I cleared my suddenly tight throat. “What can I do? I can’t ask him. If I ask him, it will open a whole box of crap I don’t want to deal with. We barely have Mom’s leaving out of the way… we don’t need more stuff stirring it up.” What were we doing? I was an emotional shit storm mixed up with Sara and her hurting hurricane. As far as I was concerned, we should probably go back to bed and not get up for a few years.
The coffee maker gurgled and Sara’s eyes widened like she was the one perking. “Oh, I’m so excited. I feel like I haven’t had any coffee in years.” She did a little dance in the kitchen, her socked-feet shuffling and whispering on the linoleum.
I offered a rare grin. “Well, that’s something we never lack here.” I stood and rounded the counter, getting the powdered cream out and sugar. Sara liked hers black, but I needed mine doctored. The best was hot cocoa mixed in, but we didn’t have any.
Glancing in the fridge, I realized we didn’t have much of anything. I couldn’t go get food either, since Dad had the only car. I wasn’t about to Uber my way to the local grocery store.
I sighed. “Looks like we have eggs and toast, if you’re hungry.”
Sara shook her head. “Nah, I’m fine for now.” She tapped the top of the coffeemaker and when it stopped bubbling, she grabbed the handle to the glass pot like it was a lifeline. She poured herself some and then some into mine, leaving a liberal inch at the top of my mug for me to add my flavorings.
She clutched her cup in both her hands and moved to stand beside the window at the front of the house.
“Sit in the loveseat, Sara. It’s clean. We haven’t lived here long enough for it not to be.” I side-grinned her way as I finished adding enough cream and sugar to make my black coffee take on an almost creamy hue.
At my last house, my dad stayed on the couch we had, eating on it and leaving more than enough crumbs in the cracks to feed a small family for a year. Ridiculous but Sara and I had never sat on the furniture there.
Plus, we could have had mice problems. I had no idea.
She glanced at the couch cushions, arching an eyebrow my direction like she doubted me, but gingerly claimed a seat on the edge. “If you don’t sit here, too, I’ll know you’re lying.” She looked out the window again, sipping her cup while I stirred mine with a spoon.
I claimed a seat beside her and sipped my mug then rested my head back against the cushions. I closed my eyes, reveling in the silence and the ability to pretend like I wasn’t nervous for school, like I didn’t have an entire school on a mission to make my life a living hell. Just the peace of being with my closest friend in the silence of the living room.
We sat like that for a long time. I couldn’t put a time on it, but when I was almost asleep, Sara spoke, jarring me awake.
“What kind of trouble are you in?” She didn’t say it accusingly. She just spoke matter-of-factly, like she had a solution for whatever I might cough up.
I swallowed, sitting up and glancing around. What had she seen?
She pointed toward the street, keeping her eyes on me. “An old body-style black truck has driven by more than ten times in the little bit we’ve been sitting here. They slow down when they get in front of your house and then turn around at the end of the block.”
The Jamesons. Didn’t they sleep? I held my breath for a minute. Maybe I hadn’t made my point the night before. I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to be left alone. They seemed to ignore me the more I spoke.
What would it take to get them to leave?
“Gray. I’m serious. What is going on?” Sara tilted her head, waiting for the truth I didn’t want to admit. “You left at the last second and I had no idea where you were going. Next thing I know Blaze is telling me you’ve flipped and go to Jameson now. My phone broke and Blaze offered to get me a new one. I still don’t have it, by the way, that’s why I haven’t called you.” She took a deep breath. “Then you show up at The Pike last night and accuse me of… what? We need to talk about this.”
I hated talking about things. I chose fighting over that other girly crap. Why talk about things I can’t change? Why talk at all?
“Gray, seriously. What is going on?” Her whisper jarred me from my trance.
I wiped at the soft skin under my eyes and sighed. “Well, it’s nothing I can’t handle, you know?” It was the first time in a while I’d lied to Sara so blatantly. She knew it, too. Something else occurred to me. I furrowed my brow. “Why would Blaze take your phone?”
