by Naomi West
“School’s out,” said Lily. “You’d know that if you actually talked to me every now and then.”
The blue-eyed man held up his hand, his gaze on Lily.
“This your sister?” he asked, his voice low and cool.
“Yeah, my braindead kid sister who doesn’t understand how fuckin’ dangerous this neighborhood is.”
“Nice fucking family reunion,” said one of the drunk men, his body language making it seem he was eager for a fight. “But you assholes can get the fuck back on your little bicycles and get the hell out of here now.”
The blue-eyed man turned his attention back to the drunks.
“The only assholes getting the fuck out of here are you,” he said, his gaze hard.
Carey’s heart continued to pound in her chest. Part of her knew she should try to make a break for it, but her body felt frozen beneath her.
“The fuck you just say to me?” said the drunk man. “Who the hell do you think you are, prick?”
Carey’s heart skipped a beat. She’d only just known the blue-eyed man existed, but even from her brief exposure to him she could tell that he wasn’t the kind of man to talk to like that.
The blue-eyed man turned his eyes to the mouthy drunk, his gaze steely.
“I’m feeling charitable today,” he said, his tone still firm and uncompromising. “So, I’m gonna give you assholes one chance to turn around and get the fuck out of here.”
“Yeah? Or else what?” said one of the men.
“Try something and you’ll find out,” said the blue-eyed man. “Now, are you gonna do the smart thing, or the stupid thing? Your call, boys.”
The men exchanged bleary, intoxicated looks at one another. Then, before anyone had a chance to react, the mouthiest of the drunks turned to the blue-eyed man, squared his shoulders, and took a swing. His fist made a sloppy arc through the air, and the blue-eyed man reacted to it instantly. Stepping back slightly, he let the fist pass harmlessly through the air in front of his face before reaching out with lightning-quick speed and grabbing it and the drunk’s forearm. With a fluid, effortless motion, he pulled the man towards him and tossed him onto the ground, the man’s body hitting the sidewalk with a dull thud.
Carey watched the unfolding with disbelief. She couldn’t believe how effortless the man’s movements were, and how calm and in control he was during the entire process. Once the drunk was out of the picture, the blue-eyed man turned his attention back to the rest of the group, the man he’d tossed writhing on the ground in pain.
Without any control on her part, Carey let out a shriek and ran to Lily’s side. She’d never seen violence up close like this before, and she wasn’t prepared for it in the least. She felt herself shiver, and as she huddled in fear, she felt the blue-eyed man’s gaze flick to her for a brief moment.
“Last chance,” he said. “Or else you join your dumbass friend on the ground.”
The drunks exchanged one last frantic look before exploding into runs, all of them rushing off into different directions and leaving the thrown man on the ground.
“What you want to do about this one, boss?” asked one of the crew.
“Leave him there,” he said. “Give him something to think about during the hangover tomorrow.”
Liam hurried through the men and ran up to his sister.
“Jesus, Lily,” he said, looking her over with frantic eyes. “What the fuck are you doing out here? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” said Lily, stubbornness in her voice. “And I don’t need you to baby me; I would’ve been okay.”
“Are you kidding me?” he asked. “You had a half-dozen drunk assholes about to do whatever the fuck they wanted with you and your friend here, and you want to tell me that you would’ve been fine? You’re outta your goddamn mind.”
“Leave me alone, asshole,” said Lily. “And that goes for you and your fucking crook friends.”
Carey watched the scene with wide eyes, unsure of what to say or to do.
“For fuck’s sake,” said Liam, his blue eyes struck with an emotion that seemed to be a perfect blend of anger and concern. “I know you hate what I’m doing with my life, but at least let me help you when you’re in the middle of doing something fucking stupid.”
“Screw you,” said Lily, turning to leave.
Carey, not knowing what else to do, followed after her friend. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the blue-eyed man was watching everything with that same careful, cool expression.
“Come back here, Lily!” shouted Liam, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Fuck!”
Lily continued to storm off, and Carey did her best to keep up.
“That’s your brother?” asked Carey. “That’s Liam?”
“The one and goddamn only,” she said. “Stupid criminal lowlife asshole.”
Carey knew that she didn’t need the skills of a psychologist to know that there was major tension between the two siblings.
“Shouldn’t we at least let them take us home?” asked Carey. “I don’t really want to get jumped again.”
“No fucking way,” said Lily. “I’m not going to accept a single bit of help from him or his stupid thug friends. We’re almost down to the center of town; we can get a cab there.”
Carey looked further down the road, noting that it seemed just as dangerous-looking as the area that they’d just come from. She realized instantly that she’d much rather be with the bikers that they’d left behind. Not to mention that the blue-eyed man’s face was still fresh in her mind.
