Bentley jumped forward and grabbed my hand, yanking me out of danger. “You okay? You okay?” he repeated, turning my arm this way and that to look at it.
It was red and burned from Pam Man’s fingers but it was okay. I nodded, so scared I thought I might throw up. A grunt then a smack came from behind me. I turned, seeing something that would stay with me a long time.
The new boy was still punching Pam Man. Again and again he buried his fist in Pam Man’s face and gut. I had never seen a kid beat up a grown man but it was happening right in front of my eyes. I thought he would never stop but after a while, he did.
Pam Man was half reclining, half sitting in the street near his car, bleeding and cupping his broken nose. Shouting something about how the boy was gonna pay. The boy was standing over him, breathing hard, fists clenched at his sides. He had just sealed his future and changed mine.
That day Walker became Bentley’s best friend.
He also became the boy I feared.
Chapter Three
-Sam-
Not much had changed since that day nine years ago. Walker was still Bentley’s best friend and still prone to anger and violence. The only thing that had changed was that I no longer feared him.
I just hated him instead.
I kept my eyes trained on him as Lukas and I approached through the crowd of cars. Walker was leaning against his car casually, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. A bottle of beer dangled from his hand, resting against his thigh. His faded jeans were slung low on his hips, a slight tear in one knee. His t-shirt looked like it had been washed too many times, but it fit him perfectly. The black boots he wore looked dirty and scuffed. I ignored the way his eyes zeroed in on me, drilling a hole through my body that left me chilled despite the heat.
There were two girls standing nearby, looking like they were ready to rip their clothes off for Walker and Bentley. One was blonde, the other brunette. I called their types pit bitches because they chased anything with a fast car. Bentley just called them the easy catch of the day.
"Crap, it’s my brother and Walker,” I muttered, letting my shoulders drop with dread. “I was hoping they wouldn’t be here.”
“Can’t we have just one normal night without your brother messing with us?” Lukas grumbled beside me. “He’s always on my damn case.”
He didn’t like Bentley and Bentley didn’t like him. Walker? Well Walker was a different story altogether. Nobody liked Walker very much.
“Let’s just ignore them. Maybe they’ll get the hint and leave us alone,” I said, dragging Lukas behind me as I started walking faster. I maneuvered to the left, avoiding Walker’s black, dangerous-looking car.
“Hey, baby sister!”
I rolled my eyes and stopped, my back facing Bentley and Walker. A loud sigh escaped me. I heard the crunching of boots on loose asphalt, heading my way. I was caught. Let the fun at the expense of Sam begin.
Taking a deep breath, I detangled my hand from Lukas’s and turned around. Bentley’s smiling green eyes met mine as he strolled toward me. I refused to look at Walker but I could see him in my peripheral vision, still leaning against the muscle car he loved so well. It would take an act of God to ignore him, but I was determined to try.
Bentley stopped a few feet from me and crossed his arms over his chest, rolling back on his heels. A stray wind lifted strands of his blonde hair, sweeping it across his forehead and into his eyes.
“Whatcha up to, sis?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over Lukas before focusing on me.
“Not much. What are you doing here?” I asked, mimicking him by crossing my arms over my chest.
“Hanging out. You know … a little of this, a little of that,” Bentley said, keeping his eyes on Lukas. “Never expected to see you two lovebirds here. Where y’all headed? You need a ride home?”
I knew where this was going and it wasn’t good.
“I’m fine,” I answered with a sweet smile. “But I’ll see you later.” I turned to leave, grabbing Lukas’s hand again, but I should’ve known that Bentley wouldn’t let me walk away so easily. Like I said – the guy was overprotective.
“I think you should ride home with us, Sam. I mean it,” he said in a stern voice.
Irritation grew in me. With my mother high most of the time and my father out of the picture, Bentley had been the one to raise me. To teach me right from wrong. To keep tabs on me. To be the only one who really cared. He was the only person I could rely on but he refused to acknowledge that I was old enough to take care of myself.
And lately it had begun to annoy me.
