by B. B. Hamel
“It’s complicated.” She looks away from me.
I stop and grab her hand. She turns toward me, a little surprised. “Try anyway.”
She pauses for a second but doesn’t try to pull away. In fact, her grip tightens on my hand.
“That girl back there, Jordan. She’s friends with the Carters. She’s my only friend right now, and I thought maybe the Carters aren’t that bad, but…” She trails off, shaking her head.
“But they’re exactly what you thought they were,” I say simply.
“Yeah,” she says, nodding. “I’m an idiot. I’m just… I’m sick of staying home. I want a life, you know? I don’t want to lose one of my last friends over these Carter guys, so I thought I’d try again.”
“I can understand that,” I say honestly. “I know you don’t owe me anything, but try and stay away from those guys.”
“I’m done with them,” she says sincerely. “Caleb is…” She trails off, her eyes a little wide, looking behind me. “Shit, Lucas. You should go.”
I turn and look over my shoulder, dread filling my gut. Caleb and Dylan are both walking toward me, followed by three other guys I don’t recognize. Three other big, mean-looking motherfuckers.
“Hey, you two,” Caleb calls out, a wicked smile on his face. “What’s going on?”
“Leave us alone,” Mia says. “Lucas is just walking me to the bus stop.”
Caleb and his little posse stops in front of us. He crosses his arms, giving me this shit-eating grin. “I can handle that,” he says. “Why don’t you fuck off, huh?”
I turn toward him and square up. I want to knock his pussy teeth in his goddamn skull but I’m outnumbered five to one. If it were three to one, or just the Carter brothers, I’d go for it. With my training and skills, I’m confident that I could easily take them. But even a SEAL has limitations, and five big, drunk, pissed off guys is probably about it.
“Leave Mia alone,” I say to him. “She left because she wanted to get away from you.”
“Is that true?” Caleb asks her.
“Don’t look at her,” I practically growl, stepping up to him. Maybe I have a death wish after all.
Caleb gets a wicked glint in his eye. “What are you going to do, fucking pussy?” he asks.
“You talk big with four guys at your back,” I say softly, forcing him to move closer. “But what are you gonna do if it’s just me and you?”
“I’ll fucking kill you,” he says, grinning wide.
He’s not expecting it when I smash my face into his nose. It makes a satisfying crunch, probably broken. He stumbles back, cursing, but I’m already moving.
Mia yells something but I can’t hear her. White-hot rage takes over my body as I slam my elbow into Dylan’s chin. He staggers and I turn to the next big guy, getting my hands up just in time to block a punch. I twist to the side and punch him in the jaw, staggering him. I follow up with another two punches, knocking him on his ass.
And then I’m blindsided by Dylan and the big guy. I’m knocked back and have to fight desperately just to keep my feet. I know that if I’m knocked down, I’m fucking finished, but they’re raining blows down on me.
I fight them back, knocking out one of the big guys. Caleb tries to get back in it but I catch him in the throat, forcing him to the ground. It’s satisfying until I get a boot to my knee and a fist to my chin.
I slam to the ground, and I know I’m fucked. They’re hurt pretty badly, but I’m about to get the shit stomped out of me, and probably I’ll get to spend a few nights in the hospital, assuming I survive it.
Mia is yelling, screaming practically, but they’re not stopping. I feel the first boot in my gut and I know I’m fucked.
“Back off, piece of shit,” someone yells loudly. “I’ll fucking blow your skulls off, cocksuckers.”
The guys back off like goddamn magic. The kicks stop and I manage to sit up, eyes wide open as Josh walks slowly toward them, a gun trained on Dylan Carter.
“Get your friends and go,” Josh says. “Right now. If you’re still here in five seconds, I’m shooting.”
They don’t need to be told twice. Dylan helps his brother up while the other guys help their friend and they head back down the street, nursing their wounds.
“This isn’t over, you fucking faggot,” Dylan Carter yells.
