11. Chapter Eleven
When I climb out of Matt”s car and walk towards the warehouse, I linger behind the small, loud group of my friends, straining my ears, convinced that I could hear shouting from within the car park. The guys reach the door and Matt turns around, noticing that I”m a few metres behind.
”Dude, are you coming?” I nod my head in response and he follows the group in, not bothering to wait for me. I pull my box of smokes out of my pocket and put one up to my mouth. As I spark it, I hear the shouting again. My eyes roam over the darkness of the parking lot trying to pinpoint where it”s coming from as I take a long drag of the cigarette between my lips.
”He was going to kill one of us, Callie!” Okay, that echoed shout got my attention.
I drop the butt to the ground and walk a few steps forward, deeper into the car park, searching for the blue-eyed beauty that has constantly been on my mind all week, especially when I was alone in my room.
My heart speeds up whilst my brain starts working overtime.
Who is she arguing with?
Why did this guy mention someone killing them?
What the hell is going on?
Her soft voice floats across the lot and I”m finally able to decipher the direction it”s coming from now that she”s not shouting and it”s not echoing so badly. Moving closer to the corner of the lot, I stop short when I hear that deep voice talking back to her.
”I was never planning on leaving you, Callie... I went to the bar... I wanted to try and prevent your dad from... wouldn”t be good for you.” I can only pick up on snippets of the conversation because I’m still keeping my distance and I don’t want to invade their private conversation but at the same time, I’m being nosey and I want to make sure Callie is safe.
I can’t see her, but I can see some guys back, partially hidden behind a Jeep that looked like Callum”s. I can hear a soft voice speaking again, which makes me wonder where her brothers are.
Why aren’t they standing here and making sure she’s safe considering they always seemed to be hanging around?
When I hear her sobbing, my whole body goes on high alert, and my heart feels like it”s tearing in two listening to the sound. I’m about to call out to her, to make sure she’s okay when I hear her again, clearer this time. She’s talking about cleaning up blood, and I hear the name Cameron.
Who the hell is Cameron?
More sobs break out into the silence of the night and then they quieten slightly, muffled. That”s when I see a small set of hands now wrapped around the back of the guy wearing a hoodie.
The man”s voice can be heard again, this time softer and comforting. Tired of hearing Callie cry and too curious to continue standing here, I take a few steps backwards to put more distance between us, giving the illusion that I wasn”t eavesdropping. When I see her hands leave his back, I wait a few moments before I call her name.
The guy looks over his shoulder at me, his brows drawn together before his gaze drops to the floor, I see her as well as she sidesteps him and comes into view.
Due to the darkness, I can”t see too clearly, but the slight shine to her cheeks and the way her arms are wrapped around herself tell me she”s upset and clearly vulnerable at this time.
He takes a few steps forward with her, both of them now standing in the dim light of the parking lot and holy cow, if I was into guys, I”m pretty sure I”d drop to my knees right now and beg the guy to fuck me. In the straightest way possible, he”s sexy as fuck; literal sex on a stick. And now, instead of feeling a strange sense of awe looking at this beautiful man, I feel anger sliding through my veins at the fact that he”s with Callie and has made her cry.
”You okay, cutie?” She smiles and rubs her hands over her face, trying to wipe away the tears.
”Yeah, I”m okay. Uh, what are you doing here Brad?” The guy standing next to her is looking me up and down, sizing me up and discreetly shuffling over towards Callie. Huh, territorial is he? That makes me smirk, and his eyes immediately catch it, causing him to frown and his jaw to clench as he watches me through narrowed eyes.
”This is the thing that we had tonight. Our friend Matt is fighting. Nate and Kat are here as well somewhere.” Her eyes widen and then she nods in understanding. She then seems to remember why we”re standing in the car park, and she turns to the mysterious, sexy guy who”s standing there all broody looking in the dark.
”I”m gonna go in and see if I can find Con or Cal.” She turns back towards me, taking a step in my direction before he grabs her arm.
I take a step forward, not liking how comfortable he seems to be with grabbing her. When she smiles at him, I pull to a stop and reign in my jealousy. She lifts her hand and smooths it down his cheek as they just stare at each other for a few moments, silent words seeming to pass between them.
It makes me slightly uncomfortable, feeling like I”m interrupting an intimate moment between them. I don”t like it.
Damn, am I jealous?
”Call me, or text me, Callie. Please. We need to talk about this properly.” She agrees, and he presses a lingering kiss to her forehead.
