Exception (71 page)

He took the largest breath his stiff and painful body allowed, and turned to face the driver’s seat. “I’ll give you two million and air tickets to wherever you and Rachel want to go. I won’t tell the police about
your
involvement and I’ll make sure this Nando person goes to jail. All you have to do is take me home.” His voice was still raspy and pained, but he was pretty satisfied at how it came out.

Jason was dumbstruck when he heard Taylor’s voice. Taylor hadn’t spoken at all in the eight hours he and his brother had him. That oddity made him think that the offer, which was way too good to be true, was a hallucination induced by his weakening buzz. Keeping his eyes on his brother’s back as he walked to the store, he stole a glance at Taylor through the rear view mirror. The focus and seriousness he saw piqued his interest.

“Are you serious? You’d just give me two million and let me get away with it? You think I’m stupid?” he blurted out incredulously.

“Yes, I’m dead serious. And yes, I would give you the money and let you walk away. Money has little meaning to me when compared to my life. And no, I don’t think you’re stupid. I think your brother is pretty fucking stupid for doing this, but then again, I’ve known how stupid he is since the night he backed my girl up into that fucking wall, groped her and I beat the living shit outta him. But you . . . you must be smart to have gotten a job at Prime Star and managed to keep it, despite your addiction. So I think you’re just desperate to pay the dealer and save Rachel.”

Taylor saw Jason squirm at the mention of the dealer and the girl, but his eyes were still fixed on the convenience shop right ahead. That fixed, protective gaze was yet another opening. “I also think that, much like me, you’re an older brother who cares. I can relate perfectly to how stupid that can make a guy.”

Jason was quiet, but Taylor noticed the shift in his gaze. He now had the man’s full attention. Struggling to bring his body up, he met the man’s eyes in the rear view mirror, noticing the beads of sweat on his forehead, and allowed himself a bit of hope that he’d be able to solve this with his words.

“I have two younger siblings,” Taylor started, in the calmest tone he could muster. “Gabriel and Penelope. He’s four years younger than me, and she’s ten. I love them to death and would do just about anything to keep them safe and happy.

“When we were kids, Gabe would do some pretty dumb shit. He got into fights, shoplifted and even lit my mother’s curtains on fire once. He used to make me crazy and pissed off more often than not, but I always had his back. Right or wrong, he was my brother and I would help him out and keep him safe, even if it was monumentally stupid on my part.

“But this one day, he tanked his English midterm. Afraid he would flunk out, he stole the teacher’s briefcase and burnt all the tests inside. He came to me, sure that I would help him or take the blame for it. I was a senior and already accepted into a great university; he knew the school wouldn’t expel me. He on the other hand, was a lousy-ass freshman, and the school wouldn’t pity him at all.

“That was the first time I told him no. He had gone too far and, even if the school didn’t do anything to me, which was very unlikely, it was wrong of me to do that to him. He needed to learn his lesson.

“He hated me for months, but after a while he understood and thanked me.” Taylor finished his story with a kind tone and a little smirk on his lips.

He could see in the way Jason was looking at him that he had struck a chord and, taking advantage of the momentum, he continued, “I really don’t know how things with you two are, but you know that bad shit will happen to you, and probably to Rachel, if you don’t let him deal with his own bad decisions.”

“So what you’re telling me is I should let you go, take your cash and feed my brother to the wolves?” Jason asked in a half-pissed tone.

Yes
was what Taylor wanted to say, Nick deserved to be eaten by wolves, but that thought wouldn’t help his case, so he went easy. “Not exactly. I’m telling you that you have the chance to do right by Rachel. Clean yourself up, move her someplace nice and have a good, long life together. As for your brother, you wouldn’t be feeding him to the wolves. You’d be allowing him to grow up and be a man and take responsibility for his actions. So far, nothing too bad has happened to me, and that’s what I care about. I promise to make sure he gets off easy. A couple of years in prison, then he’ll be free to go live the high life with you guys.

