Craving Truths (The Razer Series Book 3) Page 8

  Grunts from behind forced me to close my eyes as brutal fingers prized my arse cheeks open, my struggle intensifying as I felt something prod between.

  “Hey!”

  Snapping my eyes open, my heart almost burst from my chest in relief.

  “Fucking hey! Police! What you boys doing down there?”

  Hands let go, and I was pushed roughly to the ground, a swift kick to the ribs had me recoiling in pain. “She’s got four days,” Johnno leaned over and spat on me again. “Four fucking days, then we collect.”

  A hard jab connected with my skull and all I heard was the thud of boots going, then footsteps coming. I closed my eyes briefly, the pain behind my temple too extreme to keep them open any length of time.

  “Bloody hell!”

  I didn’t care who it was or how I looked, Johnno and Mikey were long gone. Someone had just saved me by the skin of my teeth from a nightmare of epic proportions.

  “Warren,” a familiar voice said quietly into my ear. “Warren, you okay, kid?” It sounded like Tony. Yeah, it was Tony my muddled brain decided. Thank fuck. “Hang fire a second, gonna call my brother.”

  “No...no...” I managed. Last thing I needed was a detective nosing around my business, Chrissie’s business. “Pull up...” I gasped out, “...my pants...”

  “Sure, kid. Sure.”

  I moaned in pain as he tried to shift me as little as possible to get my jeans back up swiftly, collapsing back to the ground, my energy zapped, my head screaming in pain. I didn’t want anyone seeing me like that.

  “Let me call someone? Ryder maybe?”

  Yeah, Ryder was a good idea. He could help. “No cops.”

  “No cops, I hear you. Fucking hell. Bunch of little bastards.”

  I tried to laugh, the sound coming out all wrong, but it was funny anyway. There had been nothing little about the two pricks, far from it. One on one I may have had half a chance but not both of them. I was goddamned lucky Tony had chanced upon me.

  “You following me, Tony?” Remembering what he did for a living was disconcerting, but I didn’t care because look where I was.

  “Nah, not tonight, kid. Just blind luck.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m gonna call Ryder. You all right there for a minute?”

  Managing to gather my wits about me and right myself, I sat up, immediately regretting the movement. My head swam, and I turned to the side, spilling vomit for long minutes.

  Getting hold of myself a second time, I came face to face with Tony who was crouched in front of me, bizarrely holding out what looked like a pressed handkerchief. I took it gratefully and wiped at my mouth with the clean cotton.

  “Get me to my car?” How I was going to drive home I had no idea, but I asked anyway, I needed off the street, out that alleyway of horrors, the car would be shelter enough for the time being until I figured out my next move.

  “Stay put. Ryder’s on his way.”

  Shit, yeah, I’d forgotten Tony was calling. “Don’t tell him,” I pleaded pitifully.

  “Not saying a word, kid.” He paused, looking around. “They didn’t...”

  “Fuck, no,” I cut in to save him the embarrassment of having to ask the obvious and feeling anymore awkward than he looked.

  “Good. You’re a bit of a mess there, dude.” He waved a hand around my head. Only then did I become aware of the wet trickling down the side of my face.

  “Shit...”

  “Ryder’s in Brighton, he’ll be here in a minute. Sit tight, yeah?”

  So that’s what I did. Sat there staring at the ground between us, playing over the ordeal in my head. Even when I heard the screech of car tires and doors banging from the end of the alley, I stared at the ground. The sorry state I was in, I didn’t fancy an audience and was reluctant to look up to see who Ryder had brought along to his little rescue Warren jaunt.

  Tony assured, “It’s just Shaun with him,” as if he could read exactly what I was thinking.

  I knew Shaun - vaguely - but I did, so that was something at least. Hadn’t seen him since the day he’d thrown my clothes at me in Chrissie’s flat, but I was thankful it was him with Ryder and no one else. Shaun I could deal with.

  Tony’s hunched form was replaced with Ryder’s just as the shakes settled into my body, rattling right down to my bones. I stared at him blankly, my teeth chattering, my head thumping. A warm blanket came around my shoulders and I flinched in alarm at someone unknown at my back.

