by Alexa Rynn
I’d searched for her everywhere but it was like she’d vanished. No cell-phone use, no card usage, she’d even avoided going home to see her mom, knowing that I would look for her there.
It had finally hit her, how crazy my life was, and she wanted no part in it. She’d just up and left me, knowing that I would do anything to find her and bring her back to me. Only this time she’d left no trace of where because she didn’t want to be found.
She wanted to be alone, away from me forever.
Heather tried to grab the bottle out of my hand but I was too fast, hugging it to my chest tightly. She settled on my half eaten plate of food in front of Blaze instead, taking it away from him and shoving it on the other side of the counter.
“Hey!” Blaze complained, stabbing at the counter with his fork.
“Would you talk to him? Please?” Heather hissed.
Blaze banged his head against the bar. “I have been talking to him! That’s all I’ve been doing for the last two weeks is talking to him!” He looked at the plate of eggs longingly. “And every time you get on me about not talking to him I go and talk to him again! It does no good!” He turned and looked at me, disapproval written all over his face. “Juts look at him, he’s a mess. He hasn’t eaten or slept in days.” He reached out and ruffled my messy stubble that had started to grow all over my face. “He hasn’t even shaved.”
I jolted out of his grasp and took another swig out of my bottle.
“My boy got his pride hurt,” Blaze said, grabbing a handful of peanuts off the bar and shoving them into his mouth. “He’ll bounce back, he just needs a little time.” He chewed loudly. “This is why I don’t do the whole girlfriend thing, it’s sure to end badly, it’s like what’s the point? There’s tons of tail out there just ready and waiting to be banged without any attachment, you feel me?” He grinned, punching me playfully in the stomach.
Heather and me stared at him blankly.
“Too soon?” he asked and then nodded. “Too soon.”
“You repulse me,” Heather told Blaze. “And it’s not about his pride, idiot, he has a broken heart.” She grabbed the bowl of peanuts away from Blaze, too. “And my guess is that wherever Grace is she has one, too.”
Blaze shook his head. “But she’s the one who left him.”
“He’s right,” I said. “She left me. Left me all alone.”
“She didn’t leave you!” Heather told me. “Something clearly happened to her! She wouldn’t have just left you, she’s obsessed with you!” She grabbed a class and set it on the bar. “And would you at least use a glass?”
I smashed my hand down on top of the glass, sending specs flying all over, including my skin. Heather gasped and tried to make a reach for me but I pushed her off, downing more Jack and enjoying the sensation of the pain pumping in and out of my veins. It was nice to, at least, feel something. The feeling of glass in my skin while blood swam out around the little cuts was my favorite kind of physical rush besides sex.
And I wasn’t gong to be having that anytime soon.
“Blaze,” Heather whispered. “Do something.”
A girl took the opportunity to come up and swing her arms around the back of Blaze’s neck. “Hey, baby, do you want to go upstairs and play?” She glanced at me. “I have a friend for your friend.”
Slut.
Blaze glanced down her plunging neckline and shot me a look.
“Have a blast,” I said, taking another swig. “I’m kind of busy.”
“Hey,” Heather snapped. “Do you mind? We’re talking here so take a walk.” She looked like she wanted to bash one of the bottles in her hand over the girl’s head, not that it surprised me, I was used to my sister being overprotective of me.
“Don’t be rude, Heather,” Blaze told her, his eyes still on the girl’s chest.
“Yeah, Heather,” she cooed, pressing herself even harder up against Blaze. “Don’t be rude.” She ran her hand up and down his chest, tracing his tattoos with her fingertips.
“Then take her out of here and leave us alone.” Heather said, titling her head to the side. “No offense but this is kind of a personal conversation, I’m not sure you’d be able to wrap your little brain around it.”
“Listen,” the girl snapped. “Is he yours?”
“What?” Heather asked, taken aback.
“Is he your man,” the girl asked, motioning up and down Blaze.
“Yeah, Heather,” Blaze asked her, amused. “Am I yours?”
“I hate you,” Heather mumbled.
“Then why don’t you take a walk, bitch?” The girl said, snuggling up against Blaze even more. “In case you haven’t noticed we’re kind of busy here.” She smiled up at Blaze adoringly.
But Blaze wasn’t having it. “Whoa.” He pushed her away. “You can’t just go around calling people bitches.” He glanced at Heather, who looked like her head was about to explode. “Especially not girls like Heather.”
“But she is one.” The girl moved her hand to Blaze’s crotch, trying to distract him by getting him worked up further sexually. “Come on, daddy, let’s get out of here and I’ll show you what it’s like to mess with a real woman.” She glanced at Heather. “Not a little girl.”
I smacked my glass filled hand down on the wood, causing more blood to emerge. “Blaze,” I growled. “Would you get this girl away from my fucking sister? Now.” I’d had enough; if he wanted to fuck her he should go and fuck her. She didn’t need to hang around throwing low blows at my baby sister. It was bad enough I had one sister I’d never met. The least I could do was take care of the one I did know.
The girl turned pale. “Oh, Cutter, I didn’t know she was your sister…”
I growled at Blaze.
“You should go,” he said, unwrapping her arms from him.