“But if you continue with this . . . if you take me to the cabin and ask ransom, then you’re both kidnappers, and I won’t be able to avoid the police tracking you down and making you pay. I won’t be able to help you keep Rachel safe, or even alive.”

The serenity in Taylor’s voice as he delivered his threat compelled Jason to listen intently. He knew he was right; there was no way in hell that either he or Nick would walk away from this mess without some serious jail time. Taylor’s offer was his best and only way out.

On top of that, he had to admit that the life Taylor promised was pretty sweet. No charges, money to pay his debt and to take Rachel to Florida where he could buy the beachfront house she’d always dreamt of having. They could have a couple of kids, he would get clean and they would be happy. Nick could live close to them once he was out of jail, and they would have enough money to record a few demos and form a better band than the crap cover act he had before.

He wanted that life, and he would work his damnedest to make sure he got it.

“When will I get the money?” Jason asked bluntly.

Taylor had to hold himself not to close his eyes and sigh with relief. “You’ll get it as soon as I’m home and your brother gives himself to the cops.”

“I need ten grand in three hours.”

Holly fuck! He owes ten grand to a drug dealer? No wonder he’s that desperate.

“Then convince your brother to let his biff go for good, turn this car back to New York and I’ll call my business manager and have him wire the money to whoever you want,” Taylor said sternly.

“How will I know you’ll keep your promise with the money and with Nick?”

“You’ll have to trust my word.” The glass door of the convenience store opened. Just as Taylor finished his sentence, Nick’s blond head stepped out and stalked towards the car. “But I’m your best bet, Jason. And if you want to take my offer, I suggest you call Rachel, tell her to go someplace safe and start thinking about what to say to your brother.”

Jason’s shoulders stiffened and he gave a robotic nod as he retrieved his phone from his pants pocket and punched a few numbers in. Nick wouldn’t like the agreement, he was sure of it, but he knew it was the best thing for all of them.

When Nick arrived at the car and took his seat, he looked from Taylor sitting up on the back seat, to his brother, with the device pressed to his ear. He opened his mouth with an angry frown but, before Nick could utter a word, the car was moving in the opposite direction they had been driving all day and when he complained, Jason lifted his hand for silence and started speaking to Rachel. There was love and care in his voice as he fired off his instructions about where she should go, and who she should avoid. Hanging up, he said he loved her and promised he’d get clean and give her the life she deserved. He even joked about her needing to go buy some new bikinis and got a few laughs.

Those words made Taylor somewhat more comfortable with his decision. Despite the hell the two brothers had put him through during the past eight hours, he would honor his side of his agreement with Jason and allow him and Rachel the happily ever after he and Emily were bound to have. And Nick—he didn’t give a fuck about what happened to him as long as he stayed the hell away.

I’m coming home. I’m coming back home to Emily,
he thought with eyes closed, enjoying the exquisite feeling of his muscles relaxing and his heart filling with hope.

Taylor allowed his mind to momentarily dwell on the future—more precisely, on the moment he would enter his apartment door and hold his beloved in his arms. He didn’t care that his body was covered in bruises and that every inch of him hurt like hell. He would take her in his arms, run to his bathroom and make love to her in their bathtub. Then he would place his grandmother’s ring on her finger and make love to her in their bed. Then on the floor, and on the armchair by their window, and maybe even against a few of their bedroom walls. He would love her until this nightmare of a day was no longer on either of their minds.

“You did what?” Nick’s scream broke through Taylor’s reverie. The anger in his voice was almost murderous.

Taylor had been so absorbed in his daydreams he didn’t realize Jason had ended the call with Rachel and was telling his brother about their agreement. He turned his head to the side to look at the youngest brother and saw that his face was twisted into a mask of pure rage.

“I solved our problem,” Jason replied in a determined voice. “We’ll have more money that we’ll know what to do with, Rach will be fine, and we can get a new life.”

