Tyler
TYLER
Deep down, he knew Nate had to be lying. He had to. had seen how Nate was when he wasn’t worrying about his father, what he was like when Nate was truly happy just being with . He had seen the hope in his face. He had seen the light that finally reached his eyes as though he’d found something worth pursuing. And he would swear up and down he had seen deep pain flash across the man’s face as he’d got into the car, refusing to meet ’s gaze.
It didn’t stop how much it hurt to watch the car pull away from the curb. It felt as though a ragged hole, unlike any left since his mother’s death, had been torn inside him as he watched Nate’s ride drive away. They had been so close, so near to something greater than they’d had before.
The promise had been there, but it had been broken, and all in the span of a few minutes.
Traffic continued around him, and listless, watched another car drive around the corner toward the intersection. For a moment, he just stared, and with a sudden jolt, his mind surged to life.
He knew that mustache.
“Fuck,” he swore fiercely, immediately dialing Nate’s number.
It was only as it rang repeatedly before reaching his voicemail that realized Nate wasn’t going to answer. Nate assumed any call from would be over what they had just argued about. He would continue riding toward his house, never realizing he was being followed.
glanced around frantically, trying to decide what to do. He could call the police, but he didn’t know how long it would take them to show up or if they would even take him seriously. Clay and Elliot were too far away to help, and cursed himself for not letting them help when they’d all but demanded it after the hotel incident.
His eyes fell on a motorcycle by the curb, helmet on the handle, and keys in the ignition. Even in this part of town, that was a stupid thing to do, just inviting someone to take it. An idea formed in his head, and he knew it was a bad one. Sure, he’d used a friend’s bike up in Greenford several times, but it wasn’t quite the same as trying to chase someone in traffic.
Making up his mind, he yanked his phone out and dialed Elliot.
Elliot answered on the second ring. “, is everything okay? You should’ve been home by?—”
threw a leg over the bike, grabbing the helmet. “Can you track my phone?”
“What?” Elliot asked.
“Do you guys still have the app to track my phone?”
Clay’s voice came on the line as well. “Yes. Of course. Why?”
“Track my phone, keep tracking it, and find me.”
“Wait for us,” Elliot said. “We were coming to get you anyway. We’re almost there.”
shook his head. “No time. Nate’s in trouble, and I’m going after him. I need your help.”
Elliot started protesting, but ended the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. The helmet he jammed over his head was a little awkward, but he ignored it. He grabbed the keys, twisted them, and smiled as the engine roared to life with an almost deafening sound.
“Hey!” a voice called from behind him.
grabbed the throttle, shifted gears and roared off with a “Sorry!” called over his shoulder. Grand theft auto hadn’t been one of his life’s dreams, and he was sure that if he ended up caught, he could throw his career aspirations out the window. None of that mattered as he gunned the bike between rows of traffic, trying to catch up to where he’d last seen Nate’s ride turn.
A horn blared as he blew through the intersection. He spared a glance at the truck that nearly hit him, swerving and pulling down on the throttle. There had only been a few minutes since he’d spotted Mustache in the second car, but those minutes counted. They weren’t far from the long stretches of road on the outskirts of town that would take Nate directly home.
Plenty of stretches for something to happen.
His only advantage for catching up was knowing the most likely route the driver would take. There were other ways, but the most direct route would take them to the outskirts of Port Dale. twisted the bike through another intersection, glad it had a green light. He was by no means an expert on bike handling, but he was glad he’d had at least enough practice over the spring with his friend’s bike. It wasn’t much, but it was apparently enough.
had no accounting for the time that passed as he pushed through the traffic, searching desperately ahead for Nate’s car. The traffic was thinning as he gunned it through another intersection, reaching the outskirts. If he could catch up to Nate’s car in time, he might be able to stop anything from happening.
He perked up as he spotted a lone car crossing the next intersection. couldn’t be sure if it was the car he’d seen Nate leaving in, but it looked like it from a distance. Hoping he was right, gunned the engine and roared up the hill, praying there weren’t any surprises over the crest.
