“So, what are we waiting for then? Let’s go and confront him.” I went to stand up, but Zak gestured for me to sit my ass down and listen.
“Not so fast. I ran a check on Lockwood, and he has multiple mobile phones registered to his name and his company too. He’s a dirty fucker, so we need to play clever and keep this information close to our chests, until we know exactly what we’re dealing with. He is distancing himself from Alec Winters publicly. He claims he had nothing to do with the money laundering. But he’s making a lot of fucking effort to try and fuck shit up for us. He’s trying to mess with our heads.”
I agreed with him. The Lockwoods liked their mind games. But so did I.
“Not all of our heads though,” Ryan said, glaring over at me.
“Are you still not getting any messages, Brandon?” Finn asked.
“Nope.”
I wasn’t going to apologise for it either. Sure, I had their backs when shit went down, but I wouldn’t lose sleep over the fact that Don fucking Lockwood wasn’t sending me lame text messages to try and scare me.
“That part just doesn’t make sense.” Zak frowned as he spoke. “But that’s why we have to play the long game. Wait it out and see what he comes at us with next.”
I didn’t agree with him.
“Fuck the long game. The Lockwoods have been pissing around for too long. I’m still waiting for Jensen to show his face around here so I can rearrange it for him.”
“Aren’t we all? That fucked up piece of shit has been dodging our bullets for too long now,” Ryan said, showing as much anger as I felt.
“You’ll have to get in line, mate,” I told him. The first hit was always going to be mine.
“There won’t need to be any lines. We’ll be standing right next to you. He messes with one of us, he messes with us all. And that includes Harper.”
That was what I loved about these lads. It didn’t matter what we went through, we’d always have each other’s backs. We’d always be there when one of us needed help. We weren’t blood brothers; we were brothers of the heart.
“So, the plan is to pretend we don’t know Lockwood is a shady fucker?” I gave a sarcastic huff and looked at each one of them to gauge their reaction.
“The plan is to stay tight,” Ryan stated confidently. “Watch our backs and make sure he knows he isn’t spooking us. Business as usual.”
I heard my mobile ring and I slid it out of the side pocket of my jeans. When I saw Pat Murphy’s number flashing back at me, I tried not to show any recognition of it on my face. I didn’t want the lads to think I had any reservations.
“Yeah?”
“Friday,” he said loudly down the line. “I need you match fit and ready for your first opponent. I’ve got some heavy hitters putting a lot of money on this one. It’s the fight they’ve all been waiting for.”
“All of my fights are what they’ve been waiting for.”
Zak rolled his eyes at me from across the room.
“I like your cockiness, kid. Save it for Friday, though. The crowd are gonna love it. There might be some sponsors watching too. Make sure you bring it.”
“I always do.”
Pat hung up first and I threw my phone down onto the coffee table in front of me.
“You’ve got a fight booked?” Finn nodded at my discarded mobile.
“Yeah, this Friday.”
“Fuck, that’s soon. Are you gonna be okay?” Ryan said with genuine concern on his face.
“I’m always okay.”
“Might be a good idea to tell her though. She shouldn’t hear something like that from anyone else. And let’s face it, news will be all over Sandland by the end of the day.” Ryan spoke sense, I knew that. The other two hummed in agreement. But for me, it was a little more complicated. She might accept me as a fighter, but would she want to watch? Did I want her there? The last time I’d fought and I’d seen her I’d totally lost my head. What if that happened again?
“I’m sorting it. You look after your woman and I’ll look after mine.” I’d reverted back to my trademark defensive response.
“You sound like a caveman.” Zak laughed.
“She loves that about me.” I winked, and the atmosphere became slightly less hostile.
“Whatever,” Ryan said, pushing himself up off my chair. “I need to split. I said I’d pick Emily up. Take her to the court. Text me any updates.”
I stood up too.
“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked. “Give a bit of extra moral support?”
Ryan patted my back as he came past me.
“That’s good of you, mate, but no. I’ve got this. Anyway, we’re going to view some apartments tonight, so it’s not all bad.”
I was happy for him. I couldn’t wait to get my own place. I also couldn’t wait to get my chair back. Plus, Zak needed to make me a coffee. I’d been here ten minutes already and he’d done fuck all.
“Black, two sugars,” I said as I settled myself into the best seat in the house and grabbed the remote control. “Chop chop.”
I heard Ryan laugh as he walked out the door.
“You know where the kettle is,” Zak said, not moving from his seat.
“Why have a dog and bark yourself?”
I smirked when he stood up and asked Finn if he wanted one too.
This shit was too easy.
Call me a crazy fool, but I missed him already. I kind of felt bad for him too after receiving his text messages earlier. He didn’t want to leave me, but he must have thought he had no choice. I guess in his own way he was being selfless. Putting me first and doing a runner so I wouldn’t have to bundle him out or explain to my parents why I had a tattooed bad boy in my bed.
He’d been so sweet to me lately, thinking up ways to show me he cared. I wanted to do the same. That’s why I was standing on a rainy Sunday afternoon ringing a doorbell that I was sure didn’t work and then knocking on the wooden door with its peeling paint to get their attention inside. There was a group of kids playing football on the grassy area opposite the house that couldn’t have been older than eight or nine, but they were hollering and whistling over at me like a bunch of middle-aged drunkards. Life was certainly… different on this side of Sandland.
I was lifting my hand up to knock for the fiftieth time when it swung open, and a sour-faced old woman stood in front of me. She had a blue apron on over her clothes and her white hair was covered with a hairnet. She scowled at me as I shivered in the rain.
“I’ve got no money, so bugger off. We don’t buy off the doorstep round here.” She went to close the door in my face, and I had to put my hand up to stop it.
“I’m not selling anything. I’m here to see Brandon.”
She eyed me suspiciously, peering up at me through her glasses, and then she snapped.
“How much does he owe? I ain’t got nothing, you know. So, you may as well fuck off. He doesn’t live here anymore, anyway.”
I frowned, trying to remember if he’d told me he was staying somewhere else.
“But Ryan said he was here. Brandon hasn’t told me he’s moved out.”