Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) (9 page)

It took me a second to realize that she had just left me there, surrounded by people I didn’t know.

“Want another drink?” Josh asked.

“Sure,” I said, not sure what else to do.

I followed him back to the kegs. It was even more crowded, and I started looking at the people in earnest. I didn’t recognize a single one of them, but they were all a certain type.

Scary. Or at least a little bit scary. There were plenty of leather jackets and tattoos, and more than a few tough-looking guys with scars on their faces. People were loud and rowdy, almost a little aggressive.

It wasn’t my usual crowd. I hadn’t noticed how rough it seemed at first because I was too nervous to really pay much attention. But with some drinks in me, I was loosening up enough to look at people seriously.

I felt uncomfortable, but I was glad Josh was talking to me. As he poured me another beer, he chatted about his job as a mailman and his dog.

I followed him away from the main crowd and we ended up sitting in the same chairs Lindsey and I had sat in earlier. Josh scooted his closer to me, but I didn’t think anything of it.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.

“No boyfriend. What about you?”

“No boyfriend either.”

I giggled. “I meant girlfriend.”

“No girlfriend,” he confirmed. “How does someone like you not have a boyfriend?”

“What do you mean?”

He leaned closer. “You know. Sexy and cute.”

I blinked. “Uh, I don’t know.”

My head was swimming a little bit and I felt hot. Josh was cute and all, but I wasn’t really interested in him like that. I pulled out my phone and texted Lindsey:
911 come find me
.

“Where’s your friend?” he asked me.

“Not sure. She went over there.” I nodded toward the RV.

He laughed. “Probably getting high. That’s typical Lindsey.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t know? She’s the area pill head.”

I frowned. “Don’t talk about her that way.”

Why did everyone keep saying that?
I thought.

“Sorry. I’m not trying to be rude.”

“Whatever,” I said, standing up. “Thanks for the drink.”

He stood up with me. “Hold on a second. I said I was sorry.”

I started to walk away but he grabbed my arm. My heart started to hammer in my chest. “Let go of me, dick,” I said.

“I’m just trying to apologize. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”

“Okay, and I’m trying to leave.”

He tightened his grip. “I’m still talking to you.”

“I said, let go of me.”

Before I knew what I was doing, I threw my beer right in his face. It hit with a satisfying splash, erasing the smug look from his face.

“What the fuck!” he said, letting go of my arm.

“Don’t touch me again, asshole,” I said.

“You fucking bitch.”

I started to walk away fast, but Josh was right behind me. People were starting to look over, attracted by the sound of Josh cursing at me as I tried to get away. I looked up, terrified, and didn’t see a single person I knew.
Where the heck was Reid?

Just then he appeared, almost as if he could read my mind. I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me as he walked directly toward Josh, his face set hard as stone.

“What’s going on?” Reid asked me.

“Nothing. Let’s get out of here,” I said to him.

Josh stopped following me and took a step back. “It’s cool, Climber.”

Reid stood there staring at Josh for a second. “Come on, Reid,” I said again, tugging his arm.

He looked at me, at the empty cup in my hand, and then back at Josh. He clearly put it all together.

“You dumb fuck,” he mumbled as he walked over toward Josh.

“Hey, come on, Climber. It’s cool,” he said, backing off farther, his hands in the air.

Faster than I could follow, Reid stepped in and slugged Josh across the face. Josh had no chance. He took Reid’s strong fist right in his jaw and fell down to the ground, grabbing his face in pain.

“Go near her again and I’ll kill you,” Reid said, standing over him menacingly.

“Reid! Come on!” I said frantically.

People were staring at us. I was terrified that a bigger fight was about to break out. I wanted to run away, but suddenly someone laughed.

“Fuck him up, Climber!” the person said, and the crowd laughed.

Reid grinned. “Show’s over,” he said, putting his arm around me and steering me over toward the cars. Josh was rubbing his face but wasn’t trying to get up. He was clearly afraid of Reid, and it was obvious that the crowd was not on his side.

I couldn’t believe it. Not only had Reid appeared exactly when I’d needed him, but he had no problem knocking Josh down like he was nothing. Part of me was pissed that he would hurt someone like that, but part of me was happy it had happened. That asshole Josh was being too aggressive and scary and deserved to be knocked down a peg or two.

“You okay?” Reid asked me.

“I’m fine. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Actually, I did. That guy has a reputation.”

I frowned. “Really?”

“Let’s just say you’re not the first girl that threw her drink in his face.”

I sighed and let Reid take me back toward the truck. The sounds of the party receded a bit as we moved to the perimeter. I felt safe there with Reid’s strong arm wrapped around my shoulders, and although I could handle myself, I was thankful that he had shown up.

“Let’s head out,” he said.

“Okay, fine.”

We climbed into the truck and he sat there for a second, the engine off.

“I told you to be careful.”

“You don’t control what I do, Reid.”

“I know that. But these people can be pretty fucked up sometimes.”

“You keep saying that. Why are they your friends?”

He leaned toward me. “It’s complicated. I just want you to be safe.” His lips were parted slightly. His gorgeous, full lips. I felt myself moving closer to him.

“Lindsey keeps saying something. About you and that guy Thom.”

“Does she? What’s she been saying?”

“Nothing. Just that you’re involved with him somehow. Who is he?”

“Just a guy I’ve been working with.”

I felt so frustrated, but his voice was deep and smooth and his smell was threatening to overwhelm me.

“Working on what?”

“Just a job. What do you care?”

