twenty-seven: in which she edges closer to the darkness

"Darling, here comes trouble" –Brendan Benson, Feel Like Taking You Home

********************************

In the fifteen minutes I'd been sitting staring at Jake's dead phone, Jake and Daisy had found Iris' Xbox. The sound of gunfire filled the living room, as did Daisy's yells for Jake to watch her back as she went out in the open.

Oh, yeah. Call of freaking Duty as if nothing was wrong.

"You want to explain to me what exactly it is you got Computer Boy to do for you?" I held up Jake's phone to punctuate my words.

His head jerked in my direction, eyes narrowing at the sight of his phone in my hand.

"Uh-oh. Ripper's gonna get a new one ripped," Daisy teased, putting their game on pause. She patted him on the back with mock-sympathy. "Enjoy. I'm gonna go grab a Coke. That OK?"

Neither of us replied to her. Daisy stood, making a show of slinking out the living room and into the kitchen.

"I answered your phone, Jake," I said.

"Ain't got nothin' to hide," he said, leaning back in the couch. "So that means you ain't got no reason to be pissed, Maya."

"Why didn't you tell me you were in touch with Sebastian? Does the fact that he's still alive mean that he managed to –"

"Stop right fuсkin' there, sweetheart," Jake cut in, getting to his feet. He glared at me. "Did you or did you not beg me to keep that fuсker alive?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Then I don't fuсkin' understand you. The little shit's still breathing. Be happy." He said the last part with a sour look on his face, as if he hated the fact that we were talking about how I clearly still cared about my ex.

I cleared my throat. "He phoned to tell you that he did something for you. Something that the McNallys could kill him for. What is it?"

Ignoring my question, Jake held his hand out expectantly. "Phone."

"No."

He arched a brow. "We doing this? Really?"

"Just talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

He moved a couple steps closer, until he was within arm's reach. "Maya. Give. Me. The. Phone."

"I said, no," I snapped. "Jake, Sebastian sounded scared, so that makes me scared. Mostly for you, because I know that whatever this...this thing is, it's big, and Sebastian's right: The McNally brothers are crazy. Even crazier than you."

Jake's face softened. "Look, babe. It's best that you don't know some shit." He came closer still, until he could put his hands on either side of my face. "You just have to trust me. Do you, sweetheart? Do you trust me?"

"I want to trust you." But I was conflicted. Secrets...I hated those freaking things. Keeping secrets from someone you cared about never ended well. Sighing heavily, I handed Jake his phone.

"I gotta go now, babe," he told me, sticking it in his back pocket. "You'll be good?"

"What? Go? Sure, go – all Nyquil-ed up and everything."

"Babe, I feel fuсkin' stellar. You're the patient here." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'll send Sticks to watch you."

"That's not such a...great idea," I muttered, thinking of Daisy. I could just imagine what she'd try if the object of her obsession – I mean, affection – was stuck here with her while I was high on pain meds and passed out.

"No arguing," Jake said sharply, pulling away. "I'm out."

"Jake?"

He paused at the front door, cocking his head to one side. "Yeah?"

"Come back to me, OK?"

He turned on his heel, gifting me with a wide grin. "Babe, I'll always come back to you. I fuckin' love you and your pusѕy, remember?"

***

I forced myself to stay awake. For Sticks' sake, I was really trying to keep my eyes wide open.

How the guy couldn't see how...smitten Daisy was about him, I'd never know. He seemed totally oblivious. Or maybe faking cluelessness was a defense mechanism. After all, Daisy's his President's little sister. Really little sister. Statutory-rape little.

"You don't have to stand around, Sticks," I told him from where I was lying stretched out on one couch with one of Iris' cashmere throws covering me. "Take a seat."

"Yeah, Keegan," Daisy seconded, her voice syrupy sweet. She patted the space beside her. "Sit."

Since he'd finally been patched in as a brother, Sticks could wear the Phantoms' full cut. The first time I'd met him, he'd been waxing lyrical about wearing the Phantoms' patch on his leather vest and now he was. That had been his main goal in life.

Now, he played with the bottom of his vest, looking several kinds of uncomfortable. "I'm good where I am. Thanks." He leaned against the wall, crossing one booted foot over the other and shoving his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans.

