Chance (Rusted and Reckless Book 1)

by Charlotte Casey

  “I understand. Please, don’t be too hard on him. He’s not well.”

  “Don’t care,” the man said again.

  Jamie picked up his bags. Greer was watching, trying to catch Jamie’s eye when a hand gripped his nape.

  “You owe us a lot of money, Jamie. Gambling will do that.”

  “I am not Jamie,” Greer said. This shit was unbelievable.

  The guy laughed. “Sure ya aren’t. Check him.” The guy holding him went through his pockets. He found his wallet and pulled out the cash he had.

  “Three hundred. Not quite what we had told you to bring. Where’s the other fifty thousand?”

  Jamie owed them what? Greer looked to his brother but he was gone. He was so shocked that he had missed the part where his brother had taken off.

  “This was your last chance, Jamie. We gave you an extension because you were in jail but your debt is due.” The hand on his neck tightened. He had been set up. Jamie fucked him.

  “I hate to mess up pretty faces,” the man said. “But it’s the job.”

  When the guy swung, Greer tried to duck but the other guy was still gripping his neck. The result was a punch hitting his ear. He stumbled, the ringing overtaking everything. Greer leaned over to find his bearings. He touched his ear and came back with bloody fingers.

  The next hit was a knee to this stomach. Greer fell to the ground. His ear was messing up his equilibrium. The world felt like it was spinning out of control.

  “Pick him up,” the guy said annoyed. “I want to pretty him up some more before we kill him.”

  Fuck.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Rusted and Reckless bassist, Greer McQueen, was found beaten and stabbed in a Grundy junkyard last night. Police have yet to comment on the incident. McQueen remains in critical condition.”

  Aveline read the latest headline, her stomach in a knot. She had been in a constant state of worry since hearing about the attack a few hours earlier. She had known something was wrong yesterday at the funeral. Greer was supposed to meet them at the bar, he wanted to offer his condolences and she was down enough to accept them and see him. According to Jason he had been at the funeral the whole time, until he wasn’t. Greer had sent off a text saying he needed to deal with a Jamie issue and then had not been heard from again. As the night drew on, their spirits grew more worried. Greer stopped responding to texts and calls. After three hours and no word, Sawyer told them to get their shit, they were going to look for him. Aveline and Rob went home but the guys made them promise to call when they found him.

  Well, they had, at Dawood General. Greer had a collapsed lung, three broken ribs, multiple stab wounds and his left hand had been crushed. He was in surgery when they found him. It had been his parents who finally called and told them where they were. Someone had left an anonymous tip about a fight in the junkyard. Greer had been left for dead at the sound of sirens. His money and credit cards had been taken, his license and wallet left behind.

  The media had gotten a whiff of the news and ran with it. They peppered the TV and internet with assumptions of drugs and gambling problems using pictures of his brother as their “proof.” Aveline put her phone away. She kept telling herself to stop searching his name but it was a compulsion as she waited. The nurses would only allow two people in his room at a time. He wasn’t awake right now anyway so she didn’t mind taking a later shift. Jason and Rory had gone in twenty minutes before. She stared at the door down the hall waiting for…well, she wasn’t sure.

  “I’ve got news,” Sawyer said handing her a cup of coffee.

  “Yeah?” She accepted the gift. The caffeinated jolt would keep her awake. She hadn’t slept at all the night before. And after a week dealing with death and a heartbreak, it was beginning to weigh on her.

  “They just caught Jamie outside of Richmond.”

  She exhaled, her shoulders sinking. Finally, something was going right. “That’s great.”

  Sawyer sat down beside her and took a hesitant sip of his coffee. “Yeah, it is. Greer is pressing charges, obviously.”

  “I will too. If it will help.”

  Sawyer looked at her, his eyes softening as he took her in. “Yeah, that’s good. Thanks Darlin’.” The insurmountable evidence they had against Jamie was probably plenty but if her assault charge could give him another year in prison, then she would do it.

  “You ok?” he asked still looking at her. “It’s been a long few days for you.”

  He wasn’t wrong. Aveline had spent more than her fair share in hospitals lately. Being back in one was making her twitchy. It was too soon after watching her mother struggle to breathe, to take in a simple breath of air. Too soon since she watched her chest heave and her muscles spasm. Since hearing those final words of “Time of death…” Aveline struggled just to sit in the chair. She wasn’t even sure she’d be able to go into the room where Greer was yet.

  Sawyer seemed to know without her saying a word that being there was tough. Every time he walked away to get an update, she wanted to bolt. As long as someone was there talking to her and keeping her mind off the smell and the sounds, then she could deal.

  “I’m fine.”

  Jason and Rory walked in, both collapsing into empty chairs around them. “You guys want a turn?” Rory asked. “The vultures are starting to circle so we should have someone in there.”

  “I’ll get some security in here. Aveline, you can go ahead. I’m going to make a call to Darcy and then be in.”

  “Is he awake?” she asked and Jason shook his head.

  “No, not yet. I doubt he will be for a while. Anesthesia really knocks him out. It's probably going to be a few hours.”

