Blackness Within (11 page)

“I don’t have much to do with ’em. I’m a low-level dealer on the best days. I’m more of a customer than anything,” he hisses as a wave of pain cascades down his body.

“Go lay down while you can still stand it. I’ll set up things for you. I promise you…your sister and Junior will be safe,” I state firmly.

“I’ll fuckin’ kill you if anything happens to them. She’s all I’ve got. Get that?” he asks with a longing in his voice for me to understand what she means to him. If he only knew.

“I have a sister. I almost lost her…more than once. I get you and I won’t do anything to put her in danger. I’m a man of my word, Blake. Nothing will happen to Natasha on my watch.”

He holds my gaze for a beat longer before rising to his feet and ambling down the hallway. I hear him peek in on Natasha before locking himself away in the guest room. I pull out my phone and get to it.

O’Sullivan

“Callaghan,” Finn’s booming voice vibrates.

“I need a private detox facility tonight. Blake’s in a bad way already and he’s goin’ downhill fast,” I say quietly, mindful that my deep voice carries easily.

“He’s got that kinda cash on hand?” Finn questions, but the tone of his voice tells me he already knows the answer.

“No. Can you get me a spot in that facility we used last year for the Peterman case?”

“O’Sullivan, what are you doin’?”

“My fuckin’ job, Finn. You know what bein’ involved with the Vojtech Bratva means,” I growl loudly enough to rouse Zeus. He climbs to his feet before crawling in my lap. This dog is too big to be a lap dog. He does it with such ease; I’m guessing Natasha needs this kind of comfort often.

“Man, I get you’ve had a thing for this chick for a long time, but this is serious. You dive in now, you’re ridin’ the wave to a rocky fuckin’ shore. You clear about that?”

Finn’s the oldest of our group and you can always sense that with him in tough moments. He looks out for us with concern like any older brother would. He’s my family, the same as my blood relatives. I appreciate him looking out for me even if I rarely listen to him. I’m listening now.

“What should I do? Tell Natasha her brother’s mixed up with a violent drug faction and then take off? Leave her here on her own to detox her brother and take care of a baby? Advise her to watch her back because when people come lookin’ their most likely comin’ with guns and not questions?” I roar, losing my patience.

“O’Sullivan—”

I keep going.

“When Kid was dealin’ with these people she got death threats. When they came after Butch, it was with a fuckin’ drive-by and a promise of more. We know Blake’s in deeper than either of them were. He just fuckin’ told me he sells for them. He was lyin’ about his involvement or he’s too fucked up from the drugs rippin’ outta his body to remember right now. You don’t end up with a baby that no one’s missin’ without bein’ tangled up in some shady shit, Finn. If Kid took Natasha’s call today, what would she be doin’ right now? A lot fuckin’ more than I am, that’s for damn sure.”

“I’ll call the guy I know at the detox facility. Once I’ve got it set up, I’ll send a car for Blake. Don’t leave Natasha alone until I’ve got more on how the Bratva is involved. I’ve got a bad feeling about this shit, O’Sullivan. I’m not questioning if we’re doin’ the right thing here. I’m just makin’ sure you’re doin’ it for the right reasons,” he finishes in a resigned tone.

“She needs someone to have her back, Finn. Her brother’s her lifeline and he’s gonna drown her this time, not help her float. If her friends are from the hospital, and I’m guessing they are, they won’t get what’s goin’ on. We get this. We’ve dealt with these people before and we’ve got the resources to keep her safe while we figure shit out. I know what I’m doin’. I’m not thinkin’ with my dick, since that’s what you’re worried about. Been a pretty good attorney for over a decade now. Give me some credit,” I demand.

“I trust you, Brian. You know I’ve got your back. I’ll let you know when the car’s on its way. Kid’s givin’ me the stink-eye so I’m also gonna say I’m sorry for pushin’ you. I don’t want you to get hurt,” he says sincerely.

“Tell Kid to kick you in the nuts for me,” I snort.

“I’ll pass on that. Later,” he says, hanging up with a chuckle.

“You don’t have to do that,” Natasha’s voice filters into the room from the hallway.

“Did I wake you?” I ask, feeling like shit.

“You were yellin’,” she answers with a shrug as she passes behind me into the kitchen.

I grunt my way out from under Zeus and follow Natasha. She starts a kettle of water on her stove before pulling down two mugs from her white cabinets.

“You don’t need to pay for Blake. He’s my responsibility,” she mutters with her back still to me.

“Are you in the financial position to take care of Blake?” I ask, moving closer to her.

“I can make it work,” she dismisses me.

“Natasha, look at me,” I urge her, only a few inches behind her.

She spins around, slowly raising her chin to meet my eyes. She’s exhausted and her grey eyes are like thunder clouds before a tornado, angry and tormented.

“Blake’s in trouble. He’s mixed up with a meth-manufacturing ring that’s been known to use violence, torture, murder and a lot of other shit to get what they want. Blake either doesn’t remember or is too scared to tell me what he’s into. You’re not safe. The baby’s a further complication. Let me help you,” I say softly, pushing a silky lock of her platinum hair behind her ear.

“Sully,” she whispers at my touch. “This isn’t a good idea.”

I’m not sure if she’s talking about Blake or me at this point. I’m not thinking about anything but the warmth forming between our bodies as we hover breaths from each other. The kettle begins to screech pulling us out of our intimate moment. Fucking tea.

“It was Blake’s idea if that helps you out,” I grumble, flopping into a kitchen chair.

