Page 35 of Shaken and Stirred (Bottle Service Boys #1)

RYDER

Okay, so I’d never been in a physical altercation with another person.

Never taken or thrown a punch outside of a gym and a heavy bag.

Fighting wasn’t my thing. In my world, money was a weapon far more powerful than fists.

But I wasn’t weak, I wasn’t a coward, and I wouldn’t abandon Alex no matter what he thought of me.

“Fine, but don’t blame me if your pretty face gets fucked up,” he said with his customary frown.

“Aww, Ally, you think my face is pretty.”

“Don’t call me that,” he said as he shoved the door open and stepped outside.

After toasting my ass on my heated seats and being surrounded by the sublime heat pumped from the vents, the cold was a brutal smack to the face.

“Trevor calls you Ally.” I followed him out into the cold, zipping my coat up to my chin. Any chill I could block out was worth the effort.

“Trevor’s like a small rodent. Cute but annoying as fuck, and he does whatever the hell he wants.”

I chuckled. “Oh, man, I’m so telling him you said that.”

Alex’s shoulders bounced even though his laugh was quiet. Joking at a time like this might seem stupid, but a corny one- liner was the only way I could think of to distract him for a few seconds.

I left the car running in case we needed a quick getaway, but I made sure to lock it.

The last thing we needed was to come outside and find my Range Rover missing.

I pocketed my keys and followed him up the short, dark walkway to the front door.

An outdoor light mounted to the side of the door should have provided some light, but it was either broken or not on because we had zero illumination besides the dim light of the thumbnail moon.

“Careful here.” Alex stopped and turned around after traversing an uneven chunk of cement where a tree root had raised the walkway. Expression tight, he watched until I’d made it safely past the perceived danger.

I blinked at him, then cleared my throat. “Thanks.” The word rasped out through my cold vocal cords. My insides turned to goo. The man who hated me had stopped in his quest to rescue his brother to ensure I didn’t trip on a crack in a walkway.

He nodded. “Don’t engage with anyone in there, okay?”

“Stop worrying. I’m a big boy, Alex… as you well know.” I winked, which made him roll his eyes.

I’d call that a victory.

“All right, I’ll stop with the mother-hen routine. I’m just not used to having another person to think about when I do this. Not that I’m not grateful, I am, but it feels like you’re a bit of a wild card right now.”

Now, it was my turn to roll my eyes. “What is it you think I’m going to do exactly?”

His shoulders moved up and down. “I don’t know. Whip out your black Amex and start flashing it at anyone who looks at you.”

My jaw dropped. “You are a dick,” I said as I flipped him off.

Snickering, he turned back around and continued to the door. I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I followed.

Before we could knock or even reach the crumbling front stoop, the door swung open, and a man in nothing but jeans and tattoos stood in the doorway.

“Are you here for this guy?” he asked as he gestured with his vape pen to a man sprawled on the bottom step of a long, steep staircase leading to the second floor.

“Holy shit, is that Kenny?” Alex asked, concern marring his features. The guy on the step didn’t so much as twitch.

“Yep.” The man sucked from his vape and exhaled a plume of acrid smoke. “He ain’t dead. Didn’t overdose or nothin’. Think he’s conscious, but he’ll sure feel like shit tomorrow.”

Alex walked toward his brother. I followed right on his heels until we reached the door, and he extended a hand to stop me from entering the house.

Part of me wanted to argue, but to get close to Kenny, he’d have to turn his back on the guy who’d answered the door, and while he didn’t seem outwardly dangerous, I’d feel better keeping an eye on him.

The guy eyed me up and down. “You boys in the market for any party favors tonight?”

“Why? So we can end up like him?” I gestured to Kenny.

Alex shot me a lethal glare.

“That ain’t my fault. Kenny’s a stupid fucker.” The guy shrugged and filled the air with more smoke.

I wrinkled my nose and fanned the air, which only made him laugh.

“Shit.” Alex’s whispered curse had me stepping forward. He crouched down next to his brother. “Ken?”

A groan was the only answer he got.

Keeping one eye on the vaper, I stepped closer and glanced down at Kenny.

“Oh fuck.” Someone had beat the absolute shit out of Alex’s brother.

Both eyes were purple and swollen like chewing gum bubbles.

Blood had crusted beneath his nose and over his mouth and chin.

Even his hoodie was covered in blood, probably from when it sprayed out of his nose.

“Do you know what he took?”

