Greyson_A Hell's Harlem Novel

  We left the tiny house in the backyard, went back to his bedroom to take a quick shower, and now we were driving through the countryside.

  I didn’t know where we were going but Greyson had said that it could help trigger a memory. I didn’t know how but I trusted him.

  About an hour later, we pulled up in front of a large building. The town we had driven through was larger than I expected but smaller than that of a city. It was more rural and had only one main street from what I could tell.

  Greyson cut the engine and pulled off his helmet. I took mine off and handed it to him.

  “Where are we?” I asked him, sliding off the bike.

  He did the same and locked the helmets away in one of the side compartments on the bike.

  “Someone I’ve known for quite some time works here. He’s a cop. Shady as fuck but give him the right amount of cash and he’s kissing your ass.”

  “Is that what you had to do for him? Give him cash?”

  Greyson’s eyes twinkled. “No. I kicked his ass and then fucked his wife.”

  I coughed. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “I told you what I do hasn’t always been legal or even … moral.” He kissed the top of my head. “But you make me want to be.”

  My heart jumped.

  Greyson cleared his throat, grabbed my hand, and led me into the building.

  “I promised to take care of you, Eve,” he said, looking down at me. “That’s what I’m doing. We’re going to get answers. One way or another.”

  I nodded. “Okay.” But I wasn’t sure if they would be the answers I was looking for.

  (Greyson)

  With Eve walking beside me, her small hand in mine, my nerves rippled beneath my skin. It had been a long time since I stepped into this police station, the last time being when I was put away for something I didn’t do. My chest tightened. My siblings would kick my ass if they knew the shit I had done to make a name for myself.

  “Greyson Mercer. In the flesh.”

  I bristled, glancing over my shoulder, and nodded to the cop coming toward me.

  “It’s nice to see you on this side of the fence.” The fucker grinned. “Here to see Sarge?”

  “Maybe.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Still making a living by sucking the Warden’s cock?”

  The cop, known as Steel, took a step toward me. “Say that again to my face, asshole.”

  I chuckled. “Nah. I got better shit to do. I already kicked your ass once.” Keeping a firm hold on Eve’s hand, I led us to reception. “Oh.” I glared at him. “How’s your wife?”

  His jaw ticked.

  “Greyson.” Eve tugged my hand. “Did you really have to go there?”

  “The guy’s a bastard,” I muttered, stepping in front of the reception desk. But he was good for information. Not that I would ever get it from him directly. The only person Steel trusted was Sarge.

  Eve sighed, looking around her.

  “What is it?” I asked her, noting the deep frown setting in between her brows.

  “I’m not sure …” her voice trailed off.

  “Have you been here before maybe?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed again, giving her shoulders a small shrug. “Let’s get this over with. Please.”

  I nodded, taking that as my cue.

  Eve released my hand, crossing her arms under her chest. She looked around her, her eyes moving back and forth. I realized then that she hadn’t been in public since showing up at the clubhouse.

  Shit. How stupid was I?

  “We’ll make this quick.” I gave her cheek a quick kiss. “I promise.”

  She nodded, chewing her bottom lip. “Okay.”

  (Eve)

  I was nervous and I didn’t know why. Something felt familiar about the police station. Had I been there before? Did I used to work there maybe? No. There was no way I could be a cop. Was there?

  “Greyson. Well, I’ll be.”

  I looked over as an older man walked up to us.

  “Is this her?” he asked Grey, looking down at me.

  “Yes.” Greyson grabbed my hand. “Eve, this is Sarge. Sarge, Eve.”

  The man named Sarge reached out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  I returned the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  He winked, his piercing eyes twinkling. Much to my surprise, he leaned down and gave the back of my hand a kiss.

  My heart jumped to my throat.

  Although I was attracted to Greyson, this man before me was mesmerizing. With eyes the color of emeralds, it was like he was looking right into my soul. The smattering of gray coating his dark hair and beard would make any woman drop their panties. He was breathtaking.

