Let Go (26 page)

Greylan stands
grabbing her hand. He pulls her into a hug. She relaxes into him
letting more silent tears fall. He decides to stop pushing her. If
she wants him to know what happened, she’ll tell him.

Once in the
apartment he gets her settled in his bed and takes the couch.
Hopefully she’ll open up in the morning and he’ll be able to let
out some of this anger on the person it’s directed at.

A fist
comes at him but he ducks out of the way. Automatically he swings
and the sound echoes through his head, the crack of bone.
His
body quivers and his voice calls out, “No.” The exclamation wakes
him. He sits straight up disoriented from the dream and his
location within the apartment. He looks around and sinks back into
the cushions of the couch. His rapid breathing slows as he closes
his eyes for a moment. His arm comes up to drape across his
forehead. Somehow he needs to get this under control.

A soft voice
coming toward him breaks through his thoughts.

“Grey, are you
okay?”

He looks over
to his sister’s concerned expression. She moves to sit on the chair
across from his makeshift bed.

“Yeah, just…
I’m okay.”

“I heard you
yell. Did you have a nightmare?”

He squints at
his sister not wanting to tell her but determined not to lie to
her. So he doesn’t answer.

“Do you have
them a lot?”

He looks away
and she knows.

“Grey, have
you seen anyone about it? It’s about that night, isn’t it?”

He pushes up
to a sitting position and eyes her for a moment.

“How are you?
What happened last night Trinity?”

“Way to change
the subject.”

Greylan waits.
There’s no way he’s going to share how he doesn’t ever get a full
night’s sleep because of his crime. He believes he deserves it and
Trinity doesn’t need to know how fucked up he is.

She stares
waiting for him to tell her something. Her arms cross in a draw
between them.

“Damn,
Trinity, why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?”

“Language,
Grey and I’m fine, just like you.” Her mouth draws into a smug
line.

“I am fine.
You, on the other hand, are here at my apartment and not at your
house with your finance. What’s up with that?”

This seems to
do it. Her face turns soft as she looks down to her lap. Guilt
takes a hold of Greylan but he remains quiet in hopes of her
confessing what a dick Parker is.

“We had a
fight.” She looks up into his face.

“I’m not sure
I can marry him.”

Greylan
wrestles with his words. He’s glad to hear her news but pissed
she’s so obviously heartbroken over it.

“What
happened, Trin?”

She shakes her
head, “It’s complicated. I told him I’d go to Vegas with him after
that first argument. I thought we’d come back after a while but he
wants to sell the brownstone and never come back.”

“Grey, I don’t
think I can do that. This is home. It’s all I’ve ever known. I feel
that if I agree to this, I’ll be missing a part of myself. I’m
scared to leave.”

She looks away
and shakes her head, “It sounds so stupid I know. I can’t really
explain it and he doesn’t get it.”

Of course he
doesn’t get it but Greylan does. This is where they grew up. Where
both of their parents are buried. Everything is here. As much as
Greylan wants to fight, he’s not sure how he would feel giving this
place up either.

“I get it
Trinity. Did he kick you out?”

“Of course
not. I left. Stop trying to find a reason to go and beat him
up.”

Greylan’s
mouth turns up in a smile. She knows him so well.

“What are you
going to do?”

“I’m not sure.
I wish it wasn’t all or nothing. He won’t even compromise which is
making me wonder if marrying him was the right decision in the
first place. If
he
is the right decision.” She shrugs her
shoulders. This is the first time she’s been indecisive about
anything since he’s been out.

Greylan nods,
no words are necessary, yet another example of Parker’s shitty side
peeking out. If he’s willing to give his sister up to fighting,
what does that say about how he is in the cage? Greylan knows it’s
going to be tough beating him but he’s determined. And now he has
more fuel for his anger at the pussy.

“Trin, you can
stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks
Grey.”

He moves over
encouraging her to fill the empty spot next to him on the couch.
She slides in next to him and grabs his hand. A moment passes
before she asks, her voiced laced with worry, “Greylan, how long
have you been having the dreams?”

He doesn’t
look at her. It’s hard enough that she knows he’s having a hard
time dealing. He was always the one to take care of her. Now that
Parker is being an asswipe he’s here for her as usual. The last
thing he wants is for her to see how weak he is. He’s a fighter;
he’s not supposed to be weak especially when it comes to her. A few
minutes pass before she tells him, “Grey, if you talk about it
you’ll feel better.”

He nods. It’s
the best he can do. He knows talking helps and he’s working on it
but keeping her in the dark on this is going to happen. She has
enough to worry about without his shit too. Her fucking fiancé is
practically calling off the relationship. Greylan says good
riddance.

Squeezing her
hand he asks, “Want to go and do something together today after I
go to Jackson’s for a couple of hours?”

“Yeah, that
sounds good.”

He lifts up
from the couch and heads for the bathroom.

Trinity calls
out, “Greylan, I know this is hard. I know you’re still going
through a lot of stuff. Please talk to me. Let me in. Maybe I can
help.”

His feet
falter in their steps. He glances back over his shoulder and nods
muttering, “I’ll try.”

He doesn’t
wait for a response. This is always his response when she asks for
something and sooner or later she’ll be over it. She’ll demand more
from him. Until then though, he’s determined to keep his own shit
separate from hers. She doesn’t need his burdens to bear.

After a shower
and a quick breakfast still avoiding Trinity’s questions, Greylan
heads out to the gym. She told him she needed to go by the house to
get some clothes but he talked her into waiting until he got back.
He hopes she keeps her word. She doesn’t need to face the idiot on
her own.