A flicker of fear sparked something in her eyes and she shook her head, sipping her coffee and avoiding my gaze all of a sudden. “It’s not a big deal. He was just helping me out.”
I had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t being honest with me either, but it wasn’t something we could face right there.
“What are we going to do about your uncle?” I cupped my mug with both hands, fingers wrapped tight around the ceramic. I avoided her eyes for a minute because honestly? Who wanted to look at someone when they bring up a huge family shame?
“What are we going to do about your black truck?” They were hardly the same thing and yet, Sara’s question knocked me on my butt.
What was I going to do about the Jamesons? I had to do something. Because the girl I was, wasn’t the type to sit around and do nothing. I had to do something. I had to push back.
“Tell you what, you stay with me this next week while your parents are gone and we’ll figure something out – for both of us.” I didn’t want to admit that I couldn’t stand the idea of her being away from me without a phone while I had to face Jameson alone.
The high school would be worse. Why wouldn’t they know about me being at The Pike? I’d be coined a traitor and I hadn’t even had a chance to choose loyalties.
Mix that with the fact that I was also seen as a prude and we had a problem. A real problem.
“What do you want to do today?” Agreeing with me by not saying anything concerning the issues, Sara got up from the couch and returned to the kitchen, pouring more coffee in her mug and coming back.
I glanced toward the kitchen. “I need to get groceries, but I’m not sure how.”
Sara laughed. “Let’s call your friendly neighborhood black truck. They keep going around and around. Let’s put that gas to good use.”
I grinned at her offhanded remark, but I couldn’t tell her I was terrified to see them again. I couldn’t admit to anyone that I was scared. If I did, they’d know that I had a weakness, and that wasn’t something I could allow to get out.
***
Stryker
Driving by Gray’s place all weekend was the only way I could keep myself calm. Something wasn’t right and I could feel it in my bones. Not something I had to explain to Brock or Gunner. We all sensed something was off with Gray. Her freak out on the road in front of her house the night before was something we couldn’t explain.
Why wasn’t she falling into line like the other students? Why did I care so much?
I didn’t. I had to convince myself of that. I had to not care.
My cell rang and I pulled it from the pocket of my pants while we took one last lap around Gray’s block for the day on Saturday. Or until I wanted to go again.
I glanced at the screen and then shot a glance at Brock and Gunner. “It’s Dominick.” My throat tightened and I knew I had to answer his call. I couldn’t get out of it anymore. I was out of time.
Closing my eyes, I swiped the screen. “Uncle Dominick.” That’s all I would say. The man didn’t like us and we weren’t huge fans, but we did what he said. There was an order to things. If we stuck to our training, we would replace him someday, just like our Nana would have wanted. Just like our dads would have wanted.
I stared out the window at the cloudy sky and wished for something different. Wished for my dad to be there. Wished for my family to be whole instead of tiny fragments at my feet.
I held the phone to my ear.
“Stryker, you’ll have a new student a
t Jameson this next week.” Dominick’s voice irritated me while it filled me with awe. He was a powerful man and yet he spoke softly, succinctly, and didn’t mince his words.
“We have a new student, a female.” I muttered, careful to keep my tongue respectful.
His pause filled the line. After a moment, he came back on, calmer than ever. “That’s who I want to talk to you about. Get to know her, but don’t get too close. I need to get more information before we take any steps.”
“Okay.” I glanced at my cousins, careful not to see the loneliness I felt inside my soul. “What else do you have going on?” I’d heard some things from the mine workers, but they were ordered to stick to their side of the mountain.
“The mines are going through a hiring thaw. We’ll have to drum up some employees, if we want to meet demand.” In other words, he expected us to find people to fill the positions in the mines that were hard to fill and hard to keep in. High turnover as they called them. They were extremely dangerous and the company had “accidents” more frequently than they published or admitted to.