Reaching the top, he watched as the car made to turn around the next curve. ’s heart caught in his throat as he watched. A large truck barreled out from a roadside clump of trees at the last second. A cry rose from him as the truck careened into the car, sending it spinning toward the side of the road. The cry caught, like he was choking on it, as the car tipped to one side and fell belly up into the ditch.
The bike roared furiously as yanked on the throttle, throwing himself forward. From the truck, two men emerged, facing the overturned car. aimed for the first man, accelerating as hard as possible. The man spotted him at the last second, leaping back as sped past the front of the truck.
Only as he blazed past the second man did realize he didn’t know what he was doing. Releasing the throttle, he turned the handles and hit the brake. The bike slid, almost slamming him onto the road as it made its way across the two-lane street. He couldn’t stop the bike in time before he hit the edge of the road and careened into the ditch.
The world spun as he was pitched into the air and fell into the forest brush beside the road. Pain flamed up and down his body as he rolled, trying to catch his bearings. The world spun as he tried to figure out where he was and what exactly had happened. His eyes fell on a smashed rock beneath him, blinking at it quizzically. Absently, he pulled the stolen helmet off and looked at the dent in the back where his head had hit the rock, saving his skull.
“Always wear your helmet, kids,” he said, still dazed.
Pushing himself upright, he looked around, tossing the helmet aside. He could hear the calls of the men from the road, recognizing Gruff Man’s voice.
“He went into the woods. Get his ass before the others show up. I need to check on Rich Boy to make sure he’s alive.”
Mustache’s annoyed voice came next. “Don’t see why we had to go this far. We weren’t supposed to hurt the guy.”
“We weren’t supposed to kill him. Giving him a little toss around isn’t a big deal.”
“Unless he wasn’t buckled up.”
“Go get that idiot and leave Rich Boy to me.”
So there were more coming. didn’t know how long he had until backup arrived, but he was sure it wouldn’t be long. Whatever group these two worked for, they were organized enough to create the accident.
’s throat closed as he remembered Nate had been in that car, and alive or not, Gruff Man was going after him. Looking around, he quickly picked up a hefty branch lying across the forest floor. Mustache wasn’t bothering to cover his footsteps, apparently believing was dead, unconscious, or too dazed to function. Considering how he’d landed, knew it wasn’t an unsafe assumption.
A shame, for Mustache, that it was an incorrect one.
He waited until the man came into sight, gun held low and looking around. From behind a tree, twisted and slammed the branch into the man’s face. He could only wince as he heard a crack of bone, probably the man’s nose.
Again.
was on him before Mustache could do more than give a low grunt of pain. This time, he didn’t hesitate, swinging the branch to catch the man alongside the head. Another grunt from Mustache and his eyes rolled up into his head.
let out a sharp breath, staring down at the unmoving man. It had happened so quickly he’d barely had a chance to think about what he was doing. Worry flooded him as he reached down, pressing two fingers to the man’s neck. Relief followed when he felt a faint but steady pulse. He had knocked the man stupid, but he hadn’t killed him.
That didn’t stop him from grabbing the man’s gun, though, shoving it into the waistband of his shorts before taking the branch with him. He had landed a few feet into the trees, and as he approached the road, he couldn’t help but admire that he’d somehow missed every tree and large rock on the way, save for the one the helmet had taken the blow from. Either he was the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet, or something had been looking out for him.
He could see Gruff Man through the truck's windows, approaching the car. As much as he wished he had a plan, knew there was no time. He didn’t trust Gruff Man to behave himself if he found Nate in one piece, and knew he had to move quickly.
Darting out from behind the trees, he pressed himself against the side of the truck. Knowing he was hidden from view, he slid along the edge of the truck toward the front.