Just at that moment, the revving of an engine sounded out.
“Just keep walking,” said Lily. “He’ll get the hint.”
Carey looked over her shoulder and watched as the blue-eyed man appeared to be talking down Liam as the former gunned the engine of his bike and prepared to take off. Moments later, the blue-eyed man was riding down the road, approaching Carey and Lily.
“Just keep walking.”
Soon, the blue-eyed man was at their side, his steely gaze on the two girls. Carey turned to face him, and he gave a single, slow nod of his head before turning his eyes back onto the road.
“We don’t need your help, dude!” Lily called out as they continued on.
Though Carey didn’t want to admit it to Lily, with the man at her side she already felt much, much better.
The blue-eyed man continued along at their side, and soon the rest of the crew followed behind him, all of them driving slowly to keep pace with the girls. As they did, Carey felt the fear that had taken hold of her dissipate. She felt tense, but safe.
“Stupid assholes,” said Lily. “Acting like a bunch of dads or something, thinking they need to watch out for poor little ladies like us.”
“They did save us, though,” said Carey, trying hard not to stare at the blue-eyed man, who drove only about ten feet from her.
“We would’ve been fine,” said Lily, spitting out the words. “Those drunk dumbasses were all talk. Plus, I had mace if they tried any bullshit.”
Carey didn’t even want to think about how tiny Lily versus a half-dozen horny drunk men would’ve gone, mace or no mace.
The bikers kept pace with the girls up until they reached the city center. There, sure enough, were a handful of cabs parked here and there. The area also had a handful of open business, along with enough pedestrians to keep them safe. The bikers were, of course, the center of attention.
Once the girls reached their destination, Lily turned to the bikers.
“Okay, knights on shining motorcycles, we’re fine. You can leave us the fuck alone now.”
The blue-eyed man came to a halt, propping up his bike with his leg. He gave the girls one last look over, his gaze lingering on Carey for a long moment. Then, he revved his bike, turned around, and headed back the way that they came. The rest of the gang followed suit, with Liam giving his sister one last scolding as he took off.
“I’m getting this cab,” said Lily. “Let’s ge
t the hell out of here.”
“Sure,” said Carey, her voice faraway as she watched the bikers leave, the memory of the gorgeous man in charge and his piercing, beautiful blue eyes still fresh in her mind.
Chapter Four
Carey
Carey’s sleep that night was restless, her dreams vivid. She dreamt that she was on a ship at sail on the high seas, the water endless and blue, the sky a cloudless expanse above her. But as she looked around the ship, she saw that she was alone. As soon as she saw that, the sky darkened with boiling storm clouds, the gentle waters of the ocean picking up into a wild torrent. Fear took hold of her as the rain began to pour down, and she frantically ran to the ship’s steering wheel and attempted to take hold. But it was no use—the storm was too powerful.
Just when she lost hope, however, a pair of muscular, ropy arms emerged on both sides of her, grabbed onto the wheel, and held it steady. The ship ceased bucking against the waves, and soon they were back on a steady course. Carey then turned around to see just who the man was who saved her, but all she caught a glimpse of was a pair of sky-blue eyes before she was pulled abruptly out of her rest.
“Hey!” shouted Lily. “Get up, lazy ass!”
Carey came to and looked with bleary eyes around the small bedroom where she was staying. Lily stood over her, an eager expression on her face.
“Wha—” asked Carey. “What time is it?”
“A little after nine,” said Lily. “You slept in way too late. We got shit to do. Come on and get that sexy ass of yours in the shower!”
With that, Lily headed out of the bedroom. Carey heaved herself out of bed and took stock of the room. With the bikini model and metal band posters on the wall, it was clearly that of a teenage boy, and in the corner on a desk chair was her suitcase of clothing. She grabbed what she needed and went to the nearby bathroom to wash up. Once she was done, she made her way through the small, cramped lower-class house and towards the kitchen, where Lily was already seated with a cup of coffee and her laptop in front of her.
“Nice digs, huh?” said Lily, gesturing to the humble kitchen around her.
“It’s, um, cozy,” said Carey.
Lily snorted, a half-smile on her face. “‘Cozy’ means ‘small and shitty,’ but don’t worry about it; we won’t have to be here for long.”
“What do you mean?” asked Carey.
“I’m thinking that we can sublet a place for the summer, maybe get a couple of part-time jobs. Holyoke isn’t all rundown like this, and I’m sure we can find a halfway decent apartment to split for the summer.”
“Wait a minute,” said Carey. “Part-time jobs?”
“Yeah?” said Lily. “You know, the thing you’ve never had to have because your parents pay for everything?”
