Smash_ A Stepbrother MMA Romance(153)

Reid was gone, up to Canada, and I had no way of knowing how things were going. I was stuck in limbo wondering if the gangsters he had robbed were going to forgive his transgression or if they were going to murder him in cold blood.

I sat on the back porch. Don’t let yourself think that way

, I admonished myself.

I had to keep it together, at least for his sake. Even if inside I was a mess of conflicting emotions, torn apart in a hundred directions, filled to the brim with fear and confusion.

Even if it felt like my world was teetering on the edge of a knife.

As I bent over to untie my boots, my phone vibrated. My heart almost skipped a beat, but that wouldn’t be Reid. Not yet at least. He hadn’t even made it to the border.

I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the message. It was from Lindsey.

Hey can you come meet me at Clark Park in a half hour? I got something important to talk to you about.

I narrowed my eyes. Why did she need me to meet her at a park to talk? She could always just call me.

Can you just come over here or something?

I sent back.

She responded immediately. Gotta be at the park. It’s rly important I promise.



I sighed. Okay. See you in a half hour.



I didn’t know what she was up to. She probably wanted dating advice or something like that. Or maybe Jay had gotten violent with her and she needed my help. Whatever it was, I was her friend and would do what I could for her.

I retied my boots and leaned back in my chair. It wasn’t worth changing since the park was going to take twenty minutes to get to anyway.

With a grudging sigh, I got up and walked into the house. I grabbed my car keys and went out front, slightly annoyed that I had to go all the way out to Clark Park.

Then again, maybe it would be a good distraction. I needed something to keep my mind off Reid.

I pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. It was mostly empty except for a few other cars, though the people were nowhere in sight. I climbed out of my car and leaned against the trunk, texting Lindsey.

I’m here, where are you?

She responded right away. Over at the old pavilion, remember the one we used to hang out at?



I smiled slightly to myself and set off. Sometimes, back in high school, when things were bad and we needed to talk, we went to this old pavilion that was hidden away from most of the rest of the park. I remembered all the times we sat around and chatted about boys and homework and other typical teenage angst.

It was a funny memory, and it felt strange to be going back there again. I guessed it must be pretty serious if she was pulling me out to the pavilion again after all these years.

I crossed down the paved pathway and turned off at a little dirt track. I followed that up through some trees and spotted it up ahead, looking exactly the same as when I last saw it.

Lindsey was sitting on a picnic table, her feet on the bench, when I approached. She looked haggard, like she hadn’t slept the night before, and her hair was a mess.

“Hey, Linds,” I said.

“Becca. Thank god you’re here.”

She looked seriously relieved but didn’t move to come toward me. I stopped in front of her, leaning up against a support pole for the pavilion.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m really sorry.”

I laughed. “Sorry about what?”

“There wasn’t any other way. I’m so sorry.”

My skin prickled and I got goose bumps all down my spine. Her face was deadly serious, almost pleading, and there was something in her look that said I should run.

“What’s going on?” I asked instead.

“It had to be you,” she said, putting her head in her hands. “They won’t hurt you if you tell them the truth.”

I took a step back, my mouth hanging open, and turned half away from her.

Terror filled my stomach. Two men in suits, men I recognized from the party the other night, were walking up the path toward me. I turned back toward Lindsey.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“I’m so sorry.” She didn’t look at me. “I didn’t have any other choice.”

“What did you fucking do?” I asked again, frantic, but it didn’t matter. The two men stopped a few feet from me, and then I saw him. He stepped out from behind a large tree a few feet away and grinned at me.

“Hello, Rebecca,” Jay said.

He sauntered over, still smiling, and stopped next to Lindsey.

“What’s going on?” I asked him, trying to play dumb.

I had to make them believe I had nothing to do with what happened. They obviously suspected me, which was stupid. Lindsey saw me going into that office and knew my connection to Reid. They must have put two and two together.

“Lindsey here tells me you’ve been a bad girl.”