The vaper shrugged. Goose bumps coated his scrawny arms and torso, but he seemed impervious to the cold otherwise. “The usual, probably.”

“Do you know who did this to him?”

“Sure do, but I ain’t telling you. Not about to put myself in a spot to get my ass beat like Kenny.

” He tugged at a thread near the pocket of his worn jeans.

They hung low, giving us a view of zig-zag patterned boxers.

“Think he stole from them. Either that, or he fucked somebody’s girl.

Can you just get him outta here before they come looking for his ass? ”

“Yeah.” Alex worked a hand beneath his brother’s back and heaved him to a sitting position with a grunt. Kenny’s head lolled to the side once, then bounced up straight. His puffy eyes opened to slits.

“Alex?” A goofy grin formed, showing his bloody teeth. “Hey, bro.”

At least he wasn’t feeling pain.

For now.

Later, he’d be in a world of hurt, guaranteed.

“Hey, Ken,” Alex answered with a resigned sigh. “Ready to go home?”

“Nah, bro, we should party.”

“Party’s over for tonight, Kenny. Let’s stand up.”

“But you never party with me. All you do is work and school and school and work. So fucking boooring , bro.”

A muscle twitched in Alex’s jaw as he no doubt fought the urge to add to Kenny’s colorful array of bruises.

I squatted down on Kenny’s other side. “Let me help you get him up.”

Alex blinked as though he’d forgotten my presence. Any other time, I might be offended, but the poor guy deserved a few breaks tonight. He nodded, then we each slid an arm around Kenny and hauled him to his feet.

He swayed heavily into Alex, who stumbled back a step to accept his brother’s weight before we were able to steady him with our arms around his waist and his thrown over our shoulders.

“Who’re you?” Kenny’s morbid face turned my way. “You his boyfriend?” he asked in a sing-song voice.

“No,” Alex barked. “He’s not. Let’s walk to the car.”

We half-walked, half-dragged a staggering Kenny out of the house.

Thankfully, he was a slender guy. It was hard enough to keep from tripping over his wandering feet—if he’d weighed more than Alex or me, our little trio would have crashed to the ground trying to maneuver through the doorway.

As it was, we had to turn sideways and guide him as if he were a wobbly toddler.

“Tell him he ain’t welcome here no more,” the vaper said as we struggled through the doorway.

“I’m sure he’ll be devastated,” Alex muttered.

“I would be,” I mumbled. “This place is great.”

That had him snorting a laugh that made my insides soar.

If I could make one minute of this shitty situation more bearable for Alex, I’d consider it a win.

No one should have to carry this burden alone.

My chest ached thinking about how many times he’d had to bail his brother out without a lick of support.

Where was their mother?

Hadn’t Alex told me they lived with her?

Maybe she didn’t care. Maybe she’d given up on her youngest son and left him to be Alex’s problem.

“Kenny, you have to at least try to walk,” Alex said with a grunt as the three of us listed sideways, thanks to Kenny’s inability to walk in a straight line.

“This way, man.” I tightened my arm around his waist and tried to get him to bear more weight my way since he seemed determined to bowl Alex over.

A bloody-toothed grin flashed my way. “You know he’s gay?” Kenny said.

“For fuck’s sake, Ken.”

I grinned back at him. “Good to know. Hope that means he didn’t mind when I sucked his dick like a lollipop the other night.”

Alex’s eyes widened so fast I worried they’d pop out of his head and onto the frozen ground.

Kenny, on the other hand, burst out laughing, which only made it harder to control him.

“Bro!” He drew out the word for at least four seconds.

“Dude, you finally got some. Congrats. It’s been like for-fucking-ever.

” He lifted his arm from around my shoulders and attempted to hold it out for a fist bump from Alex.

When Alex did nothing but try to murder his brother with his glare, Kenny giggled like a, well, like a person high off their ass.

We finally made it to my SUV without any significant issues.

“You got him?” I asked, shifting the very wiggly package to Alex’s arms. There wasn’t time to worry about Alex’s silence.

We needed to get Kenny in the car and get the hell out of there before anyone we didn’t want to run into showed up.

I dug through my pocket and retrieved the keys.

My car chirped as I unlocked it and opened the back passenger door.

Somehow, we managed to usher Kenny into the car even as he worked against us. Alex only swore seven times and threatened to finish the job the dealers started on Kenny twice. All in all, a successful rescue mission.