“Not this summer,” said Carey. “They told me if I wanted to ‘rough it’ in Holyoke, then I lost my card privileges.”
“Poor baby,” said Lily, scrunching up her cute features in an exaggerated manner. “You’re gonna have to work like the rest of us.”
“Oh, and I’ve got my residence to worry about. I need to meet with the artist in the next day or two. But that doesn’t pay.”
“Then we’re gonna have to do something about that,” said Lily. “Oh, here—think you could hack it as a barista?”
“I can barely make a pot of coffee without burning it,” said Carey.
“Nothing like a little on-the-job-training,” said Lily. “I’m thinking we can put together our résumés and go check out some places today. Then after we’ve got some work lined up, we can start looking at apartments. Sound good?”
“Sure,” said Carey, feeling a little overwhelmed, not to mention still thinking about the encounter last night, along with the beautiful blue-eyed man who’d possibly saved her life.
“Grab some coffee and let’s do it.”
Carey, a fresh cup in her hands, plopped down next to Lily, and they both set to work. After a time, the front door opened and shut, the commotion followed by a pair of heavy boots stomping towards them.
“Ah, goddammit,” said Lily.
“What?”
“Boots mean Liam. Shit.”
Sure enough, seconds later the lanky, tall frame of Liam appeared in the doorway from the living room. His blond hair loosely hung on his shoulders, and he wore a pair of tight black jeans along with a black T-shirt for a metal band, the sleeves ripped off and putting his tattoos on full display. His boyishly cute face was in an expression of frustration.
“What the fuck, Lil?” he said.
“Whatever are you talking about?” asked Lily in a calm, even voice before taking a sip of her coffee.
“You know just what the fuck I’m talking about,” said Liam, storming over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. “Walking around like a goddamn dumbass in the middle of the shittiest part of town in the dead of fucking night. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I needed to catch a cab.”
“You almost caught a fucking sexual assault,” said Liam. “I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there.”
“You mean if you and the rest of your gang of criminals hadn’t been there?”
Liam sighed with frustration. “What’s wrong with you? Why you gotta play mommy all the goddamn time?”
“Maybe because I’m not so crazy about the idea of my brother running around with thug lowlifes. Think about that?”
Liam sighed again, clasping his hands onto his hips. He turned his gaze to Carey, who’d been watching the exchange in silence.
“I’m Liam,” he said, extending his hand. “This little brat’s older brother.”
“Though you’d never know he was older by the way he acts,” said Lily.
“Um, nice to meet you,” said Carey.
“Don’t let this girl get you thinking any differently—you two were in some serious fucking danger last night.”
Lily waved her hand dismissively, her eyes on the computer in front of her.
“Yeah,” said Carey. “Um, it’s good that you and that other guy were there.”
“‘That other guy’?” asked Liam.
“You know, the one with the shaved head; the one who threw the other guy like it was nothing.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Carey spotted Lily raising an eyebrow at this description.
“Oh, that’s not just some ‘other guy’,” said Liam. “That’s Owen Flynn. He’s the president of the Fourstroke Fiends; that’s the crew that I run with.”
Carey could detect a trace of pride in Liam’s voice.
“‘Fourstroke’?” asked Carey. “What does that mean?”
“It’s because they’re so good at jerking each other off that it only takes four strokes,” said Lily.
“Hey, fuck you!” said Liam.
“So, uh, Owen?” asked Carey, eager to bring the subject back to where she wanted it.
“He’s fucking awesome,” said Liam. “Been the president for almost a decade now. Word is that the previous president died in some gang fight or something, then when they found his last wishes they said that he wanted Owen to be the new man on top. The other guys weren’t too crazy about that shit, but he proved himself quick as fuck. I’d take a bullet for that man.”
An almost dreamy expression formed on Liam’s face as he spoke, and Carey could tell that he had a great deal of admiration for Owen. And from the little bit of him she’d seen, Carey couldn’t blame Liam one bit.
“What is he, your boyfriend or something?” said Lily.
“Shut up!” said Liam.
“He’s a fucking criminal, just like you are. I don’t care how cool or whatever he is, he’s the reason that you’re running around town acting like a thug.”
“You need to keep your damn mouth shut if you know what’s good for you,” said Liam, pointing a finger at Lily.
“Or what?” said Lily, standing up from her seat and face her brother. “You’ll
get your crew to come here and beat me up? Maybe Owen can throw me onto the ground like he did to that drunk jackass last night. I bet you’d think he was even cooler then.”
“Fuck off, Lily,” said Liam. “You think just because you’re going to some fancy fucking private college that you’re better than anyone else in this town.”
“No,” said Lily, her voice cool. “I just think I’m better than you. And I busted my ass to get to where I am now—no cutting corners and breaking the law like you.”
