Page 33 of Rough Ride

“Kye?” she asked when he moved from the table toward the stairs. He gave her the slightest shake of his head when he turned back to look at her. She nodded and turned back to her plate as Kye went upstairs to get dressed. Having lost her appetite, she busied herself by pushing the food from one side of the plate to the other. Grier was staring at her, and she made a point of not looking back at him.

Kye was back in only a few moments, dressed in black pants and a long-sleeved, thermal shirt. He grabbed his cut from the counter and kissed Eliana on the temple. “I’ll be back soon,” he said with as much confidence as he could. He cast a stern glare at Grier before breezing from the house.

Eliana felt her chest tighten with worry. What was Max’s play in all of this? No word for days then, the night they were together, he was suddenly desperate to see Kye? Setting her fork down, she leaned back on the stool.

“What?” she asked Grier who was still staring at her. Folding her arms across her chest, she narrowed her eyes.

“Nothing,” he said, taking another swig of beer, “just wondering how long you’ve been fucking my best friend.”

“Assuming that’s any of your business,” Eliana began after gaping at Grier for a long moment, “what makes you think we’re ‘fucking’, as you put it?”

“For one,” Grier answered with his arms crossed, “he’s wanted to fuck you since you were in high school…”

“That’s ancient history.”

“Second, the two of you were half-naked when I walked in…”

“We’re old friends; it’s not weird to be in shorts or pajamas.”

“Third, you’ve got stubble burn and a hickey on your neck.”

“I…” Eliana clamped her mouth shut and a hand over her neck where she knew Kye had been paying special attention. Grier, though pleased with himself, maintained a blank expression.

“Exactly,” he said, tossing his empty bottle into the sink and retrieving another from the fridge.

“Well, as I said before, it’s really not your business,” Eliana defended and pushed her plate away, having lost her appetite entirely.

“I just hope it was worth it,” Grier said, shutting the refrigerator door harder than necessary.

“I think it was entirely worth it,” Eliana said defiantly.

“No surprise you’d think I was talking about you,” Grier snapped when he turned to her. Eliana was taken aback. “Despite what you think, princess, your life isn’t the only one hanging in the balance. Kye will likely lose everything if Max thinks he’s lost his loyalty.”

“Kye’s a big boy; he makes his own decisions,” Eliana argued, feeling the strange need to defend her boyfriend… or lover… or kidnapper, whatever the hell he was to her. “Besides, parting ways with Max is not the worst thing to happen to him.”

“Max? Maybe not,” Grier agreed verbally, but his tone conveyed he didn’t really believe that. “What about the club? Huh? His family?”

“Family?” Eliana asked, patronizingly amused. “A gang of criminals, drug dealers, and traffickers are his family? Good riddance.” Eliana jumped when Grier slammed his bottle on the counter. It made a loud clinking sound, and beer foamed out of the open top.

“That just goes to show how ignorant you are,” he spat, and Eliana glared. She didn’t like being insulted, especially by this thug who had already threatened her. “You march in here on your moral high horse and think you’ve got everything and everyone figured out, completely inept to what’s happening.”

“I didn’t march in here, I was dragged here,” Eliana snapped back, pointing her finger at him. “I don’t need to pretend to have the moral superiority to know what your club does. You’re the reason there are drugs on the streets, violence, women held in your own compound against their will!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Grier asked narrowing his eyes. “There’s shit that’s been going down long before you came back into the picture. Why do you think Kye is so important? Huh?”

“What are you talking about?” Eliana asked, feeling genuinely confused. Grier sighed, his shoulders slumped, and his temper dissipated as he placed his hands on the counter opposite her. He was quiet for an immeasurable amount of time. His facial expressions conveyed the internal dialogue and debate he was having with himself. Looking up from the counter, his brilliant green eyes bore into her as though he was trying to decide something about her. Eliana raised her eyebrows expectantly.

“Max started dealing in currency other than drugs over a decade ago,” Grier said shortly. “That fact didn’t sit well with a lot of us.”

“People, you mean?” Eliana asked, looking for clarification. “Max started selling people.”

“Women mostly, a few kids,” Grier answered, and Eliana felt nauseous. “Max had always organized himself well, his closest allies were called the Four Horsemen. He intentionally kept them split. Only two of the men were in on it, Riggs and Shon were the guys leading the traffickers. Shon was killed during the Defector uprising and to our knowledge was never replaced.”

“Our?” she asked, looking for clarification. “Who would that be?”

“Those of us who don’t believe people are currency,” Grier said with a set jaw. “Ironically we have your dad to thank for that.”

“What are you talking about?” Eliana asked, entirely perplexed.