Pulse: A Stepbrother Romance (14 page)

I stood at the end of the street. The warehouse was a big block of a building, and I’d walked up to it countless times before.

Today was different.

Today I would have to face the crew after they had tried to destroy my music and break my soul.

I gritted my teeth and started to walk.

I’d come in late on purpose, so that everyone would be there when I got in. They would be right in the middle of their first break, which meant all the employees would be in the breakroom, talking about the Yankees game from the night before.

I expected JJ to say something when I walked in the door, but he merely looked at me and nodded. He knew something was up.

There was two ways to deal with someone like Derek. You could succumb to what they wanted, or you could fight them on it. There was no other way. Leah didn’t understand that, but I did. I’d been his friend for going on ten years, and I knew how his mind worked.

“Derek!” I yelled when I kicked open the door to the breakroom.

The light droning of the radio in the corner was the only sound. Three dozen men sat there, staring at me.

The crew were sitting at their table as usual. Derek, and Tim, and Pat, and Clark. Ronnie, and Joe.

There used to be two more. Recker. And me.

Derek rose to his feet. “What the fuck do you want, traitor?”

I barked a short laugh, devoid of humor. “Traitor? Are we seven years old, Derek? People can’t just drift apart and stop hanging out anymore?”

He rounded the table. The rest of the men looked on, quiet except for a few murmurs here and there. They were rough to the last man, and I fully expected that wagers were being laid that moment over which one of us got sent to the hospital this morning.

“And how can we trust someone who’s been with us through everything and then bails? How do we know you won’t go to the cops and try to get us busted for some stupid shit? We’re all in this together, Chris—that’s the pledge we all took. The one you turned your back on.” He walked right up and said the last as he poked his finger into my chest.

“Fuck your pledge,” I said as I pushed him back. “You’re just a bunch of nobodies going nowhere, and you know it. You’re stuck doing the same damn thing every day and every night and telling the world you’re having the time of your lives.”

Now I stepped up to him.

“I know the truth, Derek. All of you are just cowards, afraid to take a chance to better yourselves. And when you see someone else on their way up, you grab onto their ankles, trying to keep them down on your level.” I scoffed in disgust and turned away. “You’re jealous.”

“Jealous?” Derek roared. “Of what? Of you and your prissy little bitch?”

I whirled back around. “What?”

He laughed. “Oh, didn’t think we knew about her? Cute little package like that? Pat saw you guys together a month ago, so I took a look myself. Tight ass on her—congrats Chris. Not worth leaving your brothers behind for, though. Nothing’s worth that. You’re worse than nothing in my eyes. Maybe I’ll take her for a spin just to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” My hands balled into fists, and I wanted nothing more than to bash his smug expression right off his face. I entertained the thought of knocking him down and punching him until there was nothing left to punch.

“What are you going to do about it, Chris?” Derek taunted. He knew he had the home ground. Even if I thought I could take him in a one on one fight, we both knew that if things got physical, there would be nothing fair about how it all went down. “Be glad we took our frustrations out on your computer. It could have been your teeth I stomped into the curb.”

I fucking hate him.
I’d known for a long time that Derek was an asshole, but the depth of the loathing I felt caught me by surprise. Not only had he held me back my entire adult life, but now I’ve made changes for the better he threatened the foundation of my new life.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” I said, “and I’ll forget anything ever happened. I’ll forget you even existed. We’ll never have to cross paths again.”

“How are you going to do that, Chris?” Derek asked. He still had that stupid grin on his face. He was grandstanding for the audience, and he loved it. “You have to come in here every day. We’ll make your life hell, and I’ll enjoy it.”

“No. That won’t happen.”

“What are you going to do, quit?”

I nodded. I hadn’t decided before the confrontation, but it was a simple choice to make now. “Right now. I’m taking myself out of your way, Derek. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. It’s not like you’d want me back in your crew now anyway, hanging out with you guys every night. It can never go back to how it used to be, not anymore. Just let me go.”

For the first time, he looked back at the rest of the crew.

“Fucking drop him!” Tim shouted.

Joe smacked him. “Just let him go, Derek. He was our friend, and now he’s not. That’s it.”

More of the guys nodded at Joe’s words than Tim’s, and Derek turned back.

“I guess we have our answer.” He waved everyone toward the door. “Show’s over, people. Let’s get back to work.”

Derek walked past me.

It’s over.
I hadn’t expected it to go this well.

“Oh, Chris?”

I turned and a brutal shot to the gut leveled me.

There was too much pain in my system to control my body, and I dropped to the floor where I curled up into a ball around the pain in my stomach.

It was a hot knot that burned in my core and sucked the air out of my lungs. I gasped for breath, finding it hard to get any oxygen to my brain. Thinking was impossible.

By the time my vision cleared and the pain had faded enough to move, the room was empty.

I staggered to my feet and shuffled to the door. Before I left, I put my forehead against the cool cinderblock wall and tried to recover.

That asshole is dead.
I would kill him this time. I really would.

No.

I couldn’t let myself be drawn into a losing battle. I had more to live for now than I did a few short months ago. That version of me no longer existed, and for good reason. This was the last cleansing of the bitter past that had held me captive for too long.

JJ sat behind his desk as always on my way out.

“I quit.”

He barely even looked up from his newspaper, just nodded.

I stood there, expecting more. Finally, I left, no longer willing to wait for any more words that may or may not be coming.

When I reached the door, I stopped. He’d said something.

“What did you say?”

He remained bent to his newspaper, but his voice was a little louder.

“Good for you. Go get yours.”

Has the pie been in the oven for twenty minutes, or thirty?

I panicked. I had never tried baking anything before, but I wanted to do something a little special for Chris to build up to the surprise I had for him. I wanted him in the best mood possible in case he didn’t take it as well as I thought he would.

