatted me away. “Rev, come on. Is that all you think about?”
“Is that rhetorical?” I asked, my hands making their way back to her soft mounds.
This time she didn’t stop me. As the movie continued, I caressed her smooth curves. My hands ran over each and every swell of her enticing little body. I couldn’t get enough. I played with her right through to the credits.
She twisted out of my arms and stretched out on her stomach. She wore my t-shirt and nothing else. Her feet kicked up in the air behind her.
For a moment I felt that sense of complete and utter happiness that I thought was only possible for someone else. Anyone else but me. But when I saw her there, the world outside my apartment ceased to exist. The only thing that mattered was the girl on my bed.
“Is that a tear in your eye, Revon Gryffin?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.
I grimaced, surprised and displeased to find she was right. The end of the film might have actually drawn out a drop or two in the corners of my eyes. “There may or may not be a tear,” I said jokingly. “That movie was a giant cliché, but it was well written.”
She laughed. “Oh, so that’s what you’re responding to, the writing?”
I took a strand of hair from where it fell in front of her glossy, chestnut-eyes, and tucked it gently behind her hair. “Don’t let my inner sensitivity fool you, kitten. If we didn’t have to leave for your Aunt’s in a couple minutes, I’d be smashing that beautiful ass of yours right now.”
A glint of mischief sparkled in her eyes. She yanked at my boxer-briefs and I obliged, letting her slip them off my hips.
“Don’t worry, there’s always time for something Rev.” She gripped my thighs and her eyes lingered on mine before settling on the head of my throbbing cock.
She slipped off the bed and fell to her knees. Leaning between my legs, she ran her lips over my chest. My head tilted back. I ran my hands through her hair and guided her down.
She ran her tongue along my length and took me into her mouth. I heaved, thrusting inside as she sucked hard.
“Fuck, I love that mouth,” I groaned.
She moaned, the vibrations of her voice coursing through my shaft. I grasped her long, dark golden brown hair.
“I’m going to cum,” I grunted, warning her.
She pulled me in deeper, sucking harder.
I thrust deep inside, growling her name as I filled her mouth.
Chapter Seventeen
Winter
Aunt Sylvia took an immediate liking to Rev. Almost too much of a liking.
“Well now, he’s a quite a looker this one,” she declared as Rev walked with me into the boutique. “Reminds me of a young Robert Redford, back before Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.” She and Rev shook hands enthusiastically.
“What do you think?” Rev spun around to face me, his index finger stretched beneath his nose. “Maybe I should grow a moustache?”
“Please don’t,” I said.
Aunt Sylvia laughed. “In any case, I meant the younger Redford, back in The Chase. I’ll tell you, if I was 25 years younger…”
“Aunt Sylvia!” I protested.
She waved it off, her hand flashing through the air covered in silver and turquoise rings. “Oh, come on now Winter. I don’t mean to embarrass you in front of your handsome boyfriend.”
Is that what we were now?
Rev and I were so lost in the moment we hadn’t really talked realistically about the future. My whole life was back East. It was hard to imagine how we’d make it all work. That is, if he really wanted the same thing as me.
And even if he does, easier said than done…
“Ma’am,” Rev addressed my aunt, “A lovely disposition is never a source of embarrassment. And if you don’t mind me saying, I’m astounded by the family resemblance—beauty clearly runs in the family.”
Aunt Sylvia’s smile filled the room. “I never mind compliments at my age,” she said. “Keep ‘em coming.” She patted me on the shoulder. “He’s a keeper, Winter. I’ll tell you that.”
“Ugh… Maybe you two should just go to lunch by yourselves,” I suggested. “I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
Aunt Sylvia chuckled and led the way out of the boutique, closing and locking the door behind us. “Thank you again for holding down the store for me this evening, Winter. These last minute scheduling changes for my yoga meditation group are becoming unbearable. It’s almost like they want to get you agitated so you keep coming back for your tranquility fix.”
We walked three stores down to the health food store that had a vegetarian deli my Aunt ate lunch at almost every day.
Rev looked disheartened as he eyed the menu.
“I’m guessing you’re not a vegetarian,” Aunt Sylvia observed.
“You guessed right.” Rev perused the menu further. “But I do like to keep things interesting. I’ll try the seitan scaloppini.” He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat pretentiously. “Ahem, I assume it’s all gluten-free and the like. I have refined and delicate sensibilities,” he said ironically.
“Ha, it’s basically 100% gluten, Rev,” I said, snickering.
“What? I thought this place was supposed to be all healthy.”
I shook my head. “Healthy doesn’t mean gluten-free, unless you have celiac disease. Though to be fair, health food places have been capitalizing on the gluten-free branding, so I can see the confusion.”
My Aunt chimed in. “Not this place. This is the only store like it around here. They depend on regulars like me and they’ve built a great reputation on honesty and transparency.”
Rev shrugged. “Yeah, they’ll probably be opening some kind of vegan place in Desert Haven soon to go with the golf resorts and spas. I have a feeling they won’t build their reputation on honesty and transparency.”
