Page 12 of Second Sets Omnibus

"You'll be okay. I promise he'll lay off for a few days," Asher whispers, thick with sleep. "Night."

"Night," I mutter, losing all hope I had before.

Seeing River tonight has knocked all the memories loose, and they're running rampant through my mind. I swore I'd forget about her, and I successfully had. Locking her away was the only way I could protect myself from the fury of fists. Eventually, it was like she had never existed, and I moved on with my new life.

The guys all look at one another with questioning gazes, finally landing on the man who apparently has the answers. Ash, ever the man with a fucking plan, grins like the fucking grinch. Too bad there's no way in hell his heart grew three times too big, probably the other way around, shrinking into a damn prune. If Asher has some diabolical plan to enact, it's no doubt evil and crazy.

"We could make her, you know? You already had your way with her. Did she like you?" Ash asks, studying my face with narrowed eyes again.

Fuck. I hate it when he plans like this and gives nothing away with his stony facial expression.

Blowing out a breath, I remember our heated exchange. I bite my bottom lip, imagining what River would look like dangling her pussy above my face and me ready for a damn feast. What would she taste like coating my tongue? Probably fire and vanilla all mixed into one explosion of taste. What I wouldn’t give to stick my tongue deep in her pussy and make her cum all over my tastebuds. But shit, River isn't one to be pushed around. She isn’t going to drop to her knees and do our bidding without incentive. Not now. River Blue isn't the same girl I left eleven years ago. She's a fiery fucking treat, and I want another bite of what's mine. And this time, I'm playing for keeps.

"I don't think you could make that girl do shit," I sigh, shaking my head. "She's not the type to sit back and take orders. River needs our trust."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rad sighs. “We need this, man. I need out of this fucking place. My mom is driving me fucking bonkers begging me to conform to what Dad wants from me. And I'll be fucked over a pulpit before I do that. I'm my own damn man, damn it.” His fists clench in his lap as his eyes drift toward the very house of horrors he escaped and rebelled against when he was just eighteen. Taking one last drag of his joint, Rad tosses it out the window.

Being stuck in a place, financially held hostage by the people who are supposed to love you burns me from the inside out. This car? My phone? My college education? Everything I own, my stepfather taints with his existence, dangling it over our heads. We've tried and tried again to get jobs and further our financial situation. But every step of the way, he's there to knock us on our asses and keep us in his grasp—where he wants us. The only sanctuary we're granted is the music that keeps us alive. According to Nigel, music will get us nowhere in life. Therefore, we can enjoy the ride until our time is up and he needs us to clock into his company—one year. We have one year to get this music thing off the ground, and we're growing desperate.

“I feel your fucking pain,” I grunt, gesturing to the woman stalking our every move from the living room window.

Her beady eyes take in every fucking thing we do. Down to the spent joint sitting in her driveway. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll hear about that later through her screeching wails and fucking disappointment. So, yeah—I feel his pain. We all have our reasons for wanting to escape this fucking hell.

"Fine then, we coerce her into doing whatever the fuck we want. I think we can manage that. We’re all charming as hell. And we want a gig at her brothers’ famous bar, where stars areborn. Our name will be in fucking lights. We're destined for that shit..." Asher nods, so fucking sure of himself that we can convince her to help us pursue happiness. Right. Yeah. This will totally fucking work. Considering she probably hates me.

"You left without saying goodbye."

Her words are a punch to the gut. Yeah, I left without a word, basically kidnapped by the man I now call dad. If I could have gone back, I would have. I tried. But he was always there to remind me with his fist that there was no going back to the neighborhood I grew up in.

"And how the hell do you expect to coerce her? She's not exactly the type," I grumble. From the looks of it, she’s tough as a fucking nut now and won’t take our shit lying down. “You can’t make a chick like that do anything but what she wants.”

Asher grins over at me, slapping me on the side of the cheek. "Exactly! I’ve got a plan," he says with confidence, rubbing his hands together. “What’s the one thing a woman will do for the man she loves?”

I raise a skeptical brow, looking back to Rad, who shrugs a shoulder. “No idea,” I say, looking at Ash, who grins and wiggles his brows. In the low light of the Tahoe, something evil and conniving crosses his face.

“She’ll do anything for the man she loves,” he says with a sharp nod full of confidence.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to say what I think you’re going to say,” Callum mumbles uncomfortably from the backseat, forcing his earbuds back into his ears, blocking out the world with murmuring music.

“We’ll wine and dine her. We’ll make River West fall so madly in love with us that she’ll call her family and beg them to hear our music. Imagine the reunion they could have all because of us. It’ll be a win-win, but mostly for us.”

My mouth gapes open, and I'm not the only one utterly shocked. Rad sputters, choking on his spit.

"Us?" Rad asks with a squeak but quickly soothes his expression. From here, I see the wheels turning in his brain. Wait…us?

“You want us to trick her into loving me?” I gape, shaking my head like it's the worst possible idea on the planet. But a thrill runs through me at the thought. Yes. Let her fall in love with me, and then I'll whisk her away, and she'll never have to live in this shitty town again.

"Where would you go if you left?" I whisper, staring at the stars again, having been kicked out over an hour ago so my mom could conduct business. Whatever that is. All I know is a stereo plays so loud, drowning out the weird noises coming from her room.

"I want to touch the ocean," she whispers, leaning into me with a sigh.

"I'll take you when we're older," I whisper, dreaming of the day I can take both of us away from here.

Our dreams will become a reality if I get my way.

“Nope,” Ash says, popping the P. “All of us. What better package deal could you get than having her invested in all of us? Our hearts, our everything. We’ll all date her, and then, in the end, she can decide who she likes the best.”

My gaze snaps in his direction at the thought of any of them touching her.