“You solved shit! You’ll get a new life, Jason. And while you do, I’ll get to be someone’s jail bitch,” Nick yelled so loudly that the cords on his neck popped. His eyes were so wide that you could see a full ring of white around his irises.

“It won’t be like that. Taylor promised he’ll make the police go easy on you. You’ll only get a year, maybe two, then you’ll go live with us and you’ll have enough money to make your own band. Play your own music, bro. It’ll be the life we deserve.”

Nick looked from his brother to Taylor with an incredulous look. The fact that Taylor met his stubborn gaze every time only added to his fury. “So Moneybags is Taylor now? When I was at the store, did you two bond while talking about boys and braiding each other’s hair? Is he your BFF now? Because he better be if you’re choosing him over your own flesh and blood.”

“Nick!” Jason yelled, losing the last of his patience with his brother. “Think for a second, bro, I’m choosing you and Rach. He’s still just the piggy bank, only difference is that now we have a free pass.”

“The hell we do. He beat my face in for groping that bitch’s ass. She wasn’t even his girlfriend and he fucking beat me to a bloody pulp, got me thrown in a police car and kicked out of my fucking band. He ruined my life. That motherfucker has no honor or respect. You think you two are friends and that he’ll look after us? Wake up and smell the fucking coffee, Jay. He’s playing. To him, you’re nothing more than a lowlife druggie and Rach is nothing more than your whore. He doesn’t fucking care. We’ll get him home and he’ll give us to the cops without a second thought in his mind. We’ll rot while he’s fucking that uptight bitch on a bed that’s bigger than our living room.”

Taylor’s blood ran hot in his veins and his hands curled into fists. He forced his wrists against the nylon holding them together in an attempt to free them, or at least part them enough to deliver a well-deserved hook to Nick’s jaw. However, his attempts were useless.

Through the rear view mirror Jason could see hatred dancing in Taylor’s eyes like flames, and he wished with all his might that his brother would shut up. He trusted Taylor; he felt the promise had been sincere and, above everything else, he needed the second chance the other man was offering.

“You’re wrong, Nick. He’s telling the truth. He’s the one who gave me the idea to call Rach and send her somewhere safe. He’s going to call some dude and have him wire the money to Nando and send the police after him.”

“Did the drugs eat up your brain, Jay? That dude will call the cops on us,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet. “You’re the one who spent the past eight hours telling me I couldn’t call the bitch or use his cards, and now you want him to call someone? Are you fucking crazy? Why would he send the police for Nando? He didn’t do anything to him. You, on the other hand,
kidnapped
him. You’re the one he’s got a grudge against, not Nando.”

Taylor cleared his throat and shook his head, his wrists still pushing against the restraints that held his fisted together. Nick turned his head back to hands look.

“Actually, Nick, I have nothing against Jason. I know he’s just a guy who loves his brother, despite the fact that he’s an idiot. I relate to that and I don’t want to ruin his life. That’s why I made my offer, which still stands.”

“Is this the bullshit he fed you, Jay? This I-care-because-I’m-a-big-brother-too crap?”

“It’s not crap, Nick. I’m ruining my life because of your petty revenge. I don’t care whether you agree with me or not, but I’m taking his deal. I’m taking the two million he’s giving me and moving to Florida with Rach. You can either get on board and accept this, or you can deal with the fallout on your own.”

The loud and maniacal laugh that Nick gave in response to his brother’s words surprised both, Jason and Taylor. The mockery was clear in his raised brows and tone of voice. “Oh bro, you haven’t told me about him
giving
you two million. I thought that you’d get tougher once you started doing the harder stuff, but it made you soft and stupid. It’s funny, really.”

Taylor saw Jason’s brows arched downwards as his nostrils flared. His knuckles were turning white around the steering wheel, but Nick didn’t stop. He continued letting his poison drip on his brother. “Rich people are rich because they save money, not because they give it away.”