Fix You: Bash and Olivia, Book 2 of 3 (McDaniels Brothers) (7 page)

Thirty thousand dollars. Ten grand in interest. For money he'd never even touched. That was some cold shit.

"Did you ask him if he could at least take some off, considering?"

Matty let out a snort. "Of course. At first I thought he was kidding. But once I realized he was dead serious, I asked if he would take half if I got it to him by the weekend."

Reid's fight tomorrow would pay close to that much, if he won.

"He said no and that now, he wanted the whole ten by next week because he clearly couldn't trust me anymore now that I'd backed out of our deal. He was afraid I’d skip town.”

My brain whirred wildly as I tried to take it all in, running through the things I could possibly do to make that kind of fast money. That was the thing about fast money, though. None of the ways to get it were legal, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to let my girl sell her car on top of everything else she’d already done. I didn’t want her within a mile of any of this again, if I could help it.

We were in some serious shit here.

My brother and I spent the next hour cooking up various schemes to make some quick cash that both of us knew would never work. By one in the morning, right about the time Matty pitched the idea of whoring himself out to cougars, I’d called it quits and went to bed. We had a week to figure it out, and we were clearly on the wrong path.

When I woke up the next morning from a fitful sleep, though, everything had shifted, falling into place like a row of dominoes.

I had figured a way out of this mess with Mickey Flynn, but nobody was going to like it.

Too bad. Nobody had consulted me when they went off on their own doing who knows what to get money together for my case. At least, that was what I told myself when the guilt started to really get to me.

Matty and I spent all of Saturday morning in mostly companionable silence, patching walls and trying to get the place back into good enough shape to open. The windows were too expensive to fix for the time being, but guys who frequented our fine establishment weren't exactly fussy about stuff like that.

That morning over coffee, Matty and I had decided together that it was better not to tell Reid what was going on until after his match that night. When he'd called asking why Matty had to rush home, we'd told him a pipe had burst in the bathroom at the gym. He'd believed it…at least enough not to make a stink. We'd tell him the truth when he caught the train home tomorrow, but there was no point in having him distracted when he needed to focus.

Matty was super quiet, probably spinning his wheels, trying to figure out a way to get the money together before next week. I let him. The more preoccupied he was, the less I had to talk to him and the fewer lies I'd have to tell him later on.

"I think we're good, you?" Matty stood over me, wiping some Spackle from his hands onto his worn jeans.

I took a quick look around and nodded. "Yeah, not too bad. What do you want to say if the guys ask?"

Our members were all street-savvy and would no doubt recognize that this was the work of vandals, so there was no way to pass off a pipe's bursting type of excuse with them.

Apparently, my brother agreed because he said, "The truth. That someone came and vandalized the place last night. No need for details."

I left him to open the gym and went upstairs to shower and get ready for my evening with Olivia. She'd called me about a dozen times the night before until she must have fallen asleep at around 3:00 a.m. She was definitely worried about me, and the possibility of those guys returning for an encore. When she called in the morning, we'd made plans to get together that evening to spend some time together. I was looking forward to it, but dreading it too.

Guilt pricked me hard and I ducked my head under the spray to let the steaming hot water do its job, hoping it would ease some of the tension that had been building inside me with every passing hour.

I needed to see her. There was no getting around that. But the idea of lying, right to her face, made me sick to my stomach. I needed to get over that, fast. I had no other option…not that I was willing to take, at any rate.

When got out of the shower, I took my time getting ready, but it was a stalling tactic. By the time I left the apartment to pick her up, thought, I was feeling solid about my decisions. Soon enough, it would all be over, and she and my brothers could be mad at me if they wanted to be. At least we could go back to normal.

Or whatever normal had been before this extra serving of shit had gotten heaped onto our already overflowing plates.

She was waiting by the curb when I got there, looking a little tired around the eyes, but beaming. She slid into my car and immediately leaned it for a kiss.

"I'm so happy to see you. How'd it go with Matty?"

