Better When He's Brave
Page 18
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I pulled the door open and braced an arm on the jamb so that Race would get the hint that I wasn’t inviting him inside.
“Titus send you after me?” I hated the sting I felt at the thought of the dark-haired cop palming me off on someone else. I was supposed to be made of stronger stuff than that. I couldn’t afford to have my feelings hurt every time I was reminded that Titus didn’t feel about me the same way I did about him. I needed to remind myself he couldn’t feel that way. I was not a good person and Titus deserved the best.
Race grinned at me again and I rolled my eyes. It was easy to see how he got his way with no effort. That smile alone could make someone promise him anything and everything under the sun. The boy effortlessly broadcasted good times and dirty, sexy things.
“No. He doesn’t know I’m here and he would probably get all yelly and punchy if he did know. I’ve been connecting the dots that other people tend to miss, so I figured this is where he would stash you. No one would believe Bax would let you hide out at his place. He hates you and would be happy to hand you over to the highest bidder. Titus is working his tail off to make sure no one knows what’s going on with you right now. Bax has been all over his ass wanting information, and I think you’re smart enough to know it’s not so he can send you flowers.”
I bit my lower lip and looked up at Race from under my lashes. “I get it. Bax is spoiling for a fight and he won’t care why I’m here or that Titus might need me for his end game.”
“If it was up to Bax, you would end up six feet under somewhere and be nothing more than a distant memory for all of us, but he’s often shortsighted.” Race crossed his arms over his broad chest and I watched the way it pulled his henley across the stacked muscles that lived there. He wasn’t as imposing in stature as either Titus or Bax, but there was a severe elegance about him that seemed just as threatening while he considered me silently for a long moment. “I want to know what the end game is, Reeve. What happens once this guy shows up? Titus might think he can dangle you out there and still keep his eye on the prize, but I know him well enough to know that if you’re in danger then his focus will be on you and not on taking out the threat. So what’s the real reason you agreed to play this game? Keep in mind I’m not a very nice man when my friends or family are threatened. I have no problem making a call and letting Bax know exactly where his brother stashed you if you don’t want to be honest with me.”
His eyes darkened several shades, and I bit down even harder on my lip. I didn’t answer him and I didn’t move when he took a step closer to me. He didn’t smell like the streets. He smelled good, like something expensive and fancy. It was so out of place in the hallway of this run-down complex right in the center of the inner city that it almost sent me reeling.
Begrudgingly I told him, “I know the guy who was behind the murder of your father. I had proof of who it was, so I brought it to Titus because I want to help him stop him.”
Those forest-colored eyes narrowed to tiny little slits and I saw his jaw clench. “Who?”
I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like giving Race the information he was after would change the game at all. Conner wouldn’t be found until he was ready. “His name is Conner Roark. He was the fed in charge of handling all the witnesses for Novak’s RICO case.”
I saw awareness dawn on his too pretty face. Lord Hartman might have been a top-tier bastard, but he was still Race’s dad and the fact that Conner had orchestrated his execution would not sit well with the blond Adonis. “You can’t stop a man like that with a badge and the threat of bars. The only way to take down a threat like that is with a bullet.”
I sighed again because I agreed. I just watched him as things started to shift and move in his gaze as he put puzzle pieces together. When he thought he had it all figured out, he took a step closer to me and scowled while he demanded, “Did you come back here to set Titus up to kill Roark for you, Reeve? Are you playing with people’s lives again? Because if you are, I have to tell you it’s going to end much worse for you this time around.”
I gulped and narrowed my eyes at him. I refused to be intimidated by anyone, even if Race and his words had a cold sweat breaking out across my skin.
“I came back to help. That’s it. I don’t care if Conner rots behind bars or gets a slug between the eyes. He’s a lunatic. I know there are still good men and women here. Titus and Dovie, for instance. I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“You think that’s enough?”
I pushed off the doorjamb and crossed my arms so that I matched his pose. “No. There will never be enough, but it’s a start.”
He lifted an eyebrow at me and narrowed his eyes just a fraction. “Well, if Titus doesn’t stop this guy for good, there are plenty of people willing to step in and finish the task. I just wondered if you were really conniving enough to know that.” He smirked at me again and now that dimple made my tummy go tight. “I think you are. I think you know that Roark has to be put down like a dog and that Titus is too moral, too focused on the right side of the law to do it, but he has enough people that care about him, that want to make sure he keeps his hands clean of the mess the rest of us muck around in, to take care of that problem for him.”
I breathed out a heavy sigh and shifted my stance so that my hair slithered over my shoulder. It wasn’t exactly a hair toss but it was close. “Think whatever you want, Race. Conner needs to be stopped, and whether you, Bax, or Titus like it, the road leading to him goes right through me.”
He gave a bitter-sounding laugh and lifted his hand to rub his thumb along his jawline. He looked like a big golden lion getting ready to pounce on its prey. Too bad for him I had never been on anyone’s menu. I was the hunter not the hunted.
“You must be unbelievable in bed, Reeve. You have a good man willing to do bad things for you and a bad man hell-bent on showing you just how evil he can be.”
I scoffed at him and lifted one of my own eyebrows in response to his taunt. “How sad for you that you’ll never know, Hartman.”
I didn’t wait for a response; instead I slammed the door in his face and secured the chain. I heard his chuckle through the door as I stomped over to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. It made me so mad at myself that my hands were shaking. I had to get my emotions in check. No one was on my side. No one trusted me or my motivations for being here, and I had to get used to that fact. I was not part of the team and I had to stop letting the constant reminders of that get to me. If I let my feelings show, I would give away what I was really planning before it was showtime, and that couldn’t happen.