“We just did a drive, sir. You need another one?” I rolled my eyes at Brock and Gunner. Gunner sighed, leaning his head back to stare at the roof of the truck.
We only had a few months to go until I was old enough to call the shots myself. I’d be eighteen and then I could do what I wanted – I wouldn’t be beholden to Dominick. Nothing could be better. Especially when we had our things in the works. If everything stayed on track, we’d be in the position for substantial growth when I moved into Dominick’s position.
“I expect you to manage things on that end, Stryker. It’s part of the deal.” He taunted me with his unspoken demands.
I gritted my teeth, suddenly trying not to crush my phone in my fingers. “Right.” If he only knew what I was doing with my spare time. He’d never left me live to see the next day.
“Talk to you later.” Dominick hung up and I continued staring out the window at the unassuming sky.
He hadn’t been clear about Gray, but if we wanted to keep her safe, we were going to need to up our game. For whatever reason, Dominick was interested in Gray. That wasn’t good for her or for me.
I glanced at Brock and Gunner. “He wants to know more about Gray. It’s time to bring it full force, boys.”
Their eyes hardened and they nodded as we drove back to the house. One way or the other, we couldn’t fail. We wouldn’t.
If we did that, we’d lose more than just a student, we could lose the entire town.
Chapter 13
Gray
The sound of glass settling on the countertop woke me late Sunday morning. I stared to my right, confused how I was seeing Sara sleeping on my bed but there was someone in my kitchen. I blinked, then widened my eyes.
Dad must be home.
I slid from bed, quiet as possible. Sara and I had stayed up late the night before just hanging out and dancing around the small living room until well into the next morning.
Shutting the door behind me, I turned to face Dad who didn’t acknowledge my presence as I stood there.
He poured coffee from the pot into a chipped mug and then finally lifted his gaze to mine as he greedily drank like he hadn’t had anything all weekend.
I blinked at the sudden anger washing through me. His bloodshot eyes didn’t offer an apology for being gone so long. He didn’t even seem to care what happened to me.
“Where have you been?” I didn’t even try to rein it in. My frustration with my life often overflowed to my father. I knew it wasn’t his fault that my mom left, but that didn’t mean I wanted to bear the burden myself.
“Out.” His voice was rough and scratchy like he’d been at a football game for twenty-four hours screaming his head off.
The only thing was Dad hated football. No, if my dad was going to a sporting event and screaming his head off it would be a boxing tournament. Or the races.
Judging by the way he avoided answering me directly, he was most likely at illegal fights and gambling at the reservation.
I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my forehead. After a minute, I dropped my hand and pierced him with my gaze. “Are you starting this again? Mom isn’t here to make sure you don’t lose everything, Dad. I can’t control your accounts or anything else.” I clamped my teeth together before I yelled more at him. Sara was sleeping, we didn’t need to drag her into the rest of my sorry life. She knew what she needed to know. I couldn’t bare everything to everyone.
Dad squinted, not helping his already haggard appearance. He sipped his coffee again, swallowing with painfully loud sounds. He jerked his chin toward the table set up in the dining area. “I did make some bets and I won that. If you don’t want it, I can see what I can get for it online.”
I stared at him, incredulous that he’d just admitted to gambling – again – and the fact that he had actually won something. Besides boxing matches in high school and college, I swear the only thing my dad ever took place in was getting to the egg as a sperm.
I glanced at the table, seeing nothing but a set of keys. I folded my arms and eyed him with suspicion. “What is this? A joke?”
“Nope.” He shrugged. “But if you don’t want it, I’ll do something else with it. I couldn’t believe I won it in the first place. It’s more of a collector’s item, but whatever. I didn’t have to pay for it.” He drank more coffee, ignoring my incredulity as it rose higher and higher to smother my anger.
