Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) (10 page)

After another half hour of walking, I heard the sound of running water up ahead. I sighed, knowing that the water was the border, and that I had made really good time. I hated to get there early, but that was better than late.

The one and only time I showed up late had been bad. They threatened to dock my pay for every minute I was behind schedule. Apparently, even gangsters don’t like waiting around with a bunch of illegal drugs in their car.

I stopped by the river and crouched down next to it. It was lower than usual and moving more slowly, which was good. I could probably just walk right across it instead of hoping for a fallen tree or a makeshift bridge like I usually did.

As I began my trek east, I started to notice the signs. They were posted by both governments on both sides and were mostly meant to scare off lost hikers. They promised things like unreasonably high fines and hundreds of years in jail, plus physical dismemberment and torture, if you didn’t back off immediately.

I reached up and grabbed the closest sign. I yanked twice and managed to tear it off the tree it had been nailed to. I grinned down at it as I wound up and threw it into the river. The sign spun in quick circles, rotating along its central axis, flying high over the water, glinting bright sunlight off its reflective face.

It sank with a satisfying plop.

As I looked up, I suddenly froze. There was movement on the Canadian side. Without thinking, I melted back into the woods, farther away from the water. I hid behind a tree, unmoving, and listened.

My heart hammered in my chest as I stayed completely still. I didn’t move for what felt like an hour, but really was probably no more than thirty seconds.

I heard the unmistakable sounds of human voices and people moving through the brush. They clearly weren’t trying to be quiet, and as they got closer I could begin to make out what they were saying.

“—told you, I heard something,” one man said.

“No way. It was just a fish.”

“Fish don’t make sounds like that.”

As I watched, hidden behind a tree and some bushes, two guys appeared next to the water. I could hear the blood rushing through my skull as I stared at them.

Slowly, I realized what was happening. They weren’t dressed like border guards or Mounties. They weren’t carrying rifles.

“See, told you,” the taller guy said.

“Maybe it was farther down?” the other one said.

The two men were dressed in brown clothes, wide-brimmed hats, and were carrying fishing rods. I sighed and relaxed slightly. They were just some local Canadian guys out fishing for the day, though why they wanted to fish at the actual border was a mystery to me.

“You’re crazy. Let’s just cast here, see if we can’t get a bite.”

“It’s lunch for those suckers,” the other guy said. “They’re busy having a snack.”

“Well, we can feed them more.”

They laughed together and began to set up their little spot. I watched for another second as they unfolded chairs and began to bait their rods.

I didn’t wait around to see if they would catch anything. I moved on as quietly as possible, heading deeper into the woods before resuming my trek along the riverbank, well away from the fishermen.

It took me a few minutes before I caught my breath. It was the first time I had ever seen people near the border, and it was a harsh reminder that I wasn’t absolutely alone out in the woods. I wasn’t actually invincible.

I felt a little shaken up as I moved east, putting more distance between me and the fishermen. Throwing the sign had been stupid, a stupid and immature mistake. What if they had been border patrol? They would definitely have followed up, and I doubted I would have been able to hide from trained professionals.

I was lucky. I hated to admit it, but I was incredibly lucky, and had been for a long time. Falling and losing a single shipment was nothing compared to the sort of shit I could get into out there. Every time I made it back alive and with the shipment intact, I was beating the odds.

And suddenly I was making runs way more often.

I checked the sun and decided that I had gotten far enough away from those guys. The actual meeting spot was another mile or two back toward them, but I would be deeper into the woods on the Canadian side by that point. They’d never know I was there.

Resigned, I hid in some brush and waited. The spot I had chosen was relatively shallow and slow moving, so I knew I could just walk across.

There was no sign of life aside from the animals. Nothing moved on the other side.

After a few minutes, I slowly began to slog out into the open river.

The water was cold and refreshing against my legs as I walked. It went up to the middle of my thighs, just under my pack, at the deepest part of the river. I felt exposed, incredibly exposed, and anyone within a mile of me could easily spot me there. I moved as fast as I could without being too loud.

And when I made it to the other side without incident, I quickly collapsed behind some bushes, willing my heart to calm down.

What would Becca think if they suddenly got a call from the border patrol? I’d hate to let down my mom, but on some level she had to already know. Truthfully, I was most afraid of disappointing Becca, perfect fucking Becca.

After a minute, my heart rate came down and I started my hike back toward the meeting place. I checked my GPS unit, looked at my compass, and knew I was going to make it just in time. The fishermen had put me back longer than I’d realized.

Canada, oh Canada
, I thought.

––––––––

N
ot long later, I emerged into an empty campsite.

I didn’t know how the local mobsters knew about it, but from what I could tell it had once been a popular spot. But over the years, because of economic factors I couldn’t begin to understand, people moved away and stopped going to it altogether.

Which made it a perfect site for us to meet.

I dropped my pack down on a bench and looked around. The guy hadn’t showed up yet, which wasn’t too surprising. They didn’t like to linger as much as possible. I couldn’t blame them.

I stripped off my shoes and socks and laid them out next to me in the sun to dry. I looked around at nature slowly reclaiming the campsite and wondered if the whole world would look like that one day, half man-made and half natural. The weeds would grow beyond just weeds, into full-fledged plants, and would wind their way through dead-wood structures until everything man-made was rotten and everything nature was green.

