“You’re so pretty, Snap,” he said, voice low, as he dropped his face to my hair and breathed in.
I wasn’t wearing a hat, and my hair was tied up in a bun. My entire body trembled when he wrapped his arms around my waist, inhaled deeply, and pulled me into a hug. This was a distraction, I knew it, and yet, I let him distract me. I wanted to be distracted, and I was just glad that the blinds in his office had been pulled.
Standing in his embrace for at least a minute with silence all around us, I was unable to move. I liked having Lee close, loved the warmth of him and how he could make feel so…surrounded. Despite all the warning signs, my attraction only grew stronger. There was just something about him that called to me.
“Lee.”
His mouth moved against my hair. “What is it, Karla?”
“Why are you hugging me?”
“You looked like you needed to be held.” His response was low, and the affectionate undertone had me swallowing deeply. At long last I summoned the willpower to break the hug. His arms fell away from me easily, my stomach churning with confusion. What the hell was I doing?
I stared at the floor when I spoke. “I have to go.”
Heading for the door, I paused when he said gently, “Hey, I needed it, too.”
I didn’t turn around, but instead practically ran from the office. Moments later I was strapping myself into the patrol car where Steve had been waiting. My heart hammered at Lee’s words, feelings beginning to stew deep in my belly. He was playing me, he had to be. Blokes like him weren’t romantic. They fucked you and then they left you.
“What took you so long?” Steve asked, eyes narrowed on me with suspicion.
Remembering Lee’s warning for me not to get involved, I lied, “I just had a few more questions I needed to ask.”
A silence elapsed.
“And?” Steve prompted.
“And, uh, all of their stories checked out. Sorry.”
“Huh. They must have been ready for us, then.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Must have been.”
Four
About a week passed, and I didn’t see Lee at all. For a while it felt like he was everywhere, and then he was nowhere. And I’ll admit that every time I went to the gym, I kept my eyes peeled, eager for a glimpse of him.
Yeah, it was just as pathetic as it sounded.
I was driving home late one evening when I passed by a newly constructed office building. It was built in such a way that there were lots of steep stairways and criss-crossed walls surrounding it. The building, however, wasn’t what caught my interest, as I pulled to the side of the road and peeked out the window. There was a group of young men there; all of them looked to be in their late teens or early twenties, and all of them were pulling off some pretty impressive stunts. It was only when I took a closer look that I recognised Trevor Cross.
He was a little bit mesmerising. It was sort of like watching somebody play a video game, where the avatar could effortlessly jump and leap from building to building without injuring themselves. Trevor ran along the edge of a high wall, then leapt several feet through the air to land on the next one.
My eyes caught on another figure, and my breath hitched involuntarily when I saw it was Lee. He wore jeans, a long sleeved T-shirt, and a peaked cap that shielded most of his face. My heart pounded at the sight of him, and my pores began tingling as something electric pulsed inside me. I could watch him from the comfort of my car without him ever knowing I was there.
His shirt fell forward, revealing his stomach, as he balanced his entire body on his hands. He was on the edge of one of the high-up walkways. I saw several of the guys cheer when he dropped one arm, letting it hover in the air as he held his entire weight on one hand. He maintained the hold for several seconds before lowering his hand back down, bracing himself, and then launching into a backflip before making a perfect landing on the ground.
Whoa.
The way he moved was skilful, and I remembered Steve talking about how the brothers were into free running. But he only mentioned the younger ones. Perhaps Lee was more discreet about the things he could do, like Willy Wonka pretending he needed a stick to help him walk.
The official name for the sport was parkour, and it killed me to see how talented he was, while at the same time knowing he was using that talent to lie and steal.
It was with a hopeless sigh that I restarted the engine and pulled away. Tired after my shift, I went home and fell asleep almost instantly. I had two days off, and I planned on making the most of them. I knew I’d overslept when I woke to daylight streaming through my window and scrambled for my phone to check the time. Ten-thirty. I only became aware that somebody was sitting at the end of my bed when I sat up and saw Alexis slumped over, staring at something she was holding in her hands.