Keys. What was he talking about? Keys? I slowly walked to the table, picking up the pair of keys on a keyring that was just the loop. Glaring, I jutted my chin to the side. “I don’t get it.” I hated admitting that, but what was he talking about?
Dad rolled his eyes and pointed toward the front. “It’s yours. You’ve been suffering in silence for long enough. As far as I know it runs fine. It was delivered a few minutes after I got here.”
Unsure I believed him, I moved cautiously toward the front windows, the same ones Sara and I had watched the black truck drive by over and over the day before. I stopped, staring out the spotted glass.
A little sky-blue Chevy LUV truck with a white canopy claimed a spot at the curb. It didn’t look brand new but it didn’t look beat to hell either. It wouldn’t make anyone quake in wonder at its size, but it would get me from point A to point B. That is…
I turned to my dad, still suspicious there was a catch. “Are you sure it runs?”
“Works fine. You can start driving it right away. I’ll get it on the insurance, but we get a grace period.” He had moved to stand beside the window, staring out at the truck from my left.
He’d gambled for the truck after he’d promised he’d never bet again after Mom left. He’d promised. Then what? He’d gone out and gambled on my first weekend at a new high school.
A change I hadn’t done anything to make happen.
He gambled, broke a promise, and he’d won a truck that he gave me. I didn’t know how to feel about it. Was I supposed to be grateful? I couldn’t figure out how to reconcile my gratitude with the fact that he’d betrayed me.
It might be minor and only one weekend, but we’d agreed on never again.
Never hadn’t happened yet.
Dad reached out while I stared out the window at the truck I wanted but was conflicted to claim. “I’m sorry. I know we promised I wouldn’t gamble anymore. I won’t. I just… I had a break, okay? It was a rough week and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I just needed to let off some steam. At least I didn’t lose anything and I got a truck, right?”
I peeked at him from the side, willing to forgive his contrition simply because he’d apologized. I only had the one parent left. I couldn’t afford to be mad at him for long.
Nodding, I sighed. “Thank you for the truck. Get back on the wagon. No more gambling. I’m serious.” I wouldn’t care that he gambled, if he didn’t binge and lose everything every time.
Every. Time.
My bedroom door opened
and Sara yawned, padding to the kitchen.
Dad glanced behind him, his eyes barely widening, “I should have known you’d be here, Sara. I’m surprised it took you so long. How are the parents?”
Sara shot me a questioning glance. My dad rarely asked about her parents or even spoke to her. She cleared her throat while pouring some of the coffee into a mug. “Um, they’re fine, they went out of town for a bit. I was staying with Gray, if that’s okay?” She bit her bottom lip, giving away how important this was to her. I couldn’t add my own need for her to stay. I had no idea what Dad would say.
He inclined his head, lowering his mug to waist level. “Let me guess, your uncle is in town.”
I inhaled sharply, pinning Sara with my gaze. She didn’t look up as she continued drinking the coffee she’d poured. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Why wasn’t she reacting? Why didn’t she seem to understand what my dad just asked?
The moment drew out until finally, Sara lowered her own cup and she set her jaw. I had never noticed how delicate her features were until I’d seen them hardened in determined pride.
“You know about him?” Sara stepped around the counter, thrusting her finger toward the ground. She blinked rapidly, fighting off the tears in her eyes. “Alex, did you know what he was doing and you did nothing?”
My dad set his coffee down, stepping backward, his hands slowly rising in the air to chest level. “It’s not like that. I just found out he was out of prison. I wrote a letter when I heard he was going to the parole board telling them not to let him out.” He shook his head, running a hand through his thinning salt and pepper hair.
Why did I feel like he was lying? Why did it feel like he knew more than he was letting on?
I didn’t pursue it. I stepped in front of him, facing my dad. “Can I take the truck out with Sara?” If I could change the direction of the conversation, maybe he wouldn’t care if she stayed at our house. Maybe he wouldn’t care if I dropped her off at school.
Her Challengers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 1) Page 11
