Chapter 15
WAR
C rue leadership rolls in like thunder, which is expected.
What’s unexpected is that it’s all three of them.
C and Trick meet with our GU C Crue cell on the regular.
It’s understood that our objective, one that involves grabbing the electronic keys to infinite wealth, was Trick’s brain child.
And while Anvil is involved in strategizing behind the scenes for non-tech missions, we rarely see him in the flesh.
So when the three of them climb out of two Crue SUVs that carry three other lower level Crue guys as well, J whistles.
“Right.” J’s Irish accent is thick as he glances over. “A six count, with Anvil in the mix.”
I walk to a kitchen window that overlooks the parking lot and clock the count myself.
My eyes lock on Stroviak. He’s six-six, covered in tats, and sporting a fresh buzz cut and black beard that’s trimmed tight to keep it from being unruly.
Like me, he’s built for war. If a seamstress got a hold of his black duster, she could outfit an entire kindergarten class.
Jamie strides over to the door and pulls it open for them.
C enters first, black clothes, blacker expression.
Trick’s next, in blue jeans and a gray graphic t-shirt under a brown leather bomber jacket.
Unable to resist a look, I watch Ashling hop from the island bar stool and sail over to him.
He wraps his arms around her tightly and kisses her temple, whispering something soothing that makes me want to flatten his pretty boy nose with my fist.
Anvil Stroviak enters last, unhurriedly, his eyes scanning the room. He acknowledges no one and nothing, until J goes over to shake his hand and then Ash slips from her brother’s arms to go over to greet him, as well.
The girl stops a couple of feet from him. His expression changes, the hardness around his eyes easing.
My eyes narrow.
“Sasha, you came, too,” she says, as welcoming as sunshine if you like that sort of thing. Which I mostly don’t. “You didn’t have to, but thanks. Really. Thank you.”
He looks her over. “You show up for us when it counts. Same goes.”
I don’t know what they’re talking about. I will unravel that later.
“I appreciate it. But so much manpower… We didn’t leave too many guys.” After a beat, she shrugs. “At least, I don’t think we did.”
“Good,” he says. “But either way.” The set of his wide shoulders is familiar as he gives them a casual shrug. “Easy or hard is all the same to us.”
C moves in to join the pair of them. “You go talk to your brother, BG. See if you have any luck calming him down.”
Ash smirks. “Ok, C.”
As soon as she turns away, C’s smirk disappears, and he points at me and beckons me with a wag of his finger. When I approach, he says, “Get your boots on. Let’s take a walk, nephew.”
I expected this, too. Trick and C have seen the girl try to wind me up. And my pretending to take the bait, so I can stand still, inches away from her, staring at her face. Because of how we are together—gasoline and flame—they will want to know what went down.
The thought of talking about her with these guys—or anyone—leaves me feeling surly.
But I definitely don’t want to stand around the crib watching Trick in the position I’m trying to wrench away from him.
I’ll leave him to it and hopefully all of them will get the fuck out quickly, so I can have the girl to myself again.
As soon as that happens, I’ll be calling in my marker of a long night alone with her. And without an audience of assholes in body armor around, I’ll be able to strip her out of every bit of her clothes and use her in all the ways I’m dying to. That should cement things between us.
Soon.
After pulling on my boots, I grab my coat.
When C and I leave the house, Stroviak is with us, on our six, where I do not like anyone.
They try to put me at ease by asking the basic questions first. I share everything factual, without editorializing my admiration of the girl’s driving skills.
Her velocity changes kept the kidnappers from boxing her in for a long time.
Longer than I’d imagined anyone else could.
Instead, I describe the vehicles, the wreck, and the guys I saw.
When we’re a few feet from the shore, C asks, “How were you on the same road at the same time as Ashling to see the kidnapping go down?”
It would be a waste of time to lie and chalk it up to coincidence. They’d never buy that, and it would only drag things out.
“I was tailing her.”
C’s head cocks, and his eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Everyone needs a hobby.” I shift positions, so both men are in my line of sight. Anvil’s at the edge but I clock his movements in my periphery .
“I don’t think you wanna joke right now,” C says. “Trick is almost convinced you had a hand in it.”
“Ah. Is that why you brought Anvil along? Because beating it out of me would be a two-man job.”
“You think?” Stroviak says, his tone dead cold. Not unlike my own.
C stops and eyes me. He’s built for the job, too.
No question. Hours in the gym mean his muscles are as hard as they come.
