by Smoke, Lucy
They both had their own thoughts about each other, and I wondered if either of them was right. Grayson obviously didn’t feel as though Iris was safe. Marv obviously didn’t feel as though Grayson was safe—for others. I sighed and shook my head.
When my phone buzzed, I pulled it out but didn’t recognize the number, so I slipped it in my pants pocket and turned back to the man next to me. “Marv—”
“Let’s go.” He cut me off and I jerked towards him, reaching out to snag his shirt as he turned the car off and unlatched his seatbelt, quickly stepping out and away from me. My hand closed around air, and I released a subtle growl of frustration.
I frowned even harder as, instead of walking around to open my door for me as he normally would, he strode purposefully towards the front of the grocery store. One way or another, he would have to get over his dislike of Grayson because I had a feeling—despite what Marv or Grayson believed—that Grayson would be sticking around for quite a while.
Chapter 5
“So, how were classes?” Lizzie laid sprawled across her twin sized mattress in nothing more than skimpy, cotton pajama bottoms and a tank top. Little fluffy poodles danced across the fabric. I shrugged, doodling in the margins of a class syllabus, trying to tie my mind to something—anything but my worry over Erika and my frustration with Marv. “That bad, huh?” She rolled over, propping herself up on her hands.
“It was fine,” I said absently. “It’s just different is all.”
“Or…there could be something else bugging you.” Lizzie watched the movement of my hand as I drew a giant leaf coming out of the corner of the page. “Like…maybe…the guys you were sitting in the cafeteria with, hmmm?” she suggested with a perfectly elegant, arched brow.
I paused, slowly raising my head to meet her gaze from across the room. “What?” My eyes slid to the side, to where my phone lay on the desk, but the screen remained black. They still hadn’t called or texted with updates on what Grayson and Texas may have found.
“You know who I’m talking about. I saw you with those two guys during lunch in the cafeteria.” Lizzie kicked her legs up and smiled. “So, tell me, which one are you dating?”
A blush stole across my cheeks and my brain fizzled out. Which one was I dating? Um, both? And a little more? I couldn’t say that. I grimaced.
“You know the lady who helped you move in—Clarissa, right? Well, she did say something about a bunch of guys. Are you all like friends from the same hometown or something?” Lizzie pushed, curious enough that she was either blatantly ignoring my discomfort or she was taking it as a challenge.
“Or something,” I mumbled, before speaking up. “Yeah, we’re from the same hometown. Some of the guys are going to school here too.”
“That’s lucky, isn’t it?” she commented.
A knock on the door saved me from further answering her. Lizzie eyed me as I scrambled off the side of the bed, opened the door, and nearly shut it again.
“Oh, who is that?” Lizzie teased from behind me.
Ignoring her, I slid out into the hall and slammed the door closed behind me, pressing my back against it as though I could keep it shut—even though the door swung inward not outward—with just my body. “What are you doing here?” I hissed at Grayson.
He blinked down at me, nonplussed. “I came to pick you up,” he replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to just show up on my doorstep. Which… now that I thought about it, wasn’t exactly abnormal for him.
I shook my head, dispelling my errant thoughts. “Why?”
“Didn’t you get Texas’ message?”
Crap. My phone was back in the room. I thought I’d been checking it regularly, but it never lit up. I must have missed it. I shook my head.
“Well, we’re meeting back at the house,” he said. “I came to pick you up.”
The door behind me jerked open, and I nearly tripped over Lizzie as she grinned wickedly up at Grayson. “Who’s this?” she said, slanting a teasing glance my way.
A slow smile crawled over Grayson’s mouth as he reached forward, snagging Lizzie’s hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Enchanté,” he said.
“Sleaze ball,” I muttered as I moved back into the room, grabbing my phone and keys before scooting back into the hall. “Let’s go, lady killer.”
Lizzie's mouth curled downward as she took her hand from Grayson's and wiped it down her side. "Sorry, buddy," she said, "you're barking up the wrong tree."
