by Cassie Wild
Apparently, TU didn’t mind, or he wouldn’t have had her answer his phone, though.
“Hello, Lane,” she cooed, sounding like she was talking to a baby.
“I need to talk to him,” I said, irritated.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but he’s busy.”
“Now, Melina. Tell him if he doesn’t talk to me, I’m walking away from this…friend of his.”
She was quiet for a minute, then I heard her talking, and the hesitation was obvious in her voice – the little girl breathiness was gone too. Funny how that worked.
TU came on the line. “What the fuck do you want, Lane? It’s a simple job.”
“What’s the point of this simple job?” I asked.
“I’m helping a friend get rid of some unwanted cargo, and it saves the bar some money,” he said shortly.
“The bar isn’t your concern.” It had belonged to my father – technically, it still did – but the day to day running of it fell to me. Mom had proven to be not so good at managing the operations, and by the time I was old enough, the place had been in rough shape financially. I was just now getting it back where it needed to be, especially when it came to paying off the taxes she owed. The last thing we needed was the fucking IRS to come sniffing around.
No, that was one of the last things we needed.
Stolen tequila was another.
“I’m not getting involved in this,” I said, making up my mind. “You want this shit, you buy it, and you find a way to get rid of it that doesn’t involve my bar.”
“You’re overstepping your authority there, son,” TU said, his voice gruff.
“Am I? The bar isn’t yours. You’re the acting president, but that doesn’t give you ownership of the bar.” I clenched my jaw so tight, it cracked, but I didn’t back down.
Taut moments of silence passed before TU finally said, “Tell Manny I’ll give him a call, see if another friend might be able to help him out.”
“Will do.” As I started to lower the phone, TU’s voice came again, and I lifted it back to my ear.
“Lane, you and me aren’t going to start having problems now, are we?”
Problems. I could only imagine what sort of problems he was talking about.
“That depends on whether or not you try to get me tangled up in something stupid and petty and not worth the hassle, TU. Next time you got a friend you want to help out like this, you help him out. Don’t use me to do it.” I disconnected the call and stepped back into the vacant store, seeking Manny out of the darkness.
He came hurrying in my direction, an eager smile on his face.
It fell flat when I told him, “TU said to give him a call. He’ll see if another friend can take this stuff off your hands.”
“But–”
I turned on my heel and walked out. Pulling my sunglasses from my pocket, I headed toward my bike, the restlessness inside me spreading. I hated this shit. Did TU really think I was going to jeopardize the bar – and my fucking freedom – over a few hundred dollars?
“Wait, wait…” The guy came rushing out of the store, so jumpy and nervous, he looked like a jackrabbit on speed. He bounced from one foot to the other as I shot him a narrow look. “Maybe I can lower the price on the product a little more. Make it worth your while.”
“I’m not interested. Go unload your illegal shit somewhere else.”
He blinked, looking panicky. “But–”
“I’m not kidding, Manny. Get out of my face now.” Turning on my heel, I strode away. My bike sat at the curb, all black and chrome, looking out of place in this rundown, semi-residential neighborhood.
Most of the buildings were single-family homes, especially on the side streets, but this block had a few convenience stores and a pizza place – no way would I touch the pizza coming out of there. Across the street, there was another convenience store with a taco truck in the parking lot, and the smell of the sizzling meat made my mouth water.
Unlike the pizza place, it looked pretty clean, and I was debating heading over there when I heard somebody shouting behind me.
Instinctively, I turned.
Just as I did, a girl whipped around the corner. Long dark hair streamed out behind her like a banner. Long, golden legs pumped, flashing under the hem of a summery dress as she ran.
As somebody shouted again, she darted a look back over her shoulder. When she looked back around, I saw the fear on her face.
Someone was chasing her.
I didn’t know what it was that moved me to do it, but I shoved away from my bike, and just as she would have run past me, I shot out a hand and caught her arm, forcing her to crash into me. Backing her up into the nearest building, under the overhang of the vacant storefront where I’d just been, I reached up and caught her face. She shoved me away, but I didn’t budge.
“Relax,” I said, looking down into big, dark brown eyes.
She gaped at me, her hands trapped between us now, her fingers curling into my t-shirt. “Let me–”
“Relax,” I said again. “Trust me.”
Then I lowered my head and kissed her.
She was rigid, her spine like steel, but that didn’t matter. Her mouth was soft under mine, fragile even, but I told myself not to take notice of it. Her taste–
Don’t think about how she tastes, I told myself, forcing my mind to evaluate what was going on around us rather than focus on her.
Even if she did taste pretty damn sweet.
I wasn’t doing this for any reason other than to keep whoever was following her from noticing her.
There was another shout, and she jolted, her long, slim body vibrating against mine.
Reaching for her hip, I rubbed a slow circle and murmured against her lips, “Shhh…”
I kept my head bent, and my mouth pressed to hers as footsteps raced on behind me. For good measure, I stayed in that position for a few more seconds before slowly lifting my head.
I heard a name being shouted again, farther down the street this time.