  “Sarge,” Greyson growled. “Back off, my man.”

  Sarge chuckled. “All right. Let’s get to it then.” He turned, heading to a double set of doors, and swiped a key card through a lock.

  We followed him.

  “Just because we’re in public doesn’t mean I won’t take you to a bathroom and fuck you for that little display.” Greyson kissed my temple. “Remember who you belong to.”

  “Don’t worry, Greyson.” I patted his stomach. “I’ll only think of him while you’re inside me later.”

  His cheeks turned a mottled pink.

  A laugh escaped me. I shook my head. “If you believe that, you have some serious issues.”

  Greyson stomped beside me while we continued to follow Sarge down a long hall. “Women,” he mumbled.

  I only grinned.

  It was all I could do to keep myself sane. Because something was off. About this place. About me. I didn’t know. But I knew that I would soon find out.

  WHEN WE REACHED Sarge’s office, a memory stirred. Those same dark eyes from my nightmare so many weeks ago invaded my mind.

  “I love you, pet.” A gentle but firm hand brushed over my head. “But I hate you even more.”

  A whimper escaped me, my body swaying on my feet. I grabbed Greyson’s arm, keeping myself from falling.

  “Eve?” He reached for my hand. “What is it?”

  “I …” I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head. Those eyes. Cold and depraved. Promising me countless hours of immense pain. I didn’t know how I knew but I realized that those eyes from my dream were not just a dream. But a memory. “I remember …” My stomach lurched. I swallowed hard, trying to force back the acidic bile down my throat.

  “Sit her here.” Sarge grabbed my other hand, helping Greyson lead me to a couch.

  “Holy shit.” I dropped my head in my hands, my body shaking at the impact of the fear consuming me.

  “Tell us what you remembered.” Greyson rubbed his hand in small circles on my upper back.

  “Eyes.” I swallowed hard repeatedly. “Cold eyes. A monster. But he loved me.” I wasn’t making sense. The memories didn’t make sense. I was utterly confused.

  “Loved you,” Greyson repeated, his voice taking on that edge I had come to learn he used whenever he was jealous.

  I met his hard stare. “Don’t do that.”

  His brows narrowed. “I don’t give a shit what you did before me or even who you were with.”

  You’re mine, went unsaid.

  I looked down at my shaking hands. I wrung them together, trying to stop them from trembling.

  Warm hands engulfed mine, a hot mouth pressed firmly to my forehead. “I meant what I said.”

  “I know,” I whispered, wishing I knew what happened so we could move on. If I was in fact his, I needed to know that there was no one else. Even though no one had come looking for me, it didn’t mean that I hadn’t been with anyone before Greyson. Especially if the dreams were actual memories.

  “Were you able to dig anything up?” Greyson asked, sitting beside me on the couch.

  Sarge dropped a large file on his desk. “I’m not sure you’re ready for this information,” he said, looking squarely at me.

  “Doesn’t matter if I’m ready o
r not,” I told him. “I need to know. I need to move on.”

  He nodded once. “Okay. So the information I found hasn’t been overly helpful. But I can tell you that someone has been searching for you. Do I know who? Unfortunately, I don’t. I’m still looking into this.” He pointed at Greyson. “And before you get on my ass about not being as fast as you would like, I’m doing you a favor.”

  Greyson grunted. “Go on.”

  Sarge picked up the file and moved from around his desk. Stepping in front of me, he held it out to me. “Before you look in this, I want to tell you that I haven’t shared this with anyone. I had to go through a lot of hoops to find out this information, Eve.”

  I took a breath, braced myself, and pulled the file from his hands. Opening it, I gasped when my gaze landed on a picture of myself staring back at me. Running my fingers over the black and white image, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at but I was smiling in the picture. “Who took it?”

  “One of my PIs.” Sarge placed a chair in front of us and sat.

