“Honey, we’re what? Fourteen people using the same washer? I wish you luck.”
“Have you considered getting another?”
“Oh, Miles is working on it,” Emma said, her eyes gleaming. She slung her arm around his shoulders and tugged him along. “Let’s find your idiot brother and get this show on the road.”
CHAPTER THREE
Wilder
HE REACHED into his back pocket to pull out his wallet, his fingers running over the bills inside, wanting to take them all out but knowing it wouldn’t go over well. He removed only a few tens, then put his wallet back, folding the bills and holding them toward Dash, immediately pulling them just out of the boy’s reach.
“What’s the deal?”
Dash rolled his eyes, but drawled, “Food first.”
Wilder let the boy snatch the money out of his hand, his lips quirking as he tried to hold back a smile. He wasn’t surprised to feel Alvis’s eyes on him. The boy was always watching, his brain working quietly as he remained in the background.
Alvis and Dash made a great team. He knew they’d be formidable if they weren’t living on the streets. As much as he wanted to offer them a home, he knew they weren’t in the right frame of mind to accept yet. He was slowly but surely chipping away at the boys’ defenses and earning their trust.
Alvis was the one he needed to convince. He was the cautious one who kept the boys alive while Dash was immensely protective of the other boy. It was like a stab to the heart when he realized their dynamic reminded him of himself and Jane. It wasn’t that they’d been like these boys. Jane certainly wasn’t quiet and never had been, but he’d been protective of her just the same. She was the one who’d shown him what love and trust really meant.
Ironic that those were the things she’d now hurt him the most with.
Lost in his own misery, he didn’t notice Alvis approaching before he was barely within a few feet of him, the closest he’d ever been to the boy.
“There’s something wrong about you,” Alvis said, his voice low but firm.
Wilder froze, unsure how to take Alvis’s words. Did he think he was untrustworthy? If he’d fucked up so much that he lost what little trust he’d built with the boys, he would hate himself for it. Even more than he would hate Jane and Solo for their part in it.
“Yeah, you should take care of that,” Dash supplied, his crooked teeth filling Wilder’s vision as he smiled widely at him.
An exasperated sigh fell from his lips. “Thanks. I’ll take your suggestion into consideration.”
Dash sighed loudly, but he caught a twitch of Alvis’s lips. His heart sped up, the trepidation inside him quickly replaced by elation. If he could make Alvis even think about smiling, then perhaps he hadn’t fucked up as royally as he feared.
“I might have more work for you soon,” he said, trying not to hold his breath as he waited for their reactions.
Dash’s brown eyes lit up as expected, whereas Alvis’s stark blues narrowed, his expression unchanged from its carefully blank state.
“What kind of work?” Alvis asked, glaring at his friend in an attempt to curb his excitement.
“You know we’re opening a gym,” he started, pausing until they both nodded, “We could use some lookouts.”
Alvis pursed his lips, then cursed under his breath when Dash bounced excitedly next to him. The two were quite the pair. Night and day, really. Alvis, with his easily sunburned, pasty white skin, dark blond hair, and stoic personality, and Dash,with his brown skin, black unruly curls, and happy-go-lucky attitude. He didn’t know what they’d been through and probably never would, but whatever it was, it had forged a bond between them that wasn’t likely to be broken by anything or anyone. Then again, he’d thought the same about his and Jane’s bond.
“I’ll tell you more about it when we get closer to opening,” he said and reached for his helmet resting on the seat of his bike.
“We’ll listen,” Alvis said, giving Dash a look that had the other boy pressing his lips together, his excitement curbed, though he couldn’t entirely cease the slight bounce of his feet.
“Be good, boys,” he said before pulling his helmet over his head and swinging his leg over the seat of his bike, turning the key, and pushing up the kickstand.
Alvis gave him a tight nod, and then the boys dispersed before he could pull out onto the road. The drive to the gym wasn’t long, which was also one of the reasons he’d thought of the boys for some added security. He had a feeling they’d need it.
They might’ve landed quite a blow to the local gang when they took out a considerable amount of its men just a few weeks ago, but their operation had turned out to be much bigger than anticipated. More men kept arriving, and Serrano had gone quiet. Kaz had heard Serrano arguing with one of the gang members before executing him, and they weren’t sure what it meant. Kian wasn’t saying much, either. He tried to keep an eye on him, especially after the kidnapping. Not that Kian was outwardly showing any signs of being affected. He was his sparkly, talkative self, unless Serrano was mentioned.
Wilder pulled into the gym’s parking lot. It was just big enough for thirty spaces, most shaded by trees. It was all pulled back from the road just enough to provide a bit of security. The building itself was two stories and spacious enough to house both training machines and equipment as well as a boxing ring. It was the latter that he was the most excited about. He waslooking forward to getting some of his brothers and sisters into that ring. Despite being at least twice the size of Nicky, he had a feeling she’d find a way to wipe the floor with him. He couldn’t wait.
He drove to the smaller employee parking lot at the back and found a spot near the back entrance, parking next to his brothers and sisters’ bikes. He pulled off his helmet and had a quick look around, a smile stretching his lips. He had a good feeling about this place and what they could accomplish with it. They were going to have self-defense classes, and if it helped just one person, he’d consider it a success.
