Текст книги "Exposed"
Автор книги: Brighton Walsh
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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 15 страниц)
Chapter Five
EVIE
One minute, Riley was pressing me into the wall, his hands telling me without words to stay right where I was, and the next I heard the sickening sound of flesh against bone, followed immediately by a grunt. I held my breath, praying the groans I was hearing weren’t coming from Riley. While I tried in vain to see what was going on, I listened to the sounds of the fight, my back flattened against the wall. It was too dark, though, the shadows playing tricks on my eyes, and I couldn’t tell what was happening, who was getting hits in … who was the one taking those hits.
I didn’t know how long it’d gone on for, me standing against the wall, watching and listening and waiting, before I realized this wasn’t me—the girl who stayed out of the way while a guy fought her battles for her. That was Genevieve, the girl who’d never been in fights, who’d never learned to defend herself.
The girl who’d never had to.
As much as I didn’t want to distract Riley from what he was doing, I couldn’t stay still any longer. I had the ability to help, and I was going to. This was my fight, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let someone else fight it for me.
As quietly as I could, I slipped away and toward the front entry where there was a heavy plaster figurine. I’d always hated it, this woman wrapped in flowers, her pale blond hair flowing down her back, a serene smile on her face.
With the statue gripped in my hand, I crept over to where Riley and the other man were in a full-out brawl now. One person definitely had the upper hand, getting in most—if not all—of the hits. I only hoped it was Riley. Squinting my eyes, I tried to make sense of the bodies in front of me. One was taller than the other by several inches, bigger, too. And while Riley wasn’t massive, he also wasn’t scrawny, not like the dark form I saw attempting to block the near-constant incoming strikes.
Confident the smaller shape was the intruder, I moved around to the other side, being sure to stay in the shadows so I didn’t distract Riley from what he was doing. When I got into place, the alcove off the dining room my cover, I gripped the statue in my hands and waited.
Riley and the other man stumbled in front of the staircase and into the light spilling down from upstairs. Riley’s face was more pronounced in the shadows, the hard, sharp edge of his jaw and the hollows under his cheeks making him look intimidating … and so different from the boy I once knew. I was so relieved to see that he was free of any cuts and bruises that I forgot what I was doing for a moment, not moving as swiftly as I should’ve.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I stepped out of the shadows, coming up behind the intruder. My movement alerted Riley and he looked up at me, shifting his attention from the fight in front of him to me. The look in his eyes was something I’d seen from him more times than I could count.
Pure, undiluted fear. For me.
Years ago, back when we’d been together, we’d run jobs for the crew, the two of us a team, though no one there had ever known of our relationship besides Ghost. My job hadn’t been physical—I had always been the knowledge collector, used to ferret out information. And I’d been good, but Riley had always come with, just in case. He’d been smaller then, but he’d always known how to fight, and every time he’d had to step up and fight off someone, I’d be right there next to him, helping in any way I could. And every time, there had always been a moment where Riley would look at me, his expression full of worry and uncertainty … full of terror for my safety.
I’d loved that look, because it’d meant someone had cared for me. Truly cared for me, for more than what I could give them—whether that was my body or my mind.
But just like before, I didn’t like staying in the shadows. I didn’t like other people fighting for me. Riley and I had always worked best as a team, and I was sure that would still ring true now.
I raised the statue over my head, ready to bring it down on this guy, when he used Riley’s distraction to his advantage. He got a punch in, and Riley staggered back, his head snapping to the side at the same time I swung.
RILEY
A thud sounded, followed by a grunt, and then I twisted back around and watched as the guy’s body slumped to the floor. Evie was standing over him, some object clutched in her hand. When she looked up at me, the dim light from upstairs casting shadows over her face, her eyes were brimming with determination.
And that pissed me off.
“Evie, what the fuck?” I snapped, walking over and pushing at the guy on the ground with my boot. He flopped over, his body lifeless, and I reached down to feel for a pulse.
“He’s just unconscious,” she said with certainty. Then with irritation lacing her voice, she continued, “I fended him off. You should be thanking me, not yelling at me.”
I stood from where I was squatting and glared at her. “You could’ve killed him. You’ve got to think, Evie. What the hell would we do if you had a dead body in your house? Jesus Christ.” I clasped my hands together behind my head and spun in a circle.
“Well, I’m not apologizing for it.” Her voice was hard, and if I’d been looking at her, I knew she’d be staring back at me with eyes just as hard. “Jesus, Riley, you act like I’ve never had your back in a fight before.”
Walking up to her, I didn’t stop until we were mere inches apart, her head tipped back to look at me. “A lot has changed in the past five years, me included. Starting now, we do things my way or not at all.”
