Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) (20 page)

I climbed out. “What’s going on, asshole?” I asked as he cut his engine.

He opened his door. “What?”

“I said, why did you call me out here?”

“Shit, man.” He looked nervous and kept glancing around. “I found something big.”

That made me pause. “Something big?”

“Yeah, man. Something big. Something we can maybe use, I don’t know. But I’m fucking terrified that they know, you know?”

“Slow down. What are you talking about?”

“The other day, you came to me.”

“Yeah. What did you find?”

He took a deep breath and held up a packet of papers. “I found these.”

I reached out and took them from him. He leaned up against the hood of his car, practically shaking like a small dog.

“Okay, some papers. Great. Why are you so nervous?”

“I’m afraid they caught me, man.”

He was talking fast and twitching slightly. I knew right away that he was on something, though I wasn’t sure what.

“Thom. Start from the beginning.”

He took another deep breath. “Okay, shit. I got a text about some meeting going down at their usual spot, this shitty bar outside town. I usually don’t go, but they keep me in the loop, just in case.”

“Why don’t you go?”

“I’m small time, you know? I don’t want to bring attention.”

“But you went this time.”

“Yeah, man. You told me to get you something. Anyway, I showed up, and it was just the usual bullshit. I hung out, said my piece, you know, gave my little report on the dealings, and that was that.”

“So where did you get this?” I said, holding up the papers.

“Everyone started getting fucked up, right? Doing blow and all that shit, drinking a lot. I partook a little bit, as usual, but then when things started getting really fucking nuts I snuck into the back room.” He paused and looked around again. His paranoia was beginning to make sense: he was clearly more messed up than I’d realized.

“So I snuck back there and started going through their shit. I found those papers, thought they looked important. I was gonna grab more but someone saw me. I don’t think they realized what I was doing, I made some excuse up or whatever, but fuck, man, I stole those papers.”

I looked down at the stack in my hand and started to read through them.

“Am I totally fucked?” he said after a minute.

“Shut up. I’m reading.”

It began to make sense, why he thought the papers were important. The more I read, the more my heart started beating harder, excitement beginning to rise.

On the surface they were normal papers. It was a deed of ownership, plus some expense reports, for the Blue. There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary about them.

Except the fact that they were in some gangster’s private office. Why the fuck would mobsters from Canada own some shitty diner in Ridgewood?

“You did good,” I said to Thom.

“Yeah, you think so?”

“Definitely. Do you know what these mean?”

He shook his head. “Someone owns the Blue, I guess. Seems weird, right?”

“Very weird.” I almost started laughing as it dawned on me. “You know why gangsters would own a diner?”

“No fucking clue, man. Maybe they really like fucking burgers and fries?”

“Do you know what money laundering is?”

He shrugged. “Heard it before on TV. Not really sure how it works, though.”

“It’s what people that sell drugs or shit like that have to do with all their cash. See, they can’t just start spending it or else the government is going to notice. What they need to do is somehow make it legal and taxable so they can start spending it again, all legit and whatnot.”

“What’s that have to do with the Blue?”

“Money laundering works by taking a legit revenue stream, like a fucking shitty diner, and slipping that illegal money into it.”

Thom looked at me blankly. “How’s that happen?”

“Basically they put the cash into the registers and cook the books to make it all look legit.”

“How does this help us?”

“We know where their money is. We have some leverage now.”

He nodded. “If we know where the money is, we know where to hurt them.”

“Exactly.”

“Shit, Climber. You’re one devious motherfucker.”

“I know that. But listen, you might want to lay low for a little while.”

“Shit, you think?”

“If they notice this stuff is missing, they’ll blame you.”

“They won’t notice. That place was a fucking pigsty.”

I patted his shoulder, shaking my head. One second he thought he was fucked, and the next he was totally fine. “Whatever you say, man. Just be careful.”

“Shit, Climber. I’m careful as fuck.”

He laughed, and I could tell that whatever he took earlier was still working in his bloodstream. He was bouncing between paranoid and invincibility. I guessed he was on at least coke, probably a few other things, too.

“You good to drive home?” I asked.

“Sure am. I’m glad we talked. I was feeling pretty nervous there.”

“Don’t be. You did good.” I walked back toward my car. “If you find anything else, call me.” I reached my car and couldn’t believe my fucking luck. I figured Thom would get a little freaked out, but I never imagined he would actually actively try to help me so soon.

“Climber?” he called out.

I paused. “What’s up?”

“I need something more from you.”

“What are you talking about?”

He took a step closer to me. “I can’t keep risking my shit just for you. I need something else.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you want?”

“The next shipment you get? I want you to steal half of it.”

I gaped at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“That or ten thousand dollars cash. Your call.”

“I can’t do either of those things.”

He grinned at me. “You fucking better, Climber. Otherwise I’ll rat, and you’re dead.”

I clenched my jaw. “You piece of shit.”

He shrugged. “Sorry, man. It’s just business.”

I reached back and gripped the gun in my waistband. I wanted so badly to pull it out and shoot the bitch right in the face, watch him die right there, but that was crazy. I was angry, not insane.

Instead, I just nodded. As much as I hated it, I needed him. He was my inside guy.

“Fine. I’ll figure it out.”

“See you soon then.”

I got into my car, started the engine, and pulled out.

Thom called me devious, but he was clearly the fucking crafty one. He was probably playing me from the start, getting my hopes up, getting my brain going, sucking me in. Then he dropped the bomb he was planning on dropping all along.

