14
*********
Walker
Reaching for my energy drink, I tip it back, draining every last drop. My body is tired. I guess playing a college hockey game and then finding the woman you love beaten to a pulp will do that. But my mind couldn’t be more awake. Racing a thousand miles an hour. Yet I can’t focus on anything besides the fact that I wasn’t there. I failed her.
Again.
It’s all I do. I fucking fail. I couldn’t save my parents. Now, my sister has been brainwashed by my uncle and is acting like a lunatic, and Poppy was attacked. Whoever I get close to goes down in flames.
Bringing my uncle Beckett into this is the last thing I want to do. But I have no choice. Beckett has a lot of money and resources at his fingertips. I’m going to need her protected until we find the attackers. But I know my uncle enough to know that, despite how the public might see him, he runs in some pretty bad circles.
I glance over at her as the sun begins to peek along the horizon, ready to start the day. A day that I’ll make sure is better for her than yesterday was.
If I knew who did this to her, I would have already found them and probably killed them with my own bare hands. I would have beaten them senseless. Because I know that once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Not until they were a bloody mess on the pavement at my feet.
In her sleep, her lips form a frown. Like even asleep, she has no peace. There’s no escaping her reality. And seeing the cut on her lip brings me back to the very first time she crashed into my life. Or I guess I should say, I crashed into hers.
We moved to Sunset Drive when I was six. But I still remember the very first time I saw her. She had a bruise on her arm and a swollen lip with a cut on it. She wore jean shorts overalls, and her hair was tangly. When Briar and I were walking on the sidewalk with our parents, Poppy and Van were playing outside. He ran right over, black eye and all. But Poppy, she barely spared us a glance.
My mom might have had her demons and her struggles, but she had a heart of gold. And when she saw Poppy and Van both living in hell, she wanted to help—even if she wasn’t really able to.
When Van caught me watching Poppy curiously, he tapped my shoulder and said, “She just doesn’t trust new people.” He glanced back at his sister before giving me a small smile. “She really loves sour stuff. Warheads are her favorite. If you bring her those, she won’t hate you as much.”
“She hates me?” I blurted out. “She doesn’t even know me.”
He let out a long sigh. “Look, we’re not really used to people stayin’ in our lives. Y’all seem nice. You and your family. But…my sister will take more convincing.”
On that day, I decided I’d buy a pack of Warheads with all the change I had hidden in my sock drawer and give her one once a day. For the first four days, she ignored me or ran away.
But by day five, she whispered, “Thank you.”
And on day seven, she asked if I wanted to go for a walk.
Her hair was still tangly, and her clothes were worn, just like mine. And for the first time in my entire life, I felt like I had someone who had been made just for me.
But looking at her now, I’m realizing I was wrong all along. Maybe it was me who was made for her.
My phone vibrates, and I’m thankful when it doesn’t wake her up. We still have forty-five minutes until we get to my uncle’s, and I want her to get all the rest she can. Because when she wakes up, she’s going to be in pain. And I really fucking hate the thought of that.
Quickly pulling over, I quietly open the truck door and gently close it behind me, making sure she stays asleep on the passenger side.
“Hello?” I say, leaning against the truck.
“How far out are you?” Beckett’s voice clips, making me grit my teeth.
“About forty-five minutes.”
“Hurry along. I don’t have all day,” he says. “Do you want me to break down the conditions of our agreement in front of this little piece of ass of yours? Or should we go over the details right now?”
I drop my head, balling my free hand up into a fist so tight that it actually hurts. “Go on. Let’s fucking hear it.”
“Well, first off, when you go pro, I’m going to need you to invite me to some events. For, you know, marketing reasons. But more importantly, you remember the Romano family, right?”
“Yep,” I utter, trying to push away the thought that I slept with Marco Romano’s daughter a while back when I was drunk. Because it meant nothing. Just like every other hookup.
Besides Poppy.
