Chapter 2 #2
After that brief catch-up with Nix and the staring contest with that unknowing ex-lover of mine, I’d ridden my BMW S 1000 RR back to the Bayberry, where I was staying.
Feeling nostalgic as I drove by an old haunt, I used to frequent with my brothers, the Touchdown Tavern.
When I steered into the parking lot beneath the hotel, I called Phoenix back and arranged to meet him there later that night.
I left my bike next to my car in the basement parking lot of the building.
Lisa, my PA, and Mia, my Head of PR, slash Lawyer, had arranged for it to be delivered from New Jersey, so I had two modes of transportation.
Having only just signed with the Patriots, I knew there would be press events to attend, and riding a bike in a suit was by no means comfortable.
I rode the lift to the suite I had rented for the next few weeks with a jumble of thoughts in my head.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay there. Ma had offered me the use of my old room at the house, but I graciously declined.
I’d already asked Lisa to start looking into my real estate possibilities.
My contract with the Patriots was for four years, and so I had the option to rent or buy, depending on whether I decided to remain in Rhode Island after that time.
With the news on in the background, over the next hour or so, I showered, shaved, and dressed casually in jeans and a tee. After replying to a couple of contractual emails, I grabbed my baseball cap, a must-wear when the paparazzi were hounding you, and headed down to the basement to get my car.
When I arrived at the Touchdown Tavern, Phoenix was climbing out of an Uber.
My biggest brother still carried himself with the confidence of a man who feared no one.
I’d offered him a job when I was in New Jersey as my bodyguard, but he’d refused.
Saying how he couldn’t leave Harper, and I got that.
Nix was now a fireman and a damn good one from the number of lives he’d saved.
I didn’t really need a bodyguard as I could handle myself, but Nix put the fear of God in most men who made his shit list. Having him by my side would mean less time having to look over my shoulder.
“I had to drive by the Summer’s estate on my way. I could have picked you up?” I informed him as I locked my car with the fob. The lights flickered to signal that the alarm was activated.
“But that would mean treading on enemy lines?” Nix smirked.
“Funny,” I deadpanned, checking the handle of my Bugatti and sliding my keys into the pocket of my jeans.
“Lost the biker leathers, I see. What’s with the baseball cap?” Nix commented.
“A necessary evil,” I explained with a grimace, scanning the parking lot for any lurking press.
“Of course, I keep forgetting you're famous now. Get over here.”
Grinning, I walked over, fist bumped the giant, and pulled him in for another hug.
My cap was pulled on tight to shadow part of my face.
I couldn’t deal with the media that night.
I needed some downtime with my brothers.
Mia was doing a good job of ensuring that details about the hotel I was staying at were not leaked to the media, but I still needed to lay low.
“Your wheels are the tits, man,” my brother burst out enthusiastically as he eyed my baby’s paintwork.
“The tits?” I questioned with an arched brow. I knew what it meant, but the way Phoenix vocalized it amused me.
He took my expression as one of confusion as he added. “Yeah, sorry. I’m in with the kids these days, Harper keeps coming back from work with new sayings.”
“I see.”
“So, the translated version is ‘nice wheels,’ bro. You’ve got to let me take her for a spin sometime,” Phoenix stated with a whistle, almost foaming at the mouth.
I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, good one,” I replied, patting him on the shoulder as we made our way towards the entrance of the bar.
Nix gave me a puzzled look. “What’s so funny?”
“You made a joke. I laughed.”
My brother just muttered something about me still being a tight asshole.
We entered the bar, and a few people glanced toward us. Luckily, no one seemed to recognize me. Nix said hi to a couple of guys, but he didn’t introduce us. He knew the drill as he’d witnessed me being overwhelmed by fans before.
When we got to the bar, I raised a hand to the bartender. Phoenix then shuffled in beside me, still offended by my alluding to the fact that he would never get to drive my car. “I have a license now, you know, and you used to let me borrow the Jeep all the time.”
I cut him a sardonic look as I ordered two beers. “Borrow is a stretch, and that was a fifteen-thousand-dollar vehicle. You don’t want to know what I paid for this one.”
He chuntered something under his breath as he placed his wallet on the bar.
“Drinks are on me,” I explained with a flick of my head.