“I said I was fine, Bent. Lukas is taking me home,” I said in a calm voice that hid my frustration.
Before Bentley could argue, I started walking, pulling Lukas along with me. I wasn’t going to allow Bentley to boss me around anymore. I was an adult now. Nineteen going on twenty-five. He had to let me go some time.
“Sam, I swear…” The sound of gravel crunched under Bentley’s boots as he took a few steps to follow us.
A deep voice edged with hardness broke through the sounds of loud engine around us, interrupting Bentley.
“Leave them alone, Bent. Can’t you see they’re on their way to find a quiet place to make out? It’s written all over her boyfriend’s face. He wants some and is planning to get it from your baby sister.”
I stopped in my tracks. All the blood left my face. I felt ill, so sick to my stomach I almost vomited. The deep voice that sounded like it was made from piss and vinegar grated on my nerves. Only the devil himself could sound as wicked as that man.
Walker.
I let go of Lukas’s hand but didn’t turn around. All I could do was focus on the rage growing within me and the wild beating of my heart. I heard more boots crunching on gravel as Walker walked closer.
“He can’t wait to get his hands up that pretty little dress your sister has on. You know it and I know it. I wonder if she knows it,” Walker said with what sounded like laughter in his voice. “The question is, what are you going to do about it, Bent?”
By now Lukas had pivoted around to face the two men who were at least a foot taller than him and maybe fifty pounds heavier. He wasn’t a coward but he was stupid if he thought he could take down Bentley and Walker. I’m not sure anyone could.
“Listen, I’m not thinking that,” Lukas argued, standing up to them.
“Bullshit,” Walker snapped.
I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to do it. I fought every single second of it. I hated myself for even considering it. But finally I couldn’t resist. I turned around, my eyes immediately finding Walker’s. He was still strolling toward me, his black eyes burning holes straight into mine. His walk, his talk, his very existence drove me crazy.
I hated him. I really did. The man who didn’t have a decent bone in his body. He had seen in the inside of juvie more than once, making jail his second home. He was the person who had dragged Bentley along on his dark path of destruction, showing him the way. When I was around Walker, I felt hate so deep I wanted to scream.
Walker stopped beside Bentley and smirked. His inky black hair matched my dyed locks. His dark, midnight black eyes stayed on mine, daring me to argue or say anything else.
With coolness I let my gaze drift past him, landing on the girls near his car. They were giving me the evil eye, standing guard over his car like two well-endowed bodyguards. They stared at me, angry I was encroaching on their territory. But they didn’t have anything to worry about. The thought of being with Walker left me cold.
My gaze went back to Bentley as he uncrossed his arms and widened his stance, staring at Lukas like he wanted to strangle him.
“That true, Lukas?” he asked, the words rolling off his tongue like a warning, a threat. “You really got the balls to mess around with my sister?”
Lukas’s back went ramrod straight. I saw his fists clench and unclench, annoyance in his face.
I huffed with disgust, catching Walker’s eye. H
e grinned at me with a smile that oozed cockiness. I wanted to flip him the bird but that would’ve been immature. I had another idea. One he would never expect.
I took a few quick steps that landed me right in front of Walker. I knew standing that close to him was dangerous (if not downright stupid) but I had a brave streak that ran deep.
Looking up at him, I saw a smirk cross his too-perfect face. His eyes, so full of black mischief, glanced down my body then over my hair. His smirk grew wider when his eyes landed on my lip ring. It made me mad. He had made fun of me as soon as I dyed my hair and gotten the lip ring. He said I looked like an elf from hell. But that wasn’t the worst of it. He said my hair was still gorgeous, but now it was just as black as my heart. Like he was the one to talk. He had a massive chip on his shoulder that I wanted to chop off so badly. Here was my chance.
“Ignore Walker, Bentley,” I said with a sweet smile, keeping my eyes on Walker. “You too, Lukas. All that time in juvie has messed him up big time. In fact, he spent so much time in there he wouldn’t know the first thing about getting some unless someone else’s dick was involved.”
