I glanced over at Keeton.
Wary.
Guy was intimidating as fuck. Would kick my ass from here to the fucking moon if I even looked at him wrong. White beard and piercing eyes. Skin worn and thick.
But I respected him for the fact he’d gotten me out of that rat-infested apartment when he and my mom had gotten together two years ago. Our stomachs full and a roof over our heads. Treated her right. Made her happy, which meant she was no longer focusing her misery on me.
Other than that? I pretty much stayed out of his way.
“What’s this?” I finally asked, dangling the key in front of me.
“Your birthday present.”
Dude had to be punking me.
“You can’t . . .” I swiveled to glance at the bike before I looked back at him. Excitement burned in my chest, all mixed up with the questions. “You can’t be serious? This is for me?”
Guy wasn’t about giving free rides. Ever since he’d come into our lives, he’d emphasized the fact that nothing came without a cost.
He pressed his hands together, rubbing them slow as he studied me. “You’re one of us now.”
A frown pulled my brow tight. “What’s that mean?”
“Get on your bike, and I’ll show you.”
Ten
Leif
Anger burning through me, I swiped the drip of blood that oozed from the corner of my mouth and stormed in the direction of Lyrik’s house. I glanced over my shoulder one more time before I pushed send on the message.
Me: Two pricks followed me out of a bar in Savannah. Got any word?
Didn’t take but a minute for it to buzz back.
Braxton: Nothing solid. But Keeton has been asking around again. Pushing. You’ve been playing with fire since the second you joined that band. Warned you if you put yourself in that position things were gonna go south.
Rage singed my insides, fingertips pounding a little harder at the phone than necessary.
Me: That’s because it’s time for some things to burn.
Braxton: Yeah. And you were supposed to stay on the down-low until that time came to pass.
Years.
I’d waited for three fucking years.
Braxton: You didn’t get a read on who they were?
Two pricks had run off into the night with their tails tucked between their legs.
Without saying a word.
Pussies.
Which meant they’d been expendable.
Sent as only a warning.
A reminder of what was unsettled.
Debt coming due.
Me: Two of them took off before I could get anything out of them.
Me: Whoever they are, seems we’re running out of time.
Braxton: And neither of us can afford for that to happen until we are sure. We fuck this up? We’re both dead.
Me: Price I’m willing to pay.
Owed it, anyway.
Braxton: Speak for yourself, asshole. You might relish the idea of getting cozy six-feet underground, but I personally have plans on wreaking a little more havoc before I call it quits.
Could almost hear him chuckling from the other end of the earth. Braxton was a scary motherfucker. He never thought twice about smothering what needed to be extinguished.
But I also trusted him with my life. Two of us tied in this thing together before either of us had known what was happening.
Braxton: Patience, brother.
Me: Three years not enough?
Braxton: And that means you should be able to hold out a few more weeks. Don’t do anything stupid. He’s paranoid. Believe me when I say you’re not the only one after him. His time is coming.
Braxton: Trust me to get a little more. I’ll press Ridge. See if he has a lock on who might have pinned you in Savannah. Until then, sit tight and don’t get stupid.
I hesitated, hating that I was at the wheel that was driving all of this. Riding too fucking fast when it felt like I’d been frozen still for half my life. What this could mean for Braxton and the rest of the people tied to me.
Me: Don’t like that I have you so deep in the middle of this.
He didn’t have to be standing next to me for me to hear his scoff.
Braxton: There was a reason I swore loyalty, Leif. Don’t question it now.
Me: Thought you said you didn’t relish the idea of going to ground.
Braxton: One-hundred percent. But it’s not fucking going to come to that. Won’t let it.
I blew out a heavy breath as I made it around to the back gate, the area fortified like I was entering a fucking palace.
Sounded about right.
Me: Okay. Keep me posted. Just . . .
I paused, trying to figure out how to put it into words. Fact I couldn’t allow the mistakes I’d made—the life I’d chosen—to affect the people I cared about.
I glanced through the metal bars meant to keep monsters out, guts getting twisted up in painful knots when I thought of the people sleeping inside. Wondering how the fuck it was that I’d gotten so careless. Dragging more people into my lane.
Me: . . . Just find out who knows I’m here. Keep this shit in L.A. Can’t afford for anyone to come sniffing this way.
Braxton: I’ll handle it. Stay safe, brother.
A disorder blew around me, and I stuffed my phone into my pocket while I punched in the code with the other hand. The lock beeped, disengaged, and the gate popped open. I climbed the two steps through the entrance that led into another world.
I moved toward the guest house, slowing like some kind of fiend when I caught the wispy figure barely seen through the enormous windows across the yard. They could almost pass for mirrors in the shimmering, lapping night, my face some kind of hollow void in the reflection, overcasting the silhouette that stood facing away in front of a blank canvas.
Her delicate hand was poised with a brush, and her entire being tremored with expression. But her fingers were held, the ghosts I could almost see swirling around her leaving her with nothing to say.
I scrubbed a palm over my face like it would break up the image.
Make it different.
But it was her. She was the artist.
Knew I had to get out of there before I let myself slip any farther.
Get gone before she noticed.
Too late.
Her spine stiffened and her shoulders tensed, her entire being coiling tight when she sensed my presence.
Slowly, she shifted around to peer out the windows into the night, the profile of her face sharp and bitterly sweet.
That ache in my gut tightened tenfold.
Remember, my conscience screamed, what little of it remained, only thing left the scraps of loyalty and gutting wrath.
That didn’t seem to matter, though, because I took a step forward into a sliver of light shed from the porch above. Something inside me wanted to erase the fear I could see slithering across her flesh, same thing I’d felt that first night. All the while, I knew I couldn’t do anything but add to it.