Torn - Part Four (The Torn Series) (6 page)

“No.” She moved off of me with a grunt, stretching the stiffness out of her legs as she sprawled out next to me. “It’s special, though.”

“Every damn time is special.” I almost didn’t say it. I almost held it back. It was too damn cheesy, “special” wasn’t even in my vocabulary.

“Mal!” she exclaimed, laughing with disbelief, “That was almost nice! What’s gotten into you?”

“Getting into
you
is what,” I smirked.

“He likes me,” she said with a goofy smile, imitating that Oscar speech, “He really likes me.”

That and more, baby.
This time I didn’t let my mouth run off. She’d laugh at me, or far worse, get emotional and cry over it. But I thought it, and I felt it.

CHAPTER 6

My pain had distracted me, and Riley had distracted me, and I certainly couldn’t leave out my brother and father, but I hadn’t forgotten about Tyler and what he’d done.

I didn’t share what I knew with Surly and Lockett right away. I knew that doing so would set the three of us on a raging path toward that asshole that would end with his ass beat - and us brought up on assault charges.

There had to be a way to intimidate him, though. One that wouldn’t get me arrested.
Again
, I reminded myself,
arrested again
. That would sure look great on my record.

And somehow I didn’t think that beating her ex-boyfriend would make Riley too thrilled.

Still, a little old-fashioned posturing could go a long away against a coward like him. So the weekend that Riley’s sister was visiting, I took advantage of her distraction. “You guys go ahead and go shopping,” I said, “Have some sister time. I’ll meet you for dinner after.”

She was happy with that plan, so while she went to meet her sister at the train station, I headed up to her old neighborhood to lurk outside Tyler’s building.

At least, I assumed it was his building. If he’d moved since Riley moved out of the place then I’d have to start from square one.

Luckily - or unluckily, depending on how one looked at this act of idiocy - Tyler still lived there. I spotted him leaving in the early afternoon, still looking exactly like the bearded hipster I’d met those few times.

I deliberately crossed the street and planted myself in his path. He was looking down at his phone and didn’t even notice me - not until I shifted and let him walk into my shoulder.

That earned a painful, throbbing ache from my ribs, but the look on his face was worth it. “What do you want?” he asked, taking a step back. His mouth twisted with disdain but his eyes were wide with fear.

“Hello to you, too,” I said, “Didn’t know you lived around here.”

“Like hell you didn’t. Let me pass.”

I shrugged. “I’m not stopping you.”

He brushed by with a wary glance. I let him leave. This wasn’t about picking a fight. This was just a warning.
I know it was you, I haven’t forgotten about you. Be on alert
.

I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough. I hadn’t said enough.
Leave Riley alone
was the message I wanted to send, even more than getting my own revenge.

I’d just have to wait and see if anything resulted from our little bump-in. I didn’t want to have to drag Surly into this but no one could put the fear of God into this little twerp better than him.

○●○●○●○●○

I met Riley and her sister Katherine after spending a few hours at the gym. I was finally well enough to do some mild exercises instead of resting on my ass and bothering everyone around me, but it still wasn’t what I needed. I had to hit something.
One day at a time
.

Katherine and Riley looked alike. I could see the resemblance right away, at least in the blue eyes and the shape of their faces. But Katherine was more severe - thinner. All hard lines and angles where Riley was soft and curvy. They had opposite styles, too. Riley was in her usual tight jeans and black band t-shirt with the middle ripped low between her breasts. Katherine looked just like a teacher in her cardigan and skirt. If they were as opposite on the inside as they were in what they wore, it was no wonder they hadn’t gotten along growing up.

“Very nice to meet you,” Katherine said shyly, shaking my hand.

“You too,” I said. Riley raised her eyebrows at me. I read her question right away -
is she Surly’s type?
I shrugged. I didn’t know Surly’s type any more than she knew Katherine’s. But if Dee was any indication, this girl wasn’t right at all. Dee was scary wild trouble. This Katherine was conservative, buttoned up. Nervous like Riley, I noted when I saw her bite her lip and twist her skirt in her hands.

Well, maybe a nice girl was what Surly needed. It was worth a shot.

We ate Chinese food at a tiny place in Chinatown - dumplings, General Tso’s, nothing all that out of the ordinary, but Katherine seemed to be having a good time.

“So Katherine,” I said, “What do you do for fun? Are you musically inclined like your sister?”

“She’s got a beautiful singing voice,” Riley said, nudging her with an elbow. Katherine blushed.

“I do not.”

“Did you guys ever sing together?” I asked.

“In Church,” Katherine said, rolling her eyes while Riley made a face, “Our mother made us. We hated it.”

An idea formed in my head. “You guys should do something together,” I said, “A couple songs that’re more fun than those old Jesus tunes. You’ve written some songs, right?” I grinned at Riley. This suddenly seemed like one of the best things I’d ever thought up. “You guys should perform them together.”

Katherine looked intrigued but Riley frowned. “Where would we do it?” Katherine asked.

“I dunno, some open mic night or something, bars all over the city have them.”

“Could be fun.”

