Page 15 of Up in a Blaze (Polished P & P #4)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

BLAZE

T ech snorted beside me at the desk, so I told him, “Fuck off.” I already knew what he’d be on my case about.

“Brother, just go home. There ain’t much we can do here besides watching the boat’s path.”

With a grunt, I shook my head and tore my gaze away from the surveillance cameras at home.

“We can keep trying to hack the Murphy headquarters again.” I already told Tech I wouldn’t get Gwen involved with those fuckers.

If they ever caught her, I couldn’t imagine what they’d do to her.

At least Tech and I had the club at our back.

Tech groaned, dropping his head back on his office chair. “Brother, we’ve tried fifty times already. They’re locked up tight. Hell, it’s probably for the best to leave it right now. We don’t want to get on their radar since we’ll be fuckin’ with their shipment.”

We already had plans set for when we needed to make a move on the ships. The closer the vessels got to land, the better chance Tech and I had at gaining access to their computers, which would confirm their porting destination.

The plan was that we’d head off a few days beforehand to scope out the areas. There’d be two teams. One for each ship since we needed to look at both.

“Brother, we’ll get them one way or another,” Tech said.

Grunting, I looked back to the monitors. Henri sat on the couch with Arlo. They were talking while watching a movie. I thought Henri was complaining about something, which was making Arlo laugh.

They already got along well. Arlo didn’t say much—not that I had audio on the camera—but I hadn’t seen his lips move as much as Henri’s did. Then again, I did tend to watch Henri more closely than Arlo.

Still, the kid seemed to enjoy everything Henri said; his smile told me that.

It really hadn’t taken Henri long for Arlo to warm up to him.

I think he started hanging off everything Henri said, while beaming, after they’d finished eating.

It didn’t surprise me. The man was too damn charming.

It was just lucky that this time it wouldn’t get Henri in trouble, and I wouldn’t have to warn anyone away from him.

They were fun to watch, though. Tech knew my attention wasn’t on work while I had my own show happening at home.

Hell, I could watch Henri all day, every day.

I only missed listening to all the things he was telling Arlo. I had to fix that problem. Especially if this was going to happen again with Henri at home and me here.

“Blaze, can I ask you somethin’?” When I grunted, Tech went on, “Would you be pissed with a brother if he was seein’ your sister behind your back?”

Shit.

Slowly, I turned to him and raised my brow.

He nodded. “They think I’m fuckin’ stupid.

But it’s goddamn obvious Quake and Eve have somethin’ goin’ on.

I see their looks. It fuckin’ pisses me off.

He was supposed to be a brother and look out for my sister, not do shit with her.

” He cringed. “I don’t want to know what the fuck they get up to, but I know it’s somethin’ they’re hidin’ from me. So, would you be pissed at them?”

Christ. I didn’t want to get involved, but Henri did tell me shit, and I didn’t want to hold it back from the one man in the club I’d call a close friend. Not that I’d admit it.

Fuck me.

I was going to have to share and talk.

Sighing, I glanced to the monitors, wishing I could go back to watching Henri with Arlo, but I’d be a dick if I ignored Tech.

He groaned, palming his face. “Sorry. I shouldn’t’ve even said anythin’. I guess I just wanted to rant. Don’t worry about it.”

Grunting, I scratched at my thigh. “Say whatever you want. I listen more than talk.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell.”

“Henri talks. A lot.”

He smirked. “I’ve heard.”

“He’s told me some shit, and I’ll share as long as it doesn’t bite me on the ass with Henri.” Not that I thought it would, since it wasn’t bad. But if Henri found out I talked to Tech about this, he’d relentlessly tease me about gossiping.

And I wasn’t.

I just wanted to help the guy out, since he’d never been a dick to me.

“Brother, I won’t say shit to anyone,” he said.

I nodded once.

All right. Here the fuck I went.

“Henri’s mentioned that the only reason they haven’t said shit to you is because Eve refuses to call what she and Quake have a relationship. She gets pissy when anyone suggests she’s dating Quake. Eve’s probably threatened Quake to keep his mouth shut or else whatever they have will end.”

Tech’s jaw clenched as he stared down at the floor.

With a sigh, I continued, “I get why you’d be cut that Quake didn’t say anything, but in a way, he’s doing what Eve wants.

If you’ve seen them look at each other, you’d have noticed how damn taken Quake is with Eve.

He wants her as his old lady, so he’d do just about anything she asks him to, and that’d include him not saying anything to you.