“But…”
“Just go,” Blaze said more sternly.
“Yeah, just go,” Heather said cutely.
The girl walked away and Blaze turned on Heather, shaking his head. “Can’t you ever just be cool for once and help a brother get some? Damn, you would think you were my girlfriend the way you cock block sometimes.”
I laughed for the first time in days. The thought of my sister and Blaze dating was funny to me. The idea that either one of them would be into the other was absurd.
Heather shot me an annoyed look then grabbed the bottle of beer Blaze was drinking out of his hand. “Please, don’t flatter yourself, this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my brother.”
“Would you stop taking my shit?” Blaze leaned over the bar and snatched another bottle of beer. “When are you going to stop giving me such a hard time about every fucking thing I do, Heather?”
“Oh, like you don’t do the same thing to me,” she snickered. “Let’s not turn this into a fight. It’s not about you or me, it’s about him.” She looked at me. “He needs help snapping out of it and the longer you take to help him do it the longer I have to go without finding this long lost sister I never knew about until now.”
I deserted my bottle of Jack and picked up some vodka just for the hell of it. I hated vodka, it was nasty, but I was in the mood to be sick. Heather had been obsessed with finding our long lost sister ever since the news broke, demanding I hunt her down immediately.
I wanted to find her, too. She was my fucking twin after all.
But everything else seemed pointless right now.
Everything seemed like a chore without Grace.
“And the longer I don’t know where my sister is, the longer I have to deal with THAT walking around my town every damn day and eating in here three damn times a day.” She glanced down to the other side of the bar where Krusher was throwing peanuts up in the air and catching them in his mouth. Some of our club whores surrounded him, cheering every time he did his dumb trick.
Oh, yes, Krusher was still here. And, oh, yes, he was still being his normal asshole self. It annoyed the hell out of me seeing him walk around our town ever
yday and do whatever he wanted. He was under our protection. My father had wanted to kill him on the spot, not giving a damn about my twin, which only made me want to find her more.
I wasn’t speaking to my father. He could choke on all his lies like the coward he was as far as I was concerned. And since my sister had started staying in a room above the bar like me, I had the feeling that she felt the same way. Well, that and she cursed him any chance she got.
“Darling,” Krusher called now to Heather. “Another round for me and my ladies, please.” He took one last shot and shoved the empty glass toward the brunette sitting on his lap.
Heather rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually work here, Krusher.”
“Then you better hurry up to make up for the time it’ll take you to figure out where everything is.” His eyes fell on the plate of eggs and bacon behind the bar. “Bring me some of that breakfast while you’re at it.”
“Ugh,” Heather said. “It’s so early. How can he already be drinking right now?” Then she glanced at me and backtracked. “Well, you have an excuse, you have a broken heart.”
Krusher was starting to bother me, but not as much as he would have if I weren’t thinking about Grace all the time. She made it a little hard to think about the wanna be Green Grove member wondering around my town and wishing he were one of us.
My sister rounded the bar and put her hands on my wrist. “Can I see?”
I pulled away from her. “No, I like the feeling of the pain.”
“Jesus,” Heather said, looking at Blaze again for help.
Before Blaze had a chance to compose a proper reaction Krusher was by our side. He threw one hand around Heather’s shoulder and pulled her closer to him. “Baby, did you not hear me about those drinks?”
Blaze yanked him off her in one fast motion, pushing him hard against the bar. “Listen, you piece of shit, you may have a free pass around here for right now but that doesn’t mean you get to do whatever the hell you want to the people we care about.” He glanced around the room. “You have free range on all the club whores around this place, but her.” He gestured toward Heather. “She’s off limits.” He backed away from Krusher slowly, still staring him down. “Don’t touch her again.”
Krusher showed the kind of emotion he always showed whenever someone backed him into a corner and said something threatening toward him. As in, he showed none at all. I couldn’t figure out if he was just as fucked up as me and felt nothing or if he was just really good at not showing any emotion.
He flipped his light hair back and shot Blaze a grin. “Relax, I’m not after your girl or sister or whatever the hell it is you call her.” He slumped down on the stool next to me and padded me on the leg. “Still glum, huh buddy? Cheer up, there’s plenty of fish in the pond.”
“Its sea,” Heather corrected him.
“What is?” Krusher looked puzzled.
“Its there’s plenty of fish in the sea.”
Krusher raised his eyebrows at me. “What you really need is to stop spending so much time with your damn sister and start spending more time with some girls you can actually stick your dick in if you catch my drift.”
“He would have two sisters to hang out with if you would stop being such an unbelievably big asshole and tell us where the hell Cutter’s sister is,” Heather hissed.
Krusher jumped off the seat next to me. “On that note, I better be off.” He patted me on the back. “You know how I get when the conversation turns to serious things. Uninterested.”
He goes to move past me and smacks into Ace’s chest.
“Oops sorry,” Ace said sarcastically, pushing Krusher again.
“Oh, good, the gangs all here.” Krusher rubbed his shoulder.
“Cutter,” Ace said. “You got a sec?”
I took another sip. “No, I’m extremely busy right now.”
