“Fuck! God damn it! You remember Abby Michealson?” He turns to me with a raised brow.
“Abby Michealson? The blonde from the apartments over on Blaine St.?” I ask, and he nods. “Yeah, what about her? She used to sneak us snacks all the time and swim with us at the creek. Her and Brax were inseparable. I just don’t remember what happened to her. Pretty sure I left to live with Grandad and Harley,” I tell him, and he nods again.
“When they started high school, she got Brax wrapped up with the wrong crowd and they started doing dope together. It was bad to the point where—” He stops midsentence when his phone goes off, distracting him. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he yells.
“What? What is the problem now?” I ask, and the look he gives me, I’ve never seen before. FEAR. That’s not something Caspian ever shows, and now I’m fucking nervous. “Well?” I say as we pull up right outside the gates.
“Why would Brax shut the gates behind him?” Casp asks as we both get out of the car.
“I see his car in the lot, but everything is so fucking quiet,” I say as my phone goes off again at the same time Caspian's does. “ It’s Nick!” I say, answering the phone.
“Yo, bro. What’s up?”
“Mav, don’t go to the shop. It’s a fucking trap,” he yells, and my eyes widen as the door swings open and I see a glint of red hair in my peripherals.
“Run!” Caspian yells as the shop blows, the impact sending both of us flying across the pavement, and I smack my head on the back of my tire. Glass shatters and pieces of car parts fall from the sky.
“Caspian,” I yell. “Where’s Braxton?” I scream, trying to get to my feet, but the heat coming from the blast has me crawling further away. “Casp, talk to me. Are you good?” I yell. Can’t seem to see anything. There’s so much fucking dust and smoke. “Braxton!” I scream as I maneuver myself around the car to see where the fuck Caspian landed. Fuck!
Crunching gravel has my head snapping behind me, and all I see is the barrel of a gun pointed at my head.
“Get up and come with me!” the man orders, and I spit, shaking my head.
“Fuck you!” I growl as he pistol whips me in the face, causing my neck to snap to the side and my head to smash against the bumper of my car, then everything goes black.
Chapter 30
Caspian
Waking up with a start and breathing in a scent of ammonia so fucking strong, I whip my head from side to side to get away from it.Fuck!My eyes blink a few times as they water, causing my vision to blur. I try to focus and gather my thoughts.Where Am I? Where’s Rick? Brax? What the hell happened?One minute, I was heading to the gate to see why it wasn’t opening, but a whizzing sound stopped me in my tracks. Screaming at Rick and flying backward from the impact of the blow to the shop is the last thing I remember.
Once my vision clears, I take in the dark red room I’m in and the suit standing directly in front of me. There’s a glass table in the middle of the U-shaped deep red couch and a bar in the far right corner. To my left is a huge mirror lined with dark red LEDs that light up with the bass of the low music.
Moving my hands and wrists, I let out a breath and thank the heavens above that I’m not restrained to this leather couch. I take in the room we are sitting in. “Ah, Mr. Cyprus. I’m glad youreturned to the land of living. You are a very hard man to get a hold of. My apologies for taking you and your brother like this,” he says, bending down, grabbing my face and forcing me to look up at him. “I’ve told you time and time again. When I call, you fucking answer,” he spits, his accent thick with anger.Fuck!I snap my face out of his hold and narrow my eyes.
“Was it you, Esteban, who blew up my shop killing my twin?” I question, and he laughs, taking a long pull of his cigar, blowing the sweet cedar into my face. My jaw ticks waiting for an answer as a groan next to me catches my attention. Shifting my eyes to the side, I see it’s Rick.Thank fucking god.Esteban ignores my accusations as Armando comes over waving what looks like smelling salts under Rick’s nose. He startles and gasps for air as he continues to hold the salts under his nose. “That’s enough!” I growl, and a slap to my face from Esteban's hand has me biting my lip. The taste of copper lets me know he broke the skin and blood seeps into my mouth. Reaching up, I wipe my lip and narrow my eyes at The Aces. I fucking hate these two, and I wish I had never got into bed with them.
“Not my style. I’m more into torturing you than making it quick with a bomb.” He laughs as my hands ball into fists.
“What the fuck is going on? Who are these guys?” Rick asks, and I take a deep breath.
“The prick standing in front of you is Esteban and the other is Armando. But they are better known as The Aces,” I reveal as my eyes connect with his and they narrow into slits.
“I-I don’t understand. Why are we here?” But before I can answer, Armando interrupts.
“Oh, your dear brother has poor listening skills. Plus, we have someone we want you to meet.” He grins. I don’t like that fucking look. I don’t fear many people, but these two scare the shit out of me.
“Where’s Braxton?” Rick asks, but I cast my eyes down. The shop is gone. Everything we worked so fucking hard for, the only legit business we had is gone. My twin. Gone. Harley. Locked up and Axel… I trail off, not wanting to think of the torture my baby brother is going through. My stomach flips thinking about it all. All the emotions I keep locked away are starting to boil over. I should have done what I was told to do long ago, but that nagging fucking voice of my older brother kept tickling me, knowing it wasn’t my kill, despite the orders I was sent to do.
“What you want is me. Let my brother go, and I’ll get it done tonight,” I tell them, and they both look at me then at each other.
“It’s a little too late to be making deals with us. You knew what was at stake, and you still didn’t follow through,” Esteban spits, and I tighten my fists.Fuck!The door suddenly swings open and two men enter.I swallow thickly, and tighten my fists. What the fuck is he doing here?This prick. Senator Dalton Callaghan! I should’ve known. He’s never too far from The Aces. Always sucking their ass, begging for a bone. It’s pathetic. But the other. I never thought in a million years we’d ever be in the same room, and I hope they don’t know what I know, otherwise it's just another secret I’ve kept all my life, just for it to end like this.A huge shit show.
“Good evening, gentleman. Any chance you boys are into a battered woman being fucked with a knife? Ya know, there’s nothing like listening to them scream for help,” he says, and I roll my eyes. “No, just me.” He laughs as Johnny sits on the opposite couch looking bored.God, he looks so much like her it makes me sick.“Don’t look so glum. Let’s enjoy some refreshments before we get to business,” Armando states, taking out a few joints and passing them around.Great, just what I want to do. Get high with these jackholes.The lights dim a little and sensual music plays softly through the speakers as a girl dressed in a leather harness that is strapped over her haltertop with a collar fastened around her gorgeous neck with little chains that run across her tits, peeking out her hard nipples. The look is complete with a leather thong that has more chains running down her pussy that’s connected to the strap that sits between her cheeks.Fucking gorgeous, but wait, is that the girl from Montauk?
She spins around the pole as I watch her through the tempered glass that I thought was a mirror.Why does she look so familiar?
“Beauty?” Rick whispers, lighting a joint and passing it to me.