“What a cunt,” I say, grinning.
“Jesus, man,” Josh says, putting his gun away.
“You always carry?” I ask him.
“Hell, yeah.”
“Thanks.” He helps me to my feet and I look over at Mia.
She stares at me, horror on her face. She watches me for a second as I give her a little grin. Then she walks over to me and slaps me across the face.
That stings way worse than the boot to the stomach. I look at her, shocked.
“You asshole,” she says. “You stupid, stupid asshole. There were five of them! They were going to kill you!”
I grin at her. “They deserved it.” I can taste a little blood in my mouth.
“You idiot,” she says. “You’re a father, Lucas! You can’t get yourself killed just because of your stupid macho pride, you dumb asshole.” She’s fuming, but I can’t help but smile at her. She’s so goddamn beautiful, and she has no clue that I’d willingly take as many boots to the gut for her as I have to just to make her safe.
“Sorry,” I say to her.
She takes a deep breath and releases it. “You can’t do that,” she says.
“I know.” I step toward her, wincing from pain. I’m going to have some nice bruises in the morning. “I’m sorry.”
Josh backs off a little bit, realizing that we’re having a moment.
“You scared me to death,” she says, frowning.
“I know. It’s okay.” I take her hand and pull her toward me. “I won’t let those guys hurt you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” she says. “I’m worried about you.”
“Thanks, but Josh can take care of me.”
“No, he can’t,” Josh calls from down the street. I look over and grin at him.
“Thanks again, man,” I say.
“You owe me big time, fucker.” He opens the door to Chucky’s and heads back inside.
I turn back to Mia. “I won’t do that again.”
“You’re right. If you want me to keep talking to you, that is.”
I smirk at her. “Is that a threat?”
“Yes. You dumb asshole.” She touches my face, frowning. “That was harder than I thought it would be.”
“Well, I deserved it.”
“Yeah. You really did.”
I grin then kiss her softly on the lips. I wince a little bit.
“Are you okay?” she asks. “We should go to the hospital.”
“No, really. It’s fine. I’ve taken a worse beating.”
She sighs. “I can’t handle this, Lucas. Seriously. I can’t watch you get beat up again.”
“Oh, come on. I did a damn good job. Almost took them actually.”
She smiles a little bit. “Watching Caleb get punched…”
“I think I broke his nose.”
She laughs a little leaning against me. I wince again but ignore the pain. “His face was priceless.”
“His brother got it good, too.”
“And that other guy. Were you trying to kill them?”
“Nah. Just wanted to survive is all.”
“Next time, don’t do it at all.”
“Promise.” I kiss her one more time before we start walking again. This time, we take the bus together, and we ride it in comfortable silence, holding hands the whole way. I walk her back to her house, kiss her on the doorstep, and then start walking back home.
It’ll take me a good half hour to get home at least, probably more since I’m in some pain, but it’s worth it. Walking her home, kissing her, holding her hand, fucking hell. It makes me feel so alive, even more alive than I felt out on the battlefield. I never thou
ght I’d feel this way in civilian life, but here I am, excitement coursing through my veins.
She’s right about one thing, though. I am a fucking father now. Five years ago, I could have taken a beating like that and walked away no problem. But now I can already tell I’ll be feeling this one for days, and the bruises will take longer to heal. I’m not a young man anymore unfortunately, and I can’t fight like one anymore. I can’t try and take on five guys alone.
If Josh hadn’t shown up with that gun, I don’t know what the fuck I would have done.
I smile to myself. The look on Caleb’s face was worth it. The fear, the shock, the anger. It was pretty fucking great
I head back home, happy in a strange way, feeling good about the night.
10
Mia
I can’t freaking believe he did that.
All night in bed I just keep thinking about him trying to fight those five guys at once, getting beat up, but not backing down. He was so strong, brave, and fast. He knew what he was doing, and if there was one less guy, he would have won. Unfortunately, there were five of them and just one of him.