Walker’s jaw clenched and the smirk slid from his face. Good. I hit a nerve.
“Watch it, little girl. You don’t know what you’re doing,” he warned, his eyes turning darker.
I took a step closer to him, putting us toe to toe and keeping an innocent look on my face. “Oh, I know what I’m doing, Walker. The question is, do you?”
Before he could answer, I glanced over at my brother. “Bent, did you know Walker offered to show me what he can do with his…equipment? But I said no and now he’s jealous. It’s his hands that want up this pretty little dress. Not Lukas’s.”
“What the hell?” Bentley swore, turning to face Walker.
I smiled another sweet smile and crossed my arms over my chest, staring at Walker. His nostrils flared, his eyes burning with intense hate as they glared down at me.
“She’s lying, Bent,” Walker said, his voice flat and dangerous as he scowled at me.
For a second a thread of fear raced through me. Nobody crossed Walker and lived to tell about it. Just because he was my brother’s best friend didn’t mean I was safe from his wrath. Most times I was the cause of it.
I pushed the unease away. It was about time somebody put Walker in his place and I wanted to be that person.
“Am I lying, Walker?” I asked, layering on the sweetness some more. “You don’t want me? That’s not what you said last night.”
Walker growled and took a step closer, putting his body right next to mine. I froze as he leaned over, his mouth going to my ear.
“Watch it, sweetheart. I bite.”
My heart jumped, pounding against my breastbone. I felt my smile falter and my mouth go dry.
Walker straightened, a knowing smirk on his face.
Asshole knew exactly what he was doing to me.
Forcing a new smile on my face, I cut my eyes over to Bentley, gauging his reaction. Just like I thought, he was boiling mad and it wasn’t aimed at Lukas or me. It was aimed at Walker. The man who had supposedly propositioned his baby sister. Best friend or not, Bentley was pissed.
It was the perfect time to escape.
I grabbed Lukas’s hand and hurried across the parking lot, listening to Bentley cuss and threaten Walker.
“You’re crazy!” Lukas hissed when we were out of earshot. “Who talks to Cole Walker like that?”
“Me,” I said, my grin slipping as I remembered the look on Walker’s face and the way he whispered in my ear. A shiver ran through me but not a bad one this time.
“Did something really happen between you two?” Lukas asked, looking worried. “Does he need an ass kicking?”
I scoffed. Lukas wouldn’t have a fighting chance against Walker. He would have Lukas on the floor in seconds.
“So nothing happened?” Lukas asked, doubt in his voice.
“With Walker? No way,” I answered. “He hates my guts and the feeling is mutual.”
Chapter Four
-Walker-
I watched Sam walk away, that little dress she wore barely covering her ass. It swooshed from side to side, teasing me. Just one more inch higher…
“You fucking asshole! You really got a thing for my sister?” Bent roared beside me, clenching his fists like he wanted to throw a punch.
I sighed and reached into the rear pocket of my jeans for a cigarette but they were gone, the one of many bad habits I had broken. I quit smoking six weeks ago but I still wanted the damn things, now more than ever. I was trying to clean up my act but damn, situations like this made me want to throw caution to the wind and have a smoke.
I watched Sam until she disappeared between two parked cars with that loser Lukas. What she saw in him, I had no idea. In my book he was nothing but a kid. What Sam needed was a man but I sure as hell wasn’t going to volunteer.
“I don’t have a thing for your sister, Bent, so shut the fuck up,” I said, turning and walking angrily back to my car. The brunette, Chrissy something or other, was waiting for me. At least she wouldn’t make me want to strangle her, unlike a certain little pretty black-haired girl.
Bentley followed close on my heels, not happy with my answer. To say he was an overprotective brother was putting it mildly. The guy was scared to death some man would come along and touch his precious, innocent little sister. I had news for him – she wasn’t all that innocent. Everyone knew it. She had a body primed for fucking and a mouth made for sucking. Why she had to go and put a damn lip ring in one of those luscious lips, I had no idea, but it made my dick hard every time I saw it. Too bad I hated her guts.