“Lexie, what’s wrong?” I asked in a scratchy voice.
She didn’t answer, and all I heard was a sniffle. She’d been crying a lot since King disappeared, so this wasn’t anything too unusual. Sometimes she liked to hide her pain behind humour and sarcasm, but I knew she was hurting badly on the inside.
I got up and went to her, sitting down and throwing my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me, taking the comfort I offered without a word. It was only when I looked down to see the pregnancy test she was holding that I gasped. The little window showed two red lines, and I didn’t need to be a genius to know what they meant.
“You’re pregnant?” I said, my voice airy with disbelief. Just the other week I’d joked about it, but that’s all it had been, a joke. I never actually thought it was true. And, by the looks of it, neither had Alexis. This was a massive shock for her. King had been missing for a while, which meant she had to be at least three or four months gone, and I knew she hadn’t been with anyone else since him.
Her smile was sad. “There was me thinking it was a cake shelf I was sporting,” she said, hand going to her belly, hiding her feelings with humour like always.
I swallowed, trying not to let my own personal feelings affect me right then. When I was a teenager, I’d been in a very bad car accident. My dad had been behind the wheel, my mum in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. Long story short, I’d been injured far worse than my parents, and the damage meant I’d never be able to have kids. It was why I got so angry when I saw people neglecting their own children, but I’d come to terms with the fact a long time ago. Still, a strange, phantom-like pain always passed through me whenever I was reminded of it. Alexis knew all about my accident, but I didn’t think she knew quite how much it hurt me, knowing I’d never have a child of my own.
“It’s King’s, isn’t it?” I finally asked, pushing my own feelings aside.
She nodded and stared at her feet.
“Have you had any luck finding him? Any clues as to where he might be?”
“Nothing,” she croaked. “It’s like he never even existed.” And then the tears began to flow. I sat with her for a long while, just hugging her and letting her cry. Finally I managed to get her to her own room, where she climbed into bed and went to sleep. She’d been up all night, wracked with worry.
I spent the day tidying the flat and hanging out. I even baked a batch of brownies, thinking they might cheer Alexis up. Unfortunately, she was acting completely out of character when she woke and barely even gave the brownies a second glance. Normally, she was the sort of girl to take life’s challenges in stride, so it was disconcerting to see her like this.
I was watching television that evening when she suddenly sat down beside me and asked, “Can we go out tonight?”
“Out where?”
“Anywhere. I need to get away from these four walls before I go insane. We could go to a bar and I could watch you drink. It’ll be fun.” The look on her face told me she was desperately trying to convince herself of that. I didn’t want to upset her, though, so I nodded.
“Sure, just let me grab a quick shower and we’ll head out.”
An hour l
ater we were in a cab, headed for the bar where Alexis used to work before she changed career paths. At the moment she was in between jobs, but she did some modelling every once in a while to pay the bills. I was guessing she might have to take a break from that once she started to show.
I wasn’t sure why she wanted to go visit her old workplace. Well, I wasn’t until we walked inside and I saw Stu standing by the pool table. How had I not predicted this? I could only see the back of the person he was playing with, but I knew instantly that it was Lee. He wore jeans and a Fred Perry T-shirt with the collar turned up, the uniform of cocky little fuckers everywhere.
“What are you up to?” I asked, narrowing my gaze at my friend. She just shook her head and walked over to the bar, ordering a glass of wine and a Coke. I was guessing the wine was for me. I hadn’t really dressed up, but I suddenly became more aware of my appearance. I’d left my hair down, and was wearing a pair of khaki green trousers with a tight black wrap top and boots.
Even when Alexis had worked here, I’d never really visited. Truth be told, it was a bit of a dive. It was Stu’s local, though, so it had to be Lee’s, too. It was also where Alexis and Stu had originally met.