Not long later, I heard a car. I watched as a black sedan pulled down the dirt road and stopped at the other end of the site, not wanting to risk coming in any farther. Once, early on, a guy had driven his car all the way down to where I was sitting, and he had gotten stuck in mud. Not only did I have to smuggle drugs that time, but I also had to push a car free.

Two doors opened and two men climbed out. I watched, a little surprised, as they walked toward me.

The man on the right was bald and wore a black suit with dress shoes and sunglasses. He could have been twenty or he could have been forty: I had absolutely no clue. But he looked strong and he walked with an air of confidence that was unmistakable. He was definitely the muscle.

The guy on the left was new. There were two or three people that usually showed up, but none of them looked nearly as nasty or professional as this guy did. His face was scarred down one side and he had a constant scowl. I stood up as they approached.

“Why no shoes?” the scarred man asked.

I stared at him. “What?”

He nodded at the bench. “You took off your shoes.”

I almost laughed. “I had to cross a river to get here. I’m drying them off.”

He nodded as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Who are you guys?” I blurted out.

The scarred man smiled. “I am Rigley. This is Jenner. You will always speak with me. Pretend like he does not exist.” Rigley waved his hand at Jenner, dismissing him. Jenner didn’t move an inch, just stood there like a statue.

“Okay, Rigley. What happened to the other guys?”

“Change of leadership. Now you deal with me.”

I sighed inwardly. I hated dealing with gangsters. I especially hated dealing with new gangsters I didn’t know or understand.

“You got the stuff?” I asked him.

“Yes, but not so fast. We have not met, you and I. Your name is Reid?”

“People call me Climber.”

“Why is that?”

I shrugged. “Not sure.” I didn’t feel like explaining my past to him.

“Okay then, Climber. We have new changes for you now.”

“I don’t like change.”

He smiled. “Nobody does. But it is a fact of life.”

I nodded, needing to be careful. “Okay. What’s happening now?”

“Now, you will deal with me. If I am not here, you do not deal. Understand?”

“Fine.”

“Also, you will be carrying more. Not too much more, but more.”

I frowned. “I’m already pushing it. Carrying too much can kill me.”

He laughed. “Kill you? No, no, that won’t happen. You are strong American boy, you’ll be fine.”

“Is that all?”

“That’s all. Very simple, yes?”

“Let’s get this over with. I have a long trip back.”

He laughed again. “Climber, so eager. Okay then.” He nodded at Jenner, who walked over and handed me a bag.

I unzipped it and looked inside. It was full of the usual pills. I looked back up and nodded as I began to fit the contents into my pack.

“That it?” I asked.

“That’s it. Pleasure meeting you, Climber.”

“Same,” I grunted.

They turned and walked back to their car. I watched as they slowly pulled away, reversing back the way they came.

I shivered as I slowly put my socks and shoes back on. I’d be getting them wet again soon, but that was fine. At least they’d be semi-dry for the short hike before I hit the river.

Those two guys had given me a bad feeling. Jenner was eerily quiet and intense while Rigley seemed almost jovial. Still, all these changes meant something, but I didn’t yet know what it was.

I hefted my pack into place, frowning. It was heavier than usual, but I’d manage. I began the hike back toward home, a stone lodged in my gut.

Worry and more worry. As I crossed the river and kept moving, the sun beginning to sink down in the west, I was unsure of what the changes really meant.

Worse, I was afraid I was in deeper than I realized.

R
eid was gone the morning after the party. He must have left early to go on his hike or whatever he had been preparing for. As I sat up and checked my phone, I felt a deep shade of embarrassment and a slight headache creeping in at the edges of my vision.

Three texts from Lindsey. The first seemed panicked, probably right after she heard about what happened with Josh. The next two were more recent, probably after she woke up.

I sighed, stretching out. Lindsey hadn’t been like that back when we were friends. She was a sweet girl, maybe a little quiet, maybe not the smartest person in the world, but she was kind and caring. She never would have ditched me at a party.

Then there was what Reid and everyone else kept saying about her. Apparently, she was a pill addict or something? I didn’t get that at all from the party, but then again, she could have taken her stuff before we went or after she left me. We had been close, once upon a time, but so much had changed in the last four years that maybe I didn’t know her anymore.

Regardless, she was my only friend. And I didn’t want to be the kind of person who callously threw someone aside if they made one mistake.

It’s no big deal
, I typed back.
Reid took me home, I’m fine
.

I hit send. A few minutes later, she replied.

I am SO SORRY about that asshole Josh. He is SUCH a creep
.

Not your fault, you did try to warn me lol
, I sent back.

Call me when you get a second?
she said.

I sighed and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Becca,” she said, sounding tired.

“Hey, Linds.”

“Look, I didn’t want to say this over text. I’m just sorry about what happened. I should never have ditched you like that.”

“I understand. I mean, they’re your friends. You didn’t have to babysit me all night.”

“Still, I feel awful. You didn’t know anybody.”

“It’s really not a huge deal, Linds.”

“I just feel bad. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

I paused for a second as something clicked inside me. “Actually, there is.”

“What?”

“Is the Blue hiring? I need a job for the summer.”

She laughed. “Hell yeah they are! I’ll get you an application and put in a good word. Stop by any time after three, that’s when my shift starts.”

“Okay, great. That’ll be perfect.”

“I’m sorry again. But I’m excited to work together!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Sounds good. See you.”