He’d passed us by.
Trice.
That was the name he’d been shouting.
“Trice,” I said slowly. “Is that your name?”
She nodded, looking dazed.
Reaching up, I brushed her hair back. She jumped at my touch and anger unfurled inside me. I couldn’t stand it when men scared women, and somebody had scared her.
“Listen,” I told her softly.
A few seconds later, the shout came again, but it was barely audible.
Her chin drooped, and she sucked in a desperate breath of air.
Seven
Trice
Somebody was chasing me.
It wasn’t Ephraim, but that didn’t make it any better.
There was no way Ephraim could run as fast as I could, but he had enough money and power to hire former football players to act as his goon squad, if he wanted.
At least, I imagined he did.
I swung around the corner just as my pursuer shouted my name again. I thought his voice sounded familiar, and I darted a look over my shoulder but could only make out somebody tall with dark hair and a pair of dark sunglasses. That could describe any number of men in the clan.
Don’t think about who is chasing you. Just run. You have to get away. Have to find a phone. Have to hide.
I didn’t know which order would be the most effective, so for now, I just ran.
I didn’t even see the man until he shot out a hand and grabbed my arm. My instinct to panic and fight was overcome by despair for a few seconds, and I let him shove me up against a wall. It wasn’t until my back hit the glass window, warmed by the summer sun, that reaction kicked in, and I shoved him, staring up into a pair of bright, vivid blue eyes. “Let me–”
“Relax,” he said, cutting me off. He reached up and brushed his fingers across my skin.
I gaped at him. Relax? Was he serious? I heard my name, closer this time, and knew I was running out of options. My hands braced against the s
tranger’s chest, I went to push him back but found myself clutching at the t-shirt that stretched across his broad, wide chest instead.
“Relax,” he murmured again, his voice rich and warm. “Trust me.”
Then, as I stood there, heart pounding and my breath all but frozen in my burning lungs, he lowered his head and kissed me.
I’d never been on a date before.
I’d never had a boyfriend.
I’d gone to public school with Suria and Joelle, and like them, I’d been very much an outsider. The boys who weren’t interested in teasing me had just ignored my presence.
Being so low in the pecking order in the clan, none of the boys my age had ever paid me much attention, although a lot of that might have been because Gabriel was such an asshole and most people didn’t want to deal with him. Worse, because he was my uncle, any man in the clan who wanted to see me, they’d have to get his approval.
I’d never even been kissed before.
To say that I was inexperienced was putting it lightly.
So, when his lips brushed mine, once, then twice, I was so stunned, I didn’t know what to do.
I sucked in a dazed breath, and that flooded my head with his scent. A sharp departure from the garlic-and-wine scent that had permeated the air around Ephraim, this guy smelled of the sun, sandalwood, and man.
I might have even enjoyed it a little, this unconventional, odd first kiss. But then I heard my name being shouted again, in a voice heavy with anger and determination.
I jolted, my hands tightening in the material of the man’s t-shirt.
His hand landed on my hip, and I shivered a little as he lifted his head just a fraction. “Shhh…”
Our bodies were pressed together from chest to knee, his hand rubbing my hip, his lips to mine. I opened my eyes and tried to see, half-expecting for his big body to be torn away from mine by Ephraim’s men. They’d drag me back to the house, and I’d be locked inside my room permanently this time, right up until the wedding.
Another shout came.
It was fainter.
Sucking in a shaking breath, I dared to flick a look up into the eyes of my unlikely savior.
And that was what he was.
That was why he’d kissed me…I thought.
“Trice,” he said, his voice absurdly gentle. “Is that your name?”
The whole thing had long since veered into absurd territory, but I nodded at him, unconsciously licking my lips.
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
Was he going to kiss me again?
He brushed my hair back.
It was so unexpected that I jumped. Save for my cousins, I couldn’t remember the last time somebody had touched me with that kind of care.
Something flashed in his eyes as he stared down at me, his face going as hard as granite. Okay, I recognized that look. Anger was something I saw on Gabriel’s face all the time, even my mother’s often enough.
His face quickly smoothed as he brushed my hair back a second time, taking my chin in his hand. “Listen,” he said, still speaking to me in that soft, almost gentle voice.
A few seconds ticked by before I heard my pursuer shout my name, this time, so much fainter, and farther down the street.
He’d run right by us while this guy had been kissing me.
As if on cue, he fell back a few feet, and the two of us stared at each other. I got my first good luck at him, and my first instinct was, oh, shit. If I’d seen him on the street when I was out running, I probably would have crossed to the other side.
He was big and ripped, the t-shirt he wore outlining the hard wall of his chest and heavy ridges of his shoulders. He towered over me, and I had to guess he was close to six-five or six-six. Dark brown hair fell into his eyes – those eyes. I did a double take at them, my breath hitching in my throat as our gazes caught.
Bright, vivid blue, the color almost surreal. As he stared at me, a faint smile quirked up the corners of his mouth.
“He’s gone,” he said softly.