  “They were following me?” I asked, my stomach jumping.

  “Yes. We were having you tailed.” He pointed at the photo. “You were smiling at the person you were with.”

  “Do you know who that was?” I asked, my heart starting to race.

  “That I don’t know.” Sarge frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay.” I flipped through to the next page, my eyes widening. “Marlowe,” I whispered. “Marlowe Rhodes. Aged twenty-eight. Born in Kansas City, Missouri. No known relatives.” I looked up then. “I have no parents? No family?”

  Greyson brushed a hand down my spine.

  “From what I’ve read, your mom was a druggie and your dad was a douche and left the both of you. You were thrown into the system before you could walk.” Sarge leaned forward, flipping the page to the next and tapped it. “You were also a bad girl.”

  My eyes roamed over a list of charges. “Theft. Drug possession. Arson?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Wow.”

  “My PI did some digging and found out that you set someone’s house on fire with him inside it.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarge said gently. “You can take that with you. I made a copy for myself. We’ll find out more, Eve.”

  “Marlowe,” I corrected. “Actually, I prefer Eve.” Marlowe didn’t sound like me. “Do I look like a Marlowe?” I asked Greyson.

  He smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind my hair. “No. But you do look like a Marli.”

  I let out a slow breath. “Thank you, Sarge. For this. I wish I could remember more.”

  “I hope you can.” He rose to his full height. “Greyson, can I talk to you for a second?”

  Grey stiffened beside me. “Yeah.”

  I hugged the file to my chest. “I’ll be in the hall.”

  (Greyson)

  “What do you know about her?”

  “I know what you do.” I sat back on the couch, crossing my ankle over the opposite knee. “But it seems I might find out more by that file you gave her.”

  Sarge started pacing back and forth, which I had come to learn over time that he did whenever he was stressed or something was bothering him.

  “What’s up?” I asked, my stomach twisting.

  “Something’s off.” He rubbed his nape. “With her. You know I have a background in psychology. Did you see her reaction to reading the file?”

  “What are you talking about?” I frowned.

  “Of course you wouldn’t see it.” He let out a hard sigh and sat in the chair across from me. “There was nothing.”

  “What do you mean?” The fucker better start explaining soon because I had no idea what he was going on about.

  “Grey, Eve didn’t react. At all. No emotion. She might have felt something internally but anyone who was just looking at her, would see a shell. A woman who was just going through the motions.”

  “Are you saying she’s a sociopath?” Fuck me.

  “I’m saying that you need to watch your back.”

  I stood, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “I don’t appreciate you accusing her of being mentally deranged.”

  “I’m not accusing her of shit.” His gaze hardened. “Now sit down.”

  As much as I didn’t want to, I sat back down on the couch and listened

  “There are a lot of sociopaths who get along just fine. You need to take her to see someone. It’s going to be harder since she doesn’t remember anything. What did the doctors say?”

  “Uh …” Fuck my life.

  “You didn’t bring her to the hospital?” Sarge threw his hands up. “Of course not. You’re too busy thinking with your dick.”

  “Careful.” I shot from the couch, taking a step toward him.

  “No.” He stabbed a finger in my chest. “You be careful. You don’t know her. If you’ve been fucking her this whole time, you may know her physically but do you actually know her?”

  “How the hell can I when she doesn’t even know herself?”

  “Exactly, Greyson.” He took a breath and then another. “Listen, your dad—”

  “Don’t fucking start on me about that shit. My dad didn’t give a rat’s ass about me.”

  “You’re a fucking a liar.” Sarge laughed. “You may be an adult but you’re still that same little boy I used to babysit. How are your brothers? How’s your stepsister? I bet she grew up to be nice and hot.”

  “She’s married,” I gritted out through clenched teeth.

  “Ah.” Sarge only grinned. “But it didn’t stop you from falling in love with her, did it?”

  “She wasn’t married then, asshole.”