My brother shrugged and put his money away. “Fine, but I’m getting the next round.” I found it amusing that the brother, who used to steal my car all the time, was proud when it came to job offers and money. I’d attempted to offer financial help to all my family, but they wouldn’t hear of it.
Shaking my head, I explained. “Don’t worry, I’m only having one, so you're off the hook. I need to be up early, and I’m driving.”
“You could always leave it here?” Nix suggested, glancing over his shoulder through the window and into the lot.
I quirked a brow. “And the chances of it being here in the morning are probably zero.”
Pursing his lips, he agreed with me. “Good point.”
After holding my iPhone over the card machine, I paid the bill and then turned to Nix, handing him a Bud Light by the neck. We chinked them together in a salute.
“So, how does it feel to be back?” Nix questioned as we walked over to one of the spare booths. I could see my car from the table we took through the window, and there was already a group of boisterous youths surrounding it.
“To be honest, I thought it would be weird, but it feels like I never left,” I admitted, throwing myself onto the seat and placing my beer on the table.
“Is that a good thing?” Phoenix asked, negotiating his massive frame into the small area between the chair and the table.
“Beats me. Is Hudson on his way?” I asked, casting another glance around the bar. Thankfully, it was quiet. The place was usually full of college jocks, it being a sports bar. Maybe the place had gone downhill since I’d left?
Phoenix took a slug of his drink and then smirked. “Yes, but he won’t be alone.”
My intention of a guys' night instantly evaporated. Smiling, I nodded my understanding. “Molly?”
“Yep. He’s picking Harper up, too. Sorry, dude.” Fucking men and their bitches. Even our other brother Micah, who was currently in New York, was smitten, which made the fact that I was single piss me off even more. Our other foster brother, Micah, was seeing a girl called Sonia.
“How are you and Baby Sawyer?” I asked, using our nickname for our foster sister and Nix’s girlfriend. They were adorable together, especially with the size difference; Nix being a mountain and Harper the size of a fucking pixie.
His face lit up, his expression revealing how much he loved her. “Good man. Real good.”
“Hud and Mols?”
“Tighter than you and the key to your car,” he puffed, taking a long pull on his beer.
“That is tight. Dude should put a ring on her finger and seal the deal.” Hudson and Molly had been together the longest.
“Oh, he’s thought about it, but they’re going to get a place together first.”
“Where are they thinking?”
“Newport, this neighborhood. Molly wants to be close to her old man.” I got that. Molly and her father were tight. She moved to the States from England after her mother died in a car crash when she was only sixteen. “Have you seen Micah recently? Can’t believe he got promoted again.”
I was the closest to my brother Micah; as I mentioned, we were placed in the same foster home when we were five.
Our foster mother passed away from a heart attack, and the cracks in our care started to show.
Our foster father, Nathanial, was heartbroken when his wife died and couldn’t cope with two unruly boys, so we went back into the system.
That was when I was placed in what was now being called The Horror House.
Micah, who used to take drugs during his teens, was now the head of a pharmaceutical company and worked as a Clinical Research Associate.
Phoenix was staring at me with an odd expression, and I realized I hadn’t answered his question. Nix was the shrewdest of all my brothers, and he must have seen my face change when I thought about those months with the Palmer family.
Sliding my mask back in place, I replied. “Yeah, he’s good, man. I see him every other week, and we talk most days.”
“How’s it going with that little blonde he was seeing?”
“Good, I think.”
“Nice ink. New?” my brother said with a flick of his head towards my new neck tats.
“Yeah. It’s not finished yet.”
“Anyway, what about you?” Nix questioned as he placed his beer on the table. Motherfucker looked even bigger than the last time I saw him. I wondered what he was benching now.
“What about me?” I asked, taking a huge gulp of air and mentally coaching my brain into safer waters.
He frowned. “Well, surely you don’t intend to live at the Bayberry?”
Shrugging, I lifted the menu from the table and opened it. Fuck, I was starving. “I haven’t thought that far. How’s life in your father’s pool house?”
“It’s OK. It gives me some independence.”
After deciding on a meatball sub, I closed the menu and looked up at Nix. “Harper good?”
“Yeah. She stays over most nights. I’m usually at the gym first thing before work, and so she comes with.” So, Nix still went to the gym every day. Being in the fire service would force him to keep fit.
“Is Harper still doing that yoga shit?”
“Yeah. She runs her own classes now.”