"But –"

"Behave yourself," I hissed, cutting off what would probably have been Daisy informing him that he'd be more comfortable sitting thigh to thigh beside her. "That is a grown man. I know he looks like fair game because he looks so young, but it is illegal for him to even consider you attractive, let alone sit beside you so you can paw him like a bear with a honeycomb. Honestly, Daisy, you seem so smart. Act like it."

She gaped at me, eyes wide, and when I chanced a look at Sticks, his ethereally pale skin was stained crimson.

"Thanks a lot, Maya," Daisy snarled at me, jumping to her feet. She rushed out of the living room and down the passage and seconds later, the slam of what could've been the guest bathroom door slammed shut.

I groaned. If the girl ended up crying, Ghost would probably have my head. Then again, she needed a reality check. Running off to Mexico with a man? Practically stalking another?

Kids were so much work, especially this one. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. This was a girl who was lost. She'd mentioned that her mother was a druggie and that she'd never known her dad. And now she'd been thrust into the biker world, with a newfound brother to contend with. A brother who just happened to be the president of a motorcycle gang that I knew dealt with drugs and guns.

"Thank fuсk she's gone," Sticks surprised me by saying. He went over and sat on the couch Daisy had just vacated, leaning back and closing his pale blue eyes. They snapped open. "She creeps me the fuck out and I don't wanna meet Hades anytime soon, 'cause that's where Ghost'll send me if he finds out about his sister wantin' me like that."

"You knew?"

"Well, yeah. Have't'a be blind not to see it. At first, I didn't take it seriously. I mean, look at me. I'm not...ya know, a looker." Sticks said this so good-naturedly, as if he'd made peace with it a long time ago.

The thing is, he was wrong. Maybe he was a little too skinny and his pierced ears were a little too big, but he was cute in a goofy-boy-next-door kind of way. His hair was growing out again, black and prickly, and his eyes looked like they belonged to a wolf's. They were special, those eyes. Blue and shiny and light. He looked like a really tall thirteen-year-old, no facial hair whatsoever and dimples in both cheeks when he smiled, which he was doing right now.

"You're adorable-looking, Sticks. Embrace it."

He flushed once more, clearing his throat. "Anyway, she started lookin' at me weird. Like, I don't know, like the way Ripper would look at you before you became his old lady. When you were still with that thief. That's when I got creeped out. Don't want no trouble with the Prez. He'd have my balls. 'Sides, she's a baby. Ain't got no business with a baby."

I didn't mention that Daisy already knew this. That she was waiting until she turned eighteen – or twenty-one, depending on Sticks' inclination – to tell the guy she had a crush on him. I guess I blew that plan out of the water today.

I was about to say something when my phone pinged with a notification. I dug under the blanket and pulled it out, yawning loudly. Huh. A Facebook message. The only reason I clicked it open was because I was a little curious about what my mother's sister could possibly have to say to me out of the blue. After all, I had yet to accept her friend request.

Dear Maya,

I will be in Florida next week to visit your mother's grave. I would love it if I could meet you. It is long overdue. It would be great if you gave me your number.

Warm regards,

Aimee

"You have got to be kidding me," I said to myself.

"What is it? You OK?" Sticks sat up straight. "Maya?"

"I'm fine. I'll just...I'm going to talk to Daisy." I smacked my phone down on the coffee table, kicking the throw off me.

"How about... How about I talk to her? Explain things." Sticks was just full of surprises.

"She won't want to talk to you. She's embarrassed. I can relate."

"She'll talk to me." He stood, brow furrowing. "I'll, uh, leave the door open."

I nodded, watching him walk out. I heard him knock on a door, announcing that it was him. The door was opened a little while later. Huh. Showed how much I knew.

I gave up trying to stay awake, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

***

When I woke up again, it was dark and, judging from the commotion in the kitchen, Iris was back. I heard girlish laughter that was unmistakably Daisy's, and I figured that everything was all right.

I winced when I looked at the bright screen of the TV in the dark living room. I didn't recognize the movie but from the sniffling coming from the couch adjacent to mine, it was obviously sad.

"Sticks?" I sat up, rolling my painful shoulders. "Are you...crying?"

"No. Yes. Maybe."

"What's happening?"

