Miles (Highway Reapers MC): Inked Hearts

by West, Heather

  Chapter 44

  “This is Miles?” Sylar stared at the cell phone in his hand, scrutinized the image of the hardened guy with the sun illuminating his face. So many angry thoughts tumbled against Sylar like a tidal wave that he thought he might drown beneath.

  In the picture his sister and her boyfriend were in bed. Seemingly naked. Which meant that they were having sex. Sylar tried not to lose his shit at the thought of his little sister having sex. He told himself to be reasonable. She was an adult now, she had a life to live. But he couldn’t detach from the little girl he’d consoled when they lost their parents who had long braids and freckles on her cheeks.

  But it was more than just the loss of her innocence that angered him. The guy in the picture looked familiar. His tattooed arm was on display as it wrapped around Brea. Sylar could see ships and anchors, it looked like a naval themed sleeve. And Sylar had definitely seen that before.

  He returned Brea’s cell phone to her and wiped a hand down his face, wracking his memory. Where had he seen the guy? The memory was foggy as though it occurred a long time ago, or when he was drunk.

  “Sylar?” Brea was gazing up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something, anything. He managed to crack a smile for her.

  “He looks like a nice guy.”

  “Thanks,” Brea grinned and then gazed adoringly at the picture on her phone which was now back in her possession. Sylar tensed. He didn’t like her looking at the picture like that. She was behaving like a love sick school girl. But the tattoo was bothering him even more than her behavior.

  “You okay to hang here for a while? I just need to pop into town,” he was already reaching for his jacket as he spoke.

  “Oh, okay,” he could hear the hurt inflection in his sister’s voice.

  “I promise I won’t be long,” he insisted. “And when I get back we can hang out.”

  “Can we play Candyland?” Brea wondered hopefully, referring to the board game they always used to sit and play together on rainy.

  “Sure,” Sylar smiled warmly at her. “It’s in the cupboard near the hallway.”

  “I’ll go find it and get it set up,” Brea told him sweetly. And just like that she was back to being his cherub faced little sister who he needed to protect at all costs.

  Chapter 45

  Sylar’s hand ached from pounding so hard on the flimsy apartment door. Exhaustion was creeping up on him as he glanced uneasily down the corridor. A couple of used syringes were scattered on the threadbare carpet and everywhere stank of piss.

  “Fuck’s sake!” the door finally rattled open. From the darkness within the apartment Smith peered out, his good eye squinting against the brightness of the light in the corridor. “This better be good,” he warned.

  “I’m sorry to come over like this,” Sylar apologized. He knew better than to get on Smith’s bad side but his question was urgent and couldn’t wait. Nor could he risk it being recorded down on a cell phone in a message.

  “I need to ask you something.”

  Smith leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his bare chest. “Do you need to come in?” he wondered, thinking Sylar was in trouble.

  “No, I won’t put you out if you’ve got company.”

  “I’ve always got company,” Smith confirmed flatly.

  “Right, of course. Look, I just,” Sylar was flailing, almost too tired and panicked to string his words together cohesively.

  “Do you remember a guy with a naval tattoo sleeve? Like anchors, ships and shit?”

  “Yeah,” Smith instantly gave a nod. “Pretty handsome guy, young?”

  “That’s him.” Sylar thought of the guy in the picture, cozying up to his sister and tried not to let his rage erupt out right there and then.

  “I know the guy you mean. He runs with the Blood Pact.”

  Sylar felt like he’d been shot in the chest. He pressed one arm against the wall to steady himself.

  “He runs with pact? Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Smith swiftly confirmed. “That mother fucker once snapped a pool cue over my back. I’d love to rip that fucking sleeve right off him and feed the tattered skin back to him.”

  Sylar swallowed nervously. He felt light headed with worry. His sister was dating a member of the Blood Pact. She was sleeping with the enemy and that put both him and her in a very dangerous position.

  “Why you asking about him?” Smith narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “Is he the guy who has rocked up in Colridge? If so just say the word and I’m your man. I’ll end him in a heartbeat.”

  Sylar didn’t want to lie to his friend. He also didn’t want to endanger his sister. He thought of her back home carefully laying out the board game for them to innocently play together. All the while he was going behind her back to learn the grim truth about her boyfriend.

  “I saw him riding out on the highway,” Sylar explained lamely. “I clocked the tat and wondered if he ran with a club.”

  “You woke me up for that?” Smith wrinkled his nose in disgust. “To ask me about some dude you saw riding down the highway?”

  “I’m a little fried,” Sylar gave an apologetic shrug and hoped he did look tired enough to be believable. Smith nodded with understanding and his expression softened.

  “I hear you. Try not to hit those drugs so hard next time, eh?”

  “Yeah, totally.”

  “So I’ll see you tonight?” Smith asked expectantly.