“Not at all it is, then.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I pointed to the guy sprawled out on her floor. “Not at all isn’t an option for you anymore, baby. Sorry. Now here’s what’s going to happen.” I gripped her shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her toward the steps. “Go get whatever necessities you need. And I mean basic necessities. You’ve got five minutes and then we’re leaving.”
She breathed out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right? This Neanderthal bullshit didn’t work back then, and it’s sure as hell not going to work now.”
“Oh, it’s going to work, because I’m not leaving here without you. So you can either get your shit and come with me willingly, or I can toss you over my shoulder and haul you out of here. Your choice.”
Her mouth dropped open before her eyes narrowed. “You cannot haul me out of here, that’s—”
“Exactly what I’ll do if you don’t get your ass in gear.” I went over and flipped on a light, then walked back to see who the guy was. Squatting next to the unconscious form, I turned his head toward me so I could get a good look at his face.
“Shit,” I muttered.
It was Frankie, a greasy, creepy son of a bitch who used to work with the crew. He’d made himself scarce since an incident involving Gage and his girlfriend, Madison. Frankie had been aggressive toward her and made some brutally crude comment about Madison. If Gage ever saw him again, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop him from bringing a world of hurt down on this asshole. A world of hurt that would make getting knocked unconscious by a statue seem like child’s play.
“See what you’re dealing with? It’s not going to stop with him, Evie, more are—” I glanced up at her, and her face had gone white, her eyes wide as she stared at the unconscious form of Frankie on the floor. “Evie?”
She didn’t move at the sound of my voice, and I stood from my crouched position, then walked over to her, my hand settling on the bare skin where her shoulder met her neck. She flinched away from me.
“Hey,” I said, my voice softer than it had been, my thumb brushing back and forth against her collarbone. “It’s just me. It’s okay. He’s out cold.”
Finally, her eyes met mine before they flitted down again to Frankie. She nodded then, swallowing and straightening her shoulders. “I’ll go get my stuff.”
She ascended the steps as I stood in shock at the complete one-eighty she’d done. I didn’t know what had finally gotten through to her—if the thought of more guys like Frankie coming had been the thing to finally snap her out of her defiance or what—but I wasn’t complaining.
While Evie was upstairs, I grabbed my phone and dialed Gage.
“What’s the status?” he answered without pleasantries.
“We’ve got a problem.”
There was a pause, then, “You didn’t get to her?”
“No, I did. But we have company. He slipped in about twenty minutes after I got here.”
“Who?”
I took a breath and blew it out slowly. “Frankie.”
Gage growled a string of curses. “I never should’ve let that fucker go.”
“You know if it hadn’t been him, Max would’ve sent someone else.”
“Why the hell is he back working this now? You said he was scarce after what went down with Madison in the cabin, right?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him for months. I was wondering what would bring him back, too. Why this?”
“We’ll have to look into it when you’re both to safety. For now, what do you need there?”
“He’s unconscious, so I’m going to need a pickup and a drop. I don’t want to use one of Evie’s cars to do it, and I just have my bike.”
“I can have someone to the house within half an hour. Just get the fuck out of there. Who knows if others are on their way.”
I glanced up as Evie came down the stairs, a small bag slung over her shoulder. She darted her eyes down to Frankie, then she lifted her gaze, her posture stiff as she walked straight toward me. Mask firmly back in place. Into the phone, I said, “We’re leaving now. Should be to you in a couple hours.”
“Good. See you then.”
I pocketed my phone, then looked at her. “Get what you need?”
She gave a single decisive nod. “Ready.”
Tilting my head toward the back door, I said, “Go wait for me. I’ll be there in a second.”
Narrowing her eyes, she studied me, the irritation pouring off her in waves. I was waiting for her to spew a string of curses my way, but instead she finally relented and walked toward the kitchen. I glanced around, finding an old envelope on the desk off to the side and grabbed it, ripping off a section of it. Uncapping a pen with my teeth, I quickly scribbled a note on the piece of paper, then stuffed it into Frankie’s pocket.
Telling them to try harder next time was akin to waving a red flag in front of a bull, but I was pissed, high on an adrenaline rush, and I wanted to give them the finger in whatever way I could. Sending one of Max’s guys back to him, unconscious, with a taunting note wasn’t quite as physical as I’d have liked my message to be, but it would have to suffice.
I walked over to Evie, putting my hand on the small of her back and leading her out the side door. She glanced back over her shoulder at Frankie. “You’re leaving him in there?”
Shaking my head, I said, “I’ve called for cleanup. He’ll be gone within the hour.”