"Ahh, well," Grayson shrugged, "always worth a try on a pretty girl."
"Why don't you focus on your pretty girl?" Lizzie suggested with a quirked brow. "After all, it seems like you've got some competition."
"Oh, my God." I slid past her quickly, both mortified and exasperated. Grabbing Grayson's hand, I started off down the hallway, dragging him with me. "We're not dating," I defended. "We're just friends."
Lizzie pursed her lips and glanced down at our hands. "Uh huh."
I sighed, shooting a glare at Grayson. God, sometimes, he just made me want to give him a high five...in that damn smug face of his...with a chair. "Okay, yeah, well, um...don't wait up." I didn't stop to hear a reply, instead continued to drag Grayson away, my face flaming.
The hot southern twilight air slid over my skin as I pushed through the building's side door. "Can you not?" I snapped, looking over my shoulder.
Grayson's big blue eyes blinked at me, all fake innocence. "What?"
"Oh, never mind." I dropped his hand and strode down the side steps until we reached the small courtyard opening alongside the dorm. "What did you and Texas find?"
Shoving a hand through his thick hair, he pulled on a chunk and sighed. "As much as I want to tell you, I promised Tex that I'd wait until we got back before we started in on what we found."
I frowned, narrowing my gaze on his face. "Tex?" Since when did he call Texas by his nickname?
Grayson shook his head and retook my hand in his. "Come on."
I followed him down another set of steps, around the side of the building and towards a student walkway leading towards the other side of campus. For a second, I let myself look around and take in the college. Tall brick buildings. Rich green grass. Dozens of trees lining the pathways. Students on bikes, students in workout clothes—jogging past. If things had been different, maybe I would have been here under different circumstances. I wonder, briefly, if this is what my brother experienced when he went to college in New York. I haven't spoken to him in so long, sometimes I think back and feel as though I dreamed our entire childhood. Sometimes he's just a shadow in my memories.
"Hey," Grayson's fingers appeared in front of my face, "you okay there, Babydoll?"
"Huh?" I blinked, reaching up to shove his fingers away. I stopped when I realized that our hands were still connected. Dropping my hand, Grayson's fingers squeezed mine. "Yeah," I answered. "Just thinking."
"'Bout what?" he asked as we started into a crosswalk.
I stared down at our twined hands. Grayson would get it, wouldn't he? He had a brother just as distant as mine. Maybe not geographically, but...I wonder how he coped.
We reached the corner and I opened my mouth. "My brother doesn't call me," I admitted. Grayson froze, one foot on the edge of the concrete and the other on the pavement. When he turned, I scrambled to explain. "I mean, he used to—call me, that is, but I haven't seen him in four years. My mom kind of threw him out and he left, and he used to call to check up on me, but he doesn't anymore."
"Okay..." Grayson's brows were drawn down, darkening the shadows over his eyes. "And that bugs you?"
I bit my lip. Did it? I wouldn't be thinking about it so hard if it didn't, right? I nodded. "Yeah," I finally said. I looked up at him. "Doesn't it bother you that your brother doesn't come to you for help? Mine barely talks to me. It's like he doesn't even want to admit that we're family, or he only called out of obligation."
Grayson stiffened when I mentioned his brother but didn't let t
hat stop him. "Does he know about you joining Iris?"
I shook my head. "No way," I scoffed. "My mom doesn't even know—not really. I told Michael that I’m working now, and things are better, and since then, it's been harder to reach him."
"And you're just now realizing this?" Grayson snapped. "If he's your brother, why don't you call him?"
Shock ricocheted through me. I dropped his hand and stepped back, both feet on the pavement. "I-I—"
"It sounds to me like all this bullshit with my brother is reminding you about the shitty relationship you have with your brother. Don't use me to fucking constitute your family relationships."
I clenched my teeth. "I wasn't," I snapped back.
A car turned down the street a block or so up, the headlights crossing over Grayson's face as the sun sunk below the horizon. His eyes were on fire, blazing with an anger that I didn't understand. Once again, Grayson had completely turned—flipping on some unknown switch. Trying to navigate his damn emotions was like trying to walk through a minefield.