I couldn’t steal those drugs. They’d know it was me, and they knew where I lived. And I didn’t have anywhere near ten grand.

As I sped back home, back toward Becca and her sweet fucking pussy, my head was abuzz with plans and more plans, trying to work my way out of the fucked-up situation I was in.

I parked the car and quietly crept back inside, making sure I didn’t wake up my mom and Jack. I moved up the stairs and slowly pushed open Becca’s bedroom door.

The sound of her deep, slow breathing filled the space.

I smiled to myself. She really had fallen asleep. Part of me figured she’d wait up.

As I moved to leave, she rolled over. “Reid?” she asked.

I stepped back inside. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Is everything okay?”

I shut the door behind me. “It is now.”

“Come here,” she said, sitting up and smiling at me.

“Gladly.”

I crossed the room, ready to forget about my problems.

I
was exhausted the next morning, like I was every morning since Reid started sneaking into my room at night.

It was the sweetest exhaustion I had ever felt.

I was half awake and still thinking about Reid as I stumbled downstairs, dressed for the early shift at work, my hair pulled up into a tight bun. I poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table to try and get myself together before I left the house.

I had no clue where he had gone the night before when we had been so rudely interrupted. He didn’t say when he got back and I didn’t have much of a chance to push him before his mouth was all over me again.

And when I woke up, he was already gone. His room was empty and his boots were gone.

I knew it probably had to do with the smuggling. I was still having trouble rectifying that in my mind, trying to come to grips with Reid smuggling prescription drugs from Canada, but it seemed like with every orgasm it got easier and easier.

I sighed, sipping my coffee. It was like he was fucking the criminal into me. In my past life, out at school, I couldn’t have imagined ever being with someone involved with drugs, let alone smuggling them. But Reid was Reid and he had something special about him.

Plus, it helped that every dime he made went to his mom’s cancer treatment. Scumbags didn’t spend all their time and money on their sick moms.

Still, I was the good girl. The straight-A student. I was going to graduate school soon. I’d barely smoked pot, let alone took pills. It was such a cliché, but it was the truth.

Reid was changing something in me. I felt more open, freer.

“What are you smiling about?

I looked up with a start. “Hey, Dad. You scared me.”

“Scared you? It’s not a big house,” he grumbled as he poured himself some coffee.

“Why aren’t you at work yet?”

“Getting a late start this morning.” He sat down across from me. “Mill had some repairs overnight.”

“Anything cool?”

“No. Unless you find hydrothermal cooling techniques cool.”

“Can’t have ‘hydrothermal cooling’ without ‘cool,’ right?”

He cocked his head and then laughed. “Good one. I’m a little dense this morning.”

“How’s everything else going? I feel like I barely see you.”

“Good. Busy at the mill. A few guys got laid off so I’ve been picking up their slack.”

I frowned. “Should we be concerned?”

He waived his hand “Not at all, sweetie. Everything is fine.”

We lapsed into a short silence and I sipped my coffee. My dad looked ragged, exhausted, probably even more tired than I was. I barely slept because I was too busy having sex with my stepbrother every night. He didn’t sleep because he was too busy working all the time, trying to support the family.

“By the way,” he said, cutting into my thoughts. “You been hearing some weird noises at night?”

My heart almost stopped. “Uh, what kind of noises?”

He shook his head. “I’m not really sure. Maybe like animals or something.”

“I don’t know. I’ve been sleeping pretty soundly.”

“Yeah, okay. Probably just my imagination. Be careful though, might be some rabid bear around here or something.”

“Sure. I’ll be careful.”

I took a sip of my coffee to mask the embarrassment that was flooding through me. I couldn’t believe he had just said that. We did not sound like animals!

Then again, I’d rather him think those noises were animals and not Reid making me come over and over again. Fortunately, he was a heavy sleeper and probably was never awake enough to really understand what he was hearing.

“Anyway, I need to get going,” I said, standing up.

“Okay. Have a good day.”

I finished off my coffee, put the mug in the sink, and started off toward the front door.

“Oh, and hey, Rebecca.” I looked back at him. “It’s really good having you home.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

“See you.”

I waved and headed out as fast as I could. Hopefully I wasn’t going to run into any rabid bears.

––––––––

I
plopped down in the booth, my feet killing me, a warm mug of coffee in my hand. It was cup number three, if I was counting right, but it wasn’t doing anything to cut through the heavy exhaustion weighing me down.

Lindsey looked up from her phone, bags under her eyes. She looked tired, too, though I didn’t know what was keeping her up. She was already halfway through her mug.

“Long morning,” she said.

“I can’t believe it’s only our first break.”

“I know, seriously. And that table?” She nodded toward a group of young guys, business bros.

“They’re not that bad.”

“Didn’t one grab your ass?”

“No, but he tried.”

She made a face. “Disgusting pricks.”

“Don’t worry, I spit in his eggs.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you serious, Becca?”

I grinned at her for a second, letting it sink in. “Nah, I’m kidding. But I seriously should have.”

“Oh my god.” She burst out laughing. “You had me for a second.”

“Have you ever done that?”

“What, spit in food?”

“Yeah.”

“Once. I felt really shitty about it afterward, but the guy was such a fucking piece of shit.”

“What did he do?”

She finished off her coffee and leaned forward. “He offered to buy me.”

“Buy you what?”

She smirked. “Buy me. You know, for sex.”

“What! Are you joking?”

“Nope. He held up a stack of hundreds, looked me in the eye and said, ‘all of this is yours if you spend the night with me.’”