Up to Me (The Bad Boys #2)(55)
Author: M. Leighton

I say nothing over the “too” part.  I’d say most of Gavin’s associates are…shady.

“I don’t know if he’ll come to a place this…public, though.”

I think for a second.  “Think you can travel?” I ask Nash.

He tries to hide his cringe.  “Yeah. I’m okay.”

“You can go to the condo. We can have him meet you there.”

“Why don’t we go to my place?  That way, I can keep an eye on him afterward,” Marissa suggests.

“It’s too dangerous,” Olivia says.

“Agreed,” Nash adds.

“I’ll stay, too,” Gavin offers.  “He’s not able to defend himself very well in this state.  I can stay for a day or two, watch out for them.”

“No need for that.  If whoever these people are have already given him an ultimatum, wouldn’t it be highly unlikely that they’ll attack him again?  If they’d wanted to kill him, they could’ve done so already.”  Marissa, somehow, is the calm voice of reason.  “We’ll be all right there by ourselves.”

“I thought you’d be staying with your father,” Olivia says.

“No. I can’t stand to be there. Not with him. I feel like I don’t really know anybody anymore.”

“Then I’ll come and stay with you,” Olivia says.

“Absolutely not,” I blurt.

“Why not? She can’t be alone there with her only protection being someone who’s been stabbed.”

“You need to stay here with me.”

“No, I don’t.  I’ll be fine.  They’ve given us three days.  I’m sure they’ll leave us alone until then.”

“Olivia, I’m not willing to take the risk.  End of story.”

“End of story, huh?  So I have no say in the matter?”

I can see the sparks flying from her eyes. It’s a tense situation and her hackles are up. It’s kind of a turn-on, but now is neither the time nor the place to be thinking stuff like that.

I force myself to take a deep breath before I respond.  “I’m not trying to act like an insensitive dictator, but it’s not a good idea for you to go back there right now.”

“But it’s all right for Marissa?”

“More so than you, yes.”

“More so, but not completely?”

“Completely?  Probably not.”

“Then it’s settled. I’m going, too.”  Olivia turns to Gavin.  “Can I ride with you?”

I love Olivia, but at this very moment, I’d like to strangle her.  “No, you can’t.  He’ll be staying here and closing up while we take Nash to Marissa’s.”

Olivia looks at Gavin again and he shrugs, giving her the smile that says he’s staying out of it.

“Can you have your guy meet us there?”

“I think so. He owes me.”

“All right then.”  I turn to Nash.  “You need help getting to the car?”

“Nah, I got it.”  He says it casually, but I can see the sweat popping out on his forehead as he tries to push himself upright.   When he manages to haul himself to his feet, Olivia gets on one side and Marissa on the other and they help him navigate the short distance from the bedroom to the car where it’s parked in the garage.  As he’s hobbling past me, I see his lips twitch.

That bastard’s enjoying this!

While that might be funny if it was someone else, with him, I’m not laughing.  I don’t want him touching Olivia.  I don’t want him near her actually.  It’s irrational and probably more than a little related to jealousy, but I don’t care. It is what it is.  Doesn’t change the way I feel about it.

I grit my teeth until they have him situated in the back seat.  All he lacks is a kiss on the forehead from both of them.

I feel like cussing.

Marissa parked in the side alley, so I wait for her to pull out and I follow.  No one in the car says a word all the way to the apartment.  When we’re parked, both girls scramble to fawn all over Nash again, which makes me feel like rolling my eyes.  But I don’t.  I’m not that stupid.  If caught, it would only make me look like a jerk, which, at this point, I am.  At least toward Nash. I know he’s enjoying this. He’s probably enjoying setting my teeth on edge as he leans on Olivia.

Prick.

“Keys,” I say to Marissa as I pass her. She hands them over and I walk ahead to unlock the door.  I push it open and pause for a second to listen.  When I hear nothing, I flip on the light switch to the right and look around. It looks exactly like it did a few nights ago when I came back to get Olivia’s stuff.  That’s a good thing.

I guess I could kick shit out of the way, make it an easier path for Nash to navigate.  But then I think of that smug twist of his lips and decide it might serve him right if he falls on his arrogant ass.

I look back to the door.  The three of them are just standing there.  “Well?” I prompt.

I see Nash and Olivia take a step forward.  Marissa does not.  Olivia looks over at her.  “You know you don’t have to do this.  You can go back to your dad’s. Or back to Cash’s.  No one would blame you if you never wanted to come back here again.”

I gotta hand it to Olivia.  She nailed it.  Marissa looks scared shitless.  She’s normally pale, but she looks almost dead in the low light.

Her eyes dart around the entryway and back to Olivia.  I hear her take a shaky breath.  I’ll admit, if this is an act, Marissa’s good. Damn good.  Better than I would’ve given her credit for.

“No, I need to do this. I can’t live afraid forever.  Get back on the horse, right?” she says with a weak smile.

“I’ll take Nash. You take your time.”

Marissa takes a deep breath and shakes her head. “No, I’m okay.”

Maybe it’s a family thing, that ability to physically convey the idea of picking oneself up by the bootstraps, because Marissa’s doing what I’ve seen Olivia do a few times.  She’s picking herself up by her bootstraps.  Maybe she’s got enough of Olivia in her to make her a half decent human being after all.

The three make their way into the apartment.  By the time they reach the living room, I think Nash is supporting Marissa more than she’s supporting him.