Savage

by Kade, Teagan

  Her teeth are chattering. “Ian, please.”

  “Do it!” he shouts, shaking the gun at me.

  I check the rapids. We’re a few minutes at most before we hit them, and from there it’s a solid half-mile of upper end Class IV fuckery that requires precise boat handling and complex maneuvers with must-make moves. Even self-rescue is difficult down there with the constricted passages, waves and holes. Plus, the water level’s higher than usual today, adding to the difficulty.

  I use my years on the river to remain calm. Panic can kill you out here.

  Ian’s eyeballing me hard. He’s not hiding his malice any longer. “You don’t know who I am, do you? Your stupid fucking brain still hasn’t computed it, has it?”

  “You’re the asshole who’s going to get us all killed if you don’t give me that paddle right now.”

  He simply laughs. “I’m your brother, brother, your real blood, brother—the prodigal son.”

  I back up against the raft, unsure. “What are you talking about?”

  I look to Lexi but she’s providing no answers, the raft jumping momentarily, a wash of spray filtering over us.

  Ian waves the gun around his face. “Go on. Take a close look. Recognize anything?”

  I do. It all starts to snap into place—the bridge of his nose, those high cheekbones and eyes… it’s the eyes, a mirror of my own, that tell me he’s not lying. All this time and here he is.

  “Yes,” he nods, “now you see it. We’re the same, you and me, cut from the same cloth.”

  “I’m nothing like you.”

  This seems to antagonize him. He jerks the gun towards me, stabbing it at me like it’s a knife. “You. You, you, you with your cozy life here, with our grandparents while I, what? While I suffered under the old man.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He swings the gun towards Lexi, laughing manically. “He doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Can you believe that?”

  I tap myself on the life jacket. “Here. You want to point that gun at something, you point in here. She’s got nothing to do with this.”

  He laughs again. “No? Tell him why you’re here, Allie.”

  Even with the water beaded on her face, I can tell she’s crying. “I’m sorry, Dex.”

  “Your bunk buddy there has been fucking you since the start. I employed her to keep an eye on you, dig up what she could so you don’t see a single cent.”

  I still don’t know what he’s talking about, but at least it’s clear why Lexi’s here. I try to compartmentalize the questions for now. I point to the rapids, the sound of the wash growing and starting to drown out conversation. “You better start making sense, because those rapids are coming up fast.”

  I focus on the gun. It’s wet, maybe it won’t fire.

  Ian follows my eyes, reading my thoughts. “Oh, you don’t think it will fire? This is an AAI, brother, an amphibious firearm used by the US fucking Navy. Cost me big. It will work. Believe it.”

  There goes that idea. I’ve got to think fast. This chit-chat is all well and good, but the rapids are the more pressing concern. Lexi’s in the worst possible position up front.

  Ian shakes his head, leaning back against the raft like this is nothing more than a Sunday stroll down the river. “You just have to take everything from me, don’t you? My family, my mother, even my fucking employees,” he says looking at Lexi.

  “I’m sorry, Dex,” repeats Lexi. “I can explain. I was ju—”

  Ian rounds the gun on her. “Shutting the fuck up,” he finishes, returning the gun to me. “I’m done letting my baby brother fuck up my life. Now I am going to be the taker.”

  I attempt to appeal to his better senses, reason with him. “You don’t have to take anything. We can talk this out, whatever it is. Whatever I did, I apologize. Let’s get a beer, yeah?”

  I notice the way the raft has started to buck and twist. Shit. We’re entering the rapids.

  Ian’s not buying it, his finger tight on the trigger. “With your girl here’s help I’ve bought up property all through Tamanass, leveraged myself nice and pretty-like with the landowners. I was going to invest, make this place a big, fancy resort, but you know what? Now I think I’m just going to chop it all down for timber, starting with that little love shack of yours.”

  “That’s never going to happen,” I tell him. “I’ll stop you. We all will.”