“Sam’s feeding you a load of crap, Bent, just like always. Why you believe her bullshit, I’ll never understand,” I said over my shoulder, trying to cool my blood down.
“I don’t care if you are my buddy, you fuck with my sister you’ll be pushing daises,” Bent said with a slur. He was on his way to being fall-on-your-ass drunk. He probably wouldn’t remember this conversation tomorrow, but I had to set the record straight. Maybe for my benefit more than his.
“I don’t want any part of Sam. Believe me. She’s not my type,” I said, forcing my lip to curl. It wasn’t really the truth but Bent didn’t need to know that. Any woman was my type but I’d be damned if I put Sam in that category. She wasn’t a woman, she was … Sam.
As I walked up to my car, Chrissy opened her mouth to say something but I brushed her off. I wasn’t in the mood for a fast fuck anymore. Suddenly I wanted something more and it pissed me off.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I muttered, digging in the rear pocket of my jeans for my keys. What Sam did to me made me want to find the nearest liquor store and empty them out. Drink until I passed out and forgot all about her. The thought of her with Lukas made me want to grab him by his scrawny neck and shake the shit out of him.
“Walker. Keys. You’ve been drinking,” Bent said, holding out his hand and swaying on his feet.
I scoffed. “Not as much as you,” I said, climbing into the driver’s seat. Yeah, I had been drinking, but I was a drunk. I could handle my alcohol. Bentley on the other hand was a lightweight. A few drinks and he couldn’t see straight. I might be a dick but I wouldn’t let my friend drive drunk. Even if those friends had little sisters I wanted to strangle.
Unlocking the car door, I got into the driver’s seat as Bent went around to the passenger side. Chrissy and her friend didn’t look happy that we were bailing on them but they could find someone else to spread their legs for. I’m sure there would be plenty of takers.
I stretched out my legs, feeling the springs in the old driver’s seat give. They were shot, some poking through the material here and there. My car smelled faintly like motor grease but it had from the first moment I brought it home. I paid a whooping two thousand dollars for the piece of crap a few years ago, using money I earned working construction. It took a shitload of hours for Bent and me to get the old car
running, but now it purred like a kitten. If there was one thing I was good at, it was working on any type of machine. Cars especially.
I turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life, sounding like the rumbling of an angry beast. Racing parts that I sold my soul to get were itching to race, begging to its have freedom. The car vibrated with power as I pressed the gas pedal to the floor, letting the engine rev up a few times before finally shifting into reverse.
Bent reached over and turned down the radio. Eminem’s voice faded away until I couldn’t hear him sing about girls and sex anymore. I held back a groan. There was only one reason Bent turned down Eminem and I was about to hear it.
“I’ll kill you or any man that touches my sister, Walker. She’s been through hell and deserves only the best. You or Lukas aren’t it.”
I rubbed a hand over my chin before it on the top of the steering wheel. My fingers tapped on the dashboard as Bent’s words echoed in my head.
He was right. Sam had been through hell. We all had. Her and Bent lost their dad. I lost my mom. Their mother spent every dime she earned on cheap liquor and drugs. My dad spent his cash on beer, vodka, and whiskey. Both of our parents had given up on life just because of love lost. Their dad walked out on them, leaving two little kids and a wife. My mom left this earth, eaten up by cancer. The day she died, my dad became a different person. His best friend became a bottle of Jim Beam and his fist had become the only way he showed me any attention. I had received more bruises than hugs. All because love had made him into an angry, bitter person. I swore I would never let it do that to me.
That’s why I stayed the hell away from love.
I focused on the dark road looming ahead. Soon we were crossing the river, heading to our part of town. On this side, things looked bleaker and more rundown. Strip clubs and industrial parks shared space with tiny houses and derelict trailers. Streetlights flickered and trash blew through the streets, filling gutters with debris. Off in the distance, the high rises of downtown could be seen, lit up with bright lights. Filled with a life I had never known.