"If you're so worried about your brother's distance, why don't you call him?" he asked. "At least you can."
"I—" The sound of my voice was cut off by the sound of an engine revving. Just as I turned towards the noise, the headlights from the car came crashing towards me.
"Shit!" Grayson's hands latched onto my wrists, yanking me towards him. My feet collided with the edge of the pavement, sending tingles of pain up my tendons. Air shot over my back and the heat from the car's front end was so close that I could feel it through the fabric of my clothes. My heart thudded against my ribcage—a trapped bird, terrified but unable to take flight.
Grayson cursed again and flung himself backward as my legs crumpled against his and I landed, my face smacking into his chest as the car raced away. I blinked into the smooth cotton, my limbs trembling as I slowly came down from what almost happened.
"Are you okay?" Grayson's voice was gruff with irritation. I clenched my hands in his shirt as he began to sit up. "Harlow?"
Tears burned at the back of my eyelids. “What—” I gulped down air, but it stopped in my throat, choking me. Still, I tried. “What… just happened?”
“I think some idiot just tried to run us over,” Grayson said, groaning as he shifted a hand over his lower back.
“On purpose?!” I asked, finally lifting my head. I noticed the placement of his hand. “Are you okay?”
Grayson waved away my concern as he frowned, looking past me in the direction the car had gone. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
“You don’t know if you’re hurt?” I tried reaching for his hand again, leaning around him as my legs slid to either side of his hips to pull it away from the spot on his back. This time he let me. I pulled up the shirt slightly. There was a blotchy red mark against his tan skin that I was sure would eventually darken. I paused when my fingertips touched his side. When I pulled his shirt up to reveal what was most definitely a developing bruise half on his back and half on his side, I also unveiled his abdomen. I took a shaky breath and pulled the shirt back down, even though the flutters in my stomach cried foul. He was hurt, I reminded myself. Drool later. Worry now…but those damn abs. I shook my head.
With gritted teeth, Grayson cursed, drawing my attention back to the matter at hand. “I should have gotten their fucking license plate number. Even if that was an accident, they should be punished. They could have killed you.”
“Even if it was an accident?” I ignored the last thing he said—killed…me…almost died…I couldn’t think about it or I would have dissolved into a puddled mess and we didn’t have time for that. “So, you don’t think it was?”
Grayson looked at me, a grimace on his lips. “Come on,” he said, slowly rising to his feet and helping me up on my shaking limbs as well. “Let’s get to the house. I’ll let Tex tell you everything there.”
Instead of arguing, I took his hand and let him lead me away. We practically sprinted the rest of the way to the duplex. I had the feeling I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to be on the streets anymore.
* * *
“She what?!” Marv’s voice echoed through the house. “How could you let her almost get run over? What the hell were you thinking?!”
“Calm the fuck down, asshole. Harlow’s fine. She’s a little shook up, and you’re not fucking helping!”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Princess?” Texas asked me.
I nodded. “I really am fine,” I insisted. “Grayson saved me.”
Texas didn’t match my smile. Although, in truth, the smile felt frayed and a little twitchy. I was going to have nightmares, I just knew it; imagining that car screaming towards me, except this time no Grayson would be there to pull me out of the way. None of the guys would be there either—not Marv, or Texas, or Bellamy, or Knix. It would just be me, standing on the side of the road. And then the car would hit; I’d topple over it or maybe under it. Crushed by the metal and tires. I shuddered as I sank down into the couch.
“Marv!” Texas finally snapped, drawing the attention of the two men arguing in the entryway. “Lay off. Come in here and sit down, we need to talk.”
Marv shot Grayson one last glare before striding into the living room and taking a seat next to me. Despite the fact that I found his continued hatred towards Grayson annoying, I found myself sliding closer to him and cuddling up to his side. Marv stiffened for a brief moment before he sighed and slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I squeezed him back. The tighter I squeezed, the less I shook. He didn’t seem to mind.