  “Just me.” Shaun came into view, hands in the air, then crouched next to Ryder. “You all right, mate?”

  A stupid question, one borne out of necessity to say something, anything. “Yeah...” was all I could manage.

  “Let’s get you up. Need a hand?”

  Pushing up from behind with my hands, my wrists smarted, but I managed to stand on unsteady legs which came out from under me as I wobbled. Ryder’s hand came out and gripped firmly at the muscle of my upper arm pulling me closer to him, a hand I was thankful for even if I couldn’t voice it. Determination made me walk out of that alleyway on my own with a little help from Ryder.

  “Where’s your car keys?” I dug around in my coat pocket, noticing the rip under the arm pit. I’d need to buy a new one, fucking great. “Shaun’s gonna take your car. You can ride up in the truck.”

  Once onto the lit-up street, I passed my keys over, Shaun taking them without a word, his features set tight. “Blue ford, next street down.” He walked off after giving Ryder a barely visible look.

  “Come on.”

  The truck was right there, good fortune as I wasn’t sure how much longer my body was going to co-operate, how long my legs were going to hold out. He signalled me around to the passenger side, holding the door open and helping me to climb up into the cab. My whole body screamed in pain. When I slumped back into the seat, Ryder reached over and pulled the seatbelt around, clicking it in place. He took a long moment to scrutinise me then sighed, patting my leg.

  “Be right back.”

  I watched as he stood on the pavement with Tony, their conversation animated. Hardly caring, I just wanted home and in bed. Gently, I rested my head against the seat and closed my eyes wishing like fuck the pain would piss off. Clutching the blanket around me, my teeth began chattering again. Shock, concussion... Whatever it was made me feel cold and sluggish. All I could think was thank God it hadn’t gone further than my jeans around my thighs, it could have been a whole lot worse. Luckily, all I had were a few bruises and not a lifelong psychological nightmare. If Mikey had succeeded in his intentions, without a doubt my head would have been messed up for years to come.

  Almost.

  The word ran around my head until I decided almost wasn’t worth giving the time of day to, wasn’t worth making myself sick over. It was only then the implications of Johnno’s threats kicked in.

  Someone bigger than Charlie was gunning for Chrissie. And if they got hold of her, I imagined her fate would be far worse than mine had almost been.

  The banging of the truck door jarred my aching body and I whispered out her name. “She’s okay. Ayden’s taking her home. I’ll go around once I’ve dropped you off.”

  “Okay.”

  “Taylor’s waiting up. I’m gonna take you down to Beaufort.”

  Having no strength to argue, I kept my mouth shut until we reached the small seaside village I called home. It seemed a lifetime away from the horrors of city life that lurked around dim corners and down dark roads. When Ryder parked up in his driveway, he turned and looked at me sagely, a cue to start talking.

  “Johnno and Mikey. They said Chrissie had four days. I’m guessing if they don’t find her dad, she’ll be the one who picks up the slack and owes them.”

  “Thought as much,” was all he said as he turned to stare out of the windscreen.

  Taylor came out the front door of their sprawling Victorian house and immediately made her way to the passenger side, opening up the door and peering at me inside. Tea
rs shone in her eyes as she lay her hand on top of mine.

  “Hey, Warren.” She didn’t smile as her eyes catalogued the places I was injured. “Come on inside. Let Ryder go check on Chrissie, yeah?”

  God, these people were something else; so compassionate and caring, not what I was used to. It was hard to get my head around someone actually giving a toss about people like me, people like Chrissie. They were a close-knit family that looked after their own, that much was more than apparent. I was a lucky son-of-a-bitch being on the inside.

  “Don’t tell her.”

  “It’s all right.” His hand touched my arm. “Have to tell her something, Warren, you know I do. We’ll bend it a little. Call her tomorrow, let her know you’re good.”

  As I sat at Taylor’s kitchen table while she silently and diligently cleaned me up, took care of me like a mama bear caring for her cub, immense emotion overwhelmed me to the point I crumpled in the seat. Her gentle hands wiped away blood and dirt, eventually drying wet eyes and tear streaked cheeks. When she hugged me, I gave in and let her hold me for a minute. Sixty seconds was all I needed. To know that for a blip of time, someone cared enough.

