Chapter 5
FIVE
LONDYN
The porch light casts a hard yellow glow across the yard.
Tony’s sitting on the bumper of his car, arms crossed, eyes locked on the street like he’s in deep thought.
Tyrique’s curled up on the porch steps, knees hugged to his chest, hoodie pulled tight around his sunken face.
Twenty-seven years old and he looks like a kid who got left behind. My heart hurts seeing him like that.
“You get him fed?” I ask shutting the car door behind me.
Tony stands, following us into the house. “Yeah. Gave him some water, a smoke. Tried to get him to eat something, but he only managed fries. Sarge said get him settled and let him sleep,” he shrugs.
“Thanks.” I toss my keys on the counter, peel off my jacket, watching Tyrique’s back as he goes to his room. My hands tremble slightly, a face from the past flashing through my mind. “You staying?”
“No. I need to get back to the station and take care of some paperwork.” He watches me. “You okay?”
I want to say no. I want to tell him about my connection to Malcolm. I want to tell him that I’m a wreck because I know this situation just got complicated and that shit is fucking with my head. But I just say, “My perp didn’t hold.”
Tony just nods. Doesn’t press it.
“You tired?”
“Yeah.” I rub my face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He steps in close, voice low. “You almost lost him tonight.”
I don’t answer. I don’t need to. It’s written all over me.
Tony and I don’t do feelings. No strings attached and no promises.
That was the deal. We both work long hours and neither of us have time for relationships.
Still, I press my forehead into his chest. I’m tired.
Bone deep, soul-worn tired, exhaustion bleeding through every limb.
One of his arms wraps slowly around my lower back.
The other slides up to cradle the back of my head.
His grip is firm and slightly tender. It’s not soft, just real.
It’s as if he knows I need something more this time.
Then he tilts my chin up and kisses me. It’s slow, intentional, deeper than usual. I open for him, giving into the kiss long enough to feel it, long enough to let some of the tension ease in my muscles.
Sometimes the lines blur between us. And if Tyrique weren’t here, if tonight hadn’t nearly broken us, I’d lose myself inside this man and not look back.
Tony pulls away before we take it further, eyes searching mine.
“I’m glad we got there when we did,” he says quietly. “Another five minutes and...”
“Please don’t…” My voice catches before I can finish. The thought of my brother dying at the hands of a Bastard makes my blood run cold. There wouldn’t be a hole deep enough for them to hide in from my wrath.
With one last brush of his lips, Tony steps back, heading out the door.
“Get some sleep. I’ll check in tomorrow,” he says over his shoulder. He’s halfway to his car when Ty calls out.
“Sis?”
I turn, motioning him toward the couch as I lock up for the night. We sit in silence for a minute, both of us worn out and unsure where to start. So I go with the obvious.
“You okay?”
He nods.
“Yeah. I’m fine… I think.”
I reach out and touch his face because he’s clearly not. He flinches at first, then leans into it like he remembers that I’m his safe space.
“Was I hallucinating at the warehouse?” he asks.
“No. It was definitely Malcolm.”
Ty’s my big brother, but right now his sunken eyes look childlike… shocked, confused, just wrecked at what went down tonight.
“Never in a million years did I think he’d be with them. Last time we saw him, he was heading off to the military.”
“Neither did I. It’s a complication I don’t need.”
Tyrique bites his lip. “He looked older… meaner.”
“Yeah, he does. Being a Royal Bastard will do that to you. They are the meanest motherfuckers on the southside of Atlanta.”
I pause, then ask, “Did you know it was them picking up the drugs?”
He shakes his head fast. “No. All I knew was the contact in Atlanta gave me the location for the drop. Said it was a hot shipment from Colombia. That’s it.”
“You didn’t ask who was on the other end?”
“I didn’t want to know,” he says, voice low. “The less I knew, the safer I felt. Or at least that’s what I told myself.”
Tyrique looks at me, eyes filled with fear.
“You think… you think they’ll come after me?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes. They will. And they’re probably already planning it. Motorcycle clubs are all about loyalty, and Maverick finding that wire put you on his radar.”
His breath catches. “Then I’m dead.”
“Not yet,” I say. “But you’re definitely on borrowed time.”
He grips the edge of the couch like it might hold him together.
“In their eyes, you betrayed them…”
“And now they want blood,” he says, finishing my thought.
He swallows hard. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“You don’t,” I say. “But I do. We move you. Get you somewhere safe. Cut off every contact Go completely off the grid.”
He doesn’t respond right away. Just stares at nothing.
“I’m scared,” he says finally.
“Honestly? I am too.”
“Do you think a rehab center would be safe for now?”
That catches me off guard because we’ve tried rehab several times and each time was worse than the last.
“It wouldn’t hurt for you to get clean. Might help you think clearer,” I say. This has to be his decision and his alone. I’ve yelled, begged, and threatened him over the years. He always disappeared. I’m not risking that again… not with the Bastards hunting him.
“It’s just… hard, you know? It’s hard to quit when I don’t know how to be anything else.”
“You don’t have to do it alone, Ty. We’ll find a program away from Atlanta. That should buy us some time.”
“I’m sorry about all of this, Sis. I really fucked up my life. Now you’re stuck dealing with my shit. I should be the one protecting you, not the other way around. Instead, I’ve ruined everything,”
Grabbing Ty’s hand, I stand, pulling him up into a hug. I love my brother and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.
“You don’t have to apologize. We always said we’d be there for each other, no matter what. If the roles were reversed, you’d be right here by my side.”
“Yes, I would,” he says, pulling back. “But, had I not taken that gap year, I would’ve been living the life mom and dad dreamed about.”
“That might be true, but you’ve got to let that go and deal with the life you have now. First, we get you hidden and clean. Then we figure out how to rebuild somewhere they can’t find you.”
“Thanks, Sis,” he says, hugging me again.
“Go get some sleep. I’ll finish locking up.”
Watching him walk up the stairs, I can’t believe this is where we are. I sounded confident about handling the Royal Bastards, but I’m not. They’re ruthless and for some reason or another untouchable… which makes them dangerous.
Double checking the locks, I set the alarm, and head into my bedroom. Just as I’m putting my gun in the safe, my phone buzzes. It’s an unknown number so I send it to voicemail.
It starts ringing again and something tells me I need to answer this time.
“Hello?”
“We need to talk.”
The voice on the other end is rough but I know it’s Malcolm.
“No. We don’t,” I scoff.
His laugh is cold, humorless.
“Let me make myself perfectly clear, Londyn. If there’s any chance of saving Ty’s life, you’ll bring your ass to the address I send you.”
I grit my teeth, pulse spiking. I don’t fear Malcolm. I don’t fear anyone. If it weren’t for my brother’s life hanging in the balance, I’d tell him to go fuck himself and hang up.
But this isn’t about pride. It’s about Tyrique.
Swallowing the heat rising in my throat, I force my voice to remain steady.
“Send the address.”