Runner: A dark enemies to lovers gang romance (Sapphire Duet Book 1)
Runner: Chapter 24

I walked stiffly through the entrance of the small restaurant area of the bed-and-breakfast. I swiped my tongue across my lip to mess with my piercing until I remembered I’d taken it out. The black slacks and business button-down shirt I wore were making me itch. Kade walked next to me, looking just as uncomfortable. We’d gotten back from the job less than an hour ago, and Mili had stayed in the room just long enough to change. She warned us to blend in if we came down to the bar, so here we were, wearing clothes we hated.

The bar area was packed. Wealth saturated the room, and I knew Mili had been right. If we were to walk down here in our regular clothes, we would have been the center of attention. Although, even with my outfit, I was sure I didn’t fit in completely. I was the only guy in here whose hair wasn’t cut short. Scanning the tables, I saw Mili sitting by herself. With the navy-blue cocktail dress she had on, she blended in perfectly. Or as well as she could. She was easily the most stunning woman in the room, and half the men in here were stealing glances at her.

She sipped on a martini as she scrolled through her phone, a pinched expression on her face. If I were to guess, she was probably still thinking about Rhett. She hadn’t said a word about it to us, and I guessed she didn’t plan to.

“Sit at the bar?” Kade asked, purposely not looking at Mili.

I was about to agree with him because I had a feeling she didn’t want our company right now. But I halted in my tracks, watching a guy saunter to her table. He was staring at Mili as if undressing her in his head, and heat raced through my veins. Before I could say a word, Kade cut in front of me, moving straight for her table. I followed, and we sat down on either side of her right as the guy got to her.

“Can we help you?” Kade asked, a clear warning in his question.

“Oh, uh, no,” the guy stammered out. “I thought she was alone.”

“Nope,” I said, giving him a grin while my gaze dared him to try and talk to her.

He mumbled something under his breath as he turned and shuffled away. Mili stirred the olive in her drink, her eyes trailing over us.

“Don’t tell me you came down here just to chase off men for me,” she murmured. “After the night I had, sex is the perfect way to end it.”

“Good thing there are two guys right here who would love to take you up on that offer.” I cleared my throat after seeing Kade’s scowl. “Well, maybe just one.”

She laughed lightly as her eyes flashed with danger. “I’m pissed at you two. You don’t want to be alone with me right now.”

“I’m going to get a drink,” Kade muttered, standing up and heading toward the bar.

I watched him leave before focusing on Mili. She was acting like herself, as if she didn’t beat a man to death less than two hours ago. Dredging up her past had to have shaken her, but she was hiding it well.

“I bet the payout for that car is going to be big,” I said, carefully starting the conversation.

“I wouldn’t know,” she replied. “I didn’t look.”

“The job was never about the car,” I said softly, wondering how far she’d let me push until shutting me down.

Her eyes cut to mine. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Is a broken arm the worst he did to you?” The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

She straightened up, anger flashing across her face. “I don’t want or need your fucking pity. So drop it. And don’t ever talk about it again.”

Bouncing my leg, I stared at her for a moment before unclasping my cuff link and rolling up the sleeve. She watched me curiously as I turned my arm, letting her see the inside of my wrist. My full sleeve tattoo covered the skin, but I knew she saw the scars when her eyes widened slightly.

“One surgery and two steel pins,” I said in a low voice. “All because I accidentally dropped my dad’s beer when I was seven.”

Her fingers lightly traced my scar as she stayed quiet. My heart hammered against my ribs while I wondered why the fuck I was sharing this with her. No one other than Kade knew how badly my dad used to beat on me. But I wanted her to see that I wasn’t pitying her. I understood—at least partly.

Unbuttoning the top of my shirt, I tugged it to the side, showing her my collarbone. Her gaze zeroed in on what I was showing her, and she pressed her lips together as she stared.

“This was the only time he put out his cigarette on my chest.” Rage made my voice thick as images of my dad popped into my mind. “Most are on my back. Can’t see them now though, thanks to my ink. I’ve had my nose broken—twice. A few concussions. A shattered knee that kept me in a wheelchair for months.”

I stopped talking, shaking my head. Fuck, I hadn’t dug this deep into my past in years. I looked away from her to see Kade watching us. He had our drinks but was staying at the bar. He couldn’t hear us, but he could probably guess what I was telling her since he knew me better than anyone.