“I don’t care. I mean, I don’t know.” I felt myself babbling, unable to tell him the truth. I cared because I cared about him way more than I wanted to admit.

“Listen to me next time, Becca. And forget what Lindsey’s been saying.” His face was inches from mine.

“Thanks. For that.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

He was so close. He was so intoxicating.

The way he was looking at me sent shivers down my spine. I could feel myself growing wet already.

And then my phone began to buzz.

He frowned and looked at my bag.

“Better get that,” he said.

“That’s okay.”

He laughed and sat up straight, starting the engine. I frowned, getting ahold of myself, and pulled my phone from my bag. It was Lindsey.

“Hey,” I said, answering.

“Becca! Oh my god! I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Where did you go?”

“I was just in the RV hanging out with some guys.”

“You left me alone.”

“I’m so sorry. I thought you came with us.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m on my way home with Reid.”

“Oh. Okay. Look, I had fun. I’m really sorry about what happened.”

I sighed. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, it is. Let me buy you lunch or something to make up for it?”

“Sure. Text me later.”

“’Kay.” She hung up.

I put the phone back in my bag as Reid pulled back out onto the main road.

“That girl is bad news,” he grunted at me.

I sighed, not wanting to start fighting with him again. I kept thinking about how close I had been to kissing him just a minute earlier.

“Probably,” I muttered.

We drove back home in silence, the near kiss lingering in the air. He had to have felt it, had to have known that it was what I wanted. He had a way about him, like he could read my body.

The problem was, I wanted him to do more than just read it.

But that was too dangerous. I remembered how surprised Lindsey was when she heard how Reid liked to talk to me.

We couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.

The car ride was quiet, but my head was buzzing, full of doubt, worry, and overwhelming desire.

S
he was on my mind as I set out early the next morning.

It was more and more obvious that she had been away for too damn long. Even though I warned her about that party, she insisted on going anyway. That wasn’t a big deal, but she ended up drinking a little too much and got stranded with that creep.

I couldn’t blame her for what happened next, though. Josh came off as such a nice guy sometimes, and girls kept falling for his bullshit. It didn’t take long for them to realize what a piece of shit he was, though.

It felt good breaking his jaw. I hated that Becca had to be the one in harm’s way, but I had to admit that Josh was in desperate need of a beating. All I was waiting for was an excuse.

For a second there, I was afraid I wasn’t going to stop. I was afraid I was going to actually kill the asshole. But then someone called out my name and the tension dispersed. Seeing the look on Becca’s face, her fear, almost drove me insane with anger.

I made my way through the underbrush and climbed over the fence surrounding our property, heading north. My plan was to hike due north, following a carefully laid-out path I had made over the years, until I got to the border. From there, I’d hike east a few miles and cross over the river bordering Canada wherever it seemed safest.

Becca coming home threw a wrench in everything, I realized. I had gotten so used to lying to Jack and my mom that it wasn’t difficult anymore. Throwing out lies was just a part of my daily routine ever since I got into the smuggling business. But Becca was already beginning to ask questions.

It was only a matter of time. Someone in town was going to say something to her, probably that pill head Lindsey, and I was going to have to make a choice. I would either have to lie to her or I’d have to tell her the truth.

I didn’t want to lie to her. Despite the things I had done over the years, I hadn’t ever lied to her. I hadn’t ever been in a position where I’d needed to, but that fact was important to me.

I had lied to everyone else in my life. I wanted things to be different with Becca.

The brush was dense under foot as I walked, the sun beginning to slowly rise, burning away the humidity that had formed overnight. I’d hit the border by one in the afternoon, make the exchange by two, and hopefully be halfway back home by the time it got dark.

That was the plan, at least. As I found out over and over again, plans don’t always work out. Everyone starts out with great training and planning, but as soon as you get kicked in the face for the first time, suddenly it’s a mad dash for survival. It’s easy to forget everything you worked on when there’s blood on your clothes.

The only place I never felt like I was scrambling was when I climbed up a cliff face. I didn’t know why, but there was something about a cliff that made sense to me. I could see the handholds and the footholds, I could see the route I’d need to travel to make it up the fastest. It just solidified in my mind the first time I looked over a wall, almost like magic.

Unfortunately, that skill didn’t help me too much when it came to smuggling drugs out of Canada.

As much as I hated to admit it to myself, I didn’t know Becca well enough to guess how she would react if she found out what I had been doing for money. Fear? Disgust? Disappointment? I had no way of knowing, and that was what worried me.

I hated having things outside of my control. I wasn’t a total control freak, but I liked to be able to influence events.

That was why, when my mom got diagnosed with cancer, I immediately found a way to help her. I couldn’t sit back and watch her get sicker and sicker. It wasn’t in my blood to be passive.

Climbing wasn’t going to make enough money. I had to do something more extreme.

I wasn’t sure if others could see why I made the choices that I did, but everything was supposed to help my family.

I just hoped that Becca could see it that way.

––––––––

I
checked the sun and guessed that it was about noon. I peeled off my light parka, folded it tightly, and slipped it into a pocket of my backpack.

I was getting close. Crossing was by far the most dangerous part of the whole thing, especially crossing back over into Washington from Canada with a pack full of drugs. If I got caught without the drugs, it would be bad enough. But with them? I’d go to jail, no questions asked.

I strapped my pack and hiked on. There was no point in worrying too much. The woods were lovely, dark and deep, and I had promises to keep. And a few more miles before I could meet up with my Canadian gangster and make the drop.