Maybe your sister has commitment issues, which is why she won’t say anything to you too. ”

His gaze was wide when I finished speaking. Probably because I never talked that much.

Still, the guy had to get the fuck over the shock and process what I said.

I could tell he did when his expression smoothed out and then he clipped, “Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand down his face.

“Eve and me had a shit home life. She thinks if she sticks with one person, they’ll eventually grow bored and cheat.

Both parents did it to each other. Both showed the hate they held for each other and us in their actions and words.

They shared all the twisted shit they did to each other with us.

Our rotten mother tried to get Eve into drugs to pimp her out.

We were starved, beaten, and….” His jaw clenched again.

“Yeah, it wasn’t healthy, so that shit is gonna fuck us up somehow.

I thought since we got away from them when we were sixteen, we’d heal.

But livin’ on the streets was a whole new level of fucked-up shit to get through.

” He shook his head. “Fuck me, you don’t need to hear this shit.

Anyway, thanks for tellin’ me. At least I ain’t so pissed with them anymore. ”

Jesus Christ. I knew they’d had family issues. I just didn’t know how bad it had been.

Tech’s occasional flinch if he was in the zone on the computer and I moved too quickly made more sense.

“Brother,” I said, his gaze shot to me, and once again, it was wider than it’d been. “I?—”

He explained the look he’d given me with “You never call me brother.”

Hell . He’d noticed. “I ain’t a part of the club. You probably shouldn’t call me brother either.”

“Fuck that. You’re club. You just don’t wear the patch.” He turned back to the computer. “Didn’t know me sharing my sob story would get you to call me brother.” He smirked over at me.

“Fuck off. I was just respecting the club.”

“Appreciate it and you listenin’ to me.”

“Anytime. And I think Eve will wake up eventually. You can either say something now or wait until they come to you about their history and tell them you already know. Imagine their faces.”

Tech grinned. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that. But Quake also gets my fist to the face for datin’ my sister. Fuckin’ prick knows she should’ve been off-limits.”

Snorting, I turned back to the monitors.

“Seriously, brother. Get the fuck home.”

“Will do as soon as Sawyer finishes work.”

“Shit, that’s right. I forgot you brought him in. How was the drive?”

“Silent. The kid fidgeted and looked like he’d be sick if I tried to start a conversation with him.”

Tech winced. “Damn. Good luck for the drive home.”

Yeah, I reckon it’ll go about the same way.

But I also did a little more digging on Sawyer and his brother.

Learned they weren’t living in the address that was on file.

I wasn’t sure if me bringing it up on the car ride home would be good or bad.

Probably bad, though. I could scare him away from the security he had within Polished.

But there could be a chance he might open up to me.

Unless I left it up to Henri. He was the charming one.

* * *

I thinned my lips as I drove down the road. Sawyer looked exhausted. More so than usual. Why was the kid doing this to himself? What was he hiding?

Clearing my throat, I caught him tensing.

Fuck.

I wasn’t that scary, right?

“I won’t hurt you,” I offered.

“I know,” he said quickly, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

Fuck it . Guess I’d do a little more opening up for the night since I hated that the kid felt uncomfortable around me. Also, I had a feeling Henri was going to get attached to him and Arlo, which meant I had to at least try to put him at ease.

“First time I met Henri was when I was bleeding out in an alleyway after being shot and beaten.”

He gasped, turning to me, but pushing himself into the passenger side door. Likely wasn’t the best thing to start with.

I shrugged. “My French firecracker cursed at me and called me a fool when I refused to let him call for help. He could have walked away. But it wasn’t in him.

He likes to help anyone he can. His heart is big and beautiful.

He deserves the fuckin’ world, and it’s my job to make sure he has everything he wants. ”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“He took me to his house, patched me up, and looked after me. That was when I fell in love with him. But I fucked up and picked my business over him. When he gifted me with his time again, I made sure I’d do nothing to fuck that up again. I’d do anything he asks of me.”

“Blaze—”

“He’s worried about you.”

Sawyer groaned, as if my words pained him. “He doesn’t need to be.”

“Don’t cut him off from your life. He likes you. Likes Arlo. I can tell already from what I’ve seen on the cameras.”

“Why would I cut him from my life?” he asked softly.

Christ. I hoped I didn’t fuck this up. “Henri would do anything for you. Means I would too.”

“Why do you think I’ll cut him from our life?” he pressed, voice tight with anxiety.