Page 20 of Rough Start

“I don’t think he knows anything, Max, we’ve been at this for six hours,” Kye said in a low voice. From behind them, Grier took over the punishment and began striking blow after blow to the barely conscious man.

“Of course, he doesn’t,” Max agreed, and Kye looked at him incredulously. “Figured that out after the first hour.”

“Then why turn him into ground beef?” Kye questioned. Max clamped a hand on his shoulder and offered him a cigarette which he took.

“You got a lot to learn, kid,” Max began as he lit his Marlboro. “Between the last stop here in Vermont and the first drop off in Maine, we’ve lost near forty thousand in car parts. We can’t keep escorting our runs across the border. We’re drawing too much attention. Whoever is shorting our hauls knows we’re looking for them. Dean and his fucked-up face are going to be an example to whoever has the nerve to mess with our products.”

“Tensions are high with Vermont,” Kye hinted. “There’s the talk of splitting from Maine.”

“You find whoever has been talking and you send them the message, Vermont answers to me. Got it?”

“Yeah, Max, Grier and I will take care of it.”

“Good boy,” Max said, clapping him on the back. “I’m riding north with Riggs and Shon. We’re going to find this asshole, and anyone working with him is dead.”

“Won’t let you down, boss,” Kye promised, and Max gave him a fond smile. His role as the young prodigy was suiting him. While still working alongside Grier as muscle or backup, he noticed Max was trusting him with more jobs out of town without a more trusted rider like Hamilton. Max trusted him now and trust came with more green in his pocket. Kye had saved a few thousand now. The promise of more kept him hooked. For better or worse, he was a Screaming Demon now.

* * *

“Kye, you want in on this?” Grier asked as he brushed his long brown hair out of his face. In doing so, Grier smudged his forehead with blood. Before he could answer, he felt his phone ringing. Though he hadn’t programmed her number into his most recent burner, he had her cell phone number memorized.

“Eliana, I can’t really talk right now.”

“Kye Driscoll, if you hang up on me I’m never talking to you again!” She sounded pissed. Not that he could blame her. Their relationship over the last month had felt more like a game of tug-of-war than anything.

“Okay, calm down. What’s the matter? Are you alright?” He held his hand over the receiver as Dean cried out in pain, and Kye gave Grier a pleading look. The older man shrugged and paused in his ministrations to grab a drink from his bottle of water.

“No, I’m not,” she said with anger still in her voice. “I’m sick of this. I’m not some fish on a hook, Kye. You’ve been tugging just hard enough to keep me on the line, and I don’t like it.”

“I know, but you told me to keep my distance when I’m out… you know, on business. I’m trying to respect your boundaries with my business team.”

“That’s just it, you’re always out on business.”

“Well, we’ve run into some issues with merchandise.”

“I don’t care,” Eliana argued. “Listen, I’m going to prom.”

“Prom?”

“Yeah, prom. P-R-O-M, prom! I’m sick and tired of missing out on the best moments of my life because of you or my dad or stupid Missy Deacon. I’m going to prom and that’s that!”

“Yeah, no, I get it…” Kye could feel his head spinning. She was talking quickly, and the bleeding man in front of him was distracting. “Who are you going with?” Kye asked, feeling nervous. Even though she was anti-social, Kye knew he wasn’t the only boy with eyes in his head. Eliana was stunning and sweet. Maybe in the weeks he’d been gone, she’d found someone else…

“I’m going with you, ya idiot,” she said in a calmer voice. “You’re taking me to prom. I don’t care if I have to go in a burlap sack. I’m going. You’re taking me.”

“Eli, I have my hands tied…” Dean looked up from his beaten haze to glare at Kye. The irony wasn’t lost on them. “I may not be back in time.”

“Then we’re done, Kye,” she said in a strong voice, but he could hear the emotion behind it. “I’m in love with you, and I want us to be together, but I’m done setting my hopes on men who disappoint me. If you can’t do this one thing then…” she trailed off.

“Eli, I don’t want to keep disappointing you. If you need me, I’ll fight like hell to get back to you in time. I promise I’ll do everything I can.”

“Good.”

“Eliana?”

“Yeah?” Her tone was back to the soft and melodious voice he dreamt of at night.

“I love you too.” He could sense her smile through the phone, and Dean chose that moment to spit at him. Kye turned a glaring eye at him. “Baby, I need to go. I’ll call you soon.” He didn’t wait for her reply before he hung up and drove his fist into the man’s jaw. “Now, let’s talk about the rumors of absconding…”