He cleared his throat loudly. "His dad just took the fall for him and went to jail. And then they kill him – the dad – and send him a picture of his fucked-up body. A picture, Maya. On his fuckin' phone. The last real conversation he had with his dad was an argument. Fuckin' sad, right?"

"Yeah. Sad. What movie are you watching?"

"Kick Ass 2," he told me, hugging a pillow. The light from the TV illuminated his tearful face. "It won't make sense if you don't watch the first one, though. Watch the first one. More tears, less blood."

"Kick Ass? Seriously?"

"I'm an emotional guy! Orphaned at sixteen and a sucker for a good TV dad. Sue me."

I smiled to myself. "I won't. Enjoy your movie." I pulled myself off the couch and to my feet.

"Maya? Don't tell the brothers. Actually, don't tell anyone."

I mimed zipping my mouth and Sticks flashed me a grin. Stalking to the kitchen, I had to admit I felt a million times better after my nap. In fact, I actually felt hungry, and not for liquid foods or such nonsense. Didn't mean I had any other option.

I went to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt. Mango, this time. Daisy surprised me by giving me a smile.

"Morning, sunshine," she said, from where Iris had her grating carrots. "Are you feeling better?"

Iris turned from the stove. "Maya! Hey, how was your day? Who's the other kid in our living room?"

"Daisy...yeah, I feel better." I grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer. "Day was good, Iris. And he's not actually a kid. That's Sticks. He's a, uh, Phantom." I eyed Daisy, who had returned her attention to the carrots.

"A Phantom," Iris repeated, giving me her back. "I figured. What with the picture on his back. OK."

"He's kind of babysitting me. Jake's orders."

"OK."

"You don't sound like it's OK."

She turned to look at me. "I'm just...on my guard when it comes to MCs. You forget that Matt was a Cursed."

Matt was Iris' older brother. He'd been twenty when he'd been recruited by a motorcycle club – the Cursed – from the next county, and just twenty-two when he'd been killed in a turf war between the Cursed and the Phantoms. Iris had been born a year after, a complete surprise to her parents, who had both been in their forties. She didn't hold any grudge with the Phantoms – after all, this had been before her time and the Cursed had tried to start business in Phantom territory – but that didn't mean she liked them any. So far, Jake was her only exception, but the reality was that Iris was such a happy person that there was no room for hatred in her big heart.

"I remember, Iris, but Sticks is OK. You don't have to worry about him being in your house."

"It's your house, too," she said. "If you say he's cool, then he's cool."

"He's cool."

Daisy watched this exchange, offering no comment.

"Dinner's almost ready," Iris said brightly, "so go sit."

"What can I do to help?" I finished my yogurt in three spoonfuls.

Iris shook her head. "Sit, Maya. I have an awesome helper already." She nodded her head at Daisy, who grinned. "I think we'll just have it in the living room, like always."

"OK." Feeling like a helpless child, I walked back into the living room, flipping the lights on as I returned to my spot on the couch.

Sticks was channel-surfing, a bored expression on his face. "Any preferences?" he wanted to know. "Anything but TLC."

"Oh? But I want to see someone say yes to the dress, Sticks," I said, pouting. "Pretty please. There might even be a Cake Boss repeat tonight. Give me some Buddy, baby."

Sticks laughed. "Hell fuсkin' no." He stopped on the news. "Gotta stay informed. You know Prez actually gets news updates on his phone? Swear to God."

"Sticks, shush. Turn the volume up!"

Police have confirmed that the body of local businessman and entrepreneur, David McNally, was unearthed earlier this evening. The body was discovered during a routine site dig this evening on property owned by McNally Machinery. A company spokesperson has yet to release a statement...

Sticks' phone rang at that exact moment. He answered quickly, eyes still glued to the TV.

"We gotta go," he said to me after he hung up. He stood. "Pack some shit."

What are the odds? Sebastian phones, and later in the afternoon, one of the McNallys is dead?

"Maya!" Sticks snapped, making me jump. "We gotta go."

"Go where?" My stomach was sinking.

"The clubhouse." He called for Daisy to join us. The look he gave me was serious. "That was Ripper on the phone. We're on lockdown."

There was only one reason for this, and I'd known it the instant I saw David McNally's smiling handsome face on the news.

Jake had killed him. Andnow his people – led by his brother, no doubt – had declared war.