“I hope this isn’t what I think it is,” I said as she slid the glass of wine my way and led me over to sit at a booth.
The look she gave me was miserable, and she ran her hands through her hair before replying, “I’m lonely, Karla. And yes, I know I’m probably going to regret this in the morning, but just let me regret it, okay? Tonight of all nights I just need somebody to make me feel good.”
Her answer shut me right up, and a pang of sympathy hit me square in the gut. I’d never lost someone I loved like Alexis had lost King, so I had no business judging her. Instead, I sat quietly and drank my wine. A couple of minutes later, Stu spotted Alexis and sidled up to our booth.
“Lex, what brings you around these parts?” he asked, eyes dark with interest as he slid in next to her.
I thought I heard her mutter “desperation” under her breath before she looked up and mustered a smile for him. “Just having a quiet drink.”
“Mind if I join you?” he practically purred.
“Uh, you already have,” I commented dryly.
Stu shot me a wide grin, unfazed by my comment as he gave me his full attention. “This is a dangerous place for the likes of you, Karla. Taking a walk on the wild side, are we?”
“What, are cops not allowed into dive bars now?” I asked smartly.
Stu shook his head and answered, “That’s not what I’m talking about,” just as I felt a warm body take the empty spot beside me in the booth. My every muscle grew tense.
“Clarky,” said Lee, nodding to Alexis. She gave him a similar head nod in return.
“Snap,” he went on, his mouth a lot closer to my ear than it needed to be.
“Lee,” I said, shifting away and meeting his eyes.
There was a moment of silence, the two brothers grinning, while Alexis and I frowned. I thought that maybe we both felt the same way right then. On one level we wanted to be there, and on another we really didn’t.
“So, what’s everybody drinking?” Lee asked.
“Coke,” said Alexis, lifting her empty glass.
“I’ll have another beer,” Stu put in.
I stayed quiet. No way was I letting him buy me a drink. No effing way.
“Snap?”
“I’m good.”
“Babe.”
My brow furrowed, and I simply shook my head at him to let him know that the whole “babe” thing wasn’t happening. His grin widened, like he enjoyed the challenge. Instead of asking me again, he simply leaned in, picked up my glass, and took a sip.
He winced when he tasted it. “One glass of vinegar coming right up.”
“Hey, it’s not her fault this bar serves shit wine. Go have a word with Keith and tell him to get some better stuff in,” Alexis complained. I was guessing Keith was the landlord.
“I’ll get right on that,” Lee replied sarcastically before heading over to the bar.
I rubbed at my eyelids, frustrated. This certainly wasn’t how I planned on spending my night off, but I couldn’t abandon Alexis in her time of need. Looking across the table, I saw that Stu was already moving in on her, his arm resting casually along the top of the booth. He bent down and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and said something in reply, but I couldn’t hear over the bar music. It didn’t take long for her to warm up to him, and then they were full-on flirting with one another.
I couldn’t have been more uncomfortable if I’d tried.
Oh, no, wait. I spoke too soon.
Lee returned with the drinks, placing a fresh glass in front of me. I glanced at it, no intention of drinking any. Alexis and Stu were deep in conversation, so I might as well have been sitting alone with Lee. It was too awkward for words. Well, it was on my end. Lee didn’t look like he had an awkward bone in his body.
“Relax,” he murmured. “You look like you’re afraid I might jump you or something.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I said defensively.
“Would you like to tell that to your clenched fist?”
I glanced down, and, sure enough, my hand was tightly clenched into a fist. I was all kinds of worked up. Loosening my fingers, I looked back at him and said curtly, “I’m here for Alexis, that’s all.”
“And there I thought you were after the pleasure of my company,” he deadpanned before lifting his pint. “Look, I get it. I’m a scumbag, not fit to lick your boots, etcetera, etcetera.”
Something about the way he spoke made me feel bad. My expression softened when I replied, “That’s not what…look, I’m sorry, can we start over?”