  “You and your bum buddies?” he laughs, tapping the side of his helmet with the gun before undoing the strap and tossing it into the water. “I doubt it.”

  “And why’s that?”

  He’s smiling again. “Because you’ll be dead.” Without warning he shifts sideways and shoves Lexi in the chest.

  She topples, screaming, into the water, her feet flicking over the edge of the raft.

  “Lexi!” I scream.

  The sneer that lingers Ian’s face is evil personified. “What’s it going to be, brother? You going to save the town or your little whore?”

  It’s not even a choice.

  I stand and dive in.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  LEXI

  I’m not expecting the shock of hitting the water. It drives the air from my lungs in a silent scream, a horrible retelling of my last time on the river.

  I surface.

  The world spins.

  I choke and cough out water, my vest turning me upright so I can see the full extent of the danger I’m in. Giant boulders and rocks line a turbulent river of white. Even with the life jacket on I’m struggling to stay afloat given how oxygenated the water is. There’s immense power in the currents, the way they mesh and tangle, pulling and dragging my body whichever way they please.

  I turn again, barely missing a boulder and tumbling upside down, pulled deeper into the dark, blue world before it spits me out once more.

  It’s chaos. There’s no way to calm myself.

  I see a glimpse of the raft, Ian with his paddle. There’s no sign of Dex.

  He’s killed him, I think. He’s killed him and I’m going to die.

  Something powerful takes hold of me around the waist. I’m sure it’s the water come to take me with is cold embrace, until I hear Dex’s broken voice. “Tuck your… arms in… Close… your mouth.”

  I do as he says, can feel his arms and legs moving to orient us in the water.

  The current picks up until we’re moving impossibly fast. A boulder looms and Dex yanks me to the side, facing his own back towards it. We hit and almost come apart, but Dex holds firm, his face muddled in pain.

  Something strikes my leg under the water and I let out my own cry, both of our heads going under for the longest time, caught there until I’m sure my next breath will be my last, but we surface and spin again, around and around in dizzying orientation. We hit another boulder, thrown downstream, but Dex’s arms never leave my waist.

  Survive, I tell myself.

  It’s the only thing that keeps me going. Soon I don’t know if I’m looking at sky or water, my entire body hashed with aches and pains, my lungs burning from the effort of trying to breathe.

  And then, mercifully, it’s over.

  Dex holds me sideways with one arm, using the other to pull us onto the shore. We crawl up onto a sandy bank, stripping away our lifejackets, Dex helping me to undo my helmet before collapsing beside me.

  I stare up through the canopy above, at the cornflower patches of blue between the leaves. Wet hair is caught in the side of my mouth, but I can’t summon the energy to move it.

  It’s an eternity before I see Dex’s concerned face come into view. I notice there’s a gash on the side of his head, watery blood around his ear. He looks down my torso and legs, examining with watchful eyes.

  With effort I lift myself up and join him. My legs are cut up good, about a hundred bruises ready to bloom. We’re both banged up pretty bad, but I can’t see anything serious. We’re alive, and that’s what counts.

  Dex is still breat
hing hard, sitting up beside me. He nods to the right. “There’s an old hunting trail that runs along the river. Do you think you can make it?”

  I lick my lips. I don’t think I’m ever going to get the taste of this river out of my mouth. “Yes. Can you see the raft?”

  Dex shields his eyes and looks down the river. “No. It’ll be a miracle if he got through that solo.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say.

  “Was he really my brother?”

  “Yes.”

  Dex blows a breath out, rubbing his arms. “Jesus. How could you work for him? How can you do this kind of work at all?”

  I sit up with a grimace and fold my arms over my knees, the two of us watching the river that suddenly seems so peaceful. I’m still shaking from the cold, but the sun above’s working wonders. “You really want to know?”

  He’s silent, refusing to make eye contact.

  “Because I had no faith in people. I never trusted them. I came to Tamanass and that all changed. I tried to remain indifferent, I really did, but I couldn’t. I know that life is behind me now.”

