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“Keep quiet. I’m not here to hurt you.” A deep male voice fills my ears. It makes me want to scream, but I don’t. Fear has taken my voice. It would be all muffled through his hand anyway, and my family wouldn’t be able to hear me over the chatter of wedding guests that are arriving and the loud music. “You must be Shortcake, the only Harper sister with strawberry blonde hair.” His warm breath is on my neck, vibrating through my body, sending shivers up my spine at the mention of my nickname. Brandon is the only person to ever call me by that name. But this definitely isn’t him.
The stranger backs toward my bedroom door, holding me snugly against his chest as he quietly closes the door with a click. I want to fight him off, but when I try to wriggle out of his grip, my body has turned to jelly and I can’t.
A pulsating beat of panic rises through my entire body. I’m trapped in here with some asshole, and I’m panicking too much to save myself.
He must feel my panic, and he lowers his mouth to my ear again. “Sorry about the whole grabbing you thing. Didn’t need you screaming and alerting the rest of the Harper family. But there has been an unfortunate accident, and Brandon needs you.” All I hear is accident and Brandon and I freak out for a whole different reason.
A scared whimper leaves my lips. Oh God, he’s hurt. Fear hits me quickly, and all I can think about now is how much I need to be with him wherever he is.
My captor turns me, loosening his grip a little, and his dark eyes find mine. He’s a beast of a man, and now I understand why I was so defenseless against him. But there is something there in his gaze, a kindness toward me that eases my mind slightly. “Can I trust you not to scream?” he asks me.
I blink back at him, willing my body to just do whatever he says. I nod, telling him he can. I don’t know who this guy is, but if he’s going to take me to Brandon, I have to trust him. He drops his grip on me. I suck in a full breath, trying to stop the feeling like I might just faint at any time, and slowly turn to face him completely.
Dark brown eyes, olive complexion, with ink running up his arms and disappearing under his black shirt. He has on a baseball cap pulled down low to hide his appearance, but I know who he is, and a deeper uncertainty takes over. “You’re one of the Rivera brothers,” I stutter out, surprised and confused. Those boys both look so similar I can’t tell which one, but it doesn’t matter; the whole family and the shit they’re involved in is scary as hell. Even worse than what Axel and his brother Hendrix are mixed up in because so much of it is illegal. My hands tremble at my sides like helpless little leaves in the wind.
“Smart girl.” He smirks like he’s pleased I’ve recognized him. I guess he likes the name he’s earned around the city of Palm Springs. “Now come on, we have to get the fuck out of here before I’m spotted by someone else.”
I narrow my eyes at him, trying to act braver than I am. How the hell does he know Brandon? This could all just be a trap to get back at Jasmine and Axel after what went down with the Acevedos. “Axel would kill you if he knew you were on my parents’ property,” I tell him, letting him know just who is here with us today. It’s the only card I have up my sleeve, but Axel seems to have some sort of power in our town as well, and I’m not just going to leave here with this stranger, not now that I know who he is.
He adjusts his hat, only slightly irritated by me. “And yet I still took the chance for your man, Brandon. That should tell you all you need to know.”
I stare back at him, more scared than I think I’ve ever been. I wish I could clear my mind so I knew what to do. He could kill me, or worse. I shudder at the thought. If I don’t come with him and he’s telling the truth and Brandon needs me, I would never forgive myself. “I need proof,” I stutter out, my heart pounding in my ears with panic.
“Proof of what?” he grits out, getting frustrated with me. Did he really just believe I would go with him?
“That you're really here to help Brandon and not just out for some sort of revenge on my family?”
He glares at me for an extended period, his eyes darkening, and I can tell most people wouldn’t question him. They wouldn’t be that smart or stupid.
He must come to a decision because he reaches into his pocket. I hold my breath, thinking he might be about to produce some sort of weapon to force me from the house against my will, but he just takes out his cell. "Why did I know I would need evidence to convince you?" he says smugly like he already knows me. He flashes me the screen, and I gasp in shock, instantly wishing I didn’t ask.
It’s an image of Brandon, and he doesn't look so good, head bandaged, eyes closed. A sob escapes me, and his hand comes to my lips again, his eyes searching mine, trying to calm me. “He’ll be okay, but he’s asking for you, or more ranting, in his semi-conscious state, but I figure it’s probably good for him if you’re there when he wakes up, so we have to go,” he tells me, more desperation in his voice. Maybe he’s risking a lot by being here.
This might be the dumbest thing I have ever done. “Okay.” My voice comes through his hand all muffled, but he hears me.
He drops the hand from over my mouth. “Come quietly, okay? I don’t need trouble today. There has already been enough.” I nod, letting him take my hand and lead me through the open window he must have come in through.
I’m risking it all for the man I love, any logic I once had gone, with panic taking over. I feel a desperate eagerness to get to him and see that he’s going to be okay. I have only just found him again. I can’t be about to lose him. Not now, that would be more than I could take. As I follow Rivera, whichever one it is, through the neighbor’s fence to his car that’s parked behind a tree, I pray to whoever will listen that Brandon will come out of this okay. I would give up everything to make sure he does.
Once in his car, he kicks up the engine, and I break into an immediate white-hot sweat, my mind going a hundred miles a minute with worry about how bad Brandon is and what my family will think when they find me gone. Andy is going to kill me for ruining her special day. And she would be well within her rights as a sister, but this is life and death, so hopefully she will understand. I’m sure she would do the same for Brad.
Rivera drives like a fucking madman, and I’m not surprised. From the type of shit I've heard they’re involved in, he probably has years of practice getting away from the cops or some other crazy assholes in a hurry. The thing I don’t understand is, we’re not driving in the direction of our local hospital. “Where are we going? The hospital is that way.” I point in the opposite direction.
“We couldn’t take him to the hospital, love. Don’t you worry, he’s getting the best care possible.”
Don’t worry, he tells me. That is the only thing I can do. I blink back at him, not sure what to say next. I’m no doctor, but from the photo he flashed me on his phone, Brandon looked like his injuries were life-threatening. Surely he’s in need of some sort of surgery, or at least a doctor’s care. There would be only one reason he wouldn’t be in a hospital right now—if this is something gang related, and Brandon is messed up in some scary shit.
“Which brother are you?” I ask, not sure if I want the answer.
His brow rises, but his concentration stays on the road. “What do you know about the Rivera brothers?”
I give him a sideways glance, not sure how long I should actually stare at him for. He’s rough-looking, with his stubbly jaw, but in a rugged way. He is also built like someone who would work out an insane amount, but I imagine they both would in their line of work. I choose my words carefully. “One of you is an MMA fighter, competed against Axel Stone earlier in the year. And the other just took over the Acevedo gang when Ace died.”
He grins, like this is amusing to him, a game of sorts. “You’re missing one.”
I look at him, puzzled. I have only ever heard of two of the Rivera brothers talked about around town. Neither of them are the type of man you want to be associated with.
He laughs. “You’re lucky, sunshine, you got the fighter. If Leo came to your house to collect you, it wouldn’t have been a quick discreet exit out the window.”