Lee nodded. “Already forgotten. So, what’s up with Clarky? The last time I checked, she was shacked up with that fancy-pants rich bloke.”
“She was. He’s gone. She’s been trying to find him for months but hasn’t had any luck. Today has kind of been a rough day for her.”
Understanding showed in Lee’s expression. “So, what you’re saying is, she’s here to use my brother for sex?”
I grimaced. “It sounds horrible when you put it like that.”
Lee chuckled. “Stu will have her any way he can get her. Don’t worry about it. He has a talent for keeping his emotions out of his sex life.”
“Oh?” I said, curious.
Lee looked away and drank some more of his beer. “Yeah, some of us don’t have that skill.”
When his eyes returned to mine they were fierce, and it took a conscious effort for me to breathe normally. I really wished I wasn’t so attracted to him. That way I wouldn’t feel so weak right then. Involuntarily, I crossed one leg over the other, which caused Lee’s attention to wander to my thighs. He stared for a good ten seconds, taking his time.
“How often do you work out?” he asked almost absently.
“A couple times a week. Why?”
He lifted his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve got a killer fucking body, and I’m saying that from a purely athletic standpoint. I admire your dedication.”
“Um, thanks,” I said, swallowing awkwardly.
“We should train together sometime.”
“I don’t box.” Nor was I particularly interested in jumping off buildings for fun, but I didn’t say that, because then I’d have to fess up about spying on him.
“But you fight. I can tell by the way you carry yourself.”
I grew self-conscious again, feeling shy and wondering how he could tell that. “I practice eskrima, but no, I don’t think us training together would be a good idea.”
“Yeah, you’re right. All those hormones and sweat flying around, who knows what might happen.” He looked away, smiling into his pint glass.
“You just can’t help being a tease, can you?”
He turned back to me and shook his head. “Not with you, babe.”
“Oh, my God, okay. We need to g
et this straight, no more babes, no more Snaps. My name is Karla. Be a normal human being and use it.”
He opened his mouth, ready to reply, when Stu cut in. “Bruv, I’m taking Lexie back to ours. You coming or staying put?”
“He’s coming,” said Alexis. “He needs to keep Karla company while you…keep me company.” She burst out laughing, and it was the first time I’d seen her properly laugh in a while, even if it was at the ridiculousness of the situation. Stu gave her a sexy smile, and I was just relieved that her mind was off her problems for a change.
“Sure, we’ll come,” said Lee, standing while Stu ushered Alexis out of the booth. I remained in place, unsure what do to. I didn’t want to go to their house, but I didn’t want to abandon my friend, either. Though technically, she was the one abandoning me.
When I looked up, Lee was standing there, his hand outstretched. There was something about his eyes right then that made me reach out instinctively and take it. As soon as my palm slipped into his, I felt electricity shoot through me. It was strangely exhilarating to do something as ordinary as hold his hand. He pulled me up and I let go, blushing furiously. Taking his hand had been all instinct. My brain hadn’t even had a say in the matter.
By the time we got outside, Stu and Alexis had already flagged down a cab. They both climbed in the back, and Stu pulled her onto his lap, not wasting any time as he kissed her hard right on the mouth. She didn’t stop him. Lee held the door open for me to slide in next, and he hopped in last. He told the driver his address, and then we were off.
Needless to say, it was possibly the most uncomfortable cab ride of my life. Lee and I sat across from Stu and Alexis, who had progressed to full-on snogging. The radio hadn’t been turned on, and the driver wasn’t feeling chatty.
The only sounds were kissing sounds.
Well, that and heavy breathing. I stared at my lap, sensing Lee’s eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. It would only make things worse. But damn, his stare must have had magnetic qualities, because eventually I couldn’t help lifting my gaze. His eyes had settled on my lips, and whatever dirty thoughts he was having were written all over his face. I sucked in a deep breath and wished my heart wasn’t beating so erratically. I swore he could see my pulse hammering in my neck.