“Alright,” Marv said, “tell us what you found. Does it have something to do with the car incident?”
Texas and Grayson glanced at one another. A tense moment of silence reigned before Grayson sighed and stepped forward. “We managed to get in and see the tapes before Josh’s disappearance. From what we can tell, no one helped him escape. He simply walked out on his own two feet.”
I sat up straighter, tilting away from Marv as Texas nodded. “His disappearance wasn’t reported until the following morning.”
“So, we still have nothing?” I asked.
Marv shook his head and moved to the edge of the couch, planting his feet firmly and leaning over to prop his elbows on his knees. “Not exactly.” I watched him brood for a moment, his chin on his hands as he thought. He looked so like Knix in that moment. It made me miss the others. I suddenly wished Knix and Bellamy were there. That we had the whole team. It didn’t feel right without them.
“Then what do we have?” I asked, chasing away those thoughts. We had more important things to worry about than my wants and desires right now. Even if I really, really wanted to run my hands through Marv’s hair and smooth away the crease in his brow. He was just as frustrated with this as me. I wanted the others here. I wanted Josh and—especially—Erika found. I wanted him to get over whatever grudge he held against Grayson. I wanted our…relationship—if that’s what it could be called—figured out. There was a lot that I wanted and couldn’t have.
I sighed as Marv answered. “Well, we know he wasn’t taken. We know he left of his own will.”
“The cameras just show him walking out,” Grayson replied with a frown. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he went willingly.”
“Did anyone have a gun to his head?” Marv argued.
Grayson shook his head. “No, but Erika is missing—what if she’s being held and Josh knows something about it?”
Texas and I glanced back and forth between the two of them, and I could practically feel the tension and irritation oozing off of them. “Oh-kay.” I stood up abruptly, stepping between the two of them. “So, what we know is that Josh left the rehab facility and Erika is missing as well,” I state. “And that a crazy driver tried to run us over—why exactly would you think that had anything to do with the facility, again?” I asked, turning towards Grayson.
He had the grace to at least flush, though I wasn’t sure if it was in irritation or something
else. “I—well, I can’t be sure, obviously. But they weren’t exactly happy to have us there and I don’t know, it was just a crazy incident and I thought…”
“You thought it was connected,” Texas finished for him as he drifted off with a frown. Texas clapped him on the shoulder and sighed. “It’s not a big deal buddy. People speed on college campuses all the time. But maybe you two should be more careful anyway.” Texas cast me a look, and I nodded. If I could avoid dying by way of crashing cars and shattered bones on the pavement, that’d be just swell.
“How were you able to get in to see the tapes anyway?” I asked. “They wouldn’t have just shown them to you because you’re Josh’s brother, would they?” I looked to Grayson for confirmation.
He shook his head. “No, we went in as Charleston law enforcement looking to question Josh about a ‘crime’—” Grayson cut himself off and air-mimicked the quotes around crime before continuing, “—he may have been a witness to.”
“And they just let you right back?” I asked. “You’re not too young to be detectives?”
Texas smirked and pulled a genuine looking detective badge with his face and name on it. “It’s amazing what you can do with a little confidence and one of these bad boys.” He winked before tucking it back into his pocket.
“Well…” I said with both eyebrows raised. I shook my head and grinned at him. “I guess that answers that, Detective Johnson.”
He wiggled his eyes at me before striding over with a little more swagger in his step than he had before. Texas slung an arm around my shoulders. “What do you say we kick this popsicle stand and head into the kitchen for some dinner?” He grinned. “I hear Marv made something good.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I think dinner would be great.” I shot a look over to Grayson and Marv. “You guys coming?”
Marv stood and stepped around Grayson, heading back towards the bedrooms. “Eat without me, I’m gonna call Knix and fill him in.”
I frowned as I watched him go, but even as I was watching Marv—I noticed that Grayson, too, had his eyes on the hallway as Marv disappeared into one of the back rooms.