“I’m not surprised. He won’t take money from me.”

Natasha slides a mug of tea in front of me before taking the chair across the table, sipping carefully as she does.

“He also made me promise to keep you safe,” I say with a raised brow.

“Really? That doesn’t sound like Blake. Actually, that sounds like the opposite of my brother. He’s never been too comfortable with men around me,” she says with a smirk remembering something from their past.

“What?” I encourage her to tell me.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing,” she says, waving me off.

I offer her a small smile and watch her over the rim of my mug with an enticing gaze, waiting. I’m pretty good at getting women to do what I want. This is only different because we have all our clothes on.

“When I was fifteen, Brent McAllister wanted to date me. My mom didn’t care. I never had rules about dating…or rules in general really. Blake had already graduated so guys felt more comfortable approaching me. He asked me to go to the movies with him. I said yes. He was on the baseball team, a senior, really popular…you know the type,” she says, indicating I was that kind of guy—am that I kind of guy.

I nod and wait for her to continue.

“Anyway, Brent picked me up on Friday and took me to the movies. After the movie, we went to eat at the local drive-in where all the popular kids hung out. I was wearing a dress I borrowed from my mother. She’s not the classiest when it comes to wardrobe so thinking back now; it was a little tight and probably a tad short for a high school girl to be wearing on a date. My mom said I was gorgeous before I left the house and that’s all I wanted to feel like that night.

“I could tell there was tension when we pulled up. I clung to Brent’s side as we made our way to the patio. Then the usual shit started. The popular girls started whispering about me, my clothes, my make-up, me bein’ a slut. Typical, right?”

I nod again, feeling my face getting irritated with the direction of this story. I hope the funny part comes soon.

“Amy Porter, the ring leader of the bitch clique, zeroed in on me when her boyfriend, Morgan came to talk to me. Brent had gone to the bathroom and Morgan took the advantage. He stared at my boobs the whole time he talked to me until a strawberry shake was emptied on my head. I screamed and jumped to my feet making my short dress ride up higher revealing half of my naked ass cheeks because, of course, I was wearing a thong. The groups started laughing and cheering on the abuse. When Brent got back from the bathroom, he just stood there. He didn’t help me try to clean off or offer to take me home. He just stood there embarrassed that he was my date.

“That’s when Blake showed up. He beat the ever-loving shit out of Brent and then turned on the crowd. He roared at them like the proud lion he was back then and leveled some very real threats. Once he was done and leading me past Brent’s broken bleeding body, he told me, ‘I’ll never trust another man to protect you like I do.’”

Natasha takes a deep breath and locks her stormy greys with mine before finishing, “So I think it’s funny that he’s been around you for a total of maybe half an hour and he’s doin’ somethin’ he swore he’d never do. You’ve charmed my brother, Sully. I think it’s hilarious.”

With that, she bursts into hysterical laughter. Her head tipped back, shoulders heaving and a sound so hypnotic I lose myself in it instantly. I chuckle along with her wishing I was there fifteen years ago to beat the shit out of Brent McAllister. I may not be much in life, but I’d never stand on the sidelines while my date was brutalized. Shit as a teenager I protected what was mine, even if a girl was only mine for the evening. I took that shit seriously. Still do.

Natasha

I’m laughing like a hyena. It’s a good thing I’m not one to be concerned with what people think of me because Sully is looking at me like maybe he should check me into a psychiatric unit. It takes longer than I’d like, but I finally steady my breathing after my stomach begins to cramp. I’m definitely losing it.

“Sorry,” I hiccup, swiping tears from my cheeks.

Sully clears his throat and steeples his hands on the table before responding, “If I’d been there with Brent McAllister and that group of idiots, I wouldn’t be an attorney. I’d be in prison.”

I’m no longer laughing. I feel something in the pit of my stomach that says run. So I do just that. I push back from the table with such force an ear-piercing screech echoes through the room. I grab my mug and move to grab his when he traps my wrist in his firm grasp.

“I didn’t say that to scare you. I understand if it did though. I told you earlier today and it still stands. You should be afraid of me, Natasha. Trust that fear. But know this,” he says pointedly, lifting his chin to meet my gaze with force. “I’ll keep you safe. Nothing will happen to you on my watch.”

Sully releases my wrist, but his words and his dark chocolate eyes have me captive. I’m stuck staring at the anomaly before me. How can a man scare the shit out of me and make me feel completely secure at the same time? There’s a possessive edge to his words and actions with me. I’m familiar with it because I get the same thing from Blake, but Sully’s different. I’m not his sister and he’s not looking at me like family. In this moment, in this completely fucked up situation, I find it a welcome sensation.

He keeps telling me to trust the fear I have of him. I do. I trust it like I trust all my instincts with men. Sully would chew me up and spit me out if I allowed him to. He wouldn’t beat me or abuse me like the men in my mother’s life do. It would be worse. He would discard me. I know what he’s telling me. I’m a notch on his bedpost and I’m guessing there’s an infinite line prior to me. So while I find him comforting and I appreciate that he’s willing to look out for me until Blake can takeover that job, I’ll do what I always do with men like Sully and Brent. Nothing.

“Thank you for offering to watch out for me. I don’t want to impose upon you any more than I already have. My ex might be willing to step in. I could call him and ask. He knows about Blake and lives close by. That would be a better solution for everyone,” I say confidently before turning my back on him and walking to the sink.

“Blake said you’ve been single for years,” Sully’s voice close to my back startles me.

“Blake hasn’t been around as much lately.”