  Sawyer left the room to make his call while Aveline stood there. She didn’t want to go in there alone. Seeing him immobile and hooked up to various machines was a bit too real of an image for her considering everything that had happened the last week.

  “Aveline? You ok?” Rory asked.

  “Huh? Oh yeah.” They were both looking at her like they didn’t believe her. She smiled. “I’ll go see Greer.”

  She left before they could ask too many questions. Aveline passed Sawyer on the way. He didn’t see her as he ironed out the details of their security. He had a room by himself. The wall of windows looked out to another wing of the hospital. It was less than scenic. Greer lay on his bed, the top half of his body elevated into a reclined position. She was surprised to see little in the way of support. Her mom had tubes and lines and monitors but Greer just had the necessities. It eased her. Noting the differences made walking to his bed manageable. A chair was positioned beside him. She sat in it, scooching it closer to him.

  “Greer?” she asked the silent room.

  No answer.

  He was still out. Aveline grabbed his hand in both of hers. She watched intently seeing if there was any change. There wasn’t. It was silly of her to think that her voice or touch would wake him up. This wasn’t a movie. He wasn’t going to wake up in her presence and declare his eternal love for her. It just didn’t happen like that in real life. He was going to wake up and be a grumpy mess because he was in so much pain.

  The door opened and Sawyer slipped in. Aveline let go of Greer’s hand and sat back in the chair. Sawyer looked at where they had just been connected with a smile.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “Still unconscious.”

  Sawyer went to the other side of the bed. “He looks like shit.”

  He did. Greer was battered and bruised. The clean white bandages made the dark purple discoloring more deep and defined. The longer she looked at him, the harder it became. Just because he was injured didn’t mean she could turn off all the hurt she had inside toward him. Her head was still full of blame, her heart full of guilt. This didn’t change much of anything. Aveline had a lot she needed to work through. Being able to look at Greer and not feel a hurricane of emotions was one of them.

  The last few days she had been functioning on
autopilot, even coming here felt like an obligation that her feet carried her toward. That’s not to say she didn’t care about what happened. Aveline cared more than she cared to care. The amount of caring happening inside her was of epic proportions but with so much trauma in one week, she didn’t know what was grief and what was real. Autopilot protected Aveline from the worst of her emotions. She needed to deal with her grief over losing her mother before she could move onto everything surrounding Greer.

  Would she be asking too much if she asked him to wait? He let her go so easily last time, would he even want her there right now? Aveline was overwhelmed with all the thoughts in her head. Overwhelmed enough that she needed to retreat.

  “I should get going,” she said. Sawyer looked away from Greer to her, his frown deepening.

  “You aren’t staying?”

  She shook her head. The place was getting to her and she was at her limit. “Keep me in the loop?”

  “Of course,” Sawyer said coming around the bed. He hugged her. She closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest. “Thank you for coming. I know he appreciates it.”

  She nodded. The words getting stuck in her throat. Sawyer didn’t let her go right away. She wondered if the hug was more for her or for him. When he pulled back, his eyes were glossy. She touched his cheek. Nodding in understanding.

  “He’s going to be ok.”

  Sawyer turned his head. “I know. He’s just going to be really pissed at me for letting you leave.”

  “I’ll be back,” she said not sure if it were true or not.

  *****

  The hushed voices around him felt like wrecking balls, each one taking a swing at his head. It took him a few moments, longer than he liked to admit, to remember where he was. Earlier he had woken up and found himself in a hospital room. The nurse who had been in with him explained what she could and said she would go get the doctor and his family. Greer had sunken back into a comatose state before they could return.

  Well, they were here now.

  “If you all keep talking I’m going to have to hurt you,” Greer muttered. His mouth was dry and tacky. Getting the words out took some work.

  “He has awaken!” an elated Jason sang.

  Greer forced his eyes open to find the usual suspects plus his parents. He glared at everyone but his mom. “Hi Momma,” he said letting his eyes close again. That had been enough work for the time being.

  “Hi baby,” she said amused. “How are you feeling?”

  Greer lifted his open hand and waited for her to grab it. She did and stroked a hand across his forehead. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to go to school today.” Jason snorted as his mom placed a kiss on his forehead. “So how bad is it?”

  “Bad but you’ll live. You were taken out of ICU a few hours ago. Now it’s just a matter of healing.”

  Greer opened his eyes and looked to his friends. “That bad, huh?”

  They all nodded.

  “I don’t think this needs to be said but I’m going to say it anyway. Jamie is not invited to Christmas this year.”

  “He’s been caught,” his dad said. “The police will need your statement. I’m sure they’ve already been notified that you woke up.”

  He nodded. “I can do that.”

  “In the meantime, they are processing Aveline’s charges.”

  All the blood drained from his face. One of the monitors started beeping frantically. Greer was struggling to sit up more when a nurse rushed in. “Everyone back, please.” She came over, stereoscope already in her ears and began taking his vitals. As much as Greer tried to tell her that he was fine, she ignore him. So he ignored her back.

  “What do you mean Aveline’s charges?” he asked the room. They all looked horrified. Fear that they would upset him and he’d keel over and die kept anyone from talking. “I’m fine. I just imagined the worse when you said Aveline and charges against Jamie. Now tell me what this is about.”