“Why is he still alive?” she asked, anger for me present in her voice.

I ignored her question. “I got out when I was thirteen. How long were you trapped?”

She bristled, her fingers going tight around her glass. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters,” I said firmly. “Because you survived.”

She stared at me, her anger evaporating. Since she wasn’t leaving or threatening me, I attempted to push a little more.

“What was your escape?” I asked gently. “Mine was music.”

I could tell she understood what I was asking. Her outlet to escape her mind when the pain came. If it wasn’t for classic rock, I would have lost myself decades ago.

“Books,” she breathed out. “I lived in fictional worlds.”

“For how long?”

I needed to know if her childhood was a replica of mine. Were we suffering at the same time? Or did her nightmare come later in life?

She hesitated, her walls coming back up. “I didn’t grow up like you. I made my own hell when I was sixteen by walking into a world I knew nothing about.”

My fists clenched as I took in her words. That most likely meant the guy she was talking to Rhett about, Joel, wasn’t her father, or family at all. My gut knotted, wondering what else he did to her.

“And no,” she whispered, “a broken wrist wasn’t the worst they did to me.”

My heart cracked at the pain in her voice. I opened my mouth to ask something else but closed it when a lady walked up to our table. Frowning, I shot the blonde a glare for interrupting us when I was finally getting somewhere with her. She didn’t pay me any attention as she smiled at Mili.

“I remember you,” she said, her eyes brightening. “You were at the conference today.”

Mili was already back in character, and she smiled warmly at the woman. “I was. It was an interesting topic, wasn’t it?”

My confusion grew as they chatted. Was that where Mili had spent the entire day before we went on the job? A shadow fell over the table before Kade took the empty seat next to Mili. The woman glanced at us as if remembering I was there.

“Were you two there as well? I don’t remember seeing you,” she said, her gaze falling to Kade.

“They were.” Mili giggled. “But they like hiding out in the back of the room.”

“What did you think about the business model they were discussing?” the woman asked me. “It could be great for small businesses, don’t you think?”

I was caught off guard, so I reached for the beer Kade had brought me and sipped it as I thought about what to say. Mili’s eyes danced with amusement for a few seconds before she bailed me out by answering the question with ease. Shock was plastered on Kade’s face as he listened to Mili talk about start-up businesses as if she were an expert.

“I need another drink.” The woman glanced at Mili’s empty drink. “Join me?”

“Sure,” she replied as she stood from the table. Before leaving, she leaned into me, her lips brushing my cheek. “Don’t look so surprised. I told you we needed to act like we belong.”

Giving me one last look, she turned on her heel and followed the woman to the bar. I finished my beer, not taking my eyes off her.

“What did you two talk about?” Kade asked the second we were alone.

“Whatever happened to her, it didn’t start until she was sixteen,” I answered quietly. “I don’t think it was family who hurt her.”

Kade’s jaw dropped. “She actually told you that?”

“That was pretty much the only thing she told me.” I sighed. “I doubt she’ll tell us anything else.”

“We need to look into Rhett’s life more,” he said gruffly. “It might lead to who Joel is.”

“If she replaces out we’re digging, she’ll lose it,” I warned him, even though I knew it was useless. We were both too invested to drop it now.

I glanced back over at the bar, my gaze wandering when I didn’t see Mili. I found her on the makeshift dance floor, her offbeat dance moves nothing like how she’d danced at our club. But her moves fit in perfectly with everyone else around her. The woman was dancing with her, and they were both smiling. I doubted Mili was enjoying herself, but we’d never know it from looking at her.

“That fucker is going to try it again,” Kade grumbled, his eyes focused on the bar.

Following his gaze, I saw the guy who had gone up to Mili before we joined her at the table. His obsessive stare was on her as she danced. He ran a hand through his curly brown hair, a vile smirk forming on his face as he jumped off the barstool. The back of my neck flushed with heat as he began dancing with Mili. She expertly inserted the blond woman between her and the guy, but that didn’t deter him.

He pretty much shoved the poor woman out of the way, roughly grabbing Mili around the waist and pulling her into his chest. His hands roamed over her ass until she grabbed his wrist and shook her head, laughingly telling him no. Kade rose from his seat, and she glanced over her shoulder, as if sensing that we were about to intervene. Her look said more than any of her words could have. She didn’t want us to come anywhere near her.

