Page 27 of The Wayward Sons & The Vampires of Fortune
CHAPTER 19
Two days. I spent two days pacing that crappy little house, staring at the video feed of Ryder, and using Sam as a distraction.Shamelessly, might I add.Not that he didn’t do the same thing right back. It became easy to fall back into old habits with him. The physical stuff we’d always been damn good at. The rest… well, we didn’t talk about the rest. We hadn’t back then, and we didn’t now.
Besides, it wasn’t like we were kidding ourselves and pretending this was anything more than what it was. We were just biding our time until the rest of the pieces were put into play.
Two of those pieces included Sam’s brother Cole and some guy that looked damn familiar but I couldn’t place.
“You goin’ to let us in, Gray?” Cole asked as I stood with the front door open, blocking his entry. I scrutinized him. Cole and Sam had looked nothing alike back then, and they still didn’t now. His ashy blond hair, blue-green eyes, beard, tan, and thatwhole blue-collar thing completely contrasted with Sam’s put-together thing.
“Who’s he?” I replied instead and nodded to the second guy. Dusty hair and blue eyes, also tanned with the blue-collar thing going on for him. The two were a whole damn vibe together.However, he looked like he was debating if he wanted to hit me or not.
“Nash,” he said, all gruff and grumpy. From his accent, another Texan—probably one I knew but couldn’t remember. There were a lot of those. “Nash Crawford. I’m here to help, and you’re blockin’ the door. Move.”
“Grumpy,” I retorted but didn’t move. Instead, I looked at Cole. “Why are you here?”
“You need help.”
“You hate me.”That much was a fact.He’d never liked me and had been vocal about that fact.
“I don’t hate you.” Cole frowned.
“There ain’t no way in hell you’re here because you want to be.”
“That ain’t true.”
“That’s fuckin’ true,” Nash cut in. He stepped closer, planting a hand on my chest as if he’d move me himself. I stood a little taller. He could try, but I wasn’t one to be intimidated or pushed aside easily. That hand stayed right where it was as he glared at me. “Not one of us wants to be here, kid. Not fightin’ vamps. But here we are to do just that. End of fuckin’ story. Now, you goin’ to move, or am I goin’ to do it for you because I’ve been on the road too damn long for this shit.”
“Do I know you?” My eyes narrowed as I stared at him harder. I was usually pretty good at putting names to faces, but I couldn’t place him, and it was bothering me.Especially with him talking shit.
“Just let them in, Gray,” Sam said from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to find him buttoning up a dress shirt. The pale blue color complemented the navy blue in his dress pants.Fancy.I wasn’t expecting him to be so fancy. “We can’t do anything if you don’t.”
“Where are you goin’?” I asked. Fancy clothes hadn’t been discussed with me. What the hell did he need those clothes for?
“To get Ryder,” he told him.
“Why the fancy clothes?”
“Step aside, Gray, so they can help,” Sam said instead. I did as he asked, mostly hoping he’d give me answers if I did. There was a shift in mood as the two entered the house—our personal bubble bursting with their arrival. They stopped just inside the doorway, and something passed between Cole and Sam. They’d always had a weird connection. Maybe it was because Cole had raised him.Who knew?
But whatever it was, it didn’t sit right with me. Something uncomfortable buzzed at the back of my skull—a red flag raising. It made me wary.Set me on edge.Suddenly, I was a hell of a lot less confident about what was going on in that house. About the shit Sam hadn’t told me.
“What the hell’s goin’ on?” I asked once more.
“Boy,” Cole began, walking right past Sam toward the backyard.
“One minute.” Sam held up a finger to me. “Let me just… I need to talk to him. Stay here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
The lingering stare between him and Nash behind me did nothing to inspire any fucking confidence. I watched his retreating back until he was outside and put all my focus on the man behind him. It didn’t take a lot to figure out that Nash Crawford—whoever the hell he was—was the most dangerous one of the three.
“Now, I know I ain’t the smartest man in the room,” I whispered just enough for him to hear me, “but I ain’t that stupid either.”
“I figured,” Nash replied.
“So, I’d think long and hard about whatever the hell you’re goin’ to do next.” I clung to the faintest hint of my power, ready to fight back if I had to.
“Oh, I already did it,” he said. I turned fast, feeling the room sway ever so slightly. He glanced at his watch, and everything about him was a little fuzzy around the edges. “I’d say you’re startin’ to feel the effects right about now. Another minute and you’ll be takin’ the nap I wish I was.”
“What the…”
