Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

TRISTAN

“ I ’m sorry,” Maya’s friend moans in the back of the car, crying as she holds tightly onto Maya.

I try not to let panicked concern slither into my mind as I think about what I’ve just done. I’ve embarrassed Raffie in front of his pals. I’ve put a stain on the event. That’s how he’ll see it. The fuck! It makes me sick that I even have to worry about what a lowlife like him will think, but this is about the dogs, not me. He’s dropped plenty of hints- slash -threats about Tails. And yet sometimes, I can’t help but see Raffie as the kid he was, not the man he is today.

“It’s not your fault,” Maya replies, seeming slightly more lucid now, maybe because she didn’t drink before that prick slipped her, or pricked her, or put powder on her skin, or whatever fucked-up method he chose.

“I said I’d keep you safe …”

“We are safe,” Maya says. “It’s not your fault he was a creep. Just get some sleep, okay?”

They hug again, and then Riley leaves and walks toward her house. I wait until she’s inside and then drive away, heading toward Maya’s house. My body feels taut with being so close to her, alone suddenly, but there’s so much else clashing through me.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, laying her forehead against the window.

“As long as you’re okay.”

“I’ve got work tomorrow.” She laughs strangely, apparently still sedated and out of it despite being slightly more aware.

Not aware enough for me to kiss her, hold her, take her to bed, and forget about everything. We could lose ourselves in each other. I’d pull her into my arms, into my lap, let her feel the stiff rod pushing through my pants, letting her feel how badly I want her on a physical level, at least, but nothing else. I can’t want more than that.

“I think your boss will understand if you don’t come in,” I say, smirking at her in the mirror.

She smiles lazily. “Oh yeah, he’s a real understanding guy. A real hunk.”

“A hunk,” I repeat, chuckling.

Maybe this is how we forget, not by giving into this deep hunger but by laughing it all away.

“He is. Wait, I shouldn’t be telling you this.” She blinks. “Oops.”

“It’s fine. Maya, what were you doing there tonight?”

I’ve tried to hold off from asking her this. After I took her and Riley from the upstairs section, Raffie glared at me with apparent hate in his eyes. It was pure rage, pure determination to get his own back somehow.

Then, I was on high alert as I quickly pulled on a jacket and pants and led the girls out to the car. I don’t know what happened to the kids. I still can’t believe Raffie thought I’d do that. Or maybe I’m the fool for even being surprised.

Yet now, there’s a chance.

“It was supposed to be a party,” she murmurs. “Just some fun. I don’t know. Riley’s wild. She has wild friends.”

“She shouldn’t have Trentini friends,” I growl.

“ You were the one fighting,” she says, sitting up, seeming even more alert now. I’m glad, even if this new level of alertness comes from her being mad. “What were you doing there?” She leans forward even more, looking at me through her light layer of makeup, just enough to bring out her natural beauty. “You beat the heck out of that guy.”

Yeah, which is why he thanked me for choking him out.

“It’s a long story,” I grunt.

“So you can quiz me, but I can’t quiz you, huh? Is that it?”

I grind my teeth. There’s something about this sudden sass that makes me want to stop the car and drag her from the backseat, squeeze her against me so she can feel this passion, this burning. It’s not just the fight. It’s something else.

“Thanks for the ride,” she says as I pull up outside her house.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine,” she says, her hand on the door. “I’m pretty sure I’ll wake up tomorrow, and none of this will feel real.”

“Maybe that will be for the best.”

“No, because then I’d forget you standing under those lights and how you stood up for me. Nobody’s ever stood up for me like that before.”

Before I can say anything else, she pushes the door open and walks toward her house. I watch her go with a pang in my chest. I can’t stop feeling like I somehow just missed a chance, that I should’ve said something or done something.

But what? She’s a young woman with a sick relative, going to parties, trying to make her way in the world. Still, I can’t fight my gaze as I stare at her hips shifting from side to side, that just-Maya sway of hers.

She opens the door, turns, waves. I wave back. It’s not much, but it feels much more significant than it should.

As I drive away from her house, I feel like I should be turning back. I should be in bed with her, maybe just lying there or holding her. I don’t usually let my mind wander to places like this. That’s probably because I never thought I would have somebody to obsess over.

Obsess? This night has got my head twisted up far more than I realize if I’m thinking shit like that. I’m almost relieved when my cell phone rings, even if it’s Raffie. His voice is furious over the speakerphone. “You embarrassed me tonight.”

“You owe me fifty K,” I snap. “Tell the organizer.”

“Are you kidding? You’re lucky he’s not chasing your ass down. I had to beg to stop the Family from making a big deal out of this. I’m still not sure they won’t, T. Why did you have to do that?”

I almost slam my head down on the steering wheel, but what would be the point? Anger won’t get me anywhere. It’s probably what Raffie wants—some sign this situation is shaking me up.

“They. Were. Kids. One of them was a goddamn girl. What did you expect me to do, mess all three of them up?”

“You need to watch your tone.”

“I don’t need to watch anything.”

I’m not playing this right. This world I’ve fallen into—no, fuck that— thrown myself into is just too dark and messed up. I’m working with the people who, under different circumstances, I’d be hunting down. I’d be taking out.

“Answer my question,” I snap. “What did you expect?”

“For you to do as you’re told.” Raffie’s tone grows dark as I cruise through the city, heading for the apartment blocks near the waterfront. I’m not going straight home. I’ve got another stop to make, more business to settle.

“Did you hear me?” Raffie hisses.

“You must’ve known I would never do that. You must’ve known that, Raffie.”

“You think you’re above us. You only hurt people if they’ve hurt others—oh, no women, no kids. Who do you think you are? I already told you there are no private contractors in this life. Get used to it. You’re going to have to, anyway.”

