Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) (26 page)

Finally, I found the kitchen.

“What the fuck, Thom?” I hissed.

He looked up at me, his mask pulled up. My heart was pounding hard. Why did he take his mask off? And why was he pointing his gun down at the ground? I reached back into my own waistband, fingering the gun slipped in there.

There wasn’t anybody else that I could see as I swept the room with my flashlight.

Thom’s face was elated, his eyes shining like a rat as my flashlight hit him.

“Check it out,” he said.

I walked over. Down on the ground at his feet was a mousetrap with a mouse caught inside, still struggling slightly. I made a face and loosened my grip on my gun.

“Are you fucking serious?” I asked him.

“We heard this sucker get caught.”

“Put your gun away.”

He slipped it into his pants. “Tim almost done?”

“Yeah,” I said, turning away. “I’m never eating here again.”

Thom laughed as we walked back into the other room.

As we reached the office, I heard a click. “Fuck yes, baby,” Tim said, his voice sounding thick and heavy. “That’s what daddy likes.”

I quickly went inside. Tim looked up at me and smiled, his mask pulled off. The door of the safe stood open.

“Good job,” I said as I stepped up behind him.

The moment of truth.

If the safe was empty, we were fucked.

I looked inside.

Stacks of cash.

Stacks on stacks of cash.

I laughed. “Jackpot.”

Tim shifted out of the way as I began to load it all into my duffle bag. There had to be thousands of dollars in there, all wrapped up in rolls of hundreds. It was shoved deep into the safe, nearly overflowing out of the front.

“Let’s go,” I said once it was emptied and zipped the bag back up.

I moved out into the main room as Tim shut and locked the safe, moving behind me. All three of us quickly walked across the room, opened the back door, and were out into the night. Thom shut the door behind us.

We took off our masks, the money slung in the bag on my back as we made our way back to the parking lot. Once there, I let myself lean up against my car and take some deep, calming breaths.

My heart felt like it was going to explode.

I had done it. I had just robbed the mob, apparently of a lot of money.

It was going to be more than enough. Way more than enough.

“Now gentlemen, payment time,” Tim said. “Five grand.”

“Five grand?” I glanced at Thom.

“Pay the man,” he said.

I reached into the duffle and counted out some money. I handed it off to Tim and he slipped it into his briefcase.

“Well,” he said, “it’s been fun. Forget you ever met me. Take care, gentlemen.”

And then he was off, striding across the lot and into the night.

“What the fuck?” Thom said.

“Weird dude.”

“I was his ride.”

“Apparently he’s got other plans.”

Thom looked at me and laughed. “Fuck yes, Climber. We did that shit!”

“And your ten grand is in here. Let’s count it all back at your place. You’ll get your cut and we’ll go from there.”

“Sounds like a fucking plan.”

I stood up. “Good job in there.”

“Fuck yeah. You too, man!”

I laughed at the sheer insanity of what we had just done. We climbed back into our cars and headed out, Thom in the lead.

I had just robbed the mob. That thought should have scared me, but instead it only made me feel elated.

My plan was coming together. I was going to fucking do it.

Tonight I’d pay Thom. Tomorrow I’d hike out to Canada and pay them.

Soon I’d be free. Soon Becca and my mom and Jack would be out of danger.

I gripped the steering wheel.

I was almost there.

I
was running through the woods. Men were chasing me, or maybe they weren’t men, I couldn’t tell. But I knew they could smell me and could follow me anywhere I went. I breathed in deep, my lungs burning as I jumped over thick roots and fallen trunks.

The woods were dark and there weren’t any stars in the sky. My pulse was hammering. I knew I had stolen something from them and they wanted it back, but I couldn’t remember what I had taken. I was desperate and terrified.

But I knew they’d kill me if they caught me.

Up ahead, I saw Reid’s van. It was like an oasis in the desert. It was safety. I ran as fast as I could, but they were gaining on me.

Fifty feet. Twenty. I could hear their jaws snapping on my heels.

I slammed into the van, trying to rip open the door, but it was stuck. I couldn’t get it open. I couldn’t do it no matter how hard I tried. I banged and screamed but nobody answered, nobody was coming.

I turned around. The men weren’t men. They were more like wolves, but not exactly. Saliva dripped onto the ground. Their eyes were glowing.

I don’t have it,
I said over and over.

They lunged.

––––––––

I
woke up with a start.

I was sweating slightly and it took me a second to realize why I had woken up. My phone was vibrating like crazy on the table.

My clock said it was five in the morning as I grabbed my phone.

“Hello?” I said groggily.

“Hey, it’s me.”

I sat bolt upright. “Reid? Are you okay?”

He laughed. “I’m totally fine. You’d be getting a call from prison if the cops had me. Or no call at all if the mobsters caught me.”

“What happened?”

“I got it.”

“What do you mean?”

He laughed again. “I got it, all of it.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the van. Remember how to get there?”

I sighed. “No, not at all.”

“Okay. I’ll text you the GPS. Plug that into your phone.”

“You want me to come there now?”

“Yeah, please. I also need a few things for my hike. I’ll text that to you, too.”

“Okay, okay. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Totally fine, Becca. See you soon.”

He hung up.

The dream was still lingering in my mind. The idea of hiking through the forest in the early morning darkness sent my heart fluttering.

My phone buzzed a few seconds later. I checked the text and saw a list of things to bring and the coordinates.

Still barely awake, I climbed out of bed. Reid had sounded happier and more excited than I had heard him sound since coming home. I didn’t know what I was walking into, but part of me didn’t care.

