Page 18
Story: Beyond the Hate
I blow out a breath. Great. I’m going to spend the entire night trying to save Jaxon from his brothers.
“Welcome to the trenches,” Rhett mutters.
We turn into the alley where the bar is a few minutes later.Rumrunneris a speakeasy and is supposed to be difficult to find. In reality, their social media channels blare their location to one and all. However, visitors do need to solve a riddle to get the password to enter.
Kai skips to the door and knocks. A small window opens and he waves. “It’s us.”
The door opens and the doorman ushers us inside.
“Hey, Trent,” I greet.
“Good,” he grunts. “You’re here. Maybe you can keep your brothers in line.”
Rhett snorts. “Impossible.”
“Oh no.” Jaxon groans.
Crap. Have my brothers already caused chaos? “What?”
He gestures to the banner hanging above the bar.Find the Secrets of the Island Scavenger Hunt.
“What are the chances I can gather the family together and escape?” I ask Rhett.
He indicates Miles who’s sitting in a booth and waving a piece of paper at us. “None.”
“I entered us as the Whiskey Raiders,” Miles says when we join him.
I hold my hand out to Zane. “I need my phone back.”
“You can’t run away. We already paid our entry fee.”
I wiggle my hand. “Someone needs to be able to transfer the money when it’s time to bail you out of jail.”
“Fair point.” He slaps the phone in my hand.
Damn. I would have felt better if he denied needing bail money.
“It’s better to let them loose for a while. We’ll rein them in before chaos descends,” Rhett says.
“Really? Before chaos descends?”
He shrugs. “I do my best.”
“We are going to win this!” A woman in the booth behind me declares and my muscles seize.
Shit. I know her voice. I glance behind me to check. Yep, it’s Chloe. And her entourage. My gaze catches Paisley’s and she snarls at me. I whirl around away from her and return my attention to my brothers. All of whom are smirking.
“Do you want to switch sides with me?” Miles asks. “You can’t gaze longingly at her all night long from your side.”
I flip him off and he dissolves into laughter. Asshole.
“What are the prizes anyway?” Sophia asks behind me. I strain to listen to their conversation.
“A gift basket with goodies fromBuccaneer’s Whiskey.The basket includes bottles of whiskey, moonshine, and gin as well as a flask and mugs,” Chloe says.
“Buccaneer’s Whiskey.The owner of the distillery just loves to flaunt his wealth in everyone’s face, doesn’t he?” Paisley says.
Kai jumps to his feet and points to me. “The owner of the distillery is right here if you want to lodge a complaint in person.”
“Welcome to the trenches,” Rhett mutters.
We turn into the alley where the bar is a few minutes later.Rumrunneris a speakeasy and is supposed to be difficult to find. In reality, their social media channels blare their location to one and all. However, visitors do need to solve a riddle to get the password to enter.
Kai skips to the door and knocks. A small window opens and he waves. “It’s us.”
The door opens and the doorman ushers us inside.
“Hey, Trent,” I greet.
“Good,” he grunts. “You’re here. Maybe you can keep your brothers in line.”
Rhett snorts. “Impossible.”
“Oh no.” Jaxon groans.
Crap. Have my brothers already caused chaos? “What?”
He gestures to the banner hanging above the bar.Find the Secrets of the Island Scavenger Hunt.
“What are the chances I can gather the family together and escape?” I ask Rhett.
He indicates Miles who’s sitting in a booth and waving a piece of paper at us. “None.”
“I entered us as the Whiskey Raiders,” Miles says when we join him.
I hold my hand out to Zane. “I need my phone back.”
“You can’t run away. We already paid our entry fee.”
I wiggle my hand. “Someone needs to be able to transfer the money when it’s time to bail you out of jail.”
“Fair point.” He slaps the phone in my hand.
Damn. I would have felt better if he denied needing bail money.
“It’s better to let them loose for a while. We’ll rein them in before chaos descends,” Rhett says.
“Really? Before chaos descends?”
He shrugs. “I do my best.”
“We are going to win this!” A woman in the booth behind me declares and my muscles seize.
Shit. I know her voice. I glance behind me to check. Yep, it’s Chloe. And her entourage. My gaze catches Paisley’s and she snarls at me. I whirl around away from her and return my attention to my brothers. All of whom are smirking.
“Do you want to switch sides with me?” Miles asks. “You can’t gaze longingly at her all night long from your side.”
I flip him off and he dissolves into laughter. Asshole.
“What are the prizes anyway?” Sophia asks behind me. I strain to listen to their conversation.
“A gift basket with goodies fromBuccaneer’s Whiskey.The basket includes bottles of whiskey, moonshine, and gin as well as a flask and mugs,” Chloe says.
“Buccaneer’s Whiskey.The owner of the distillery just loves to flaunt his wealth in everyone’s face, doesn’t he?” Paisley says.
Kai jumps to his feet and points to me. “The owner of the distillery is right here if you want to lodge a complaint in person.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124