“The fuck you mean by that?” I growl, trying not to tear the steering wheel loose. My hands ache, and the strikes I landed are painful despite the gloves.

“I had to do something to save your ass,” Raffie says. “Tomorrow, you’ll get a visitor at the doggie home, alright? Just work with the guy. Try not to be a jackass about it. It’s the best I could get you. The Vegas guys wanted to burn the home to the ground.”

“That would be a very bad idea for them,” I say coldly.

“This is big time, T. Don’t act tough. You won’t like it. I’ll have more info on who it is tomorrow.”

“If they set even a single match in that place, I’d make it my sole objective in life to hunt their asses down. Any sway you have over me, any of you, is because I need that place. Take it away from me, and you’re all fucking done.”

“Just work with the guy,” Raffie snaps, then hangs up.

I grit my teeth, knowing it’s time I did the right thing. I’m in too deep. These people are more fucked up than even I could guess.

I call Tank.

“Yo, T. How was the fight?”

“I’m driving to your apartment now to talk about it.”

“That hot, eh?”

“They’ve gone too far. This is bigger than the home. They’re trying to pull me deeper.”

Tank pauses. I can sense he’s weighing his words. We both know he’s been waiting for this moment, waiting for me to wake up from the Trentini spell. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“Burn them all. Then, I’ll figure out a way to keep my home afloat. In the meantime, I need you to help me offload some firearms.”

“Jesus—”

“I know,” I snap, “but what do you want me to do, go through the Trentinis? They need to know I’m done with them, and I need the cash.”

I was relying on the fifty K, at least. It’ll mean giving up most of my rifles and shotguns, but I’ll keep a few.

“Don’t sweat. It’s a fair trade,” I tell him. “I’ve got a gift for you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“A Trentini man is willingly walking onto a property I own. It’s a property where I have surveillance.”

“Holy shit,” Tank whispers. “Are you sure about this? With a Family like them, we can’t go in half-cocked.”

I think about those three kids. The Vegas guys probably went to extra lengths to make them look rough, but it doesn’t change what they did.

“If I’d had it in me to beat the hell out of three kids tonight, I’d have all the money I could dream of,” I say.

“They put you against kids ?”

“They’re sick, and they’ve been dragging me down just by being near them. They’re scumbags. They drug women. They don’t give a damn.”

My voice is getting louder as the rage in me boils over. That prick had plans for Maya, and none of them were good. Nobody gets to treat her that way. Nobody gets to hurt her. Nobody gets to threaten her. I just won’t let it happen, ever.

With all this mayhem swirling through me, I don’t have it in me to question it. I want to keep her safe.

“We can fight back,” Tank says.

“I’m ready,” I growl.

“And the home?”

I swallow, thinking of the dogs. “I’ll make it work. Get me a contact for those firearms.”

“Ooh-rah.”

“I’ll pick them up from the safe house.”

“What, now ?”

“I won’t be sleeping tonight. Will you?”

“Not now,” he laughs savagely. “Wilco.”

I hang up. This is all a huge risk, but the way people get sucked into the grimy underworld is by letting things slip bit by bit. Then, before a man knows it, he’s forgotten who he is. I hurt people for the Mob. I did terrible things, worse than just hurt them, but I always drew the line. Raffie should’ve taken that seriously. I couldn’t live with myself if I let this fly.

Not kids, dammit. Raffie should’ve known that. We were both getting our asses kicked when we were kids. We both knew how unfair it was, how much bigger they were. After riding our bikes and sitting on the hill, he’d say, “When I’m bigger…” Then he goes and throws me in there against … But that was crap anyway. He got bigger, and he still took his beatings like the coward he was.

It’s not him . It’s me. It came from my selfishness: my ego, thinking I could make a difference. I love dogs so damn much, but I can’t let this pass. They were dealing with a desperate man before. Now they’re dealing with a cold operator.

Ooh-rah.

I need to find a way to get Maya somewhere safe. Strange, that thought hits me, but there it is. If I’m going to be cold, I need to be cold about that situation, too. I feel something for her. There’s a stirring in me. The physical hunger is borderline feral. I get hard just thinking about her, especially tonight with her dress hugging her fine, thick body.

Yet it goes deeper than that. She’s tough. She’s honest. She’s good, but she’s too innocent for this world. I can’t let myself …

I have to remember Vanessa. Sure, it was different with her. I never felt like this, whatever it is. It was more … what? Forced? It was twisted. It was wrong. That’s why I have to keep to the path.

I’ll stay in my lane—the Good Samaritan doing a woman a favor. That’s it.

A minute later, I get a text. It’s from Maya. All my employees have my cell in case of emergencies.

Can I still come to work tomorrow?

Using voice-to-text, I reply, It’s Saturday. You can stay home.

I want to earn my keep, she replies. I need to pay Mom’s nurses. So it’s her mom who’s sick.

I pull up at the side of the road, taking out my phone. I know she’s still feeling hazy. I only left her thirty or so minutes ago.

I’m sorry about your mom.

It’s fine. She just hasn’t got long left. That’s the truth. I wouldn’t say this or even type it usually, but tonight is weird. You’re weird, Tristan. Marine. Dogman. Underground fighter.

That’s not who I am , I reply.

Who are you, then?

I stare at the words for a long time, unsure how to reply. I’m just trying to do the right thing.

You wouldn’t have been doing that fight unless you needed the money, right? You’re bankrupting yourself to pay me.

No, I’m not , I type quickly, but in the back of my head, Tank’s there, telling me the same thing. You’re a hard worker. See you tomorrow.

It’s the opposite of what I should be telling her. I can’t take in every stray with a sob story, but there’s just something about Maya. I can’t let her go, knowing it would mean her life imploding.