Jackson calls
him over to the ring when he steps into the gym. His shoulders are
sore from the shitty night’s sleep on the couch. Trying to shake it
out he leans over the ropes next to Jackson and diverts his
attention to the fighters on the mat. Both are young, maybe
nineteen or twenty and pretty vicious. He can tell already that the
dark haired dude of the two will win. Jackson leans over still
gazing ahead and asks, “What do you see?”

“The dark
haired one has a better hold on his strategies. He moves almost
anticipating the other guy’s next move. If he continues he’ll get a
tap out.”

Jackson smiles
and stands upright again. A few minutes later the light haired man
taps out after being taken to the floor in a choke hold. He tried
to wiggle out but the other guy was locked.

“Okay guys, go
and hit the bags or something.”

Both men leave
the ring laughing and making digs about the fight.

“So, Pace, two
more days and we’re Vegas bound. What are your thoughts?”

His thoughts
have been all over the place except here where they need to be. He
leans forward resting his forearms on the ropes shaking his
head.

“Jax, I’m
trying not to have any thoughts. They’re dangerous.”

“Fair enough.
But there is one thing we need to discuss before you hit the mat
today.” There’s an undertone of anger lingering in his words.

Greylan
waits.

“I could tell
you I’m disappointed or my feelings are hurt but I don’t work that
way. Instead I’ll just ask, “Why in the hell did you ask Jimmy to
represent you?”

Greylan
smirks. Jimmy didn’t waste any time. He straightens up, his back
muscles shifting causing brief discomfort. Just in case Jackson
decides to throw a punch, this is a better way for him to take
it.

“Truthfully,
Jimmy knows what he’s doing.”

“Shit Pace, do
you never listen to anything I say to you? Jimmy Turner took Reyes
down a bad road.”

Greylan knew
there’d be another side. He sighs, “Okay Jax, tell me about
it.”

“Seems to me
like you’ve already made up your mind. No shit I have to say is
gonna make a difference.”

“Probably not.
I’ve known Jimmy for a long time and I know he won’t do me wrong.
This is what he does.”

Jackson glares
at him before stalking off to his office.

Maybe Jax
needs to hit a bag a few times.
Greylan turns to the mat and
his eye roaves over the fighters on the other side of the room. He
needs a good practice match. The kid Jonesy is punching a bag in
the corner. He calls him over and the smile spreading over the
kid’s face is priceless.

When Jonesy
comes near he asks, “You want to go at it?”

Greylan nods
telling him, “Better wipe that smile off your face though. I need a
good session and no fooling around.”

Jonesy nods
fitting into his gloves and seeming to get serious about the ass
whipping Greylan is about to deliver.

A few hours
later Greylan is getting into his truck when his phone rings. His
sister’s face lights up the screen. He answers, “Trinity, are you
okay?”

A sob escapes
her lips before she can answer.

“Trinity, What
is it?”

“I’m at the
brownstone and Parker is here.”

“Fuck, Trin, I
told you not to go over yet. I’m on my way.”

Greylan hangs
up before she can protest. Maybe this is best. He can get it out of
the way and Parker will know what he’s up against. Greylan feels
his body heating up at the thought of the pain in his sister’s
voice.

He drives way
too fast and makes it safely in ten minutes. As soon as he’s out of
the truck Trinity runs down the walk towards him. Her hands try to
halt him from walking to the door but he’s determined to teach this
asshole a lesson. He should have never messed with a Pace. Trinity
pleads, “Grey, please don’t do this.”

He stops a
moment at the pain in her voice. His eyes meet hers, the brown so
dark in them today they’re almost black. His breath escapes in a
rush, “Trinity, if you didn’t want me to come here, why did you
call me crying? I told you to wait until I got back to the
apartment to come here.”

She shakes her
head sinking to the ground, “I know, I just thought I could come
and talk to him. But, but he doesn’t want to talk.”

Greylan’s
pulse races again. He glances at the house as the door swings open.
Parker steps out onto the step looking just as miserable as
Trinity. He eyes Greylan, a hint of fear in his face and directs
his gaze to Trinity, longing spreading over his features.

Greylan
crouches down and grabs her arms gently, “Trinity, let’s get your
clothes and go back to the apartment.”

She covers her
face with her hands shaking, making her hair sway with the
movement. His chest feels as if a fist is clenching it watching his
sister hurt like this. Finally after a few more minutes she stands
on wobbly legs. Greylan helps her up the steps and through the
door. Parker is absent from the doorway by the time they get there.
He leads her up the stairs to the second floor and helps her load a
bag with clothes. On the way down Greylan glances around wondering
where the coward is hiding.

Once outside
Greylan helps her into the passenger seat of her car. As he turns
around Parker is standing in the doorway again. Greylan sees
something on his face, regret maybe but he shakes it away. If he
was sorry this wouldn’t be happening. Greylan marches up to the
bottom step and tosses the keys to the truck up to Parker. He
catches them, his brows raising in surprise.

Greylan
states, “I’m not gonna beat your ass right now for breaking my
sister’s heart because you looked out for me when I go out and I’m
thankful for that but more because it will break her heart even
more. But Harris, when we meet again, you can be sure that I won’t
pass up the chance at you. What you’ve done to my sister, the only
family I have left, is not okay.”

Parker watches
as he walks back to the car. His eyes meet Trinity’s and her face
goes back into her hands again, no doubt crying.

He calls out
to Greylan as his hand reaches for the handle of the car, “For the
record, Greylan, she left. I’ll do anything to keep her but she’s
the one that broke it off.”

Greylan pauses
a moment, his hand lingering on the car. He takes a deep breath and
climbs in. His hand automatically grabs his sister’s and he pulls
away from the brownstone as Parker looks even worse watching them
drive away.