“Titus send you after me?” I hated the sting I felt at the thought of the dark-haired cop palming me off on someone else. I was supposed to be made of stronger stuff than that. I couldn’t afford to have my feelings hurt every time I was reminded that Titus didn’t feel about me the same way I did about him. I needed to remind myself he couldn’t feel that way. I was not a good person and Titus deserved the best.
Race grinned at me again and I rolled my eyes. It was easy to see how he got his way with no effort. That smile alone could make someone promise him anything and everything under the sun. The boy effortlessly broadcasted good times and dirty, sexy things.
“No. He doesn’t know I’m here and he would probably get all yelly and punchy if he did know. I’ve been connecting the dots that other people tend to miss, so I figured this is where he would stash you. No one would believe Bax would let you hide out at his place. He hates you and would be happy to hand you over to the highest bidder. Titus is working his tail off to make sure no one knows what’s going on with you right now. Bax has been all over his ass wanting information, and I think you’re smart enough to know it’s not so he can send you flowers.”
I bit my lower lip and looked up at Race from under my lashes. “I get it. Bax is spoiling for a fight and he won’t care why I’m here or that Titus might need me for his end game.”
“If it was up to Bax, you would end up six feet under somewhere and be nothing more than a distant memory for all of us, but he’s often shortsighted.” Race crossed his arms over his broad chest and I watched the way it pulled his henley across the stacked muscles that lived there. He wasn’t as imposing in stature as either Titus or Bax, but there was a severe elegance about him that seemed just as threatening while he considered me silently for a long moment. “I want to know what the end game is, Reeve. What happens once this guy shows up? Titus might think he can dangle you out there and still keep his eye on the prize, but I know him well enough to know that if you’re in danger then his focus will be on you and not on taking out the threat. So what’s the real reason you agreed to play this game? Keep in mind I’m not a very nice man when my friends or family are threatened. I have no problem making a call and letting Bax know exactly where his brother stashed you if you don’t want to be honest with me.”
His eyes darkened several shades, and I bit down even harder on my lip. I didn’t answer him and I didn’t move when he took a step closer to me. He didn’t smell like the streets. He smelled good, like something expensive and fancy. It was so out of place in the hallway of this run-down complex right in the center of the inner city that it almost sent me reeling.
Begrudgingly I told him, “I know the guy who was behind the murder of your father. I had proof of who it was, so I brought it to Titus because I want to help him stop him.”
Those forest-colored eyes narrowed to tiny little slits and I saw his jaw clench. “Who?”
I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like giving Race the information he was after would change the game at all. Conner wouldn’t be found until he was ready. “His name is Conner Roark. He was the fed in charge of handling all the witnesses for Novak’s RICO case.”
I saw awareness dawn on his too pretty face. Lord Hartman might have been a top-tier bastard, but he was still Race’s dad and the fact that Conner had orchestrated his execution would not sit well with the blond Adonis. “You can’t stop a man like that with a badge and the threat of bars. The only way to take down a threat like that is with a bullet.”
I sighed again because I agreed. I just watched him as things started to shift and move in his gaze as he put puzzle pieces together. When he thought he had it all figured out, he took a step closer to me and scowled while he demanded, “Did you come back here to set Titus up to kill Roark for you, Reeve? Are you playing with people’s lives again? Because if you are, I have to tell you it’s going to end much worse for you this time around.”
I gulped and narrowed my eyes at him. I refused to be intimidated by anyone, even if Race and his words had a cold sweat breaking out across my skin.
“I came back to help. That’s it. I don’t care if Conner rots behind bars or gets a slug between the eyes. He’s a lunatic. I know there are still good men and women here. Titus and Dovie, for instance. I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“You think that’s enough?”
I pushed off the doorjamb and crossed my arms so that I matched his pose. “No. There will never be enough, but it’s a start.”
He lifted an eyebrow at me and narrowed his eyes just a fraction. “Well, if Titus doesn’t stop this guy for good, there are plenty of people willing to step in and finish the task. I just wondered if you were really conniving enough to know that.” He smirked at me again and now that dimple made my tummy go tight. “I think you are. I think you know that Roark has to be put down like a dog and that Titus is too moral, too focused on the right side of the law to do it, but he has enough people that care about him, that want to make sure he keeps his hands clean of the mess the rest of us muck around in, to take care of that problem for him.”
I breathed out a heavy sigh and shifted my stance so that my hair slithered over my shoulder. It wasn’t exactly a hair toss but it was close. “Think whatever you want, Race. Conner needs to be stopped, and whether you, Bax, or Titus like it, the road leading to him goes right through me.”
He gave a bitter-sounding laugh and lifted his hand to rub his thumb along his jawline. He looked like a big golden lion getting ready to pounce on its prey. Too bad for him I had never been on anyone’s menu. I was the hunter not the hunted.
“You must be unbelievable in bed, Reeve. You have a good man willing to do bad things for you and a bad man hell-bent on showing you just how evil he can be.”
I scoffed at him and lifted one of my own eyebrows in response to his taunt. “How sad for you that you’ll never know, Hartman.”
I didn’t wait for a response; instead I slammed the door in his face and secured the chain. I heard his chuckle through the door as I stomped over to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. It made me so mad at myself that my hands were shaking. I had to get my emotions in check. No one was on my side. No one trusted me or my motivations for being here, and I had to get used to that fact. I was not part of the team and I had to stop letting the constant reminders of that get to me. If I let my feelings show, I would give away what I was really planning before it was showtime, and that couldn’t happen.
