Page 104 of Second Sets Omnibus
Humming a wild tune under his breath, he finally finds a tiny pink thong and holds it up in the air in victory.
“Ah, look! Your panties are Simba, Pretty Girl. Welcome to the winning circle of life! You're going to win me a race.” He bobs his head, shoving the tiny panties into his pocket, and shuts the drawer with a thud.
Standing before me, Rad buttons the top of his distressed jeans and grins more, taking me in with lustful eyes. I groan, shaking my head, too damn tired to deal with his crazy ass. By the gleaming look on his face and his delicious shirtless chest, I know exactly where he's headed.
“You've got a race?” I surmise, stepping up to Callum, who rests on the edge of my bed in his cute Batman boxers. His golden skin glows in the late morning sun beaming through the opened curtains.
“Your-your pills,” he says, opening his hand and revealing two tiny pills. One is for pain, and the other is a preventative antibiotic in case of infection.
“Thank you.” Throwing my head back, I wash the pills with the rest of the cold water and hum as they go down my throat. In thirty minutes or less, the pain will evaporate, and I'll be free for another four hours.
“Yes, Pretty Girl! It's a huge race. Some fools from up north are coming down and entering the race. Can you believe it? Someone thinks they can beat the speedy Rad,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes and thumping his chest. “But I'm the best, baby! No losing for me. And now that I have your pretty girl panties in my pocket, I'm sure going to cross that finish line a thousand dollars richer.” He nods a few times, so damn sure of himself.
“The horror,” I mumble, groaning when I climb back into bed and cover my face with my hands. I don't want to see the sun or the outside for another five days.
Rad huffs and heavy footsteps march toward the bed with intent.
“Pretty Girl, you can't just lie in bed for the next month. You have to get up and do things,” Rad mumbles, kneeling at the side of the bed. “Don't waste away,” he mumbles, kissing my cheek when I sigh. “Come play with me?” he asks with a hopefulexpression, giving me his best puppy dog eyes and puffing out his lip.
“Not today,” I whisper, leaning into his fingers as they stroke through my hair and disappointment pulls at his face.
The fact is, I'd rather hide away in my damn apartment than show my broken face to the world. Not until it heals. The moment they showed up and barged into my hospital room, I wanted to hide and not let them see me. Somehow, they've peeled back every layer protecting me, getting right down to my vulnerabilities. They see the real me hiding behind my snark and knife—the real River. A cold sweat covers my skin at the realization, and I blow out a breath.
“I-I know,” Callum says, scooping me into the side of his body, infecting me with his warmth. Snuggling deeper into him, I sigh, basking in his comfort and letting everything else disappear.
“Kieran and Asher will be off house arrest soon,” Rad says with a determined look, clenching his fist.
“Why haven't they ever moved in with you?” I ask, peeking an eye open, feeling something open up in the pit of my stomach.
They both avoid my eyes, staring at the comforter, the floor, and each other's eyes with an intense stare. Shaking their heads in unison, they blow it off. But I know something is up with Asher's dad. I remember him from years ago. The man who marched through the complex in a tight suit, sticking his nose in the air. Once he made it to Gloria's apartment, he'd promptly kick Kieran out, sometimes without shoes. Then, we'd meet on the hill and bask in each other's company.
“Their-their father's the biggest dick around,” Callum mutters, burying his nose in my neck and hiding the guilt crossing his face.
“They'll be out tomorrow. Thank God. One bark from Asher, and you'll be out of bed before he can slap you with his dick.”
I wrinkle my nose. “They're twenty-one… why're they still listening to him? Like they're grounded? That's stupid.” Swallowing hard, I wonder how hard life is for them. If they can't leave, he has some sort of hold on the boys, keeping them there. But how? And why?
Rad's lips turn down, and his face softens. “I know, Pretty Girl. It's hard to understand. Believe me. We've tried to get them to move in and say screw school and go all in for the band…” He shakes his head, running a hand through his unruly mullet. “They just can't, babe. They… he's…”
“He's holding something over them and-and I don't know what he does to them, but I don't think it's good. Not with Nigel Montgomery hanging around,” Callum mumbles with sadness, tinting his tone.
“Does he?” I ask, swallowing my words before they can even leave my tongue.
“They don't say,” Rad says, picking at the comforter and scrunching his face. “But we do what we can. However, we know how,” he mumbles, swallowing thickly.
“Okay,” I whisper, unconvinced of their words. Someone has to be able to get them out if they're in a bad situation.
Clearing his throat, Rad straightens up and takes my hands. “Well, Pretty Girl. You're staying here with Callum today. Make sure you corrupt him a little,” Rad says with a wink, kissing my cheek one last time before jumping to his feet.
“No shirt?” I ask when he pulls his sneakers on and shrugs off my comment.
“No shirt, panties in my pocket. This is all I need for good luck,” Rad says, jumping to his feet. “I'll see you later!”
And with that, Rad marches out the sliding glass door toward the parking lot. A loud rumble sounds as his dirt bike sparks to life and reverberates through the walls, making my brows dip.Did he seriously bring that here and leave it outside? He's lucky the thing is still there.
“Looks like it's just me and you, hot stuff,” I mumble, turning in his arms to look up at his beautiful face.
His gray eyes cloud over with some emotion when his hand brushes back the hair from my face and tucks it behind my ears.