I'd filled her in on the details during one of our many calls the night before, but she knew we'd spent the morning together and that there were still some decisions that needed to be made.

"It went fine. We got a lot done and the gym looks a lot better."

I turned on the radio while she put on her seat belt, hoping to find a song she really loved so maybe she'd cut the grilling short and sing along.

It was no go.

"I checked online with Kelley Blue Book, and I can get sixteen thousand for my car."

"Excellent," I said, popping my old Chevy into drive. "I'll sell my car too, and then we can get around town on our bicycles. It will be great."

She whipped her head in my direction and I could see her eyes narrow in my periphery. "You think you're pretty cute, don't you?"

I shrugged and gripped the wheel as I pulled into traffic. "I'm not trying to be cute. I'm trying to be realistic. You can't sell your car because you need it. Just like I need mine." She started to argue but I held up a hand to halt her. "Can we just enjoy our evening? I made some calls"—that much was true at least—"and it might take a couple of days"—one—"but I'm going to get the money, okay? Now please. More than anything, I need a break from all this. I want to spend some time with you and not think about the money or Mickey Flynn or the assault case. I just want to think about us."

She melted into me, laying her head on my shoulder.

"Okay. But tomorrow—"

If Olivia was one thing, it was stubborn. "Tomorrow you can go back to harassing me until I do your bidding."

Her chuckle chipped away at some of the ice in my guts. If I could get through tonight, tomorrow would be at least 50 percent better. It had to be.

"Fine. If I think of things to harass you about, I'll jot them down though, so I don't forget."

I heaved a sigh of relief at the reprieve. At least I wouldn't have to keep lying to her over and over.

One thing I’d said was true, though, now more than ever. I needed this. To be with her. Spend some time and soak it in, the energy and strength she gave me.

Because at midnight tonight? I was going to need every bit of strength I could muster, and then some.

Chapter Seven

Olivia

“I could’ve beaten you that last game, you know.”

“Ha!” I rolled my eyes at him, snorting for good measure. “Easy to say once we’ve left and can’t have a rematch.”

Bash and I had gone to a local bar for a budget date of pool and wings—naked for him, slathered in buttery hot sauce and blue cheese dressing for me. We might have called a moratorium on talking about Mickey Flynn and his boys for the night, but both of us were very aware that every penny we spent was one more we’d have to figure out how to scrape up so we could pay back the money for Matty.

 Bash had seemed all right most of the evening, if a little on edge, and even I was less panic-stricken about the whole thing than I expected to be, but only because I’d already made up my mind. The McDaniels boys had until Thursday to come up with the money on their own before I ignored Bash’s command from on high and got rid of the Fiat. I could sell it and use a little of the money to buy a junker for around town. There was no way I was going to let Matty wind up taking a baseball bat to the knees on my watch.

Now, as we pulled up to Everley Hall, my mind flicked from that to a newer and more immediate problem: how to smuggle Bash into my dorm past the onslaught of student workers trained to catch us. It was like one of those old, pixelated video games from the nineties with guards patrolling back and forth on every corner, determined to annihilate the hero in a million little pieces.

It was a comfort to know that, even if that were the case, Bash had proven to be pretty much indestructible so far. And given how much he’d gone through in the weeks that I’d known him? That was saying something.

"Can you come in?” I asked him

He hesitated and then nodded. “Sure. Yeah.”

I was too busy plotting to give it much thought. “Follow my lead, okay?" I looked at him and he shrugged, confusion wrinkling his brow.

"I’ve been here before. What's the big deal now?"

"That was during spring break. And it was daytime. At night there's a desk where you're supposed to sign in and an RA and…”

I didn’t want to tell him that if I signed him in, he’d have to sign out by midnight and wouldn’t be able to sleep over. I hadn’t asked him yet, but I was certainly hoping he would want to stay with me. Waking up wrapped in his arms was exactly what the doctor ordered.

I waved an impatient hand in his direction. “Just, trust me on this one. We’ve got to sneak you in. Maybe we should work out signals. If I tug on my ear like this—" I pulled on my earlobe and my earring popped off and dropped to the car mat. "Maybe not that—" I picked it up, still deep in thought, and he chuckled, breaking my concentration.