I felt her body relax under my fingers still pressed against her back. That simple movement caused my mind to go all kinds of places it had absolutely no fucking business going, a film strip of memories flipping through my head from when Evie and I had been together. The first time I saw her, her attitude drawing me in as much as her looks had. Then the first job we ran together, when we’d both been so wound up after, we’d had our first kiss—our first way more than kiss—in a seedy alley, pressed against a harsh brick wall. I could still hear the breathy sounds she made when she was turned on, could still feel the clench of her fingers gripping my arm, urging me for more.
I could still remember the taste of her lips.
Clenching my jaw, I pushed the memories away and guided her down the driveway and around the corner to where I’d parked my bike.
Once we were close to it, she halted in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she looked at it, then back at me. “I’m not sure how you thought you were going to drag me out of here unwillingly with this thing.” She inclined her head toward the motorcycle.
I pulled the small bag from her shoulder and stuck it in the luggage compartment before grabbing her helmet and holding it out to her. “Yeah, I might’ve been bluffing.”
She stared at my outstretched hand, at the helmet I wasn’t sure she remembered—the one that used to be hers—not moving an inch. Her arms were crossed against her chest, her foot tapping a frustrated rhythm on the sidewalk.
“Time’s a wastin’, baby.” And then I gave her the smile that used to get me out of anything with her—the kind of smile that I’d used more times than I could count when I’d gotten hotheaded and went off on someone because he’d looked at her wrong. She hadn’t had a whole lot of patience for that then, but one smile from me, and she’d melted.
She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw before snatching the helmet out of my grasp and putting it on. Quickly, she tied her hair back in a ponytail, producing a hair tie from whatever magical place girls kept them, then climbed on behind me. I tried not to think about what it felt like having her so close again, because I sure as shit didn’t want to get lost in the memories of what her body had felt like when a whole lot less clothes were involved. Even with my reluctance, I couldn’t help remembering what it used to feel like when she’d ride with me.
My first bike had been older, junkier—a pile of shit a buddy of mine had pulled out of the junkyard and miraculously gotten running—but it’d been mine, and Evie and I had ridden it around all over the city. This one was newer, sleeker, the product of working job after job for the past five years, but having her on the back felt exactly the same as it always had. Except she wasn’t as close as she’d always been. Before, she’d climb on and wrap her arms around me, her legs tight on the outside of mine and her chest pressed to my back. Now she held herself away, gripping the handle behind her seat, and there was no fucking way we were driving three hours like that.
Starting up the bike, I revved the engine, then turned my head and said over my shoulder, “Better hold on tight. Gonna be a fast ride.”
Chapter Six
The dark sky gave way to midnight blue, then it seemed like all at once it burst into a ball of fire, streaks of red and orange lighting up the sky as the asphalt disappeared under my tires. The weather, though warmer than usual for this time of year, was still biting as we flew down back roads to get to Gage’s place. After my words of caution, Evie had pressed herself up against me as I’d told her to, wrapping her arms around my waist and clutching me tightly. And she hadn’t moved since we’d left a couple hours ago.
But even with that distraction, I couldn’t stop my mind from churning, going over and over and over the last several hours. And as I did, anger and resentment grew within me with each mile we passed, building until it was nearly all I could think about. There was anger and resentment toward Evie and the lies she told … at the fact that while I’d been mourning her, she’d been off living a life of privilege.
But more than that, more than the anger I felt toward Evie, was this overwhelming fury I felt toward my brother. A fury that was burning up my insides. I didn’t have all the pieces to the puzzle yet, but from what I’d been able to fit together, it was clear he’d known about this—about Evie—for a while. The whole time? That, I wasn’t sure, but regardless, he’d known. He’d known and he’d kept it from me, kept his mouth shut and gone about life as if nothing was unusual. As if the girl I used to love hadn’t been alive the whole fucking time.
I’d never before felt betrayed by him, had never had a reason to. My entire life, he’d had my back. He’d been the one to look out for me when we were younger, when our mother was strung out on whatever drug she could get her hands on. He’d been the one who’d taken care of me after she’d died, the one who’d started in with the crew in the first place, just so we could afford a roof over our heads and food on the table.
Never in a million fucking years did I think I’d have a reason to doubt him.
And now I did. Now I knew he’d betrayed me in the biggest way.
I’d memorized the directions Gage had given me, and soon Evie and I pulled up in front of a small brick apartment building. It sat only a few blocks from the campus Madison attended, situated in a neighborhood that was neither upscale nor run-down. Planting my feet on the ground, I turned off the engine of the bike, pulled off my helmet, then twisted to face the building, only one question on my mind …
How long had he known?