  “No. She wasn’t but you still took advantage of her during her time of need.”

  “It was my time of need too,” I yelled, shoving him. “My dad died and my mom wanted nothing to do with me. My stepmom was all I had and I lost her too.” My chest rose and fell, the back of my eyes prickling with unshed tears. Fucking fucker. I didn’t cry when I lost my parents. I didn’t cry when I found out that my real mom didn’t want to be part of my life. But now? Bringing up the past hurt more than if it had happened yesterday.

  Sarge closed the distance between us and wrapped me up in a hug.

  “What are you doing?” I pushed against him.

  “You know I’ve always loved you like a brother but you still only come see me when you want something. That hurts, Greyson. You know I would never do the same to you.”

  My chest tightened. “You could come to me,” I murmured.

  “Yeah.” He leaned back, cupping my nape. “You’re a busy guy, Grey.”

  “Why do you always have to make me feel shit?” I grumbled, looking down at my feet.

  “It’s the psychologist in me.” He winked.

  “You just like being a dick, don’t you?”

  “I hate bringing up the past but you need to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you. There are people out there who actually care about you.” He squeezed my shoulders. “You need to also realize that you don’t have to do this shit on your own.”

  “I’m not,” I countered. “I have my club. I have Eve.”

  “You need to be honest with yourself. Do you think if Eve does in fact end up remembering everything that she’ll still stay with you?”

  I swallowed hard.

  “What if she’s married? She mentioned remembering eyes. She was smiling in that picture, Grey. My PI said she was with a man but we don’t know who. Yet.”

  “Figure it out and call me.” I shrugged Sarge off, my muscles jumping over my bones. I needed to go for a run or fuck it off. Preferably the latter.

  “I’ll be in touch,” was all Sarge said.

  “Yup.”

  Heading to the door, I left his office and found Eve leaning against the wall.

  “Everything okay?” She came up to me, placing a gentle hand on my arm. “I heard yelling.”

  “Sarge likes t
o strip my emotions.” I kissed her head. Before she could ask what I meant, I grabbed her hand and led her out of the police station.

  I loved Sarge like a brother but his words hurt because they were true. I didn’t like being reminded of how much of a loner I had become since my parents died. Since I lost my stepsister. Fuck, I wished my big brother was still alive. After being shot when we had gone to a bar, he lost his life to that bullet.

  “We need to make a stop,” I told Eve once we reached my bike.

  “Okay.” She chewed her bottom lip.

  “What is it?” I asked, handing her a helmet.

  “Will you still call me Eve please? I can’t go by Marlowe right now. Not until I remember. Maybe not even then.”

  I cupped her cheek, placing a soft peck on her mouth. “I will call you whatever you need me to.” Because I was too emotionally raw to argue.

  “Thank you.”

  I nodded, straddling the bike.

  Once Eve was seated behind me, I took off down the parking lot and drove us to a place I hadn’t been in years. A place I should have made a habit of visiting but had been too hard. Maybe now with Eve at my side, I would be strong enough to handle it.

  GREYSON’S BODY WAS rigid as he drove us out of the city and into the country.

  My name was Marlowe Rhodes. Marlowe. Or Marli as Greyson pointed out. I couldn’t believe I had the information about me sitting on my lap. I also couldn’t believe that I had been a bad girl as Sarge put it.

  Maybe I had done those illegal things to get by.

  The dark eyes invaded my mind again. No. I did them to survive. I wasn’t sure how I knew that but I just did.

  When we left the police station, I wanted to ask Greyson what was wrong but even I knew when not to poke at him. I liked to play and test his limits but by the way his jaw was clenched and his hands were balled into fists, I would wait for a more appropriate time to broach the subject.

  Hugging Grey tighter, I leaned my cheek against his back and inhaled. When the scent of leather invaded my nose, my heart calmed and my muscles relaxed. It was an odd feeling in the way I hadn’t known Greyson for that long, but he calmed me just the same.