I swallowed thickly, trying to rein in my anger at seeing another guy touching her. That in itself was a problem. She’d been very clear from the beginning that she had no interest in being with me. I knew from the start she’d disappear as soon as the Panther job was done. But the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted her.

“If he touches her again, he’s dead,” I muttered, deciding I didn’t give a shit that Mili wanted us to stay out of it. I wasn’t about to sit and watch while this asshole groped her.

I shot up from my seat when the guy grabbed Mili above her elbow and all but dragged her off the dance floor. Her body tensed, but she didn’t fight against him besides pretending to feebly tug out of his grip. She could fucking drop him, but no—apparently not causing a scene was more important to her.

Fuck that.

Kade and I followed to where he was pulling her into the hall. We rounded the corner, catching sight of her pressed against the wall with him grasping her chin as he tried kissing her. She twisted his wrist, tearing his grip from her face before ducking under his arm. Teetering on his feet, he spun around, as if not understanding how she’d moved that quickly. I realized he was drunk, and from the way he could barely stand straight, he was a drink away from passing out.

“You should know we can’t have any fun without protection,” Mili teased, running a hand down his face. “I’m going to run up to my room real quick. Why don’t you go get us a drink and meet me back here?”

His gaze dropped to her breasts, and she rolled her eyes in disgust, masking it before he met her stare again.

“My cock is going to look so good in your mouth,” the guy slurred.

Jesus fuck, I wanted to strangle him right there. Mili hadn’t even realized we were watching, and Kade’s jaw clenched as he forced himself to stay still.

“Go get another drink,” she urged with a seductive smile. “I’ll be right back.”

He nodded eagerly as she walked away. With each step she took, she relaxed, taking her time going down the hall. She wasn’t coming back; she fully expected him to be so wasted that he’d forget about her. Once again, the way she controlled the situation surprised me. I wondered if she ever lost it.

Kade strolled up to the guy, getting in his way so he couldn’t go back to the bar. I moved beside him, and the guy barely gave us a glance until Kade slid his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

“Want one, man?” Kade asked, holding a cigarette out.

“Hell yes.” The guy took the cigarette, stumbling as he looked for the exit.

“Shit,” I mumbled, patting my pockets. “Left the lighter in the car. You good to go to the parking lot?”

“Sure, it’s not like we can smoke in here anyway.” The guy laughed, his eyes losing focus as he looked at us.

We let him walk in front of us, and I scanned the hall, making sure no one saw us leaving with him.

“Here,” Kade said under his breath, holding out the car key. “You follow.”

I frowned. “Who the fuck says you get all the fun?”

He scowled. “Fine.”

As we got outside, we played rock, paper, scissors for the second time tonight. We used to do this all the time as kids when we couldn’t agree, but as adults, we barely ever had to do it because we usually agreed on everything. Until Mili came into our lives.

I chuckled when I won again, making Kade curse under his breath. He unlocked the car before pretending to search for a lighter. I kept my eyes on the guy as he went to his car and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

“Nice car,” I lied, pretending to be in awe of his beat-up Porsche. “I bet the women love that.”

“They do. I’m hoping to impress the bitch I met tonight with it.” He lit his cigarette after Kade tossed him the lighter. “I’m Pete.”

“Gray,” I said, not caring if he knew my name. He wasn’t going to survive long enough to tell anyone.

Pete gave Kade the lighter back, not noticing that neither of us were smoking with him. I gave Kade a side eye, shocked he hadn’t lit one up. Apparently, Mili’s words about leaving evidence had stuck with him.

“You got a wife?” Kade asked him.

“Nah,” Pete answered after blowing out a long drag of smoke. “You?”

I shook my head. “Too many ladies to be tied down by one.”

Pete bellowed a laugh. “You got that right, man.”

“Kids?” Kade asked, trying to sound interested instead of pissed off, but he wasn’t doing half as good a job as Mili had. He was staring at Pete like he wanted to stab him in the neck. But at least we knew this asshole would have no one missing him.

“Nope,” Pete said unevenly. “Thanks for the smoke, but I have someone waiting for me.”

“Can I take this baby for a drive?” I asked, hoping my voice was hitting the excitement I needed for him to stay interested. I knew his type. He was cocky and loved to brag—whether it be to men or women. He wanted people to think he was important.

“I would, but like I said, I have a woman waiting.”

