ZEKE (4 page)

“Fuck.” I drop my hand just as a loud thud echoes outside my bedroom.

Body stiff, my eyes flash to the door. Holding my breath, I hear a few more loud rustling sounds. “Shit.” I drop my shoulders and glance at the alarm clock, 2:45 am. Jax is closing JZS’s tonight. So it’s gotta be Slate. I scrub my face, swing my legs around, and jump out of bed to go deal with my fucked-up brother.

I wander into the kitchen. Slate’s sitting at the table with the back of his head resting against the wall. “Hey, fucker,” he says, viewing me from the slits of bloodshot eyes.

“Dickhead.” I nudge and walk over to the fridge. I grab a couple of waters. “You stop at JSZ on your way in?” I hand Slate a bottle, and he just stares at me. I twist off the cap and set the water on the table in front of him. I know he needs it, needs to hydrate. Besides a few protein shakes here and there, I never see the guy eat. The only other thing he puts in his body comes in pill form. Then again, I think he smokes the shit. Hell, he might even be putting it up his nose. Since the fire, Jax and I don’t know what he does. He’s rarely home, and when he is, he’s passed out in his bed. He’s fucked up and has been for the past three years.

I ain’t gonna tell him that I saw Rayna tonight. Though, if anyone could save his ass, she might just be the one. She was the love of his life. “Drink the water, dickhead.”

“Fuck you,” he says, his hand moving in slow motion as he attempts to make contact with the bottle. Finally, gripping it with a shaky hand, he takes a long guzzle, swipes his mouth, and sets the water down. I need to get his ass to bed before Jax gets home. My older brothers, they fight; that’s their relationship now, and I try to be the buffer.

Since my parents’ death, Jax, who’s a few years older than Slate and me, became the sort of father figure in our lives. I don’t think he ever had a choice. I still remember the day my parents were killed and how the cops tried to get me talk. I wouldn’t say a word and rocked on my bed until Jax and Slate walked into my room. I looked at Jax, the spittin’ image of my dad, ran over, and jumped into his arms. He held me, protected me, and I’ve looked up to him ever since. Slate did too until the fire, until he turned to drugs to help make his demons go away. Jax and I have tried to help him, but he doesn’t want our help. He’s not ready. I’m just hoping someday, before he kills himself, he will.

I glance at the microwave. Jax should be walking through the door any minute. I turn back to Slate. He has the customary hoodie pulled up over his head, hiding his scars. He downs the last of his water.

“Ya going to bed?” I tilt my head toward his room. “Or ya up for a game of Grand Theft Auto?”

He stands up and shoves his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “Bed,” he says and sways to the left. I grab him before he tumbles to the floor. I slip his arm over my shoulder and steer him to his bedroom. Head bobbing, Slate doesn’t utter a word as I get him safely to his bed. Face first, he falls onto the mattress. I wait a second or two then I head back into the kitchen.

I pick up the empty bottles and toss them into the recyclable bin. Jax comes through the front door; cheek bruised and lip cut. He doesn’t usually get in the ring, he manages the financial aspect of the business, but Slate was in no shape to fight earlier. With me already scheduled for a match, Jax had to step in for our fucked-up bro, and he wasn’t too happy about it.

“Hey, old geezer. Heard you kicked some ass tonight. That dude from Pasadena didn’t have a chance.”

“Oh,” Jax drops the moneybag from the night on the counter, “he had a chance. He was a tough fucker.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle, “but so are you.” Jax is the biggest, the strongest, and the smartest of the three of us. He’s composed, doesn’t break easily, and I never know what he’s really thinking. He’s a private guy.

“Slate?” He arches a brow.

“In bed,” I say, resting back against the stove.

“He-”

I nod. “He’s okay.”

He takes a deep breath, scratches his head, and looks around the kitchen. “You alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Thought you’d have that cute redhead here. What?” He rests his palms on the counter. “She wouldn’t agree to your rules?” A quick grin cracks his lip open; blood trickles out, and he brushes a knuckle across it.

“Thought you’d bring Emmie Rue home with you tonight,” I say in an attempt to deviate the conversation away from the cute redhead.

“Lurlene.” Jax smiles again, tapping his bottom lip. “That’s her name, in case you didn’t get that far, loverboy. She’s a friend of Emmie and Rayna’s. She’ll be here for the summer. She’s an English teacher. Seems like a nice girl, a good girl, ya know. The kind of girl you steer clear of.”

“Yeah, not interested,” I lie. Lurlene? Don’t think I’ve ever fucked a Lurlene. She’s certainly different from all the others. Jax is right. For their safety, I stay away from girls like her.

“More like chicken-shit.” Jax chuckles.

“Says the man who doesn’t date either.” I smirk. “Hey, at least I get laid, buttercup.”

Jax gives me a sly grin. Yeah, I know he’s getting some. I just don’t know when or with whom. Unlike me, he’s discreet about his sex life.

CHAPTER SIX

Day four at the Bayou and I’m the sober one driving the golf cart back from the Declan brothers’ apartment. After a few drinks, Rayna persuaded Emmie into going to see Jax. I don’t think it turned out the way that either of them thought it might.

I open the door to Rayna’s place, drop the keys on the coffee table, and fall onto the couch. Rayna and Emmie follow suit, both with bitter expressions, plopping down next to me.

“I don’t get it.” I look at them, my hands out in the air. “What is so damn special about these Declan brothers?”

“Special?” Emmie huffs. “Jax Declan just rejected me.” She points at her chest. “Me! I offered to sleep with the man, and the arrogant asshole declined my offer!”

“It’s probably a good thing. You are a little drunk,” I try to reason.

“No shit! That’s what he said,” she slumps back on the sofa, “like he has some kind of morals or something. Dammit, now I just want him more. Men! They’re so confusing.”