  “Yeah, man. I’ll see you tonight. Thanks again.”

  Chapter 46

  Brea rubbed at her temples, which throbbed. She was exhausted but she wasn’t about to pass up spending time with Sylar. The front door creaked open almost an hour after he’d left.

  “Hey,” she called out brightly. “The game is all set up.”

  She looked down at all the colorful pieces she’d carefully arranged in preparation for playing together. Although the game had faded with time it still retained some of its original gleeful beauty. Brea remembered how excited she’d get whenever her parents brought the colorful box out of the cupboard. Her stomach would flip in somersaults. In their house, rainy afternoons were made for playing Candy Land.

  “Hey,” Sylar dropped down heavily on the sofa and ran his hands through his hair. He was pale and withdrawn. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

  “Is everything okay?” Brea hovered protectively close to the board game.

  “Yeah,” Sylar gave her an unconvincing smile. “Everything is fine.”

  “You don’t look like everything is fine,” Brea pressed, feeling her happiness ebb out of her. She gave the game a disdainful glance. It now looked old and weathered instead of quirkily aged. She’d been foolish to think that a board game would be enough to smooth over whatever was going on between her and her brother. Candy Land wasn’t a magic portal which could transport them back to happier times, times when their parents were still around.

  “I’m fine,” Sylar insisted, his jaw clenching. “Let’s just play the damn game,” he swept a dismissive hand towards the board.

  “No way,” Brea scrambled to start packing everything away. “I’m not playing with you, not when you’re in this kind of mood. What the hell is wrong with you, Sylar?”

  Her brother looked like he was biting his tongue.

  “You know what, forget it!” Brea seethed in frustration. Abandoning the game she stormed off towards the bathroom.

  Chapter 47

  Sylar watched her leave with a passive gaze. He was too tired for confrontation and too agitated to chase after her. He kept thinking about his conversation with Smith, how it had been all but confirmed that his little sister’s new boyfriend rode with the Blood Pact. Slowly he got up and headed for the fridge, needing a fresh beer to take the edge off. As he pulled open the door the cell phone in his pocket starting buzzing.

  With a groan he kicked the fridge door shut and grabbed his cell. Gina was calling. He released an even louder groan before answering. />
  “Hey,” he greeted curtly, his voice hoarse.

  “Sylar, it’s me, Gina.”

  “Uh huh.” She sounded pissed off. Sylar wasn’t in the mood to argue with another woman. He wondered why he’d even bothered to take the call. He slumped against the fridge, realizing that he was too tired to even think straight any more. He needed to rest.

  “I hope you don’t mind me calling,” she said tentatively. He could picture her standing in her apartment, nervously twirling her hair around her fingers. Sylar swallowed down the guilt which bubbled in his throat. He had too much going on to worry about hurting some girl’s feelings.

  “What is it?” he narrowed his eyes as he asked the question, wedging his phone up between his shoulder and ear before opening the fridge once again. Some of his tension eased as his hand closed around a fresh bottle of beer and retrieved it.

  “Hello to you too,” Gina remarked sourly. Sylar popped the cap off his beer and strolled back towards the sofa. He didn’t make eye contact with the half packed away game of Candy Land sitting beside it.

  “Gina, I’m tired,” Sylar stated, loathing how he felt compelled to explain himself. “I’ve been up all night so can we please just get to the point?”

  “Fine,” on the other end of the line she gave a stiff sigh of agreement. “The other day some guys were here. They didn’t cause any trouble but…” there was a long pause. “I think they might have similar…interests to you.”

  Sylar’s eyes widened as he slowly lowered his beer from his lips.

  “How many guys?”

  “Two.”

  That was one more than Miles. Sylar put down his beer altogether and glanced nervously in the direction of the bathroom. Brea could return any minute and hear him talking and he didn’t want that.

  “How much does she know?” he demanded tersely.

  “Not enough,” Gina scoffed. “Look, Sylar. I know how this stuff tends to go down and I don’t want any trouble. I’ve got a business to run. If you sent them my way then - ”

  “I didn’t send them,” Sylar swiftly interjected. He could feel his skin prickling and starting to get hot.

  “But they asked for Brea by name.”

  Sylar stood up which only added to the dizzy sensation he was feeling. “They asked for Brea?!” he uttered in disbelief.

  “They said they’d heard of her. That they’d heard she was a good tattoo artist.”

  “Shit,” Sylar paced back and forth beside the sofa. He hadn’t sent anyone over to Gina’s tattoo parlor which meant that Miles must have done it. Which meant that there were more Blood Pact members in Colridge. Were they gathering there like dark clouds before a storm? Had they asked for Brea by name to send some sort of twisted message to Sylar? Was she in danger?

  “If they come back, don’t serve them,” Sylar ordered sternly.