But I’m something else entirely. I hit the gym as hard as anyone alive, but I also have extraordinary size and strength that are innate.
From around twelve onward, I was as stronger or stronger than everyone else, including the adults. I’m guessing Stroviak was the same.
“War,” C says. “Are you disrespecting me? In my own fucking backyard?”
Grinding my teeth, I give him a level look. “Wasn’t my intention, C. Just wondering why Anvil is here, joining an interrogation I didn’t earn.”
C’s brow cocks with exaggerated suspicion. “Did you not? Why were you following her?”
“She has a habit of attracting dangerous interest. You already know we’ve had to jump in because she incites mayhem on the regular. Used to be J went out with her to run interference. These days, he’s occupied.”
C folds his arms across his chest. Anvil is stillness itself, staring at me hard, measuring everything I say and everything I don’t.
“This body-guarding you decided to take on, without it being cleared by us… To what end?” C asks.
“I wasn’t on the clock.”
“Meaning?”
C knows exactly what I mean, but if he’s gonna press, I’m gonna push back. No one’s entitled to every thought in my fucking head.
“When I’m on my own time, what I do is my business. ”
C studies me for a beat. “No.”
There are Crue rules about things we’re not supposed to do, even off the clock. The rule is no unsanctioned criminal activities, since that could call attention to us. Part of the mission is to fly below law enforcement’s radar for the sake of the Crue operation we’re on campus to perform.
But, as I see it, I’m still entitled to a private life. Sure, stalking’s illegal, but even if the girl had caught me at it, she would never have reported it to law enforcement. If she’d wanted it to stop, she’d have reported it to these guys.
“That girl does not get chummy with law enforcement,” I say. “So following her is not a violation of Crue law.”
C scowls, but it’s Anvil who speaks. “You a fucking ballerina now?”
Our eyes lock. Mine are darker, but I’m sure our expressions match. “What?”
“If not, stop dancing around.”
“If C asks an acceptable question, I’ll answer.”
Anvil’s fist comes at me hard and heavy. I move fast, but not fast enough. I take the hit on the corner of the mouth. I return the favor with an uppercut to his ribs.
C shoves me when I’m mid-move, and it throws off my balance. I stagger for a second then pivot, ready to go. Anvil’s waiting with his fists up, but a 9 mm pointed in my face stops me. C might regret it later, but he’s ready to plant that bullet.
Drawing in a slow breath as blood drips from my lip, I wait.
“You’ve got about ten seconds to answer my fucking question before I use this weapon to make you rethink your life choices.”
There’s no way around the conversation without violence. And I’m not in a position of strength.
“My reason is personal, or I’d already have stated it.”
“More,” C says. “Spell it out.”
Blood trickles down my chin. I rest my hands on my head, leaving it to fall. I could lie and say J asked me to watch over her. He would cover for me, since he owes me big time. But I’m saving that marker for something bigger.
“The obvious one,” I say without artifice. “She’s the most beautiful girl for seven thousand miles… And the only one with the nerve to try to go toe to toe with me. When a girl like that wants attention, she gets it.”
“Seven thousand?” C says.
“That’s as far as I’ve been to date.”
“Toe to toe is a turn-on? Not likely. Defiant women are not your type,” Stroviak says.
“What do you know about it?” I glance his way and note the expression and set of his jaw. Again, familiar. Someone would have to be blind to miss it.
“Assume we know enough,” C says coolly. “You weren’t trying to hide the fact that you’ve visited BDSM dungeons in Boston or that you partook of the submissive girls we’ve got on the payroll for certain parties, right?”
I stare straight back at him. “Is the pot about to call the kettle black?”
“No.” C shakes his head. “We’re just pointing out that men like us don’t respond well to girls who mouth off and want to have the upper hand.”
“Ashling is not trying to get the upper hand with me.”
“No?” C says, watching me carefully.
“No.” Again, my tone is emphatic.
“You really think she fights with you to get your attention? That sounds like wishful thinking.”
“If it was, it would be my problem.”
“It would be more than that,” Stroviak says.
“Why?” I demand. “Because you’ve got a hard-on for her yourself?" I do not buy all this older brother energy they’re trying to pass off where this girl is concerned.
C’s free hand shoots out to stay Anvil from throwing another punch, but he needn’t have bothered. Stroviak’s not ready to throw down over that comment. In fact, he’s got a “zero fucks given” vibe going when it comes to my judgment of his motives.
