Better When He's Bold

by Jay Crownover

  “What?” I barked the word out and Ramon snorted at me as we cautiously navigated the parking lot.

  “Brysen, I need you to come get me.” She was crying and sounded hysterical.

  “What? Why?”

  She made a little hiccuping noise and I could hear all the screaming and cheering from the bloodthirsty crowd in the background. I shivered in response.

  “You were right. It’s awful. The people here are scary and there is no security or anything. I was drinking with these guys and now I feel weird and I’m scared. Please come and get me. No one else will come down to this part of town this late.”

  That was because most people were smart enough to know the Point was no place for amateurs after dark. I looked up at Ramon and he shook his head in the negative.

  I sighed heavily and pulled open the door to the BMW.

  “Fine. I’ll come and get you, but maybe next time you might want to listen to me.”

  She hiccuped again and the line went dead. Ramon clicked his tongue at me and shook his dark head. “You are looking for trouble, pretty girl.”

  “Someone has to go get her, and I know exactly where the club is.”

  “Someone who doesn’t have a lunatic trying to run them over can go get her. Why don’t you call the blond Adonis and ask him to grab her? I bet he’s already floating around that part of town on fight night anyway.”

  I bit my lip. “That’s not exactly in the scope of our relationship.”

  “Bry . . . the guy bought you a new computer and he stares at you like he wants to eat you up. Ask him to collect your sloppy friend and then go give him a proper thank-you.”

  It sounded so appealing, so easy. Handing something off to someone else to take care of was a pipe dream in my world, though, and I didn’t know what I would do if Race actually stepped up to the plate and took care of Adria for me. I would probably fall in love with him. Like I wasn’t already halfway there as it was.

  “It’s fine. I’ll go pick her up and drop her at home. She would do it for me.”

  He lifted a perfectly groomed eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes.

  “Okay, she wouldn’t, but I know how bad that place can be, and I can’t, in good conscience, just leave her there.”

  Ramon bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead as I slid behind the wheel of the car.

  “You be careful, Bry. Lotta bad things seem to have it out for you right now.”

  They sure did. Which sucked, because really, at the heart of who I was, there was a good person there. Maybe at one point I had been spoiled, a little self-absorbed and unaware, but when it came time to put up or shut up, I had done what needed to be done. Where was my good karma for all of that?

  As I drove into the Point I noticed that there was this weird line, I could almost see it, where things went from kind of run-down to absolutely decimated. It was like everything, the buildings, the roads, the lights, the very ground the place sat on, and the few brave souls daring enough to stake claim to the wildness of the Point, had just become what this area was all about. There was darkness that had nothing to do with nighttime. There was an oppression that hung in the air that had nothing to do with pollution or smog. There was a film of grime and dirt that had nothing to do with it being the inner city. It was all like the fabric, the threads that wove the Point together were made up of all the worst things that could be found in one place. And the deeper into the heart of the city I drove, the tighter and more obvious those knots and patterns became.

  I didn’t want to park the BMW and get out and expose myself to those creepy, crawly eyes I still felt all over me, so I tried calling Adria and telling her to meet me out front. She didn’t answer my first call, or the second one, and she didn’t reply when I sent her a flurry of angry text messages. I really wanted to turn around and head back home, but the fact that she had told me she was feeling funny after drinking with a couple of guys was mixed with my knowledge of the moral-less heathens that populated places like this, and as a result I couldn’t talk myself into abandoning her.

  I parked the BMW around the corner, sent a little prayer up that it would be there when I got back, and headed for the warehouse that housed the underground club. There was a pretty good chance I wouldn’t even be able to get inside. The door had a code and a security system attached to it. Last time I had been here I had gotten inside only because I was with Dovie.

  I shivered a little as soon as I shut the door to the car. I could feel those prying eyes on me, could practically hear footsteps falling in time with my own, and it had fear riding hard at the back of my neck. I picked up the pace and walked around the edge of the old warehouse where I knew the dilapidated stairs that led to the inner sanctum were located. As soon as I cleared the edge of the alley, a heavy hand fell on my arm and I burst out a terrified scream. My heart was in my throat and I jolted back so hard, I toppled over on my butt. I didn’t stop screaming even when a mysterious liquid that was on the ground started to seep into the fabric of my pants.

  The guy looming over me was thin and twitchy. He had greasy brown hair that was hanging in his eyes, and he looked as afraid of me as I was of him. He was dancing from foot to foot and held both of his hands up in front of him like he was trying to ward me away. I snapped my mouth shut on a gasp and glared up at him.

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  He shifted around some more and his eyes darted to the side.

  “I’m sorry, so sorry. Don’t tell Race.” He sounded legitimately panicked, and when I groaned and lumbered to my feet, he jumped back from me like I was going to stab him or something.

  “What?”

  “Race. Don’t tell Race I scared you and that you fell. I saw you come around the corner and there was this guy, a big guy, and he was following you. I just wanted to warn you not to go into the alley by yourself.”

  I tried in vain to brush some of the grossness off my pants, but had no such luck.

  “What do you mean some guy was following me? What does Race have to do with anything?”