  “They are from when he attacked her,” Jason said finally. “She said she would file charges to go with yours against him. We called her when you woke a few hours ago. She said she would go to the police and hold them off to give you more time to rest.”

  “She was here, Dude,” Rory added. “After you got out of surgery, she was here with us for hours.”

  But she wasn’t here now. God, he’d do anything to see her right now.

  Greer laid his head back on the pillow. The nurse had stopped her prodding and left with a warning not to get him riled up.

  “Can someone hand me a phone?” he asked the room. No one budged. “Please?”

  It was his mom who broke the silence. She grabbed his hand again and spoke in the soft tones she used when he was younger to break bad news to him like when his snake had died. “Sweetie, you should focus on healing. We’ll let her know that you were asking about her and I’m sure she will come back in to see you.”

  Greer frowned but didn’t argue. Once his parents were gone he’d ask the guys what really happened and see why Sawyer looked like he knew more than he was saying.

  The conversation picked up around him again. Greer didn’t say anything more. He closed his eyes and did just what his mother had suggested, focused on healing.

  *****

  “Hello, Doll,” Rob said coming in to the living room. He sat down beside her on the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. Her mother would have had a fit but considering Aveline’s were propped up there too, she couldn’t say much. “How was Greer today?”

  “Don’t know. Didn’t see him,” she said as she scrolled through the dozens of flower arrangements on her computer. What kind of flowers said “I’m sorry for breaking up with you, blaming you for things that probably have nothing to do with you and that your brother is a dick. Get well soon.”

  “Why not?” Rob was looking over her shoulder. He tapped on a picture called Sunny Days. So she clicked on it. “Seems like they moved him closer to home yesterday. I got there and the nurse said he was well enough to be transported so that’s what they did.”

  “I see.”

  Aveline had taken a couple of days to work up the nerve to go back. She had to work so it wasn’t as if she was just sitting around and moping, but excuses flowed easily every time someone asked when she was going back. The problem she faced was deciding if it was fair of her to go visit. Was it fair to Greer when she wasn’t even sure she should be giving him hope that they could reconcile? One thing that could be said was that she missed him. Above all the other problems and issues she was having, she missed him. And that is why she got in her car and drove to the hospital that morning.

  “Have you talked to him? You could call him since he is doing better.”

  She could but she hadn’t. What would she say? Feel better? I miss you? Both were true but neither described the full amount of conflict she felt warring inside of her. Too many thoughts were fighting for her attention. Everything was mass confusion.

  “I haven’t. I thought flowers would be a good way to go.”

  Rob nodded and pointed to another arrangement. This one had a balloon and teddy bear. Both items she couldn’t get behind, so she kept going.

  “Can I be frank with you?” he asked closing the lid to her laptop. She had to move her fingers or risk getting them squashed. Rob took the computer from her and set it aside.

  “Do I have a choice?” It didn’t seem like she had a choice with the whole taking her computer and holding her hands thing.

  “Bless your heart but no. Baby girl you are still in mourning so you don’t see the opportunity that has presented itself to you. Thankfully you have me to show you the way.”

  She hated to ask but she knew there would be no derailing him now that he got started. “What opportunity?”

  Rob smiled at her. “You are free. No more medical bills, no nurses, not late night hospital runs. For so long you have been a slave to your mother’s care but you are no longer. It’s time to live your life.”


  Aveline just couldn’t match his enthusiasm. One day she would but today was not that day. Today she was still the girl who just buried her mom. “I know there is more to it so just get it out.”

  He sent a wink her way and squeezed her hands. “Greer,” he said simply.

  “What about him?”

  “I think he should be part of your new life. He loves you.”

  Greer had never said as much but Aveline thought so too. A sad smile graced her face for a moment as she thought about him. Not the bed bound hospital version but the guy who loved music and books and knowledge. The guy who was called a nerd by his bandmates and was relied upon to bring a beat to their songs. The guy who made her soul smile. The guy with the panty dropping smile and effervescent eyes.

  Rob brushed a tear from her eye before it had a chance to fall. “I think you love him too,” he said softly as if easing her into the idea.

  “I’m not sure I’m in a position to love him back.”

  Her cousin nodded. “You need to decide if you want to give it a chance or not. So far you have shut down and run away at every pitfall but you keep going back. Either stay and fight or don’t go back at all. You need to move on from this bubble you’ve put yourself in.”

  She wanted to go back. She wanted to give them a chance to thrive and make something out of what they had together. But those thoughts, those swirling conflicting thoughts kept her from moving in any direction. How was she supposed to move on with him if she still held resentment towards him and then guilt for feeling that way? Those feelings just don’t disappear.

  “Look, on a semi related topic I want to make a suggestion. You know you can always talk to me about anything and I will listen to you but I think this time you might benefit from some professional help.” Rob shifted to get to his back pocket where he pulled out a piece of paper. “These are two therapists who I think could help you sort everything out.”

  Rob put the numbers in her hand. Aveline wasn’t sure what to make of it. Therapy? As surprising as it was, she didn’t disregard the idea immediately. In fact, she felt a bit relieved. “Thank you. I think you may be right.”