“Stick to the point,” C snaps. “You’re not gonna pretend that girl doesn’t push your buttons. We saw it. And you put hands on her. Looked like you were seconds away from doing something worse.”
“Something worse? Like hitting her with a closed fist? Be serious, C. Are you really talking to me like I don’t know the damage I can do with my hands?”
“It’s not a question of not knowing the risk,” Stroviak says. “Sometimes someone pushes too far, and in the moment, you feel like killing them. Her brother used to bring me to the brink all the fucking time. If C hadn’t been around to slow the roll, I’d have beaten Trick to death years ago.”
“If you managed to get the drop on him,” C says, a small smirk finally emerging.
“True,” Stroviak says, watching me.
“It’s not the same,” I say.
Stroviak’s scowl deepens. “She talks like him. But only to you.”
“She’s testing me. The same way she tested the powerlifter, Bergmann. He came up short and got eliminated.”
“By you?”
“No, she cut ties before I’d decided.”
“Decided what?” C asks.
“That everyone who is not me doesn’t need to touch her.
” I glance out at the river for a beat and then back at them.
That was more than I intended to say, but I’m getting bored with the dancing, too.
“Here’s the truth. I didn’t have anything to do with her kidnapping, and that should be obvious when you hear the details.
If I were going to take her, we would not end up lying on the dirt floor of a dank cell in our underwear, with armed guys in body armor interrupting us every fucking minute.
If I took her, it would be to get her alone.
And I wouldn’t be too drugged to make it worth the effort.
Also, we would be gone . The Yukon. Siberia.
Far enough away that you’d better bring winter gear, along with your A game, to try to retrieve her, because I know how to hunker down and survive.
” I stare them down for a beat. “We straight? Or do you want to punish me for my impure thoughts? I know Trick goes to Mass like a good Catholic boy, but I didn’t think that was Crue-wide. ”
C and Anvil exchange looks, and something passes between them. “What do you say, ‘Vil?”
Stroviak eyes me. “I believe him.”
C takes the measure of me for another moment before nodding. “Yeah.” Holstering his gun, he shakes his head. “This conversation could’ve been shorter.”
“Or nonexistent,” I fire back.
“Just know, we’re gonna verify that your actions line up with what you’re telling us,” C says. “For your sake, I hope you’ve got nothing more to hide.”
As a matter of fact, there’s plenty more they could uncover if they try hard enough. A part of me hopes they do. A confrontation is coming eventually, and I’m not gonna shy away.
But for now, their interrogation of me is over, and the next step will be to hunt down and do some damage to any remaining kidnappers.
Before that, I could use a shower. Since I freed us, the girl has told me twice I need to wash my wounds so they don’t get infected. The corner of my mouth twitches, pulling at my cut lip. “Wishful thinking,” my ass. She wants me healthy, and that’s not because I work for C Crue.
As C starts walking back toward the house, he says, “You better tread carefully, kid. And when you say no one needs to touch her, you better make an exception for platonic relationships.”
“You don’t mean you, right?” The edge to my voice is hard and laced with things I’m betting they recognize.
“No, I don’t mean me. Or “Vil. I mean her brother. He helped raise that girl from when she was three years old. Stepped in after their dad was murdered. Protected her. Provided for her. Taught her to drive. Helped her with her homework. She’s like one of his kids. His words.”
“But she’s not a kid. He should see that and shift his focus to his actual ones.”
“Yeah, tell him that. Should land well,” C says. “A word to the wise, War?—”
“I know what a good shot he is. Everyone saw it during Crue training.”
“Not what I was going to say. But it doesn’t matter. Seems like you’ve got everything figured out where the girl is concerned, so, good luck with that.”
Recalling the way Ashling dropped three guys in three seconds when I had no idea she had the skills, I say, “Wait. Finish what you were going to say.”
Stroviak keeps walking, done with the conversation now that he’s convinced I didn’t have a hand in the kidnapping.
C turns and waits for me to catch up. When I reach him, he lowers his voice as though he’s confiding Crue secrets.
“She’s close to him. Loves him as much as he loves her.
If you try to drive a wedge between them, she’s as likely as he is to shut you down hard.
The smart play is to try to win him over. ”
I scowl. That’s the last thing I want to hear because it’s already too late to win Trick over. But I do spot the trip hazard C’s pointed out. If I want to drive Ash and her brother apart, she can’t be aware I’m doing it.