“Looks like you were smart enough to be safe,” Gruff Man muttered from around the front of the truck. “At least they teach you about seat belts at your fancy schools.”
took a deep breath, guessing that Gruff Man was looking at the car and not paying attention to what was happening behind him. Again, he supposed it was a smart assumption, considering how had crashed. But again, he knew it wasn’t the safest assumption. He hoped he was making a far safer assumption about Gruff Man’s position.
Once more, he shoved himself around the corner, took in where Gruff Man was and advanced quickly. He made it the first few feet without any problem. Gruff Man was crouched beside the overturned car, staring into it. However, when his feet hit the gravel about a foot from Gruff Man, the man’s reaction was swift.
Without missing a beat, Gruff Man shoved his hand into his jacket, and threw himself forward. He felt and heard the gun blast but kept going. Barely feeling the burn in his side, he slammed the branch into Gruff Man’s head, colliding with his temple. The words of Clay and Elliot echoed in his head, and he followed through, keeping his momentum going even as he felt the collision.
And once more, he stepped forward, bringing the thick branch down again on Gruff Man’s forehead. The man’s body spasmed, fingers releasing the gun and going still. stared down at him, realizing he was perched over the man’s body like he was going to spring to life at any second.
And then, from behind him, he heard a faint groan.
spun, dropping the branch and hurrying toward the familiar voice. He could see Nate’s face, discolored with a line of red down the middle, but he was moving. The man was suspended, held in place by the seatbelt.
“Nate,” whispered as he stopped at the broken window.
“Ty?” Nate’s weak voice whispered, closed eyes scrunching.
“Stay put,” told him, bending in to grab the belt.
There was no time for him to check whether the driver, who sat unmoving in the front of the car, was okay. He could hear a rapidly approaching vehicle, and from the way it screeched around what he assumed was a corner, he was running out of time. He shoved his thumb into the seatbelt’s locking mechanism, relieved when it gave way almost immediately.
Nate dropped, and barely caught him before he crumpled to the roof of the car. It didn’t look like anything was broken or seriously injured, but knew he didn’t have time to check him out thoroughly. He could hear another vehicle, followed by a shout and?—
A blast and gunshots rang through the air. hunched over Nate as the sound of guns being fired echoed around them. His breathing was harsh and heavy, clinging to Nate as he desperately dragged him to the road, hoping neither of them would be hit on the way.
He had just reached the end of the truck when a vehicle screeched to a halt beside it. A door slammed open, feet hitting the pavement, and braced himself. Knowing there was only one chance, he grabbed the gun in his waistband and swung it around, ready to unleash it on the person who came around the corner.
A hand slammed into view, knocking the gun away and down toward the ground. Unbelievably, and for , most welcome, Clay slid into view, still holding one hand out.
“Can he walk?” Clay asked, voice tight and eyes sweeping the area.
“No,” managed.
“Get him into the car, we’re getting out of here before they recover,” Clay said, motioning for him to move.
Despite being reminded of the early days when he’d first met Clay, did as he was bid. Thankful that Nate wasn’t very big, he hefted the man up and awkwardly walked him over to the nearby vehicle. He wasn’t sure where Clay had got the SUV, nor was he sure exactly what sort of gun Elliot in the driver’s seat was holding, but he was thankful all the same.
Clay opened the back door, and hurriedly placed Nate onto the backseat as carefully as possible.
“He secure?” Elliot asked, voice clipped.
put himself on the floor, holding Nate. “As best I can.”
“Good enough,” Clay grunted, motioning to Elliot. “Drive. I don’t want to be here when more show up.”
“Agreed,” Elliot said, throwing the car into reverse and pulling a maneuver that left wondering where he’d learned it.
Clay looked back over the passenger seat, frowning at . “When we get home, you have so much explaining to do.”
“After the first aid,” Elliot added, turning the SUV around another corner with ease.
“After the first aid,” Clay repeated, a dark look on his face.
slumped, looking over Nate’s now bruised, unmoving face and letting out a sigh of relief. He didn’t care how much hell Elliot and Clay rained down on him. All that mattered was that his family had come for him, and Nate was safe.
At least for the moment.