Ruthless: A Mafia Step-Brother Romance - Ruthless: A Mafia Step-Brother Romance Part 25
Library

Ruthless: A Mafia Step-Brother Romance Part 25

I wonder if he's been drinking. He'd disappeared a long time, after all.

"I know what it's like, Kaiden. I'm not a baby, and I'm just doing it for the money, not because I want to be like you."

I feel bad throwing that in his face, but it's true. I don't want the lifestyle he has. I don't want to come to a bar just to hang out, to waste my life away and chill out with my friends.

Not that I have any friends.

He sneers at me, and it gives him such a perfect "bad boy" look it's uncanny. Like out of a movie.

That makes me hate him more because I know exactly why all the girls want him. Despite his assholish arrogance, he has the body and the face that lets him get away with murder.

Well, not quite, considering his bail. But close enough.

"If this is just about rent, you walk in there right now and tell Ryder you're through. You can't cut it," he orders. And if I were anyone else, I likely would've backed down.

But I am his sister, and he owes me. More than owes me.

I reach into my purse, taking out the wads of dollar bills, flashing them to his face.

"Look! Rent! Aren't you happy now, Kaiden? I'm not a liability anymore," I sneer right back, and by now I'm pissed.

He is the reason I couldn't go to college; he is the reason I had to take this job, and now he's trying to force me to quit?

He can't control every aspect of my life, damn it!

He's breathing heavily, and he takes a few steps closer to me. He has over a foot on me usually, but in my heels, I come up almost to his shoulders though he's over one hundred pounds of muscle more than me too.

Kaiden is an intimidating guy.

But he'd never hurt me. Not like that.

"Abigail, I mean it," he says darkly.

I take a step backward and shake my head.

"You can't tell me what to do, Kaiden. Get over it," I say as I shove the money back in my purse.

He reaches out, grabbing my face and forcing me to look at him, and there is so much emotion in his expression that I don't understand. Couldn't comprehend. The intensity behind his eyes is unlike anything I'd ever seen, and it gives me pause.

But then he releases me and storms back into the club, leaving me alone in the chilly, dark outside to catch my breath.

Chapter 3.

It's been a hard week, and not just because I've worked every day. That would be hard in and of itself, especially in the heels that were killing my feet.

It was hard because dealing with drunks brings about a sort of mental exhaustion I haven't felt before. Seeing their faces day after day and catching that haunted unhappiness between the hoots and the hollers, it takes a toll.

But I think the worst part of it is that Kaiden is avoiding me. He sneaks in after I've gone to bed. There hasn't been any women. No sex. Nothing to incite my rage.

And he hasn't talked to me since our fight at the club. It's driving me crazy, and I didn't think that it could affect me like it is. I'm torn up about it. The worst part is I barely even know why. I guess it's because I'm invading 'his' place, but even that doesn't wholly make sense. There's something else going on between us, and I have no idea what.

I give another drunk a gin, and he grabs my ass before handing me a ten-dollar bill with a leering grin. I feel like I'm going to be sick to my stomach, and when I try to tug the bill out of his hand, he tightens his grasp.

"I'll do it for a kiss," he says, puckering up his weathered lips and looking at me through his watery eyes with expectation.

But I'm not that desperate, and I let it go, turning my back on him. I need some air, and I look at the bartender, motioning that I'm heading out for a second.

Opening the door, I find the eerie light to be strangely soothing, but when I hear a motorcycle's engine rev up, I quickly move away from the entrance and the parking lot towards the back.

I can hear some voices though I can't make them out yet.

Maybe I'm stupid, but I'm getting curious, and I try to make soft steps as I move towards them. I hold my breath, and it's like by instinct I know I shouldn't be here. As if I'm tiptoeing up to my parent's bedroom at night, trying to hear what they're saying about us.

"Man, I'm already looking at three years, minimum, for you." I recognized the voice just as clear as day.

Kaiden.

I press myself up against the wall of the building, breathing softly through my nose. I can't hear who replies or what they say as the motorcycle gets nearer. He seems to be parked in the lot, revving the engine for some reason.

My ears strain, and I hear Kaiden's voice again.

"You know what this means," he says, his tone threatening and dark.

But then there's another deep voice I recognize, and it's like my blood turns cold in my veins.

"You want to play that game with me, boy? Fine. But just remember that your little sister is here, and if you screw me, well... I'll screw her. In more than one way."

Ryder.

I bite down on my lower lip so hard that it feels like it's going to start bleeding at any second, and tears are threatening my eyes.

It's stupid to be so sensitive over something like this, but I can't help it. I've always been the sensitive one, not strong like Kaiden or my dad.

There's a long pause, and I can picture Kaiden, his face contorted in... what? Would he be angry at that?

I don't honestly know. Maybe he thinks it's funny, just a joke.

But when I hear his voice, it removes all doubt from my mind.

"If you touch a hair on her head, you're going to wish you killed me when you had the chance, you smug fucking prick," he growls, his voice low and hard. I've never heard him sound quite like it, but more than that... he almost got killed?

My stomach turns to lead as I take a step backward. Do I want to hear more? Can I hear more?

My mind is fuzzy as I try to remain calm, to not let emotions overtake me.