  I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

  “If you never want to see me again,” I go on, “I’ll understand, but there is one more thing you need to know.”

  He finally looks at me. “And?”

  “You have a rightful claim to the company, something Ian failed to mention.”

  “What company?”

  “Your father’s, the West Group.”

  Dex puts his head in his hands. “This is insane.”

  “I put the claim in for you,” I continue. “I figured it was the least I could do after helping Ian try and deny you what’s rightfully yours. Ian can’t destroy the town if he doesn’t have controlling interest of the company.”

  No reply. Damn it. He’s withdrawing.

  I drag my hair behind my ears. “I know you’re overwhelmed, Dex, but I want you to know I never meant for this to happen.”

  He gets up, wincing and extending his hand. “We should get a move on.”

  “Right,” I reply defeated.

  I let him pull me up and follow his lead beside the river, wanting to cry but sure I’ve shed enough tears in the last couple of hours to last a lifetime.

  *

  Three hours pass before we get to the main trail. The sun is lower, it’s colder, and I’ve got new aches and pains in places I didn’t know existed. Dex is quiet, silently mulling over my words from earlier.

  “Look.” I point past the trees to where a four-wheel-drive is parked between a junction of the two major trails.

  “I think it’s Jasper,” says Dex, reaching behind himself to help me up a small incline.

  I know this is neither the time nor place, but it’s nice to touch him again, to feel his hand in mine.

  We come up from the lower trail together. A door opens and Jasper comes around the side of the four-wheeler. “What the hell happened to you two?”

  “Long story,” says Dex, stopping to take a breath.

  Jasper looks to me. “You took off in such a rush this morning. I don’t know. You seemed kind of nervous when your fiancé showed up and said he’d booked a rafting trip. I couldn’t help it, decided to come check things out. Where is he, by the way, your fiancé?”

  Dex and I look at each other.

  “Like he said, it’s a long story,” I reply. “But in short, we don’t know. He took the raft.”

  Jasper, always so measured and cool, nods with understanding.

  “Benny’s Bend,” adds Dex, Jasper’s expression darkening.

  “Alright, I’ll get on the radio and then you two can fill me in. There are blankets and food in the back, a First-Aid kit given you guys look like you tumbled down the ass end of a mountainside.”

  Jasper moves off to the driver’s side of the four-wheel-drive, picking up the radio handset.

  “What now?” I ask Dex. “Do you think Ian survived?”

  Dex’s got his eyes on the trail we came from. “I don’t know, but what I think and what I’m hoping for are two very different things.”

  THREE DAYS LATER

  A search party went out that very afternoon. It took them twenty-four hours to return… with nothing but a torn-up raft and broken life vest. Ian was nowhere to be found.

  My apartment was empty before, but it seems downright spartan now I’ve packed most things away. I’ve stacked the boxes by the door ready for the movers tomorrow.

  I place the last box down and stand there idly. It’s not going to be same in New York, but it’s for the best. Whatever forgiveness I was hoping for in this town seems to be in short supply.

  I push thoughts of Dex away and look around for what to do next when my cell pings.

  I pick it up, Geena asking if I’m free to meet up.

  What else are you going to do? Sit on your butt feeling sorry for yourself?

  I text back, arriving at the Mountain Cottage Café ten minutes later and doing my best to remain incognito as I walk in—funny considering why I came to Tamanass in the first place.

  Geena’s at the small table in the corner, two steaming coffees waiting.

  I sit down and smile. “You already ordered.”

  “Your usual,” she replies, “but with extra cream and sugar, because ‘life and death situation’, right?”

  I pick up the coffee. “Something like that.”

  I notice people in the café watching me, locals whispering. Now the story’s made its way around town I’m pretty sure everyone within a hundred miles hates me.

  “Don’t pay them any attention,” says Geena. “It will pass and they’ll move onto the next drama.”