“I don’t know,” Riley said.

“Hey.” Katherine shook her shoulder. “It would just be for fun. No pressure. Right?”

“Maybe,” Riley said, finally cracking a small smile. I grinned at the two of them and mentally patted myself on the back. I knew this would make Riley happy if she could just get over whatever it was that was stopping her. Was she still upset over Jen and Robin? Or maybe it was me. Maybe she was still working through the shit I’d put her through.

Either way, I had a good feeling about this plan.

○●○●○●○●○

The good feeling didn’t last very long.

We met Surly at a downtown pub after dinner. Riley was eager to see him and Katherine together and watch for any sparks. My hopes weren’t as high as hers but I went along with it.

I knew right away that something was wrong when Riley checked her phone. All the happy energy drained out of her face. “Let’s step outside,” she said to me, her voice as chilly as the night air.

I followed her out, leaving our coats behind. She rubbed her arms against the chill as she glared icy daggers at me. “Did you harass Tyler today?”

I should have seen it coming. I was afraid of him going to the cops if I said or did anything but I didn’t think he’d be such a coward that he’d go to his ex-girlfriend. “I bumped into him,” I said carefully.

She showed me the text. “Keep your thug boyfriend on a tighter leash, please.”

I spat on the sidewalk. “I should have bumped into him harder.”

“Mal,” she said, exasperated, “I thought we talked about this and we agreed. I was going to tell him off myself.”

“Have you?”

“It hasn’t been the right time.” Her voice sounded small as she said it; she hugged her arms around herself. Was she afraid of him?

“I’ll come with you,” I said, “I’d kill him if he tried to hurt you.”

“Mal,” she said with a patient grin, “He wouldn’t hurt me. Not like that.”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

“That I’ll cave again.” She sighed heavily, then jumped from one foot to the other. “Shit it’s cold.”

“I’ll come with you,” I said, “I won’t even sit with you, okay? I’ll just be there.” And so would Surly. And Lockett. The second brilliant plan of the day formed in my head.

“Okay,” she said.

“Before Christmas. Before you go home.” The last thing I wanted was for her to be meeting with him in Connecticut again while I was miles away. Maybe she still trusted him somehow but I sure as hell didn’t.

“Okay! Can we go back inside?”

“Promise.” I snagged her arm and pulled her close. I let me lips hover near hers, just an inch away. “Promise it.”

“I promise.”

I kissed her, and I let the taste of her lips wash away all thoughts of Tyler and revenge.
He’ll get his. Just not tonight
.

CHAPTER 7

“You’re sure you can do this?” Riley asked. I was packing my gym bag. It had been four long weeks since I’d cracked my ribs, and finally, finally, I was well enough to start beating on the bags at the gym.

At least I thought I was.

“I’m sure,” I said, “I’ll take it easy.”

“I heard them break, you know,” she said, touching my side. I could take a deep breath again and I’d regained my full range of motion for the most part.

My head tilted. “Break?”

“Your ribs. I heard the crack, Mal. They can’t heal that quickly.”

Crack? Oh
. “That wasn’t me.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’m ninety percent sure an x-ray would show some damage here. But just a hairline or two. They didn’t actually fracture.”

“They didn’t?”

I chuckled. “That sort of injury puts you in the hospital whether you want go or not, baby. I’ve seen it happen.”

“So what did I hear?”

“His collarbone. Motherfucker didn’t even flinch, did he?” She shook her head. “He was good. Man.” I shook my head. “He was really good.”

“But you won.”

“I was about to,” I winked. It was true. Captain had been on the verge of tapping out when the police broke up the party.
Thank God
. It was bad enough Riley had to see me arrested. Seeing me lose… well, that would have been beyond unacceptable.

“That makes me feel a little bit better,” she said, “But still.”

“Chill,” I said, “I’ll be careful. And I’ll see you tonight, you can inspect for yourself.”

She’d finally asked Tyler to meet with her. It was supposed to be just a friendly drink at a coffee shop. But she was going to gather up her nerves and tell him it was over.

And I had a backup plan to drive the point home. But she didn’t need to know about that. Not until after.
No secrets
, I reminded myself. But also,
better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all that.
Maybe we were being more honest with each other but I was still me - still just a little bit of an asshole.
Not everything changes
.

I kissed her goodbye and met Surly at the gym twenty minutes later.

“Take it easy today, man,” he said as soon as we were changed and out on the floor. I followed him to the bags that lined the wall.

“You sound like Riley,” I said, “But more naggy.”

“Some dumb people need to be nagged.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I was full of pent up energy and they were right, I’d have to be careful. I was way too eager to just let loose and wail on the bag - though another body would be preferable.
Next week, maybe. Patience
.

I tried a few easy wide practice swings just to stretch my under-used muscles.
Much longer and I’ll start getting soft
.

Surly pounded the next bag with repetitious jabs, meant to store away the motion inside his muscle’s memories. Watching him, I felt left behind. While I’d been languishing with my injury he’d been getting better and better every day. It was a good thing I was facing my brother and not him.

Though I had no idea what sort of shape Tony was in.
Work harder
.