”Johnny can help us. But whatever you do, you don”t let your dad or Cameron find out, okay?” She nods again as he sternly tells her this and then she pulls him closer to her so that she can wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace. His arms enclose her and he rests his head on hers, breathing her in.
Okay, now I feel really awkward.
”We”ll find a way,” she says before pulling away. His face lights up, wide smile blinding. Jesus Christ, this guy”s good looks are messing with my brain.
I think I have my first man crush and unfortunately, it”s a guy that seems to like the same girl as me. She pulls away from him and starts walking away from him before she stops and turns to face him again, a smile playing on her lips.
”Ryker.” He lifts his head from where he’s staring at the floor and stares up at her, affection clear in his eyes. ”Be careful if you run into Connor.” She smirks at him as she says it and he, now known as Ryker, lets out a deep, throaty laugh and shakes his head at her.
”Until next time, my love.” He then turns and stalks off into the dark trees that surround this whole place.
My love?
That just made him even more attractive… I shake my head as I internally question my sexuality. Callie stares after him for a few minutes before turning and walking the last few steps towards me.
”So, is that guy an ex? Because if so, I can”t compete.” She snickers at my comment and wraps an arm around my back as I throw one over the top of her shoulders and we walk side by side towards the run-down warehouse.
”Yeah, he”s definitely something else,” she says it so softly I”m sure she was meant to just say it to herself in her head but I heard her.
”What the hell are you doing here?” I turn to face the growly bastard, who I now class a friend, and raise an eyebrow at him in question.
“What am I doing here? More like, what are you doing here?” I ask. He scoffs and walks away without answering my question. “Don’t mind him. He’s not very cheery at the minute.” I jump and turn around to find Callum.
”Dude, you can”t do shit like that! It”s creepy. I thought he was behind me again.” Callum laughs at my comment.
”I have a much better voice than Connor. You should know the difference by now.” He winks at me and I smirk back at him.
”I don”t pay that much attention to you guys. I”m too busy staring at your sister all the time instead.”
His face drops and he glares at me. ”Not funny, you arsehole.” I can”t help but laugh at him. He rolls his eyes at me and then glances around the place in search of something or someone.
”Why are you guys here anyway? Didn”t Callie say you had plans?” He nods, still looking around, before letting out a deep sigh and focusing back on me.
”This is what we had planned. Connor”s fighting tonight against some new wannabe.” My brows raise at that.
”I”d hate to be the guy that”s fighting him. I think I”d piss myself. He”s one scary mother fucker.” We both chuckle at that.
“You seem way too innocent to be at a place like this, Nate. It doesn’t suit your vibe.”
“I’m mainly here for my friends, but I also enjoy watching a good fight. You know what they say, never judge a book by its cover.” He shrugs and then continues to study the people around us. I’ve noticed that both the twins and Callie do that, making sure they’re always aware of everything going on around them.
I look around and spot Brad entering through the hallway leading from the entrance to the fight club area of the warehouse with Callie tucked under his arm.
My mouth instantly waters as I watch them make their way over to us through the crowd. She”s wearing a long black dress that hugs her curves perfectly. The dress ends just above her knees, and she”s wearing a leather jacket over the top. Her hair is pulled back into a slick high ponytail, the style accentuating her lustrous blue eyes.
”Pick your jaw up off the floor and stop staring at my sister like she”s a piece of meat.”
I break out from the spell Callie seems to have put on me and close my mouth, which was, in fact, hanging open. She makes me lose all control, and I can”t seem to think when I”m around her - unless my thoughts are about her, of course. As they reach us, she gives me a dazzling smile that makes my body go boneless and my cheeks blush instantly. She then looks over at Callum, and they seem to communicate something silently.
”I”m gonna go help Connor get ready for his fight so that we”re hopefully not here too long, you okay staying with these idiots?” She nods at his question and he gives her a chaste kiss on the head before walking off in the same direction his twin went.
”Does Connor fight here a lot?” Callie shakes her head and nibbles on her bottom lip, drawing my attention to it. They look so soft and full. Damn, I really want to kiss her.
”He does occasionally, but not too often.” I nod while my eyes are taking in the way she and Brad are standing together looking extremely comfortable and close. My eyes land on Brad”s smirking face.
”I think I”m gonna go find Kitty Kat. Callie, are you okay with staying with Nate?” She looks at me when he says my name and the blush that appears on her cheeks is adorable.
”Yeah, I”m good.”
”Okay, well hopefully I”ll catch you later. I still have questions about that God of a man outside.” Callie laughs, watching Brad walk away through the crowd before turning to me and giving me a shy smile.