  I place my coffee down. “I’m sorry for everything, Geena.”

  She places her hand on mine. “I know, hon. Besides, how could I be mad at someone who likes shitty rom coms?”

  I laugh. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do the A-to-Z without me.”

  “You’re not going to stay?”

  “I think it’s better for everyone I move on.”

  “Can anything I say change your mind?”

  I run my fingertip around the top of the coffee mug. “Afraid not.”

  We talk like the whole, sordid business never happened, two coffees turning into four, with cake.

  Outside, Geena hugs me. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  We walk over and I open the driver’s door. She puts a hand out to stop it. “You should stay, Lexi.”

  I’m considering reminding her that’s not my real name, but I let it go. I’d rather be Lexi than Allie right now. “I can’t, Geena. I don’t belong here.”

  She rolls her eyes. “You do belong here, even if you don’t feel like it. It wasn’t all an act, was it? In fact, I’ll bet money you’re more yourself here than anywhere else. Tell me I’m wrong.”

  My head and eyes drift around like they’re following a phantom fly. I can’t look at Geena because I know it will break me. Tears are already forming and I know a flood will follow if I let it. “In another life, maybe,” I reply, sniffing back tears. “Thing is, I don’t belong anywhere.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  We both look sideways to find Dex approaching. He’s wearing the same unbuttoned checked shirt I first saw him in all those years ago, his sleeves rolled up and his eyes as bright as the sun above.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” Geena winks, backing away. “Hi, Dex.”

  “Geena,” he nods cordially.

  He stands in front of me, that dirty blond lit up like a halo.

  “I meant it,” I tell him, unable to pull my eyes from his mouth.

  “So did I,” he says, a hand moving past me to steady itself on the body of the car. “There wouldn’t be a Tamanass if it wasn’t for you.”

  “But all the shitty things I’ve done…”

  He takes hold of the side of my face. “I wanted to hate you. I’ll admit it, but I couldn’t bring myself to.”

  I can barely speak. “Why not?” />
  A beat passes in which the world seems to stop and there are only his eyes. “Because it’s hard to hate someone you’re in love with.”

  DEX

  We almost forget to close the front door of Lexi’s apartment we’re in such a rush to make it to the bedroom. Clothes litter the hallway, but we never once break apart, our lips and mouths in constant motion.

  One thing’s for sure. I can’t get enough of her, of this. It’s not so long ago I would have been satisfied getting off with tourists barely out of braces, but what Lexi brings to the table is far more than sex. She puts her whole self into it—body, soul, everything.

  We’re naked by the time we hit the bedroom, breaking apart and staring at each other with our chests heaving, only the in and out draw of breathing to be heard. It’s animalistic, raw, and I’m sure as hell going to make sure this is something she never forgets.

  I take her by the throat and bring her lips to mine once more, crushing her against me so she can feel how hard I am.

  She pushes me away and steps slowly back towards the bed, climbing up onto it backwards until she’s kneeling in the center.

  God, I’ve missed this.

  I pad forward slowly stroking my cock even though it needs no encouragement.

  Her eyes flash iridescent in the light. She bites her lower lip and spreads her legs, her hand running down her belly between them.

  It’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.

  She waits before bringing her fingers up to her mouth, the pale pink tip of her tongue coming out to lick at her fingers fresh with her arousal. It brings me right back to the first time we had sex, her ‘surprise’ visit.

  I climb up onto the bed and run a finger over her lips, pressing them apart and sliding a digit into her mouth. She sucks it, her cheeks drawing inwards and her eyes burning a hole through me.

  “I’m going to fuck you so hard,” I warn. “Can you handle that?”

  She nods while she maintains eye contact and continues to take in my finger, running her lips right to the second knuckle.

  I take her hip, lift her up and flip her over. I thrust her head down into the pillows and separate her legs. Her ass is gloriously rounded out before me. I can smell her desire, can see the hot line of wetness between her lips marking it out.