  Decisions were to be made. I knew that going in with Chrissie, now it was a glaring reality. In or out? There’d be no in between. Being with her could be bad news, tonight proving so. Nothing had touched me until then, and I was more than aware I had a kid to keep safe. While my head and heart fought, the only conclusion I could come up with was to put the ball firmly in her court.

  Walking away seemed like a poor option. These past few months had shown me how much I desired Chrissie, how I’d felt human again when I was with her, even if only between the sheets. I had to weigh it up for the both of us - it wasn’t so black and white anymore. She had to want me like I did her, had to take me at face value and accept I had the motherload of baggage in a spiteful ex-wife. And I had a son who meant more than the world to me.

  There was no point rushing head first into anything if she was only half in. No point if I was only ever going to be a way to get through the lonely nights. We both deserved more in life, so much more, whether she believed it or not.

  I had way more to lose than she did, and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my all if she was only going to dip a toe in. I had to find out, once and for all, where I stood with the woman, because she had the potential to consume me and become the very love of my life I thought I’d never have again.

  Chrissie

  “What do you mean someone jumped him?”

  Ayden had barrelled into my office half an hour earlier, mere seconds after I’d pulled on my jeans, and told me he’d come to take me home.

  I got the impression he was only telling me half a story, being cagey about the details. I could see it in his face. “Some drunk arsehole clocked him in an alleyway.”

  Yeah, right. Charlie’s debt had walked out my club an hour ago with threats on their tongues, I wasn’t buying the drunk arsehole shit. Biting my tongue, I locked up the club and did as I was told, not having fancied going home alone anyway. My earlier idea of asking Warren to stay over had been thwarted when he’d left without a word. I’d watched him on the security cameras as he’d walked out the doors.

  “He’s okay?”

  “Yeah. A bang to the head is all. Ryder’s taking him home.”

  Had he called him to come help? How had he known where Warren was? A million questions ran through my head when I pushed the keys into the lock of the front door.

  I’d taken one step inside and knew something wasn’t right. The smell of bleach hit me in the face on the second step and the sound of rushing water resounded through my ears on the third.

  Ayden pulled at my jacket, holding me back, smelling and hearing the same as I did. “Wait,” he whispered as he walked around me.

  Grabbing onto the back of his jeans, there no way was I standing in the hallway on my own. If he was going through the house, so was I. Clutching my keys in my other hand, I slipped my fingers between them, ready, should someone still be in the house and come at me. I laughed at my stupidity. Ayden was a big muscled guy; my keys weren’t as scary as he was.

  Ayden walked slowly toward the kitchen. “Kitchen taps are running. I take it you didn’t leave them on?”

  What the hell? Walking around him, I shook my head as I entered and rushed to shut off the water. The plug wasn’t in the sink, the water hadn’t spilled over, there was no damage. It was weird. I took a look around the kitchen, startling at the knives laid out neatly on the table.

  “Don’t touch them,” he warned needlessly. I had no intention of doing anything of the sort. “Where’s the bleach smell coming from?”

  I followed Ayden through the rest of the house searching for anything else that was off. Nothing had been touched from what I could see, nothing was out of place. Upstairs was the same. We’d left my bedroom until last because I was certain I’d left the door open wide and told Ayden so.

  Now, it was open a fraction of an inch and the bleach smell was far stronger the closer we got.

  Without even pushing it open, I knew without a doubt some fucker had been in there. The most personal room in the house - of course they had. I cringed at what we were about to walk in on.

  Ayden reached for my hand and I held it so tight, I almost cracked his bones. Nudging the door open, he peered into the room before hanging his head, telling me all I needed to know.

  “You don’t have to go in. Ryder’s coming, let him sort it out.”

  “Fuck, no.”

  Shoving him forward, he stumbled into the room, pulling me behind him. When I took in the state of my room, dread blanketed my whole body at the sight, the source of the bleach smell right in front of me.

