Chapter 1 - Puck
ONE
PUCK
“Still staring out the window like some lovesick jackass?”
Frost’s voice caused me to jump, and I spun around. “Can you give a man some warning? Fucking hell.”
He grinned. “Did I spook ya?”
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up and tell me what you came here for.”
He shrugged. “What makes you think I was looking for you, fucker?”
I ignored him and turned back to the window, gazing out at the trees that surrounded us. It was one week to the fucking day that my sister’s van was blown up just outside of her classroom and the club was still on lockdown. And because of that, I was getting antsy.
I wanted to go on a damn ride without someone following me in the process.
“Not used to lockdown?” Frost asked as he came to stand beside me.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re like me. Used to going out every night. Different woman every morning.”
I chuckled. “Different cab company to come get her so people don’t start talking.”
Frost nudged me. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
I sighed heavily. “I just can’t take being cooped up like this anymore.”
Frost handed me a beer. “Here. You sound like you could use it.”
I took it and cracked it open. “Thanks.”
He raised his own and clinked it against mine. “To resolving this issue sooner rather than later. May we see the inside of a club one of these days.”
I grinned at him before we chugged our drinks back, and for a split second, things seemed normal.
As I closed my eyes and welcomed the burn of the alcohol slithering down my throat, I conjured the bar in my head.
The shining mahogany counter with booths and tables scattered everywhere.
The peanut shells we had to sweep up at least twice an hour because of the mess people made.
I drew in a deep breath and swore to myself that I could smell the likes of tequila sunrises and whiskey sours that the regulars drowned themselves in.
But when I opened my eyes, I found myself still standing at that stupid window.
“Thanks,” I said as I sat my empty bottle onto the windowsill.
Frost snatched it up. “What am I, your mom? Come on, man.”
I snickered. “Sorry.”
He paused. “I don't think I’ve ever heard you apologize before.”
I slid my hands into my jacket pockets. “Just got a lot on my mind.”
“This have anything to do with Diego and Ruby?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t get me fucking started.”
“Do you not trust him?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust him,” I said as I shuffled on my feet, “I just—she’s my sister, you know? And after everything that’s happened since he came soaring into our life with a bullet wound, everything’s just—”
“Fucked?”
I chuckled bitterly. “I just don’t like the idea of anyone with my sister. Period.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, I can relate to that. My younger sister? Sam? She just turned eighteen.”
I puffed my cheeks out with a sigh. “Oh, boy.”
“Yeah. It’s as bad as it sounds. And I know that anyone who looks at her funny or gets close to her with any sort of impure intentions already has their slot on the Frostinator.”
I slowly peeked over at him. “The what now?”
He smirked in my general direction. “Have you ever seen those devices they strap you into and then pull all of your limbs in opposite directions?”
I furrowed my brow. “Yeah?”
“Well, it’s sort of like that, except you strap them down, tug their joints until they’re just at the point of giving up, then you set that fucker on fire.”
I blinked. “Seems like a waste of a very nice machine.”
He barked with laughter. “The Frostinator isn’t efficient, but it gets the job done.”
I turned to face him. “Wait a second, does this thing exist?”
He chuckled. “Why? Want to give it a spin with Diego?”
He barked with laughter, and I nudged him with my shoulder. I didn’t want to laugh, especially if Ruby was skulking around a corner somewhere like she usually was. But I couldn’t help it when a chuckle bubbled up the back of my throat.
But the moment was trashed when Stone poked his head around the corner.
“Can you two keep it the fuck down? Jesus, you sound like a group of cackling women.”
I licked my lips as I swallowed my laughter down. “Can do, Bossman.”
Frost nodded. “Yeah, we’ll keep it down.”
Stone sighed. “You guys might as well know since I’ve got you here, anyway. I’m calling church tomorrow in the morning so we can finally start hashing out a plan to get us out of this damn warehouse.”
“About fucking time,” I murmured.
Stone stared me down. “I heard that.”
Frost cleared his throat. “You know, we wouldn’t be in this mess if Diego hadn’t come to see us in the first place.”
Stone marched into the room. “That man isn’t the reason the cartel is after us. You heard him yourself: they were already coming for us. The entire reason why Diego lived where he lived was to make sure he could find an in with our group.”
Frost held out his arms. “Guess he found it then.”
Stone lunged at his throat, but I jumped between the two guys.
I wrapped my arms around Stone’s brutish chest and dragged him back across the room.
Frost stood there with the cockiest, shit-eating smile on his face, and it made me want to slug him myself.
But I focused on holding Stone back as he drew in deep breaths.
Just like Hayley had told him to do so many damn times before.
“He’s right, you know,” I murmured.
Stone slowly turned his attention to me. “You? Of all people? After he saved your sister?”
Frost scoffed. “He didn’t save shit.”
Stone pointed at him. “You shut the hell up before I toss your ass out into the street.”
“At least he wouldn’t be cooped up here any longer,” I murmured to myself.
Stone’s eyes grew wild. “Again, I fucking heard that, you little drop of shit.”
“Hey,” I barked, puffing out my chest, “we’re all tired of being cooped up here, not just me.”
Frost backed me up. “He’s right. We’re all sick and tired of it.”
Stone took a step back and shook his head. “Well, if you want to take your chances out there, then go right on ahead. But I won’t be sending patrols to come look for you if you go missing. Not if you go against the rules.”
I backed up toward Frost. “Since when have we ever been big on rules?”
Stone’s eye twitched. “Since the cartel turned their eye to us. This is exactly what they want, by the way. They want us to eat ourselves from the inside out. They want to divide us. That’s how they win.
They want to smoke us out so that when we do finally cave and leave, we are either underprepared or fighting amongst ourselves so fucking much that it doesn’t matter if we have a plan in place.
So, you go right on ahead and do whatever you think is best for you, and I’ll make sure to keep doing what I think is best for everyone else. ”
I looked over at Frost and he simply shrugged as Stone stormed out of the living room.
We waited until we could no longer hear his footsteps rumbling through the warehouse, then we headed into the kitchen to get another beer.
We chugged back at least three of them, trying to remove ourselves from the warehouse and imagine a life outside of these decorated tin walls.
Then, Frost stood from the table. “I should head to bed.”
I snickered. “Pussy. It’s only eleven o’clock.”
He barked with laughter. “I’d rather be a pussy than hung over as fuck in the morning for that meeting. I want to make sure my voice is heard.”
“Your answer should’ve been because you don’t want to piss off Stone anymore.”
But all he did was wink at me as he pushed his chair underneath the table. “See you bright and early, pussy!”
I mockingly saluted him. “I’ll have another one for you!”
He turned around and started walking backwards. “Don’t do anything stupid, all right? Promise me.”
I waved my hand at him. “Dude, I promise, okay? You just go have your warm milk and wrap up with your favorite blanket and take an antacid, old man.”
He cackled all the way back to his bedroom, but once his laughter silenced, the entire warehouse stood still. Within a few quiet seconds, I was back to being bored out of my fucking mind.
And nowhere near being buzzed.
“Ah, fuck it,” I murmured.
I mean, who the hell would know I had snuck out for a drink if I came back in a couple of hours? Everyone else was dead asleep since we had apparently gotten old, but I still had a life to live.
So, I crept through the warehouse, gathered up my gear, then slipped right out the front door.
I walked my bike up the dirt and gravel road for almost a damn mile before I hopped on, struck up the engine, and headed back into town.
What was the worst that could happen in the span of two hours?