“Come on,” I coaxed. “I saw you with her, and she was smitten. She’ll wait for ten minutes. I just want to tell my friends that I was behind the wheel of a car like this.”

He hesitated, and I was surprised he was suspicious with how drunk he was. After a few moments, he finally nodded slowly. Digging his keys out of his pockets, he handed them to me before getting in the passenger seat. Biting back my grin, I glanced at Kade before getting in the Porsche.

“You live around here?” I asked as I started the engine, immediately noticing it wasn’t as smooth as it should be. This guy treated his car like shit.

“No, here for the conference.”

Pulling out of the parking lot, I turned toward the mountain road, opposite of town. I revved the engine, and my head hit the seat when I accelerated.

“Whoa.” Pete laughed nervously, grabbing the dashboard. “Careful.”

“I need some advice. How do you get the ladies?” I asked, acting curious. “I saw you dancing with the black-haired woman, and she looked like she didn’t want you. Then, in the hall, she was all but panting after you. What’s your secret?”

Pete relaxed, shooting me a smirk. “They all want it. Even if they play hard to get.”

They. This fucking prick had probably forced himself on women in the past. I was doing this because he did it to Mili, but at least I was ridding the world of one more dirtbag at the same time. Headlights appeared in my mirror, and when they blinked three times, alerting me that it was Kade, I shifted gears. Pete sucked in a breath when I turned a corner without slowing down.

“I think we should go back,” he said, shaking his head as if trying to think straight.

“You know, driving drunk is dangerous,” I murmured, letting my voice grow cold. “Especially on roads like this.”

“You’re drunk?” Pete screeched. “And you asked to drive my car? Not fucking cool.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “No, you are. I wonder how many other drunk drivers have lost control and gone over the cliff. I should probably look that up later.”

Pete was full-on sweating now. We were coming up on another curve, and he blew out a breath when I slowed down. But instead of turning with the road, I kept the wheel straight.

“What the hell are you doing?” he screamed.

He leaned over the center console to try and grab the wheel, and I threw my elbow into his face. His nose started gushing blood, and he choked as he held his face. I could have hit him harder to knock him out, but I wanted him alert for this.

“Please,” he cried. “I didn’t do anything to you.”

“You touched what isn’t yours.”

With that, I let go of the wheel and punched him in the face to make sure he didn’t have a chance to recover before it was too late. Straightening the car out again, I pushed open my door before using my other hand to unbuckle his seat belt. His yelling was garbled as he attempted to shake off my hit. Taking a deep breath, I jumped out of the Porsche and hit the ground, with my shoulder and hip taking most of the fall before I rolled over the pavement.

The car hadn’t been going that fast, but I jumped out close enough to the guardrail that it hit before it could stop on its own. I watched, not getting off the ground, worried for a second that the speed wasn’t enough. Until Kade drove up behind and clipped the back bumper. The metal of the old guardrail bent as the wooden posts slipped from the dirt. Since the windows were down, I heard Pete screaming as it teetered on the edge. Kade reversed and then drove forward, this last bump enough to send the Porsche over the cliff.

By the time I jumped to my feet and ran to the edge, the car had already hit. The headlights were still on, showing exactly when it landed. The drop was three hundred feet. No way he survived that. Especially since he wasn’t buckled. He probably flew from the car, and no one would ever know I was there. We’d keep up with his death investigation once he was found, but I wasn’t worried in the slightest about getting caught.

“Let’s go,” Kade called out from the car.

With one last glance down the steep cliff, I studied the front of our SUV, seeing a scratch or two but nothing super noticeable. I hopped into the passenger seat, and Kade sped off. My heart was still racing from adrenaline, and I shot Kade a grin.

“The guy died terrified out of his mind,” I informed him.

“Good.” Kade jerked a nod to the back seat. “You should change before we go back to the room or she’s going to figure out what we did.”

My clothes were full of dirt and specks of blood from hitting Pete. Peeling off my shirt, I reached over the seat and dug into the bag until I found a new one.

“We just killed for her,” I muttered, voicing my thoughts out loud.

“I know.”

“We don’t do that for anyone outside the crew.”

Kade gritted his teeth. “I know.”

“Because it’s more than just sex with her. At least for me.”

I glanced at him, knowing even though he didn’t answer, he agreed. And I wasn’t sure what the hell that meant for us. We’d shared girls in the past, but only in the bedroom. It was for sex, and that was all.

But Mili, she was different.