It was impossible not to want to join in when he laughed because it happened so rarely, but something still felt…off with him. I refused to let myself get sidetracked, though. I’d deal with that once we were inside. After two close but frustrating encounters with Bash since he’d gotten out on bail, we still hadn’t gotten a chance to sleep together and I craved the closeness and intimacy of it. I couldn’t bring myself to face Matty yet, so our only alternative was my dorm, and I wasn’t about to blow it.

I was the head of operation Alpha, damn it. Or really, operation Delta, but I'd think about that when we were finally safe and in my room.

"Stay here until I give the signal." I got out of the car and used my key card to let myself into the foyer, only to find General Jody plopped behind the desk and watching Honey Boo Boo on her iPad. Jody was worst-case scenario in the realm of desk attendants, hence the nickname, and I bit back a sigh.

“Hey there, Jod.” So apparently, she was Jod now. The Jod-ster. I wondered if she noticed my overly bright tone, but I shouldn’t have worried.

"Shut the door behind you," she said, not bothering to look up from the screen.

"Sure thing.” I swallowed my disappointment and tugged the door that I’d left slightly ajar the rest of the way closed with a snap. So distracting her and having Bash sneak in through that way wasn’t going to work. Time for plan B.

“Hey, do you mind if I use the bathroom down the hall before I sign in? I've really got to go." I hopped up and down like I was looking for my Lucky Charms and hightailed it for the restrooms before she could respond. Halfway down the corridor, I could hear her complaining, but if there's one thing I knew about Jody: she talked a big game, but she wasn’t about to chase me down. Not while Honey Boo Boo was about get onstage for the talent portion of her pageant, anyway.

Once in the bathroom, I took a second to catch my breath before taking a quick glance in each of the stalls to make sure I was really alone. I took out my phone and punched out a quick text to Bash. A minute later, I heard an unfamiliar birdcall out the window. I unlocked it and pushed it open to see Bash standing there with a grin on his face. “Okay, now what?”

“Now you climb up and I pull you in,” I whispered furiously. “Hurry, before someone comes!”

He frowned, but gamely hoisted himself up and halfway in. I took his arm and pulled him the rest of the way and we both stumbled, almost toppling onto the tiled floor. He held tight, righting us both before letting me go.

“Lead the way.”                              

I locked the window and padded quietly to the corridor, letting the door close loudly behind me. I looked left and then right, and waved for Bash to come out and head straight up the stairwell.

"Third floor. Room three-oh-nine,” I whispered, handing him my key.

My heart was pounding out of control like we really were on some sort of covert ops mission, which was silly. The worst that would happen was that I’d get written up, but something about the worst thing that could happen not being so bad for once made this almost fun. Maybe tonight would be that fantasy night I’d thought of the day before. A night where Bash and I could set aside our worries and just be young and silly for a day.

I made my way back to the front desk and offered the general a grateful smile, which she ignored, and then signed in. At the landing to my floor, I found Bash, grinning like a fool.

“You’re supposed to be upstairs already,” I growled. “Do you want us to get busted?”

“I wanted to make sure you got by without any hassles.”

I ignored him and crept up the stairs, motioning like I'd seen in all those police movies for him to follow me, and maybe even watch my six, whatever that was.

“Do you want me to hum the
Mission: Impossible
theme song, or…?”

“Har har,” I said, laying on the sarcasm, but inside, I was beaming. We were only a dozen yards from total and complete seclusion and I had a whole night of being with Bash to look forward to before we had to go back to reality the next day. I wasn’t going to waste a second of it.

We reached the third floor and I checked the hall before beckoning him forward.

I rounded the corner to my corridor, taking a quick look to make sure the RA and her boyfriend had their door closed and the Marvin Gaye pumping like they usually did at this time on a Saturday night. Then Bash and I sprinted past her door like a pair of gazelles. Bash keyed open the door and we all but fell in, laughing.