  ‘WHORE’ was spelled out on the dark carpet beside my bed, the covers yanked off and strewn into the corner. Shredded underwear lay all around, some splashed with bleach, some just ripped. It was the bed that had me retching the most, revulsion climbing up my spine.

  A pair of my lacy knickers and its matching bra had been arranged on the middle of the bed and soaked in something I was sure I didn’t want to know. Muddy footprints stained the sheet at the foot of the bed and when I looked closer, I gasped in disgust. Peering closer, I shut my mouth and screwed up my face in disgust, the smell of urine hitting my nostrils.

  Some fucker had pissed on my bed.

  “That’s gross.”

  No shit. I looked at Ayden with wide eyes. “You don’t say?”

  Swivelling on his feet, he propelled me toward the door. “Out,” he ordered. “Downstairs.”

  I didn’t take much persuading, not wanting to stay in that room a second longer. Whoever these guys were, they weren’t fucking around. They knew where I lived, had come into my house without forcing the locks and delivered a message I wasn’t likely to forget in a hurry.

  The living room seemed the safest place to wait for my brother. Heading there, I only stopped short when Ayden grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the front door. Turning to look at him questioningly, he put his finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ motion then pointed to the front door.

  No fucking way! I understood what he wasn’t saying, not quite believing it could be true but moving silently to the door anyway. We weren’t in a bloody spy movie; I didn’t get why he would think the house was bugged.

  “Car,” he whispered, moving in close to my back.

  Once we were back in the car, he started up the engine and pulled away from the front of my house, parking two streets away then killing the engine. The reality of the situation hit me full force after sitting in silence for a good five minutes, and I started to shake.

  “Ryder will be here in five minutes, I’ve texted where we are,” Ayden said quietly.

  “There were blokes at the club. There was no drunk, was there?” His silence said enough. “Who found him? Who got to him first?”

  “Tony. For a good job, he’s not too banged up.”

  “Charlie. It was t
he same guys looking for Charlie.”

  “Look, Chrissie,” he turned to face me. “I don’t know, okay. I didn’t ask any questions, just came to get you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t do that, you don’t need to thank me.”

  “This isn’t going to go away until Charlie’s debt, whatever the fuck it is, is settled.”

  “Probably not.”

  “He’s dead, Ayden. There is no Charlie to pay the debt.”

  He sighed, knowing full well what I was saying. “My uncle will figure something out. If it’s about money, there’s no problem, right?”

  “What if he can’t? I’m a dead girl. And as much as I hate my goddamned life, I kind of like breathing.”

  “He’ll sort it.” His voice was full the confidence I couldn’t dredge up.

  Huffing at him, I kicked my foot in the well and gave a shout of frustration. I wasn’t a weak person, prided myself in being strong and independent but this was beyond me. I didn’t even know what Charlie’s debt was. If it was drugs, I was fucked, because there was no way I was being a drugs mule like Charlie had wanted. If it was money, I was still fucked - I had none. If they wanted me? Well, that I could barter with, even then the outcome of that thought turned my stomach. Human and sex trafficking was not a thing of movies and books, it was very real.

  “You were on the pole tonight?”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not you too?”

  He laughed out loud. “Warren gave you a hard time already, huh?” My snort was one of disgust. “Wait until your brother sees you.”

  “You know, not one single one of you is my keeper. You don’t get to dictate my life.”

  “We care, Chrissie. That’s all,” he said softly.

  I burst into tears. This day had been too much, it had only been a matter of time before I lost it. In the passenger seat of Ayden’s car at one a.m. in the morning, in some random side street, seemed the perfect place for the way my life was spiralling.

  “Hey. Come here.”

  Ayden pulled me over the centre console, and I squeezed into his lap longing for some comfort. For too long, or not long enough, I let Ayden hold onto me as I cried into his chest. His hand constantly soothed down my hair and once again I felt myself calming in his presence, my cries eventually abating to soft hiccups. This guy had seen me like this one too many times now. When I thought about it, he was one of the very few people who had seen me at my most vulnerable, the others being his boyfriend and Ryder.