“Well, from what I hear, you’re quite familiar with Gia. Which is good because you’re going to marry her,” he says callously. “I need more pull in Italy with some of our…suppliers. And what better way to gain that than becoming family?” He’s more pepped up now, excited to break the news to me that my life is fucking over.
“You can’t be fucking serious, Beckett. That’s insane,” I growl, praying he’ll bark out one of his annoying laughs and tell me he’s kidding, but I know deep down that’s not how this is going to go. Far from it.
“Oh, I’m very serious. And before you even consider backing out, I’ll have you know I’ve already called Romano. And men like him? Well, you know as well as I do that people don’t change their minds on things.” Greed drips from his voice. He’s so impressed with himself for sealing this deal. “See you soon,” he says smugly.
I instantly feel sick.
What the fuck have I done?
I look over at Poppy, knowing that this is going to break her. She’s a girl who asks for nothing. She doesn’t expect anything, and she never wants to inconvenience anyone. She’s too stubborn for that.
What’s done is done. And even though I was scared and really fucking pissed when I called Beckett in the first place, I can’t turn back the clock and take the phone call back.
Even if I really, really wish that I could.
*********
Poppy
The movement of being in a vehicle hits me before the pain of my entire body does. But when it does, holy shit, I’m freaking hurting.
When I finally open my eyes, I see Walker behind the wheel, and it all comes back to me—the attack. Walker finding me. Him going into Walgreens and getting me Tylenol and Motrin, plus every sort of hot and cold pack he could find.
And some sort of sleeping pills. Because I’d begged for something to knock me out. To take me out of this nightmare.
I’m regretting them now because I can hardly keep my eyes open.
I yawn, and the pain that sears through my stomach brings an uncontrollable wince from my mouth. Resting my hand over my abdomen, I suck in a few shaky breaths.
“Shit,” I whisper. “Shit. Shit.”
“We’re almost there,” Walker says, reaching over and resting his hand on mine.
“Where?” I utter, attempting to scooch up in my seat.
He never told me where he was going to take me. He asked me if I trusted him, and I told him yes. The truth is, as scared as I am that he’s going to leave again, aside from Jake, Walker is the only person I trust.
“To my uncle’s,” he says almost hesitantly. “He’s a doctor. And…he’ll be able to look you over.”
“Look me over?” I ask. “I…I don’t—”
“Poppy, it’s okay,” he answers softly, pulling up to a gate and putting his window down.
Reaching out, he types in a code on the keypad, and seconds later, the large gate slowly opens.
I stare straight ahead at the paved driveway with the manicured lawn on both sides of it. And up in the distance, I see one of the biggest houses I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Walker must sense my intimidation because he gives me a small, reassuring smile. “Trust me, it’s not as great inside of that house as it might look from the outside.”
I gulp, looking upward at the house as he pulls his truck in front of the ginormous garage. “If you say so,” I mutter.
Quickly opening his door, he turns toward me. “Don’t move. I’m helping you get down.”
Jumping out, he shuts his door, races to my side, and pulls mine open.
“Walker, I think I can get out of the truck by myself. I’m not completely useless, you know.” I roll my eyes as he slides his hands under my armpits. Even that small action alone sends pain shooting through my abdomen, and I grimace.
Carefully, he sets my feet on the ground, keeping his face angled toward mine. “Oh, really? You don’t look so good right now, Poppyseed.”
Remembering my face, I quickly look in his truck mirror. “Oh my God! How am I supposed to go in there, looking like this?” I wave my hand toward my face. “I look like I just walked off The Walking Dead set and I’m here to eat other people’s faces.” I throw my head back, pouting. “On a scale of one to ten, what do you rate how bad my face looks right now?”
“A fifteen,” he says low.
Snapping my gaze to his, I shoot him a glare. “You were supposed to say that it’s not that bad. Don’t you know anything about what women want?!”