  The guy shoved shaking hands through his gross hair and tugged on the oily strands, obviously upset.

  “Race told me to keep an eye on you. I owe him so much money I couldn’t say no. There’s been a guy, I’ve seen him a couple times. He’s watching you. He followed you here tonight and was behind you when you got out of the car. This alley is dark and isolated on purpose. I didn’t want the guy to grab you or some shit. Race would fucking kill me for that, so I grabbed you instead. I wanted to warn you.”

  He took a few steps back from me and pulled out his phone. I was still trying to get my head around the fact that Race was having someone follow me, when the greasy guy muttered, “I’m gonna call him.”

  Just then my phone went off with Adria finally returning my calls.

  “Where are you?”

  I was scared and I was mad. It wasn’t a good combination.

  “What do you mean?” She sounded sloppy and drunk.

  “I came to get you like you asked. Where in the hell are you, Adria?” I wrinkled my nose as a whiff of whatever I had landed in snuck up into my nose. What an awesome way to end the night.

  “I left with some guys that were really nice. I’m going to an after party back by the university. You should meet me there.”

  Oh, for the love of all that was holy. I was going to murder her. I gritted my teeth and clenched my phone so hard in my hand that it hurt.

  “Why did you ask me to come get you if you were just going to leave with a bunch of random dudes, Adria?” I was starting to really rethink calling her a friend.

  “Oh, loosen up, Bry. You need to get out more. I knew you wouldn’t come hang out if I just asked you. You need to live a little. Come to the party! Oh, and bring the blond hottie. I saw him floating around the crowd while I was there; yummy.”

  I hung up on her and had to seriously fight the urge to throw my phone back into the muck on the ground. I growled—actually gr
owled like a beast—and looked back up at the nervous guy watching me.

  “What did the guy who has been following me look like?”

  “Yeah, Aldo, what did he look like?”

  I spun around, startled at the sound of Race’s deep voice. His golden head cleared the top of that nasty stairwell, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling greedily over him. He had on dark jeans that were rolled up over well-worn, black cowboy boots, a fitted black sweater that had a hood on it, and over that a dark gray blazer that looked tailored and expensive. He looked as out of place in the dingy alley as I felt.

  The guy, Aldo I guess was his name, started pacing back and forth in front of me like a nervous little rodent. I came to the rapid conclusion that I wasn’t fond of the people Race did business with.

  “A bigger guy, like your size but thicker. At first I thought it was a couple different people, which is why I didn’t say anything. He wears a hat or glasses, and one time I think he even had on a wig. And he never drives the same car. One day it was a truck that followed her to work, and then a Volkswagen that followed her from school. I’m not cut out for this shit, Race. I just like to bet on sports.”

  Race’s green eyes drifted over me then over the nervous guy. I saw his chest rise and fall in a heavy sigh.

  “Fine. Consider your last marker paid.”

  “For real?” I could practically feel the guy vibrating with excitement.

  “Yeah, but next time you’re going to have to pay in actual cash, Aldo. No more solids from me.”

  The guy nodded and practically darted off into the night.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and tried not to flinch when he prowled toward me.

  “You were having me followed and didn’t bother to mention it? I’ve been jumping out of my skin all week thinking someone was after me.”

  Race shrugged and moved until he was totally up in my space. I breathed him in and wondered how he could make even this dank alleyway smell divine.

  “If Aldo wasn’t such a waste of skin you wouldn’t have even known he was there. I wanted whoever has been messing with you to know that we know he’s there. What happened to you? Why are you all dirty?”

  I blushed hotly and hoped he didn’t notice. “That Aldo guy grabbed me and freaked me out. I fell.”

  He lifted a sandy eyebrow and reached out to rub a spot on my cheek. “What are you doing here anyway?”

  Wasn’t that the question of the night?

  “My friend was really excited she got invited to fight night. Like an idiot, I tried to talk her out of coming, so she tricked me into coming down here to give her a ride. Only she took off before I got here and now I’m covered in alley goo and was scared half out of my mind by that creep. It’s not an awesome night.”

  He tilted his head to the side a little bit and just stared at me. I shivered again, and this time it had nothing at all to do with being in the Point after dark, or feeling like I was being followed.

  “I can make it better.”

  Kill me now. I had to physically bite down on my tongue to keep from groaning out loud.

  “Aren’t you working?”

  The dimple made an appearance and I felt my breath catch in my throat.

  “One of the guys who was fighting went in the Pit injured. It was pretty brutal to watch, but he somehow managed to pull out a win. Since he was a long shot, most of the bets were placed on the loser. It was a collecting night, not a payout night. I did my part, but now Nassir won’t let anyone leave without ponying up.”

  His world was so different from anything I had ever known, and I hated to admit that it was fascinating, alluring, and dangerous—just like him.

  “I should go home.” My voice was strained to my own ears. I couldn’t have sounded less convincing if I tried.

  “There are always other things we should be doing. Come back to my place with me, Brysen.”

  It wasn’t a question, it was almost an order. It shouldn’t sound as hot as it did.