I blinked, a little dazed, a little confused. It took me a few seconds to figure out just who the guy was talking about. Finally, my brain clicked on, and I realized he meant Ephraim’s guy.
“You’re safe.”
I shivered a little at the sound of the words and flicked a look around. It was funny hearing those words coming from a guy who looked as rough as he did. But I wanted to believe him.
It was hard to because, at any minute, Ephraim could show up. One of his men could double back. They could drive by in a car.
“Take care,” he said softly.
While I was still worrying over the possibility that Ephraim might come back, my odd savior turned away and started toward the curb.
A few feet away, he stilled and looked back at me.
I stiffened as he took a couple steps back in my direction. I crossed my arms over my mid-section, afraid to look away from him, afraid to really look at him at the same time.
“Whoever was chasing you…think they’ll keep looking for you?” he asked.
I offered a jerky nod and finally darted a look around, hoping I wouldn’t see Ephraim leap out from behind a building – or crawl out from under a rock, which was where he belonged.
The tall man in front of me puffed up his cheeks, then blew out a breath as he studied me. A moment later, he held out a hand. “I can help you out for a little while if you need a place to lay low.”
I stared at his broad, rough palm, calloused as all get-out. Clearly the hand of a man who worked with his hands.
I licked my lips and looked around one more time. “I don’t know you,” I whispered.
“You’ll be safe with me,” he said gently.
And I believed him. Maybe I was crazy, but I believed him.
Reaching out, I put my hand in his and let him tug me over to the curb.
Sitting right there was a giant chrome and black motorcycle. “I…um…I’ve never ridden one of these things,” I said nervously.
“It’s a piece of cake, sweetheart.” He gave me a crooked smile and winked at me, pulling a helmet from the back of the bike and depositing it on my head.
I sucked in a breath as he threw one leg over the bike, then gestured for me to mount behind him. I double checked my backpack, made sure it was snug and zipped, then did as he wanted, pressing my chest to his back.
“Put your arms around me,” he instructed.
I did so, hesitantly. But I wasn’t hesitant for long. As the bike roared to life, I gasped and tightened my grip, clinging to him in near desperation as he pulled the bike away from the curb.
He patted my hand, a silent assurance. Then we were gone, lost to the LA evening traffic.
You’re safe, he’d told me.
For some crazy reason, I dared to let myself believe it.
Eight
Lane
I needed to get my head examined – either that or find a way to pull it out of my ass.
I had no idea what had moved me to bring a total stranger to my apartment.
I didn’t even like bringing people I knew there.
This was my space.
I didn’t share it.
But here I was, with some doe-eyed, dark-haired girl who stared at me like I was the monster hiding under her bed. If she was so scared of me, I wondered why she’d bothered to come along with me to begin with. But then, I remembered the terror that had been in her eyes as she came running around the corner, and I had to remind myself that I didn’t know what she was running from.
You probably don’t want to know. You’re helping her out, which is fine, but let’s not get involved, I told myself.
“Are you hungry?” I asked once I came out of the bathroom and found her hovering in the kitchen, looking around like she’d never seen anything like it.
“Thirsty,” she said, a tight smile on her pretty mouth.
I gestured to the cabinet where the glasses were. “Get some water. Or whatever’s in the fridge. Help
yourself. You like Chinese food? Pizza? I can order something in.” I could cook, but I wasn’t used to doing it for anybody but myself anymore, and I wasn’t so certain I wanted to try it with her.
“You don’t have to bother for me.” She found the glasses and pulled one down, moving to stand in front of the fridge and study it. After a moment, she pushed a button, and I watched the faint smile curl her lips as she filled the glass with water.
It was a simple thing to be amused by, but I forced my thoughts back to the matter at hand. Food. Had to feed her.
“I’ve got to eat anyway, and I’m not picky. Are you hungry for Chinese? Pizza?”
She nibbled on her full lower lip, and I found myself recalling that brief, barely there kiss. I’d like another kiss. One that actually counted as a kiss. One that let me really taste her. Really touch her. One that let me fist my hand in her long, dark hair and tug on it, arching her head back as I took her mouth deep and hard.
Speaking of hard…I shifted on my feet as my dick twitched. I’d been in a state of semi-arousal almost from the second I touched her, and the drive home hadn’t lessened it.
If anything, it had made things worse because now I had an idea just how well her long, lean body would fit against mine, and I wanted to find out if I was right.
“Chinese,” she said abruptly, reminding me that I’d asked her about food.
“Good.” I turned away from her and leaned back against the breakfast bar, discreetly tugging at my jeans as my dick continued to demand some attention. Clearing my throat, I opened the drawer at my hip and tugged out some menus, flipping through them until I found the two I needed.
I dumped them on the counter and glanced over my shoulder. “There are a couple of menus. Why don’t you look at them and figure out what you’d like? I’ll put in an order in a few minutes.”
I moved toward the fridge and opened it, grabbing a bottle of beer. I headed out of the kitchen as I opened it, draining half of it before I even hit my room.