I helped Evie get off the bike, then headed up the walkway and into the building toward the apartment. She didn’t say a word as we stood in the hallway in front of the door marked 2C, as I stared at it for a moment before I finally knocked. Before my knuckles could connect with the wood a second time, the door pulled open, Gage on the other side. I hadn’t seen him in months, not since he’d left to follow Madison here. He looked pretty much the same as he always had, except that he’d let his hair grow out a bit. But his stare was still hard and penetrating like it’d always been, his jaw set as he looked from me to Evie, then behind us, taking stock. Always taking stock of the surroundings.
And that was when it hit me. Of course he’d known the whole time. He wouldn’t have had everything in place, everything ready for a retrieval like he had now if he hadn’t planned for exactly that. He’d known. All along, while I’d been grieving, while I’d gotten fully entrenched in the crew because of Evie’s death, he’d known.
His eyes locked with mine, and I saw everything I needed to in them.
Without thinking about it, without taking a second to consider what I was doing, I pulled my arm back and snapped it forward, my fist connecting with his jaw. Through the blood thrumming in my ears, I heard Evie gasp out my name.
Gage turned his head back to face me, his hand going up to rub his jaw as he stared at me. “You done?”
And that just pissed me off even more. Stepping over the threshold, I got right in his face, then shoved him hard. “Fuck no, I’m not done. I have five goddamn years of your lies to get redemption for.”
“Ry, you don’t—”
I didn’t let him finish before I threw another punch, this time my fist connecting with his stomach. He doubled over, letting out a soft grunt, then stood up straight once he’d caught his breath. His eyes met mine once again, his intention clear in the way his arms hung loosely at his sides, his hands unclenched. He wasn’t going to fight back? Fine. He didn’t have to. I had enough fight in me for the both of us.
I went at him again, letting my fists do all the talking. Over my heavy breaths and Gage’s grunts, I heard Evie in the background, trying to get me to stop, pleading with me, but I blocked it out as best as I could, focusing only on the anger and betrayal eating away at me. Anger and betrayal I felt at both of them, but Gage was the only one I could take it out on. The only way I could get this out of me.
I poured every bit of it into him, the years I’d gone thinking Evie was dead, all the paths I’d followed because of that one event—taking my place in the crew because I’d been so full of rage that I hadn’t been able to think straight. I’d been so full of contempt at unanswered justice that I’d wanted to do anything I could to keep these assholes off the streets. The assholes like the one who’d killed Evie.
The crew had been told it’d been a confrontation gone bad. That Evie had gone with them on the boat—the one the crew used as a scare tactic to get shady bastards to talk under the threat of dropping them into Lake Michigan miles upon miles from shore—and everything had gone to shit. Some accountant who was skimming from the top, stealing from Max, had grabbed one of the guys’ guns and shot Evie, multiple times. She’d fallen overboard. They’d never found her body.
Yet even without the body, I’d believed every bit I’d been fed, every morsel of the story because Gage had seemed to believe it, too. But above that, he’d had Evie’s locket. The locket I’d given her, the one she never took off. He had it, broken chain and all.
“Ry,” Gage said, ducking away from a swing. “Riley, Jesus Christ, chill the fuck out.”
“Fuck you.”
“I don’t want to have to fight you, but I will.”
“Then do it already!”
I took another swing, aiming for his kidney, but he dodged it, and then he started fighting back instead of just blocking my hits. His fist connected with my jaw, snapping my head back. His voice filled the space around us between the hits, telling me to stop, to calm down and listen. Both Evie and Madison were trying to break it up—I could hear them in the background, somewhere beyond the pulse thrumming through my ears—but I couldn’t think past the red haze clouding my vision.
I came at him again, but before my fist could connect with his flesh, Evie stepped between us, her eyes hard, her arms outstretched, separating us.
I halted my advance on Gage immediately, not wanting to accidentally hurt her. “Evie, get the fuck out of the way,” I said, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth. It came away wet and smeared with blood, but I still wasn’t done. I didn’t want to stop.
I couldn’t.
“No, I’m not going to get the fuck out of the way. I don’t take orders from you, remember?” She dropped her hand from in front of Gage and turned to me, shoving me hard in the chest. “You’re pissed, I get that. But you’re pissed at me, too. Quit using your brother as a punching bag when this is as much my fault as it is his.”
I clenched my jaw and stared at her, then looked over her shoulder at Gage. His lip was busted, a bruise already forming on his cheekbone, and even with proof of the damage I’d done, he didn’t look pissed at me. Not even then.
And yet I still had this rage, this regret thrumming through my veins, and I didn’t know how to get a handle on it.
I shook off the hand she had resting on my forearm and spun around, stalking out of the apartment and through the halls to the front door.
I needed some space.