I hate violence. I hated watching him get hurt like that. But part of me was standing there, still and excited, rapt with attention as I watched him defend me. There’s something so primitive about seeing an incredibly strong and intense man fighting for you, willing to hurt himself and hurt others all for you. I always hated that caveman shit, and I still do. I don’t want him to fight for me again.
And yet… I was dripping wet. I hate to admit it. I was so excited I can hardly explain it. I was yelling for it to stop but on the inside I felt my blood was up and the thrill was coursing through my veins. Adrenaline was pumping into me, and I wanted Lucas to win then fuck me rough in the back alley. I wanted him to take me back to his cave and ravish me like a good caveman.
It’s so stupid and reckless. The Carter brothers are not the kind of guys you mess around with like that, and I’m already afraid of what they’re going to do. Although I enjoyed watching Caleb get his face busted, the look in his eyes as they left said everything.
He’s going to get his revenge.
Unfortunately, I don’t have to wait long for that. The next day at work, I’m doing my normal daily hike through the woods when my phone suddenly starts ringing. I think it’s going to be Lucas, so I pull it out of my pocket and answer it right away.
“Good morning,” I say, smiling, enjoying the beautiful weather.
“Good morning, pretty Mia.”
I stop dead in my tracks. That voice isn’t Lucas, not at all. It’s Caleb Carter.
“Caleb,” I say. “What do you want?”
“That piece of shit Lucas messed up last night. You know that, right?”
“He shouldn’t have attacked you,” I say.
“No, he shouldn’t have.” Caleb sounds calm and collected, but there’s a hint of menace in his voice. “He shouldn’t have at all.”
“You were scaring me, Caleb. I wanted to leave, but you followed us.”
“I wouldn’t hurt you, Mia,” he says simply. “I want you. I think you know that.”
I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach. Those words sent prickles down my spine, but not of pleasure or excitement. It’s the feeling I get during a scary movie when I know something bad is about to happen, and I have to look away from the screen.
“Caleb,” I say.
“Wait,” he interrupts. “Listen to me, and listen carefully. That guy Lucas is not good for you. He’s a low class piece of shit, a pathetic asshole. He works at a flower shop and has a bastard child. You really want to be around a guy like him?”
I bite my lip, looking at the ground. “He’s a good person,” I say. “You don’t know him.”
“I know him and guys like him. He’s a violent piece of shit.”
“You came outside with four guys in tow. He knew what you were going to do.”
Caleb laughs a little. “You don’t get it, do you? I want you, Mia. And I get what I want.”
I feel like I’m going to throw up. “I’m sorry, Caleb,” I say softly. “I just don’t think it’s going to happen between us.”
He’s silent for a minute, and I think he hung up. I have to check the phone to make sure he’s still there.
When he speaks again, it’s very quiet. “You like that little preserve of yours, right?” he asks. “It’s a beautiful place, you know.”
“It’s my favorite place in the world,” I say simply, heart beating faster.
“I can save it. My father wants to buy it and burn it to the ground. He wants to build apartments, lots of cheap housing. He thinks he can make a killing, but I can convince him not to go after it.”
“Why are you saying this?” I ask him, but I already know the answer.
“Be my girl and I’ll stop him,” Caleb says, and I want to throw up. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure he does it, and you know he’ll get what he wants.”
I stare at the ground, my stomach churning. I feel like my guts are in my throat. I’m so sickened, terrified, and upset that I can’t even respond to him. The thought of being his girlfriend, of letting him touch me, of being near him, it just makes me want to puke. I thought I could give him a chance last night, but I know better now.
“I don’t know,” I manage to say.
“Think about it. You can give me what I want, and I can give you what you want. I can give you more than that, too, if you just ask. Think about it.”
With that, he hangs up the phone, and the line goes dead.
I have to lean up against a tree, my heart hammering, my head dizzy, a cold sweat on my skin.