“Oh come on Rev,” I encouraged. “Don’t give up on everything just yet. There are ways Desert Haven can change and still stay in the hands of the people that make it such a special place.”
“I’ve been hearing about the whole situation down there,” Aunt Sylvia added. “Big money’s moving in and building it up. Some people are saying there’ll be better jobs when things go from farming to tourism. But I can see it the other way. Focus will shift to tourist costumers and anonymous shareholders instead of co-ops and the concerns of a tight-knit community.”
“Well, that’s just it,” Rev noted. “It’s not just a change in the local economy.” He stood up and patted the menu. “If you could order for me, I’d appreciate it. Excuse me ladies.” He made his way to the restroom in long swinging strides.
“I like him!” Aunt Sylvia called out. “I think he’s good for you, Winter. Since you started spending time with him, I’ve detected a spirit of vibrancy and vigor around you. You’re positively glowing!”
I almost burst out laughing. “Now you’re detecting spirits and energy around people?” I shook my head. “Well, I hope you got better at it since you told your sister you had a great feeling about Dylan. My mom told me you w
ere convinced he was a great guy right through the end.”
Aunt Sylvia looked down at the table and her face settled into a serious expression. “Winter,” she said, peering intently across the table, “it’s time you knew the full story about your father.”
“I know he got in too deep and ran off with every valuable in the house, never to be seen again.” My brow furrowed as the memory became vivid. “I was there for that part. I know that’s true.”
Aunt Sylvia exhaled deeply. “You should also know that as soon as they got married, before you were born, your mom cheated on him with a wealthy man.”
I reeled, trying to make sense of her words.
She continued. “That’s when Dylan started taking to all those cons. That’s when he started getting in with the mob. It doesn’t justify it, but he thought what your mother wanted was money.”
“And that’s why he ran away with all of it?”
“He’d gotten in so deep in the underground, that they threatened to come after his family. So he made a deal. He put everything he could scrape up as a down payment on his debt and worked the rest off doing jobs out here in Vegas.”
“Wait, he’s here?” My chest tightened. I could hardly believe it.
“He was.” Aunt Sylvia looked out over the mountains on the horizon. “But he’s long gone now. He came by to see me though. About two years ago. He made me swear never to tell you or your mother.”
“You saw him!” I lurched forward. “Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t care if he made you swear not to.”
“Because he made a lot of money for some very influential people and caught wind that they were tying up lose ends. He’d just finished paying off one set of criminals who wanted him dead, and right away he had another target on his back. So he pulled off one last heist on the people he’d been pulling heists for. He didn’t want any connection with his family or worse for you to come looking for him. He just disappeared.”
“Yeah, again.” I fumed. I could just imagine him kicking back in some beach in Mexico under a fucking yellow umbrella, drink in hand, far away from his family. “None of this changes the fact that he got himself into deep shit and I grew up without my father. It’s still his fault.”
Aunt Sylvia leaned in, nodding, eyes wide and earnest. “I know, Winter, I know. I just needed to tell you. Your father had weaknesses and he made mistakes. But, he had a good heart and he loved you and your mother dearly. I vividly remember the tears in his eyes two years ago when he told me he had to leave. He couldn’t imagine never seeing you again.”
My eyes drooped and I felt a single salty drop run down to the corner of my mouth. I brushed it with the back of my hand and sniffed in sharply to hold back the stream of wistful emotions. I could see my dad and me taking long walks around a snow blanketed Central Park in the winter. I could feel the way he tousled my mess of hair as I stood on tiptoes and poured myself a cup of coffee. I could hear his warm laugh as he called me his little coffee bean.
And then he just left.
Suddenly Rev returned and plunked down in his seat. “You two order yet?” he asked.
“Nah, we were about to,” I muttered, still pulling myself back together.
Just then Rev’s phone rang and he stood up, partly out of earshot to take the call. I could still hear a few snippets as he spoke quietly into the phone.
“Wait…What do you mean? Cruz is in the hospital… What about Uncle Norman? That doesn’t even make sense, Cage… Right now. This happened right now?”
Rev shoved the phone in his pocket and turned back to the table. His palm was on his forehead and his body drooped. He stumbled to where I sat and hesitated before speaking.
“I have to go.”
“Wait, Rev, what was that about.”
“Something happened.”
“Rev, can you tell me?” I implored. “Please tell me what this is about.”
His eyes went wide as he stared out into space. His hand gripped the table in front of me. “Uncle Norman’s dead.”
“Oh my God, Rev—”
“Derek. Stefan. Adrian. All dead. And Cruz is in the hospital. He hasn’t woken up.”
“How? What’s going on?” I asked, my head spinning.
“Masked gunman at my Uncle’s garage. Professionals.” Rev’s bottom lip quivered, his head bowed low. “Before Cruz went unconscious, he mentioned a name. It’s all we’ve got.” His eyebrows narrowed. “Roman Carmichael.”