"Yeah, well, there's still time you punk. You fuck up on the stand, it's not your life you're going to have to be worried about. Think of Abigail as... collateral."

"You're not going to touch her," Kaiden threatens, and I take another step towards the parking lot. "You touch her, and I will fucking dismember you, to hell with Axel's orders."

Who's Axel? I shake my head. I can't take any more. I turn and head back into the bar and the stale stench of beer and alcohol and leering faces.

But for the rest of the night, I'm completely unable to concentrate. Especially when I see Ryder come in a bit later, asking for ice and holding it to his swollen jaw.

For a second, I think that maybe I should've stayed longer and heard what it was that finally set Kaiden off, but I knew that I'd be better off not knowing. Though left to wonder about it and worry is an even worse fate, sometimes.

I don't see Kaiden the rest of the night, but when I get home, his bike is in the driveway, and I pull up behind it.

Am I going to say anything about what I heard? That I understand now why he didn't want me to work there? Hell, is this why he didn't want me to come at all?

Maybe Kaiden had kept my identity a secret to protect me, and that was why he was fighting so hard to keep me away from him.

And then I wonder something worse... was this why Ryder was looking for a shot-girl in the first place? Did he lure me in close, just to have this over Kaiden's head?

My mind races with the possibilities, the strange layers that never occurred to me even to think about before. Is this why Kaiden had been so adamant about me not working at the bar?

Was that all to protect me?

"Look, one more fuckup like that and Ryder's gonna can your ass," Kaiden says with a sneer. His lips curve upward as he stares down at me like I'd just vomited on his shoes.

He is pissed, and all I did was tell a guy not to spank my ass. I'm getting tired of being treated like meat around this place, but honestly, I'm terrified of leaving.

Not just of what me leaving would do to myself, but my brother as well. Step-brother.

I have to keep reminding myself of that now, because ever since I heard him out back with Ryder, I've started softening towards him. Even though this is the third time this week I've had to hear him tell me off.

"It's nothing," I say with a roll of my eyes. I'm trying to act natural as if I hadn't heard what was said that night. It was almost a week ago, now. I never got a chance to talk to him about it because he's in his room by the time I get home, and then gone before I get up the next morning.

I have no idea what he's been doing, but his erratic behavior is scaring me now.

I lick my lips, tucking some of my blonde hair behind my ear and trying to stand up tall and straight. Look strong. Intimidating.

"It's not okay, Abigail. You're on thin ice as it is."

People are looking at us, but by this point, I think they've come to expect fights between us. Every day for the past week he's been doing something to shame me in front of the customers. Every minor indiscretion was worthy of his telling me off in public, despite him not being my boss.

I get why he's doing it, but that doesn't mean I'm not sick of it.

"Listen, Kaiden, that's sexual harassment in the workplace, and if I'm supposed to put up with that, then I need to be making a lot more than $10 an hour. I'm not a stripper, and if I were? I'd probably be making a lot more!"

He blanches, and I'm proud of myself for a second. I like it when I can get in under his skin in revenge for all the times he's done it to me.

He reaches out, grabbing my upper arm and staring down at me.

"Listen, Abigail, just get the fuck outta here. Go back to school, do whatever goody-goody shit you wanna do, but you can't cut it in this place. If you don't want gross old guys grabbin' your ass, this isn't the job for you, Princess. Just like I told you a million times before."

I tug my arm, but he holds tight and my lip twitches. He's so strong, and he's always doing little things to remind me of that and intimidate me.

"I can do this, Kaiden. I've been doing it for two weeks now, without a break. I'm tired, my legs hurt, and your attitude isn't helping right now."

"Doesn't sound to me like you can cut it, Princess."

His green eyes flash at me, along with that pierced tongue of his, and he thinks he has me in the corner. That I'm going to back down at any second, but I refuse. I'm not going to do that.

I can't!

I mean, part of it is my pride, but not for a moment do I think that if I disappeared, Ryder would forget about me. Or that he'd forget about Kaiden's potential to screw him over.

Oh my God, if I left, Ryder might even think that Kaiden had hidden me away just so that he could tell the judge or whoever about Ryder's business! About the attempted murder or threat or whatever it was that spooked Kaiden so bad.

I'm trembling as I stare up at him, but I lean in close, my body pressing against his as I angle my lips to his ear.

"You're not getting rid of me so easy, Kaiden," I swear, and I lower myself back to the floor, daring him to disagree.

He finally releases me before picking up the nearest pint glass and tossing it at the wall.

I shake and squeak as it shatters, flying into dozens of pieces.

Before I can even gather my words, though, he's storming out the front door and leaving me to clean up his mess.

I've seen him mad before. Violent, even. But this is way more intense than anything else.

I move towards the nearest shards, starting to sweep them up with the grimy broom and dustpan as the rest of the bar goes back to their conversations. The music is loud and has a little bit of static to it, and it's getting on my nerves, just like everything else here.

Just like everyone else here.

I don't realize how fast I was breathing until I lean against the wall with the glass in the dustpan and feel my heart racing.

I know Kaiden's only trying to protect me, but I'm trying to protect him, too. We're all each other has...

Chapter 4.