A girl cleared her throat and I glanced at Ace out of the corner of my eye. A tiny girl with brown eyes and short hair looked up at him like she was staring at the most beautiful thing she’d ever witnessed. She had a decent rack and a cute face but she wasn’t Ace’s type, dressed in a loose sweater and cargo pants she was hardly the kind of chick Ace would be interested in. Clearly, he wanted me to take one for the team and scare her away so she’d quit bothering him.
Didn’t anyone understand that I had better things to do?
Like drink away my sorrows.
“Cutter,” Ace said, moving toward me and taking the bottle out of my hand. “This is Alexis, she came here looking for you.” He glanced at the girl again. “She really needs to talk to you about her sister.”
I went to reach for the bottle but Ace handed it off to Blaze who handed it off to Heather who tossed it behind the bar. Ugh, that game had been funny when she’d done it to Blaze. When she did it to me? Not so much.
I turned my attention back to the girl. She was staring at Ace’s muscles now like they were painted on. God, if he didn’t get her out of here soon she was going to start drooling all over the fucking floor. I shot Ace a frustrated look, he could at least act like she existed. I’d always thought he was too fucking picky. Sure, she wasn’t flashy but she was cute enough, he could at least hit it a few times to make her feel better. I would have.
“Okay, kid, I’ll bite,” I said looking at her. Up close she was younger than I originally suspected. Still, she was legal. Ace could be so damn selfish. “What do you want?” I grabbed a toothpick off the bar and turned it over in my mouth a few times before spitting it onto the floor.
Alexis stared at the toothpick with wide eyes.
Krusher watched her gaze and bent down to pick it up. “Littering is a series offense that is punishable by law in the form of 90 days in jail or a one thousand dollar fine.” He shot Alexis a wink and threw the toothpick across the bar where it landed with a clean thud straight into the garbage.
“None of that is even true,” Heather said to Krusher.
“Don’t wink at her,” Ace said to Krusher.
“Why do you spend so much damn time correcting him?” Blaze asked Heather about Krusher, an accusing tone in his voice like she had betrayed him. “Why do you care so much about him?”
Ugh, why the fuck couldn’t everyone just leave me alone?
“ENOUGH!” I snapped, standing up from the bar and shoving the stool across the room with my bloody hand. “CAN’T ALL OF YOU JUST UNDERSTAND THAT I WANT TO BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE?”
The place was silent, everyone staring at me, but I could have cared less. Now they all wanted to shut the hell up, after they’d already pushed me to the limit. “Forget it,” I mumbled, turning around and heading toward the door at the front of the building.
I needed to get away from them and everyone else in the world.
“Cutter, wait!” Ace called.
“Let him go,” I heard Blaze tell him.
“Grace!” The young girl called out. “Please, it’s about Grace!”
I stopped in my tracks and swung around. “Grace?”
And suddenly it all made sense. That skin tone, those eyes, the way she took a few steps forward trying to gather up some courage. She even walked like her sister.
“Grace,” Alexis said. “Grace is my sister and I need your help.”
And for the first time in two weeks someone had my attention.
Chapter Three
GRACE
I knew something bad was about to happen even before Clause turned the T.V. off and snapped his head around to look at the door. “Did you hear that?” He asked me paranoid. We both listened for a second and when nothing further came he shook his head. “I thought I heard something.”
I had, too.
But it was tough to know since Clause had done this four times since Lance left a few hours earlier. He was starting to really freak me out. He’d called whoever the heck was running the show and asked permission to move me, but he hadn’t gotten it. Whoever it was had assured Clause he would take care of Lance, assured him he wouldn
’t be coming back for a round two.
Clause still seemed uneasy and it made me uneasy.
“I don’t understand why you’re so nervous, if your leader said he would handle it, wont he handle it?” The idea of someone not doing something that whoever was in charge said in a brotherhood was foreign to me. Cutter would never put up with something like that.
“You would think,” Clause said, pulling back the curtain and glancing out the window. “But sometimes Lance does what he wants no matter what anyone tells him. Finding out I ran to brothers higher up might just piss him off even more.”
“You mean he disobeys and lives to talk about it?” I chuckled. “What kind of people do you have running this club of yours anyway? Sounds to me like they don’t have much control over the members.”
“Shhh,” Clause said as he stepped away from the window. “What was that?” He crossed the room and looked out the peephole into the hallway, stretching his eyes back and forth to make sure he got every inch possible in the frame.
“I think you’re being paranoid,” I whispered.
He backed away from the door and sighed. “Maybe you’re right, I think I’ll call some backup just to be sure, though.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started typing in a new number.
He didn’t get far.
The door to the room was kicked in within seconds and four men charged in out of nowhere. Lance was the last one in and he slammed the door behind him, a grin on his face. “Honey, I’m home!”
They had Clause on the floor within seconds, both of his guns in their hands and his body being held down by Lance’s three goons. Clause wasn’t pussy enough to look scared but I knew that he knew this wasn’t going to end good for him. He wasn’t weak and he wasn’t a pansy but he was outnumbered and four against one would never be a fair fight. Even for the strongest of men. He shot me a sad half smile, telling me it was okay.
And for a second I believed him.