I stood up and put my arms around him. I could feel his body heaving. “Rev, I’m so sorry…I can’t even begin…”
“They were all meeting at the garage while I was driving over here. I should have been there.” His jaw clenched and the muscles in his forearms tensed. “I ran that operation. I went after Carmichael’s shipment. It’s because of me that they’re all dead.”
“That’s not true,” I urged. “You know that’s not true, Rev. If you were there, you’d be…” I couldn’t even say the words. I pulled my arms tight around him. His chest heaved.
“When I find Roman Carmichael and the guys that did this…” The chord of his neck stood out, veins throbbing and muscles taut. “I’m going to fucking kill them.”
“Rev, don’t do anything hasty,” I exhorted. “Please don’t go off and do something you’ll regret.”
“This has nothing to do with you,” he shouted, pulling away.
I shook my head and raised my hands, palms up. “Of course it does,” I pleaded. “Whatever happens to you affect me deeply. Please Rev.”
He ran his hands through his hair and looked down at the ground. “I want you to come to Uncle Norman’s funeral. He would have wanted you there. I’ll let you know.”
He turned and left for the car.
“Rev, don’t go. Stay here for a minute…”
I felt a hand on my shoulder and realized it was my Aunt Sylvia, who’d been sitting there quietly the whole time.
“Let him go,” she said softly. “He needs time.”
Chapter Eighteen
REV
“So he knew?” I asked, standing with my brothers, waiting to bury our Uncle.
“He knew what Uncle Norman was up to,” Mayhem said. “He knew he was behind the heists, including the last one that stole over a dozen Maseratis off a Gryffin hauler.”
“Yeah, and a shit load of cocaine,” I added.
Mayhem tensed. “Shut the fuck up,” he whispered. “Do you want Dad to overhear that his own son was involved as well?” he whispered harshly. “Use your fucking head for once.”
I raised my hands. “Yeah, sure. I’m sorry.”
Mayhem continued. “Point is, dad knew about the cocaine too. He could have turned down the shipment, but he didn’t. I don’t know what’s going on between him and this Roman Carmichael guy, but I’m going to find out.”
“And I don’t think I have to remind you this is a wake-up call,” Ink interjected. “You’re done with jacking shipments. From now on, you run things by us, Revon. Last thing we need is to lose someone else.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered.
Our father approached. His face was hard, severe, grim. I wouldn’t say he was overcome by sadness as much as a forbidding austerity. He stared at me with his steely ice-blue eyes. I’d always felt an unrelenting condemnation under those eyes. He signaled to Ink and Mayhem and they walked off, leaving my father and me alone.
“I have a question for you Revon,” he began, paralyzing me with his stony expression. “And I want you to answer truthfully. Because so help me God, if I find out—and I always do—there’ll be hell to pay.”
I nodded and felt the anxiety build. I knew what came next.
“Your Uncle and your race crew were involved in multiple heists involving one on my own damn carrier. So, it begs the question: were you?”
I didn’t hesitate. There was no point. He’d know.
“Yes,” I said. “I was helping Uncle Norman give people a damn chance after you left them without jobs, kicked
off the land they’ve worked on for generations.”
My father tensed his fists. “Damn it, son. You don’t understand the first thing about it. You need to grow the hell up. Adult life is full of complexities. For some reason that never got through to your Uncle. And now you—”
“That’s bull shit!” I cried out. “You don’t give a shit about Desert Haven. It’s all about making a buck. Grandpa’s probably rolling in his grave. And now Uncle Norman—”
My father put his hand up, as a warning to quiet down. “Listen to me Revon. This whole idyllic farm and country thing you keep going back to: it’s not viable. It’s dead. I’m doing the best I can facing the realities of the future. Gryffin Transportation is always hiring, there’re jobs popping up in those huge warehouses built by the online companies. It’s a different era. We can do the best to maintain some kind of influence in this community or we can watch someone rip it from us as we stand idly by.”
I crossed my arms and fumed. “Yeah, right. And what are you going to do about Uncle Norman’s murder?”
“Listen to me.” My father leaned in close until I practically felt his furious stare bore into me. “All this Robin Hood shit ends now. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” He backed away, a fleeting moment of tenderness flickering across his face. “I already lost a brother. Don’t make me lose a son.”
He walked away. I seethed.
What the hell does he know?
My father was the one who’d had no problems letting Roman Carmichael smuggle cocaine through his transportation network. Who was he to get up on his high horse? At least Uncle Norman and I were doing something positive for the family name and the community we’d called home for generations.
And yet, he was right about something.
Everyone around me got hurt. Maybe they’d known the risks involved. Maybe they were ultimately responsible for their own fates. But let’s face it. I had a habit of being drawn to the reckless life. I’d surrounded myself with every form of hazard and peril. Being around me was like taking your chances with a pretty dicey future.
And things were about to get even more dangerous. Some drug kingpin had it out for my family. My father was clearly involved in some pretty deep shit. And who knows? Did Roman Carmichael know I was involved in that heist? Was he just biding his time, waiting to take me out and send an even stronger message?
