Page 42 of Rough Choice

“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?” he asked and tossed two more handfuls of fronds onto the stack.

“I do,” she agreed and stopped to watch him as he took out his anger on an overturned barrel. “How do you know Fiona anyway? From what Kye said, no one knew Max had any kids.”

“That’s the way he wanted it. For some reason, Max thought I was the dumb one, but it’s not hard to figure things out when I was asked to watch this pain in the ass teen that wouldn’t stop getting me into more trouble than I would have liked. Some of the seniors at the club know about her, but they never talked about her in the club. I guess Max wanted it that way.”

“It’s clear she’s got it out for you. She must have had a crush on you all these years,” Eliana pieced together.

“Yeah, and now she’s exploiting that!” Grier was back to sounding pissed.

“What are you going to do? And let me just add before you answer that, Kye and I do not expect you to sleep with her or attempt to get her pregnant. If it comes down to it, we’re prepared to pay our debts ourselves. We wouldn’t have all that we do if you hadn’t been around, Grier. We owe you everything,” Eliana said sincerely.

“Well, I don’t want to fuck her, I can tell you that much,” Grier said and kicked a rock with the toe of his shoe. “I did agree to go back with her, though. To the states…”

“You did?” Eliana asked surprised.

“Kye paid the blood price to be relieved from the Demons, I didn’t. I’m still a full patch member, and I don’t want to be on the run from them. Whether I stay a Demon or not, I’m not going to live on the outside or under the radar. Fiona is going to face a lot of opposition taking on the mantle of president. I’m hoping if I head back with her and help her ascend, that she’ll see she doesn’t need a son to have authority.”

“She’s still going to want to sleep with you,” Eliana said teasingly, and Grier glared at her. “After you help her, will you come back?”

“I don’t know… I don’t think so,” he admitted. Eliana felt a twinge of pain well up inside her. “This is yours and Kye’s story, not mine. He’ll always be my brother, and as much as I can’t stand you most of the time, I see how happy you make him. I’ve done my bit getting you here; it’s time for me to move on.”

“Grier,” Eliana said, biting her lip. She walked straight up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. “I can’t stand you either,” she said, sniffling. His shoulders shook with a small laugh, and he hoisted her into a tight embrace. “You’ll always have a place here with us.”

“Yeah, well,” Grier said, trying to cover a sniffle with a cough, “I’ll probably still be able to hear you two having sex all the way in Maine.” They both laughed, and that was when they saw Kye standing in the doorway to the house. He’d clearly been listening to their conversation. His eyes looked melancholy, and his arms were crossed.

“When do you leave?” he asked somberly. Grier stuffed his dirty hands into his pockets and shrugged.

“Knowing Fiona, soon,” he admitted. “I was going to head into town and see what condition the airport is in.”

“Airport is fine,” Kye said, walking the few steps from the house to join them on the pathway. “Had the news on earlier. The airport and major hospitals are all fine. The nearby village is almost decimated, though. A lot of people lost their homes.”

“I need to check on Hela,” Eliana said, kicking herself for not remembering her friend. “Grier, I’ll go into town with you!”

“I think we should all go,” Kye suggested. “Luca said the compound was spared any major damage. The dock was destroyed, but we knew that was going to happen. Douglas and Russel are already gathering timber to repair. I think the best thing we can do is go into town and start helping them repair.”

“Really?” Eliana asked, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride. Kye wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“What’s the point of having all of this and money if we’re not putting it to good use? I spent a lot of time gaining profit off drugs and guns and, even without knowing it, prostitution and trafficking. I think it’s time I did some good to balance the scales,” Kye said reasonably. Eliana stood on her toes and kissed him.

“A lot of people will need your help, man,” Grier said, clapping his shoulder. “You’re a good man. Don’t spend your life feeling guilty about things you can’t go back and change.”

“There’s the wise sage,” Eliana teased and wrapped an arm around Grier’s waist as the three of them walked inside. “We’re going to miss all your prudent advice when you’re gone.”

“I’ll buy you a box of fortune cookies,” he goaded, and Eliana laughed.

“Hey!” All three of them turned to look at the woman walking down the stairs. Having cast aside her baggy black clothes from the night before, Fiona had raided Eliana’s closet and was dressed in a purple tube top and very short shorts.

Her previous attire lent nothing to her figure, but there was no mistaking the robust curves of the woman moving toward them. Her chest was bursting from the fabric and sans bra, her nipples were taut and standing at full attention. Her waist was petite, and her hips were round and full. Thin legs with shapely thighs, her curly red hair was flowing wildly around her shoulders. Both Kye and Grier stood with mouths gaping. Eliana furrowed her brow and pushed Kye’s mouth shut with a single finger.

“Uh, er, good morning,” he greeted, trying to recover himself.

“Good morning,” Fiona said in a friendly voice to Eliana and Kye. Turning her sharp gaze to Grier, she placed her hands on her thin waist. “You!” she said, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “You ready to give me a baby?”

“Alright, don’t get sentimental on me,” Grier said with a grin as he hugged Eliana. Her brown eyes were red with tears, and black mascara streaks stained her face. She hugged him tightly, and he kissed her on the top of the head. They were standing on the runway of the private airstrip, behind them their old friend Alberto had the engine to his plane running. Soon Grier and Fiona would be off, back to Mexico City and then home to the United States.

“I’m not sad you’re leaving. I’m happy you’re finally leaving,” Eliana said belligerently. Grier smiled broader.

“Sure, you are,” he said and brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb. “Come here, you bastard,” Grier said, pulling Kye into a tight hug. They clapped each other on the back and both forced a chuckle.