The Bad Boys 2 Up to Me

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His eyes are as calm as the shallow blue waters they so closely resemble. Within a few seconds,
the wisdom of his words and the person behind them cools my temper.
Olivia.
This isn t over, I grind out through my gritted teeth. Nash nods once, his smirk still firmly in
place. For a fraction of a second, I feel another surge of the desire to beat that smugness out of him,
but it s gone almost as soon as it arrived.
We ll find time later. I look forward to it.
I can see by the hungry look on his face that he does. I don t know what he has to be angry about,
but I really don t care either. I need him for one thing and one thing only. Then he can take his ass
back to wherever he came from and we won t ever have to see each other again.
Well, if you think I m going in there without knowing what you ve got, you couldn t be more
wrong. This is going down my way. Period.
Nash s laugh is a short bark. I don t give a shit about saving your friends. Or your girlfriend. I ve
been waiting for seven years to take down the people who killed mom and stole my life. I can wait a
few more days. I ve got my own agenda.
I don t care what you do as long as it doesn t interfere with my plans or put anyone I care about in
danger.
Nash s lips thin. You don t care, huh? You don t care that someone blew up our mother? You
don t care that someone framed our father? You don t care that he s spent years in prison to protect
us? You don t care that somebody took our lives and pissed on em then set em on fire? Nash
laughs derisively. Oh, that s right. You wouldn t. You ve been the beneficiary of all our family
grief, haven t you, you son of a bitch?
What the hell are you talking about? How have I benefited? You mean by pretending to be my
perfect brother, by living his perfect life and having to put up with the assholes someone like him
would associate with? You mean by spending years grieving the loss of every single member of my
family? You mean by visiting my only living relative in a guarded room with glass between us twice
a month for seven years, and working day and night to figure out a way to get him out? Is that what
you mean?
Nash takes a step toward me. I see Gavin flinch like he s ready to step in again; he didn t move far
away to begin with. But Nash stops.
That sounds a hell of a lot better than spending the last seven years on the run. In hiding. I gave
up everything who I was, what I wanted, all I ever had to honor my father s wishes. To keep him
safe, to keep you safe. I got to sneak into town a few times a year to see my brother living my life.
Free. Happy. Alive. While I had to stay dead. Running guns with smugglers. Stuck on a ship.
Every day, for months at a time. I d trade lives with you any day of the week.
You can have your life! I never wanted it. Everything I ve done, I ve done for him. Don t think
you re the only one who s suffered, Nash.
We stare each other down. We re at an impasse. I d never admit it, but now I can see why he d be
angry. We ve both suffered, both paid for mistakes that weren t ours. But maybe the end is in sight.
Maybe it s finally time to be free of the past. Finally.
I know you boys have a lot to talk about, but it has to wait. We ve only got a few hours to get a
plan together. What do you say we put the bullshit aside and get down to business?
I look to Gavin. His expression hasn t changed from the pleasant one that he always wears.
Sometimes it s hard to believe he s deadly. But he is. He just hides it well. That probably makes
him even more dangerous.
You re right. We don t have time for this. I glance at the clock on the wall. It ll be time to
close soon. I ll have to bring Olivia back and fill her in on some of what s going on.
Do you think that s really the smart thing to do? Nash snaps.
Yes, as a matter of fact I do. She needs to know. She has a right to know. Her life is in danger
because of me. Because of us. Hell yeah, I think it s the smart thing. The more cooperative she is,
the better.
Nash rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Obviously he disagrees. But, again, I couldn t care less.
He doesn t have to agree with me; he just has to give me what I need to make sure Olivia s safe.
Permanently. Then I don t give a rat s ass what he does.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN- Olivia
Strange huge men keep disappearing into Cash s office, so when the bar closes, I m a little nervous
about going back there. But I go. I don t really have much of a choice. I m in way over my head.
As I reach beneath the bar and grab my purse, I hear the door to the office open. A sliver of light
pours out onto the floor and I hear voices. Low, deep voices. My stomach curls into a tight knot.
The door opens further and Cash s big body blocks most of the light. His eyes lock onto mine
immediately. Are you done?
I nod.
He turns back and speaks to someone behind him then emerges to walk across the room and lock
the front doors. I watch him, afraid to move. Without my work and all the customers in the bar, the
tension is sliceable.
How did I get myself into this mess?
Before I can formulate some kind of answer, Cash is walking toward me, his face hard and intense.
Let s go back to my office. There are some things I need to tell you.
My pulse picks up and dread runs through my veins like ice water. Cash meets me at the cut-out at
the end of the bar. When I step out in front of him, he puts his hand at the small of my back and guides
me to his office. I can feel the warmth of his palm through my shirt and it comforts me.
I ease through the door to find Gavin in Cash s chair behind the desk and the tall stranger with the
pony tail sitting in the chair across from him, his back to me. Gavin looks up and smiles.
There she is.
I smile in return, although I m sure it s tight. My face feels like it might crack from the tension. In
just a few short hours, Cash will be going to get Marissa. Who knows what will happen then?
Acid sloshes in my belly and saliva pours into my mouth. I close my eyes and take a slow, deep
breath.
When I open them, the stranger is standing to his feet. He turns toward me, leaning back against the
desk and crossing his arms over his wide chest. He s taken his glasses off. And it makes all the
difference in the world.
My heart skips a beat as I look into the familiar black-brown of Cash s eyes. Only they re not on
Cash. Not exactly.
Cash steps around in front of me to stand beside the stranger. As I look from one to the other, I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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