Page 33 of Disobedient Pawn

I leaned toward Austin and whispered, “Don’t forget Austin. I know where all of ya live. Ya try anything shady out there, and I can promise ya, you’ll never swim again.” I smiled as if we were having a friendly conversation, but there was a good chance that I’d break his kneecaps one day soon. That was what I was good at, according to Da. He was good at wearing a suit during the day and murdering people and taking their money by night. I didn’t want to be him, I didn’t want to become that. We took care of banks which meant money and muscle for those that couldn’t pay.

The bank had been in the family four generations and had gone from one to multiple all over the world. He loved to send me out to collect. He could send Devin, my older brother who loved to kill, but no he sent me. I’d decided it was all part of his sick game, butI refused to be his pawn forever.

Now did that mean I wouldn’t kill someone for Nash? Fuck I would do it without question, but that was out of respect and friendship, not because he was my boss. Nash never treated me any differently and never asked me to do something that he, himself, wouldn’t take the fall for. With that, he’d earned my undying loyalty.

“Are you threatening me, Myles,” Austin asked under his breath.

I pointedly looked between him and Sabastian to make myself clear. “Naw, just reminding you of the order of things. All of your family’s wealth is built on the backs of ours, but with that comes certain secrets that I’m sure your families wouldn’t want shared. I know you. I know all of you, and I know how to destroy each of you in ways you’d never recover. Don’t fuck with us, have a fair swim, and we will get along just fine. If not…well, I’m sure you can piece together the rest even if you do go to Meadow Grove.”

The smile slipped off Austin’s face, and with a glance, I noted the others wore the same worried expression. They may have suspected what we were capable of, but now they would be terrified of all the secrets they held dear to their heart. They would wonder which ones we knew and how we would attack them. That fear was more sustainable than killing one of them. I reserved that for extreme circumstances only.

Austin leaned over his teammates and said something to Sabastian that I couldn’t hear, but as long as it was calling off whatever shit they had planned, I didn’t care.

“Teams, to the starting blocks,” the announcer said. There was no point announcing schools anymore. There were only three of us left. Twelve swimmers determined the fate of the coming year and their school's reputation.

The crowds were always rowdy for this comp, but tonight even the standing-room-only section was filled and loud. The colors of each school were proudly on display. Yellow for Hawking Shores, green for Meadow Grove, and blue for Wayward Academy. My eyes scanned the crowd, and even though I shouldn’t be disappointed, my stomach sank as, once again, my father didn’t bother to show up.

I hopped in the water between the other two teams and got into position. Gripping the bar tight, I readied myself, my mind going blank as I waited for the buzzer. I focused on my breathing and visualized the hard arcing push. You needed to be as agile as a jungle cat to get a good lead.

The buzzer was low and always hard to hear, but I was used to blocking out background noise. The water glittered back at me, my muscles twitching with anticipation. When it finally buzzed, I pushed off hard, smoothly gliding under the water before leveling off. As I broke the surface, I kept an eye on the little flags that singled the halfway mark of the pool and counted down until I reached the other end.

With a quick twist and flip, I was off again back the way I’d just come and knew I had a whole arm's length on the guys beside me. I let the sound of the screaming crowd fill me. I pictured what it would be like to have someone I cared about here to support me. I couldn’t help wondering if Snowflake would come, and would she sit quietly or scream like the rest. The thought of her screaming her heart out gave me an extra burst of adrenaline. I put all I had into the final few strokes to give Theo the best advantage possible. As soon as my fingertips touched the wall, Theo was off. Nash was stoic as he stepped up on the block. His face looked like he was made of stone while Blake yelled and screamed for his brother.

“Fucking move it!” I screamed at Theo even though I knew he’d never hear me. The excitement was pumping through my body as I pushed myself up and out of the water. Cupping my mouth, I yelled. “Move your ass! They're catching you!” It wasn’t true, Theo had pulled a little further ahead, but it was a good incentive if he did hear me.

Nash rolled out his shoulders and got into position. I’d never seen a better jump as he smoothly slipped under the water and rose with a vengeance. I thought I’d seen him at his top speed in the singles, but before he even reached the wall, he’d pulled a full length ahead.

“Shit, he’s killing them,” I said to Theo as Blake stepped onto the block.

“He looks possessed,” Theo said, which was the perfect description.

“Better not fuck Blake,” I said and smirked at Blake who glared back.

“You mean like how you did with Ren?” This time he smirked as he adjusted his goggles and then turned his focus on Nash who was only a few strokes away.

If this comp didn’t mean so much to Nash, I would’ve pushed Blake in the water.

When Nash touched the wall, the guys in the other two lanes still had a length and a half to go.

Theo and I leaned down, and each grabbed one of Nash’s hands to pull him from the water. Gripping his shoulder, I shook him.

“Fuck man, that was impressive.”

“Thanks,” Nash said, but his eyes were still filled with a murderous glare as he looked over my shoulder.

“Forget about Austin. You embarrassed him,” I said, and the corner of Nash’s mouth lifted ever so slightly.

The cheering got unbelievably loud, and we looked up to see that Blake had lost a little ground, but he was still a length ahead and had just reached the final quarter.

“Come on, Blake, let’s go!” We all cheered and hollered with excitement. Blake’s arms sliced through the water for the final strokes of the freestyle and touched the wall. He looked to either side as the other two competitors touched so close together that they would require a photo finish.

We pulled Blake from the pool as we celebrated. The moment was a rare one for us. To simply be teenagers, and forget who our fathers are. To cheer and act immature and let the moment just breathe all on its own. It meant something for all of us, even if only for a little while.

Coach Stevens pulled each of us into a hug before moving on to shake the other coach’s hands.

“Congratulations, I wouldn’t get too comfy on that throne. You never know when it will be yanked away,” Austin said and held out his hand to shake Nash’s. I still didn’t like his cocky tone. He had a gleam in his eye like his shit didn’t stink.

Nash gripped Austin’s hand and smiled for the cameras filming us, but I wanted to kick his ass and hold his head under the water, preferably in a toilet bowl.