“You tell me.” He cocks his head to the side. “When my head was buried between your thighs, did it seem like I knew what I was doing?”
Every ounce of blood rushes to my cheeks, which somehow seems to only make the bruises on my face hurt more.
When he dips his mouth to my ear, I can hear the smirk in his voice as he says, “When you came in my mouth, your pussy clenched my tongue so fucking hard that I thought you might cut it right off. So, yeah, I think I know what women want.”
My mouth hangs open in disbelief, but before my brain can come up with something to say, he nods toward the front door.
“Come on, Poppyseed. Let’s get you looked over.”
After checking me over, Beckett, Walker’s uncle, leaves the room, and I sit straight up, glaring at Walker.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I hiss. “Your uncle is Dr. Boobs?” I shake my head in pure disbelief. “Why didn’t you say you’ve been living with a freaking reality star?”I growl the last words.
When Beckett Benson walked into the room, I couldn’t believe my eyes. This dude has been a reality TV star for years—all for doing plastic surgery for celebrities and fixing botched procedures for them too. One nickname he earned is Dr. Boobs simply because he had done breast implants for so many famous people. And they certainly weren’t crappy boob jobs. No, the dude knows what he’s doing.
“I didn’t feel the need,” he mutters. “And you’d better not tell anyone. There’s a reason why no one knows.”
“I feel like I’m either dead or I’m in a hospital, pumped full of happy gas, because there’s no way I’m in Dr. Beckett Benson’s kitchen.” I gaze around the room at the most insane kitchen I’ve ever seen. “Walker, he’s like…a boobie goddess. But with a penis.”
“Why, thank you.” Beckett chuckles, walking back into the kitchen with a first aid bag. “Boobie goddess with a penis. I’ll take it.”
Walker shoots me a harsh glare, and I shrug, widening my eyes.
What?I mouth.
He simply shakes his head and continues to grumble something I can’t make out.
Apparently, Dr. Boobs is a sore subject for him. Who would have thought?
Cleaning a cut on my cheek, he takes a small package out of his bag. “Just so this doesn’t leave a scar on this pretty face, I’m going to put a few butterfly stitches here.” He looks me up and down. “Ever think about implants?”
I open my mouth to say something back, but nothing comes out because I’m in shock that this grown-ass man just looked at my breasts through my shirt and asked me about implants.
“Fuck no,” Walker growls from across the room. “Don’t even look at her fucking chest, Beckett.”
“Easy, easy.” Clearly amused, Beckett laughs. “Just saying, with a face like this, she could do more with the chest area.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Suddenly, Walker is right next to him, towering a few inches over Beckett. “Say one more thing about her body, and I’ll fucking make sure you never perform another surgery again. Your fingers will be too mangled.”
Unfazed, Beckett leans forward, gently applying the butterfly stitches. “If I didn’t know any better, Walker, I’d say you’re not over this old flame of yours.” He glances back. “Careful, boy. You know the deal. And it certainly doesn’t involve you getting more tangled with this one.” He looks me over, clearly unimpressed. “You seem like a sweet girl and all, but we all know that wherever Ron Wilson goes, there’s trouble. And you, sweetheart, have his blood pumping through those veins.” He shrugs. “No Wilson can be trusted. Including you.”
“I am nothing like Ron Wilson,” I snarl, snapping my gaze to Walker. “I want to leave now.”
Walker’s face looks pained. “But when we first got here, he said that you should have an ultrasound of your stomach. Just to make sure you don’t have internal bleeding.” He swallows. “If you don’t get it with him, you’re going to have to go to a hospital.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I lean back in the chair and throw my head up. When I finally open them up again, Dr. Boobs himself is smirking.
“So, doll, what will it be? I’ll even use my fanciest machine on you. After all, for the price Walker’s paying, the sky is the limit.”
When my eyes find Walker’s, he looks down. And I know that whatever deal he made to get me looked at today…he’s going to pay a price.
I just wish I knew what the hell that price was.