  “I don’t really think that’s a great idea. Besides, we haven’t even touched on the fact that I do officially have a stalker.”

  He took a step even closer and the finger he had used to rub my cheek he now used to push some of my hair back behind my ear. It was probably the most kind, most reverent touch I had felt from another person in my life. That it was coming from this complex and troubling man hit me in all of my warm and squishy places.

  “You have a stalker until I can get my hands on him. And it might be a bad idea, but it’s a bad idea that is going to happen one way or another, so fighting it seems stupid and takes energy I can sure as hell put to better use. Let me take care of you for one night, Brysen. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  Of course I wouldn’t regret it. I wanted him, was entrapped by him, and after I ate it all up, took everything he had to give, lived in the pleasure and passion he broke loose inside of me, it would for sure kill me to know I would never be able to have it again. I blew out a breath, lifted a hand to wrap around his thick wrist, and fully intended to tell him no, that it just wasn’t worth the impending heartache, but what came out of my mouth was:

  “I don’t know what to do with you, Race.”

  His warm hand slid under the fall of my hair at the back of my neck and his head lowered toward mine. His mouth hovered right over mine and my lips parted in their own invitation.

  “Yes, you do.”

  When he kissed me, my mind was made up. I wanted this—wanted him—and I hadn’t had anything just for myself in far too long. I knew it was bound to lead to really bad things, but on the way there I really, really wanted to enjoy everything that came with him. Including the way he pulled me close. The way he slid his hands down over the curve of my ass. The way his tongue lured mine out to play, and maybe mostly the way he made everything else that was always hounding me fade away. With his mouth on mine, with his hands roving over me, there was no crumbling home life, there was no failed math class, there was no lurking and unidentified threat . . . all I could feel was heat, burning desire, and desperation. It was such a welcome reprieve from what I usually felt that there was no way I could tell him no.

  He took a step back and squeezed the back of my neck. I was breathless and his eyes had shifted to that sexy, deep, opaque forest green.

  “I can’t offer you anything fancy. You’ve been on my mind and under my skin for a minute now, but I promise that I’ll make it worth your while.”

  I breathed out a sigh and took the hand he offered me.

  “You already have, Race.”

  He flashed that dimple at me again and inclined his head toward the mouth of the alley.

  “Where did you park?”

  “Around the corner.” He gave me a look that indicated I would be lucky to find the BMW in one piece once we reached it.

  “I saw your friend, the one from the party. She doesn’t have any clue what she’s doing running around in a place like this. She’s loud and flashy. Things like that are like bait in the water for predators. Anyone actually from here, anyone who knows how the Point works, knows the less attention you can draw to yourself, the better. She also tried to grab my junk when I walked past her.”

  That was the last straw. Adria was off the friends list. I looked up at him under my lashes and hoped against hope that the gunk I had fallen into wasn’t spreading onto him as he pulled me closer to his side. I loved the way I could feel the ripple of all that lean muscle against me as he moved. Knew I would love it even more when there weren’t so many clothes separating our skin.

  I jerked to a halt when we rounded the corner. Because my luck was so stellar, and because, of course, that was how my night was going to end, the BMW was sitting on the ground, the tires and rims long gone. The driver’s-side window was busted out, meaning my radio and whatever else wasn’t tied down was probably missing. Luckily, I had locked all my school stuff in the trunk, and it still looked closed.

  “Shit.” I breathed out the word
and let Race pull me into a tight hug.

  “That’s what happens out here.”

  “It sucks.”

  He didn’t argue, but pulled out his phone and started barking orders into it. It sounded like he was arranging to have someone tow the heap to the garage.

  “More minions?”

  He gave me a grin that had my insides turning liquid and slippery.

  “Sometimes they serve a purpose. Let’s go. The Mustang is behind the warehouse.”

  “I need to see if my computer and books are in the trunk still.”

  He gave me a hard look and shook his head.

  “You shouldn’t come down here with that kind of stuff. People get carjacked for a cell phone, let alone a new computer.”

  I made a face and went to collect my stuff. “Like I said, I don’t know what to do with you and I have no idea what to do in this place, and yet I keep finding myself here.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief when the Mac glinted up at me. I grabbed it and went back to my sexy escort.

  He took my hand again and pressed a kiss to the back of it. It made me want to literally swoon. No one person should be that smooth. It was like he didn’t have any kind of edges, even though I knew for a fact that wasn’t true.

  “Whether you want to be here or not, you have to know how to take care of yourself once you get here. The Point eats pretty girls like you alive.”

  “What about pretty boys like you? Does it eat you alive too?”

  He gave me a look that was dark in a different way from the ones he gave me when he was turned on. There were shadows there, deep places that had marked him, and it made me a little afraid, not just of him, but for him. Getting into bed with Race Hartman came with risks. I knew it, and the look on his handsome face told the truth of it.

  “It does until the pretty boy grows a really sharp set of teeth to bite back.”

  Yikes. That made him as much of a predator as everything else hiding in the darkness and shadows of this city, and I was about to go willingly with him and let him “take care” of me. It looked like I couldn’t avoid messy situations no matter how good my intentions might be.