  “I can’t do that,” he could hear the indignation in Gina’s pitched voice. “Brea is working on a sleeve for the one of them. He’s due to come back for a few appointments.”

  “Cancel all of them.”

  “Sylar, I can’t, this is my business and - ”

  “If they know who she is, that she’s my sister, they will hurt her,” Sylar was hissing the words in to his cell phone, his pulse racing. “And by hurt I don’t mean slap around. I mean maim and maybe worse. Those guys being there puts her in danger.”

  Gina was silent.

  “Please, make sure they don’t come back.”

  “Did you bring trouble to my town?” Gina asked sharply. It sounded like she was struggling not to cry.

  “No,” Sylar reassured her as softly as he could. “Trouble was already there long before I arrived.”

  Chapter 48

  Brea splashed her face with cold water to try and hide the mottled stain on her cheeks from where she’d been crying. She felt foolish to have expected Sylar to be nice to her. He probably still resented her for leaving town in the first place and being mean was his way of punishing her.

  Straightening her t-shirt Brea made the decision to have a nap in her old bedroom and then head straight back to Colridge. She was done with her brother and his petty grudges. But when she returned to the main living area of the house she was surprised to find Sylar bent over the game of Candy Land, carefully rearranging all the pieces which Brea had hastily packed away.

  “Sylar?” Brea titled her head at him, wondering what he was doing.

  “Hey,” he looked up at her giving her his easy going grin, the one he used to wear as a kid. It looked strange to see it on his adult face but also comforting.

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” he explained, his eyes dropping back to the game. “I’m just tired and have got a lot going on at work but I can’t go taking that shit out on you.”

  “So you want to play now?” Brea wondered, intrigued as she sat down beside him. She felt a thrill of excitement run down her spine. She’d missed this version of her brother – the kind, fun Sylar.

  “If you can handle me beating your ass,” Sylar joked.

  “You know the rule,” Brea reminded him with a warm smile, “best out of three.”

  “You’re on.”

  Chapter 49

  Miles turned up his collar as he walked down the street. He didn’t really know where he was going, just that he wanted out of that damn motel room. It was quiet at such an early hour. A few cars meandered down the road but most shops were still closed. The sky overhead was a light shade of grey, promising a day of cloud cover but no rain. Miles quickened his pace. He liked Colridge; It was a small town but it was clean and well maintained. He approached a shop door and noticed a large clothed bundle wedged up against the wall on the top step.

  He swallowed against the lump which had gathered in his throat. He knew from experience that within that bundle there was a homeless person sleeping. Even the nicest of towns had homeless, it was an inevitable fact of life. Miles could still remember the constant pinch from the cold and the never ending gnawing in his stomach that came from being perpetually hungry. There was a time when that would have been him curled up in a ball, trying to fend off the elements as best he could.

  Miles fished a five dollar bill out of his pocket and reached towards the bundle, carefully placing it on the step beside them. The bundle didn’t move. Sadly Miles stepped back and carried on. Whoever was nestled up inside had probably learned to stay perfectly still when strangers approached. When he was living on the street Miles would be harassed on a daily basis. It didn’t help that he was young and handsome. People with dark fantasies would mistake his living rough for being their property. Men in designer suits would offer him crisp dollar bills in exchange for sexual favors. But no matter how empty his stomach felt that was something he would never do. He’d seen others disappear down dark alleys with such men and never return.

  Walking faster Miles did his best to put some distance between himself and his demons. He rubbed his hands together as if trying to stave off the cold, though the morning was relatively mild. Twice he’d almost lost his fingers to frost bite. So many times he’d teetered between the edge of life and death that he no longer feared it. Sometimes he wondered if his Uncle was taking advantage of that when he introduced him to the Blood Pact.

  Chapter 50

  As Gina began opening up her tattoo parlor, the conversation with Sylar was still resinating at the forefront of her mind. She’d deliberated all night about whether or not she should have called him. The guys who came in might not even run with a motorcycle gang, they might just be assholes. But on the wrist of the one she was sure she’d spied the dark silhouette of a scythe. And he’d been careful to try and conceal it from her which only roused her suspicions more. If it meant nothing there’d be no harm in it being in plain sight.

  Her stomach turned when she imagined the blonde guy returning for his sleeve to be worked on. As much as she wanted to heed Sylar’s warnings she couldn’t very well turn him away. What if she was wrong? What if they weren’t
gang members? She couldn’t afford to turn down work especially when they tipped as well as those guys did.

  Gina reasoned that she could finish the sleeve herself but would that look suspicious? She was chewing on these thoughts when the door tinkled and the first guy Brea had tattooed strolled in. Gina caught her breath. He was so handsome in his leather jacket and heavy boots. His hair had been tousled by the wind so that it had playfully landed over his eyes.

  “Morning,” he greeted her, his voice as deep and sensuous as the richest velvet.