Of course, I know what would really put him in a good mood.

I tried not to think about him pushing me against the wall and taking my mouth, running his hands down my sides and all over my body. In minutes I overheated.
It’s just the oven. It’s making the apartment too hot.

The meal started to come together. The rolls had browned nicely and looked just as the recipe showed them. Even though I hadn’t had the right herbs and had to throw together different ones, the potatoes smelled glorious. The main course—the beef roast—had filled the room with delicious aromas over the course of the last two hours. The only piece I was still worried about was the pie.

It looks about done.

I pulled it out and set it on the rack to cool.

Just as the clock turned seven, the door opened and Chris walked in. He never knocked anymore.

“Holy shit, Leah. That smells delicious.”

“You think so?” It made me happy that he complimented the cooking before he’d even tasted it.

“Hell, yeah. I bet it’ll taste even better.”

I smiled. “You’ve never tasted my cooking before!”

He leaned against the wall and looked me up and down. “You didn’t disappoint the last time I ate something of yours.”

My skin burned so hot that if I looked down I would have been bright red. The throb between my legs at his words left me speechless.

Chris smirked and walked over, standing close so I had to look up at him. “Can I help you with anything?”

I swallowed. I knew if I asked him to get on his knees for me again he would. A couple words and I could have that sweet ecstasy I craved.

“I need you,” I said. He smiled and leaned down but I put a finger on his lips. “To please set the table. And take the rolls over. They’re already in a bowl.”

He growled—my favorite sound—and I laughed.

All the food was ready to go, and between the two of us we had the table set up in a minute.

“When do I get to find out what this surprise is all about?” Chris asked.

I handed him a bottle of Cabernet Merlot and a corkscrew. “Here, make yourself useful and open this.”

He was so sexy when he was miffed. Then again, he was sexy no matter what he did or what his mood. When he looked at me like he didn’t know whether to throttle me or kiss me, my breath caught in my throat the way it did now.

Once he’d poured the glasses, I raised mine and waited for him to do the same.

“Here’s to you.”

“To me?”

“Yes. Here’s to you, and your future as a famous DJ. I got you a gig.”

“You
what?”

“Just drink, asshole.”

He barely sipped the wine before he put it down to continue his questions.

“Where the hell do you get off signing me up for something like that?”

I was still swishing the red around my mouth, savoring the taste. It was a good wine.

“Well?”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t think you’ll get big if absolutely no one hears you play a set, do you? I mean, Kevin and them think you’re great, I know I do, but we don’t buy millions of records. You need to get discovered.”

He shook his head. “This could not have come at a worse possible time. I just lost my laptop, and I only have my older stuff. Back then I thought it was the shit, but I know better now. I’ve grown so much, but I don’t have the music to show that off. I’d rather not play a gig than have to play mediocre stuff.”

“You also just quit your job, remember?” I retorted. “You need cash, and this is a paying gig. Pays well, too. It took a lot of time and effort and the help of Kevin and Liana and Sean to get this to go. You can’t bail now, otherwise you’ll make all of us look like shit.”

I’d known he would be surprised. I’d had an idea he wouldn’t like it at first. It was a huge step for him.

I leaned forward and took his hand. “Look, I know how you’re feeling. The first time I’d performed in an actual play with more than Dad and Steph for an audience, I was scared shitless. Literally. I was nine years old, and I crapped myself on stage I was so nervous.”

That surprised a laugh out of him so quickly his expression didn’t even have a chance to change. “Seriously?”

“I swear to God. You can ask Dad.” It had taken a long time to get over the embarrassment. I didn’t act again for an entire year after the pooping incident. I wouldn’t tell Chris that though, it would ruin the point I wanted to make. “You know what I did after I shit myself?”

He shook his head, mouth open, entranced by the story.

“I finished my lines. I knew what had happened, but I still said my lines, sang a little song, and danced off stage. Because when you’re passionate about something, you see it through to the end.”

“Wow, Leah,” Chris said. “You were one crazy kid.”

“I was,” I acknowledged. “But we aren’t kids anymore. I know your music is good, and I have faith in you. You’ll keep your cool at the gig and do great. And you never know what other opportunities might come out of this.”

He sighed. “I guess I had to start somewhere. What’s the gig? I’m guessing it must be small to take someone who’s never performed before. That’s for the best.”

I grinned. “Well, due to creative storytelling, they don’t know that you haven’t DJed an event. And it’s not that small.”

“Leah,” he said, “what have you gotten me into?”

This was the real surprise. I still didn’t know how he was going to react, but I had an idea it wasn’t going to start off well.

“It’s just a faculty party, not that big of a deal.”

He eyed me suspiciously, so I took a sip of wine and tried to act nonchalant.

“And when is it?”

“Two weeks and a bit. Plenty of time to give your older stuff a refresh and make some new tracks.” It wasn’t, really, but if he worked day and night on it then he could pull something together.

“And how many people will be there?”

“Um, aboutthreethousand,” I said into my wine glass.

He glared. “Leah. How many people?”

“It’s just a few people, Chris, honest. And three thousand of their closest friends.”

“Christ, Leah! What the hell!” He stared, and his mouth worked like he wanted to chew me out more but wasn’t able to formulate the words.

“Okay, now don’t do that on stage,” I said. “That won’t be very impressive.”

He growled, low and menacing.

Why does that sound travel straight to my crotch?

“I’ll pay you back for this. I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but I’ll pay you back for this.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. His mock threats didn’t worry me. “How about you say ‘thank you’, first?”

There was that look again. The throttle-or-kiss one.

“Thank you. Seriously, Leah, this is overwhelming, but I know it’s something I’ve got to do.”

“I know,” I said. “Pie?”