“Believe me, they’re not. I know. I do have five older brothers and every single one of them is still single. They’re all afraid of commitment, just a bunch of scared little boys in a man’s body.”

“Your brothers are hot. They can have anyone they want,” Emmie says with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. She’s beautiful and has won many beauty pageants. No doubt, it’s difficult for her to deal with rejection. Especially after she just threw herself at the one man she’s always wanted.

“That’s the problem.” I sigh, thinking about Zeke. He can have anyone he wants. Thank God, we didn’t run into him tonight. “There’s no challenge. Once they get the girl, they get bored.”

“Damn straight. When Slate got bored, he cheated on me,” Rayna slurs. “But, hell, when I saw him tonight ...” She clenches her hands. “Ow! I hate him!”

I lean forward, eyeing Rayna. “You still care about him?”

“No.” She points a finger at me. “No! I refuse to have any feelings for Slate Declan. I came here for one reason.” She stands up. “We all came here for one reason, to break the Declan brothers, and ladies, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now,” she claps her hands, “time for some wine.”

“Great,” I say between clenched teeth. “We already polished off a few bottles tonight and look where that got us.”

“Nuh-uh.” Rayna shakes her head. “Tonight, I’m not listening to your voice of reason.”

“But−”

“Nope.” Rayna hushes me, waving her arms out in the air as she stumbles toward the kitchen.

I glance at Emmie. “Slate and her?”

“Yeah,” she leans forward, rubbing her temples, “they were the real deal. Rayna loved him. Him cheating on her, it crushed her. She wasn’t always this much of a hard-ass. He did that to her. He hurt her bad. She cried for an entire week, and the only way she could get over him was to leave the Bayou, leave her family, and leave everything else she loved, Lady included.”

“Her dog,” I say, recalling Rayna mentioning her.

“Yep,” Emmie says, falling back against the sofa. “At least you don’t have a past with Zeke. Your Declan should be the easiest to break.”

“Are we really going through with this?” I lower my voice. “It’s ridiculous, don’t you think?”

“Rayna needs it.” Emmie sighs. “And I want Jax, so if I have to break him to get him, then that’s what I plan to do. I guess if you don’t want to join the pack, you could just let Rayna know.”

“Right.” I snort. “You know as well as I do that Rayna’s never going to let me out of this.”

“That’s because you’re one of us now. Oh,” she flays a hand in the air, “it’ll be fun. Zeke isn’t a damn superhero or anything. He’s just a guy.”

I slump back beside her. “Oh, I don’t know. He just might be a superhero.” I laugh. I just can’t figure out which one wears the mask—the guy I met at the park or the player I encountered at the bar.

“Who’s a superhero,” Rayna asks carrying three glasses with a full bottle of wine wedged between her side and arm.

“Zeke,” Emmie says, sitting up.

“Hmm.” She tilts her head. “He could be.” She sets the glasses and bottle on the table before sitting down on the floor. “Slate is really superman, ya know.” She giggles, working on the corkscrew until it pops. She starts to fill our glasses. “Zeke’s the avenger.”

“Oh, yeah,” Emmie says. “The boy could fight, and he always picked the biggest jerk in the crowd. Remember that time he kicked Ryker Waller’s ass for making fun of Bucky Morris’ lisp? He hung the jerk from his jeans on the fence at Spray Park.” She starts laughing.

“Yes!” Rayna laughs too. “And Grams showed up. She scolded Zeke in front of everyone and then made him help Ryker down. She was a spitfire. If anyone could handle those boys, it was Grams.” Rayna sets the wine bottle on the coffee table. “I loved Grams.” She sighs and looks at me. “After their parents died, they moved here to live with her. She passed away my senior year. It really messed up Slate. Jax had to take over the store, but Zeke, the youngest one, kept it together. He stayed strong. I always liked Zeke and,” she pauses to look up at me, “I know that you’re going to like him too. Promise, Lurlene. Just take a crack at him. You’ll be surprised what you might find if you can break him open.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Situated on a stool in the corner of the room, I lift my glass of wine poured from a little plastic bottle as expected. I’m alone at JZS tonight. I figured it was high time for me put down the book to study my sexy novel subject. After I overheard Emmie mention that Zeke was fighting tonight, I decided to get dressed and come observe. I must admit, though, I want to see him in action. Not to mention I’ve been thinking about what he might look like without a shirt, which is uncommon for me.

No guy has ever kept me up at night. I learned not to indulge in such things early on in high school. It helped to stay focused on my studies. Besides, living under the same roof with five guys didn’t leave much to wonder about boys. From the ‘girl stories’ to their every idiotic action, I’ve also learned that when it comes to the male species, they are testosterone-driven boneheads.

People think I’m still a virgin because I have five older brothers protecting my virtue. When really, they’re the reason why I stayed away from men. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brothers. They have their good attributes and each one has a heart worth loving. They’re just not ready or willing to share those qualities with anyone yet. Instead, they throw themselves into their work. They’re all daring little devils from deactivating bombs to doing insane stunts for famous actors. They love to live dangerously. I guess I didn’t get that gene because I’m the polar opposite.

At least, I was until I met Rayna. She has a way of hauling me out of my comfort zone. I swear, if she doesn’t get back with her ex this summer, then I’m going to fix her up with my brother, Token. He could use a woman like her in his life.

Growing up, I didn’t have too many friends; I was too busy concentrating on my grades and whatnot. Now that I have two close friends, I realize what I’ve been missing all those years. I met Emmie at my book club. She’s sweet, funny, and the girl can flirt. Watching her, I’ve learned a lot, but as beautiful as she is, Emmie never makes you feel like she’s the only one shining in the room. I like that about her.