Caleb Carter is blackmailing me. That’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s blackmailing me into being his girlfriend, and if I don’t do it, his father is going to destroy one of the few places I love.
I don’t know what I’ll do without this place. But I can’t be his girlfriend. The thought of kissing him sends waves of nausea running through me.
Last night was a mistake. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have gone out with them, shouldn’t have put myself in that position to begin with, but it happened. I can’t go back and change any of it.
And now my situation is even more impossible. Now I’m being blackmailed, and I don’t know what to do.
As I continue walking, trying to get myself together, my first instinct is to call Lucas. But I’m afraid of what he’ll try to do. He might go after Caleb, and I couldn’t really blame him for doing it, either. This is a new disgusting low for the Carter family, and Lucas isn’t going to take it very lightly.
No, I have to work this out for myself, at least right now. I need some time to think about it. I don’t want them to take away everything I love, the one place that has kept me sane through all the dark times in my life, and yet I can’t imagine giving myself to Caleb Carter, that disgusting snake.
I head back to the office and spend the rest of the morning working on routine tasks, though my mind is still very much on the phone call. I keep thinking about Caleb, about what’ll happen if he took this place from me, and what it would be like if I gave in to him. I keep trying to think of some other solution, but I’m at a total loss.
I’m supposed to have lunch with Jordan, but she cancels at the last minute. I can’t help but see that as a bad sign. I end up eating alone in the woods, feeling more isolated than I ever have before.
The rest of the day drags past. Laura comments that I seem distracted, and I can’t exactly disagree. I am totally distracted, but I can’t tell her why. She drops it, though I can tell she’s concerned.
Caleb Carter is blackmailing me. I just keep thinking that, over and over again, as finally the end of the day approaches. I have to get home to see my dad and to do his nightly routine with him. I gather my stuff up and head out the front door, but I stop short when I get near my car.
Lucas is standing there, his eye black, a small bruise on his cheek. He grins as soon as he sees m
e and holds up a brown paper bag. “I brought dinner.”
I frown at him. “Hey,” I say.
“Hey.” He walks over to me. I step around him though and head to my car.
“I need to get home,” I say. “I have to take care of my dad.”
“That’s okay,” he answers. “I have enough. It’s Italian. I don’t know what he can or can’t eat, though.”
I frown at him. “You want to have dinner with me and my dad?”
He shrugs. “Of course. Unless that’s too weird or something.”
I stare at him, totally surprised. Nobody in my life has ever wanted to actually spend time with my father. Most people just pretend he doesn’t exist and show me lots of pity, but nobody actually wants to come spend time with him. It’s incredibly lonely.
I feel that fluttering in my stomach again and a swelling in my chest. I stare at Lucas, and he’s so handsome, smiling at me, holding his takeout bag. He wants to spend time with me, get to know me, and even wants to meet my father.
“Are you sure?” I ask him. “I mean, my dad isn’t in the best condition.”
He nods and comes toward me. “I’m very sure. Unless it’s too weird or you’re not comfortable with it, of course, but I’d like it.”
“Okay,” I say, despite myself, despite everything. “Meet me at my place.” I unlock my car door, get inside, and shut it.
He grins and waves as I pull out of my spot. I start driving home, not sure what the hell I just did.
I can’t have Lucas over at my house. If Caleb finds out, he’ll flip shit. I’m already being blackmailed by him, I can’t have Lucas in my life if I’m going to give in to Caleb’s demands.
It’s not fair to Lucas and it’s not fair to me. I shouldn’t let myself get more attached to him.
But I can’t help myself. As soon as he said he wanted to actually come to my house, meet my father, and even have a meal with us, it was just too much. I had to say yes, because I wanted him in that moment more than I could have ever dreamed was possible.
I drive home with a smile on my face. I shouldn’t be happy or excited. This could go really, really wrong, and my dad could scare Lucas away. This could be a total freaking disaster. Or it could go well, and my thing with Caleb could ruin everything. There are a million reasons not to do this.