I was in deep and there was no getting out.

––––––––

H
is pack weighed a million pounds.

Not literally, I mean that would be impossible, but still. I had no clue how that boy carried all that weight on his back and still could make it up to Canada and back in a day or two. Plus the weight of whatever he was smuggling on the way back. I was having a hard time hiking for an hour, let alone hiking all day for two days.

But I had to do it. For some reason he didn’t want to come back to the house, and he couldn’t make his trip without gear. So I was stuck lugging it through the forest at the ass crack of dawn.

At least there were no weird man-wolf dream monsters trying to murder me.

The sun was slowly rising as I finally crested a hill and saw the van up ahead. I turned off my phone and slipped it back into my pocket, thankful that my long, arduous journey was coming to an end.

I didn’t see him around anywhere. The van was quiet, but that didn’t mean anything.

“Reid?” I called out as I got closer.

The door to the van slipped open.

“Took you long enough.”

Reid got out and grinned at me.

“Next time, pack this before you leave to rob a store, and leave me out of it.”

He laughed. “Was it a little heavy?”

“A little? How do you even carry this?”

I took it off my back and dropped it on the ground.

“It only takes some muscle,” he said, and wrapped his arms around me. I laughed as he picked me up and kissed me.

“Put me down, ass,” I giggled.

He set me down, his arms still wrapped around me. “Fuck, I’m glad to see you,” he said.

“I was worried sick.”

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll always come through.”

“I believe you,” I said softly.

“Want to see something awesome?”

“Always.”

He led me by the hand into the back of the van. Inside was a large duffle bag.

“Is that it?”

He grinned at me as he unzipped it. Inside there were rolls upon rolls of hundred dollar bills.

“Holy fucking shit,” I said.

He laughed at my shock. “Guess how much it is.”

“I don’t know. Twenty thousand?”

“Forty. Forty fucking grand. Which means they had almost sixty-five.”

“What happened to the other fifteen?”

“Taxes.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way.”

“It does when you hire professional thieves.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Nope, you definitely don’t.”

I looked back at the bag and took a roll, weighing it in my hand. I had never held that much money at once before.

“This is absolutely insane, Reid.”

“I know. Want to fuck on it?”

“What?”

He inched closer. “Do you want to spread it all out and have the biggest orgasm of your life on top of it?”

I laughed. “I mean, a little bit, yeah.”

He grabbed me and pulled me on top of him, kissing my mouth. “Too bad. It all goes to our friendly neighbors to the north, and I don’t think they’d appreciate the cum smells.”

“I don’t smell!”

“All cum smells like something.”

“Not mine,” I said, blushing.

“Your cum smells like roses, that’s true, but I’m a little harsher.”

I shook my head and kissed him again. “So that’s the plan, then? You hike up there and give them the money back you originally stole from them?”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Don’t you think they’ll be pissed?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re in a war. And I think money is probably the main reason.”

“But it’s still theirs, right? I mean, they’re all in the same mob.”

“I don’t think so, actually.”

“Why?”

“I was thinking about that. Why would they bother laundering the money down in the U.S. if most of the mob was up in Canada?”

“Better tax rate?”

He laughed. “Maybe. But there was no mention of anybody other than the American guys on any of the documents, though.”

“So you’re banking on the Canadians not knowing about this money?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

I paused, thinking it through. “What if you’re wrong?”

He just shook his head. “I’m not wrong.”

“Reid, this is dangerous. You have to have another plan?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Becca, I don’t. This is pretty much all or nothing, now.”

I stayed quiet for a minute, my body pressed up against his. I could hear his heart beating a slow, steady rhythm in his chest, and I knew that everything hinged on what happened up north.

“What if they kill you?” I whispered.

“Then you won’t have to worry anymore.”

I looked up at him. “Don’t you dare say that again.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s true. If I’m dead, the mob has no reason to bother you guys.”

“You’re not sacrificing yourself for us.”

“No,” he said, smiling softly. “I’m not.”

“Don’t die up there.”

“I’m not going to.”

I threw myself at him then, kissing him with everything I had. It wasn’t a last kiss, couldn’t be a last kiss. I needed him to come back; otherwise, I’d be losing more than just a stepbrother.

I’d be losing a part of myself.

After a minute, he slowly pulled away.

“I have to get going,” he said quietly.

“No. Just stay here a little longer.”

“Fuck, Becca. You don’t think I want to stay right here and fuck you senseless all day long?”

“Then do it.”

“I can’t miss this drop.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I’d rather take this money and run away with you, but we’d be looking over our shoulders forever. Plus, our parents would be fucked.”

“But it doesn’t have to be you.”

“There’s nobody else.” He kissed me again gently. “I’m sorry, Becca. I have to go.”

He rolled over and moved out of the van. I sat there staring out at him for a second, imagining what my life would be like if he were gone. 

Reid had always been a part of everything I did. Even when I was at school and we didn’t see each other, the memory of him still lingered. For years I wondered what it would be like to finally give in and let myself be taken by him, consumed by him.

And finally I did it. Finally I let him in and it was more than I had bargained for. I was spiraling into him and I never wanted to look back.

Suddenly, that was threatened. Suddenly, I had to potentially lose him forever.

I climbed out of the van. He shrugged on his pack and grabbed the duffle bag from the back. I watched as he prepared himself, putting on his boots and double-checking everything.

Finally, he looked at me. “This is it,” he said.