Loving War (17 page)

Chapter 18

TRIA

Rain is driving me nuts. I swear she calls me more everyday. I’ve already talked to her once today.

“Your sister is seriously freaking out. Maybe she’d feel better if she knew you were safely tucked away with Kode,” Brin says.

Sighing, I think that over. “I wish. Rain and Kode have history. I’m still dealing with that. My entire life revolved around everyone seeing Rain, but looking right through me. Kode is a lot like me in that respect. Dane is the shining star in their family. But at the same time, Kode was like everyone else. He never saw me until he stopped seeing Rain.”

I sound poetic again. More like a sad poet. Maybe some of Poe’s work won’t sound so disturbing if I read it now.

“So you think she has feelings for him? Or him for her?”

My laughter comes out before I can stop it, and then I shake my head. “No. Rain is beyond in love with Dane. She never saw Kode as more than a friend. And I don’t think Kode has any lingering feelings for her. I know he had the hots for her, but if it was gone that easily, then it couldn’t have been a very long crush.”

Obviously Kode developed a small crush for a short period of time. He’s an intense guy, so it just looked like a bigger deal than it was. Right?

“He’s so different with you than anyone I’ve seen him interact with,” she says, grinning. “You know, the guy says five words to me. But he sees you, and he spills all sorts of things. It’s really sweet. He’s one of those guys girls want to love, but can’t get him to love them back. You’ve landed a white whale, so to speak.”

Smiling, I lean back in the seat.

“Have I told you thank you for hanging out with me so much?” I ask her, turning to look as her light brown hair falls out of her ponytail holder.

She curses while pulling it back up, and then she grins over at me while we sit idly in front of Kode’s home.

“You don’t have to thank me, Tria. Everyone needs someone. If I hadn’t had Maggie when I went through my divorce, I don’t know what I would have done. You’re getting stalked by a psycho, so you need someone. I’m here. Any time you need me.”

It’s hard to picture Brin getting married so young. She married straight out of high school, which seems so rash for someone as grounded as she is.

Out of the blue, I hug her, surprising her. But she hugs me back affectionately.

Smiling, I release her and head inside, making sure to strategically grab all my bags so that I don’t have to make two trips. Kode left earlier and said he probably wouldn’t be home until late, so I had Brin take me out to get groceries. My meal tonight will have him caving. No doubt about it.

My phone has been blowing up with calls from Rain and other random numbers, but I’ve ignored them all. This day is my day. I fully intend to devote all of my attention on Kode and winning this stupid bet.

It takes some finesse, but I manage to get the door open without putting any of the bags down. Moving quickly, I get everything put away. It’ll be a while before he gets home, so I decide to go for a run.

Just as I finish pulling on my workout shorts and sports bra, the door opens and closes, and I grin, though I’m surprised. He made it sound like it would be after dark before he got back.

“Just so you know, you’ll be on your knees and begging—”

My words catch in my throat when I see the wide eyes staring back into mine. Maverick Sterling has one foot still suspended in the air as I shriek and grab a pillow from the sofa to cover my body.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks on a gasp.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I echo, still reeling from his unexpected visit.

“I couldn’t get ahold of Kode, so I came over to check on him to make sure Dane wasn’t downplaying the damage. Now what the hell are
you
doing here?”

My blood runs cold as I think about all the calls I’ve ignored.

“What do you mean? What damage? What happe—”

The door opens again, and I drop the pillow to sprint through the house just as Kode rounds the corner. My stomach hits the floor when I see a rough, purplish bruise on his cheek surrounding an angry red gash. He moves like he’s sore, and he grins grimly when he sees me.

I’m immediately in front of him, cupping his face so I can examine any further damage, but that’s all I see.

“What happened to you?” I ask, my voice hoarse and threaded with dread.

He bends and kisses me softly on the lips before stroking my cheek with his open hand. “Pete Mercer is in jail for good. The police will probably be questioning you soon, so be ready to deal with them.”

My stomach lurches, and I barely manage not to vomit. “Pete? This was done by Pete? Kode, I’m so damn sorry. Why did he go after you?”

His grin turns sheepish for some reason. “Probably because I beat his ass after he ran you off the road.”

Before I know it, my lips are on his, and I’m kissing him. Hard. The way I should have been kissing him this whole week. Stupid bet. He can win.

His tongue delves into my mouth as his hand curls around my waist, tugging me closer before wincing. I instantly shift back on my heels, and pull at his shirt until I can see the damage on his torso. Shit.

Bruises are slowly forming in large patterns, and tears form heavily in my eyes. This is all my fault.

“Don’t look at it like that, babe. You look guilty. This is a reason for celebration. Pete is done for. You don’t jump a Sterling and get away with it. He’ll be in jail for a while between the assault charges I filed and the broken restraining order with you.”

Gingerly, I run my fingers over his stomach, still tracing the lines of the purplish colored parts of his abdomen. Then a throat-clearing emerges, forcing Kode to tense and my whole body to go stiff.

Balls. I forgot about Maverick.

“Something you maybe forgot to mention,” Maverick says from the back of the room, gesturing to us, and not looking at all pleased about it.

Kode’s jaw tenses as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Didn’t know you were here,” he says, glancing down at me, then back up at his cousin.

Maverick’s jaw is set in a hard line, and I’m sure he’s restraining something, though I don’t know what.

“Clearly,” he says acidly, then he shakes his head. “You’ve tried a lot of shitty things in the past, Kode. I didn’t think you could top the last thing. But here you are, proving you’re as stupid as ever. Rain is in love with Dane. Get the fuck over it.” He turns his eyes toward me, and frowns. “I can’t believe he’d do this to you. To Rain. Sorry, Tria.”

I roll my eyes, sick of listening to him cut Kode down. “Maverick,” Kode says in warning. “Don’t. You don’t have a clue about what’s going on here.”

“Don’t I, Kode? It’s pretty fucking obvious. How long has this been going on? A few days? A week? Convenient timing with the wedding right around the corner. How stupid do you think—”

“One month and two weeks,” I say, glaring at Maverick like I’m ready to throttle him.

His eyes widen in surprise, and he glances between us. I continue before he can. “We’re keeping it quiet until after the wedding so that no one has a jackass remark like you just had.”

His mouth hardens into a thin line, and he leans back on the wall. Kode wraps his fingers around my hip, pulling me to him.

“Go out on the deck or on the beach for a while, Tria. I think I should talk to Maverick.”

“No. I’m not letting him try to accuse you of using me to get to Rain. It’s like no one thinks I’m worth dating without there being an ulterior motive. It all has to be connected to Rain. It’s as though she’s the center of the universe, and I’m the shuttle that gets you there. I’m sick of it.”

His brows furrow as he looks at me, as though he’s trying to think of something to say, but Maverick beats him to it.

“Sorry, Tria. I didn’t even think about how insulting that must have sounded to you.”

That’s a shocking thing to come out of the mouth of Maverick Sterling. I return my gaze to him to see that he really does look truly remorseful.

“Mav, this has nothing at all to do with Rain,” Kode adds, running his hand down my back. “This is mine and Tria’s relationship. No one else has a say in it.”

Maverick pushes off from the wall he’s leaning against, and comes to stand nearby, his eyes moving down to where my hand is now on Kode’s wounded stomach. When he looks up, his eyes connect with Kode’s.

“So when you told Dane you would move Tria into one of your empty condos—”

“I moved her in with me,” Kode finishes, as though he’s helping Maverick piece together the puzzle.

“What about the pool in Vegas?” he asks, his brows arching.

Kode shrugs, and in true jackass form, says, “She was talking to some douche. Thought I’d break them apart.”

This time Maverick’s lips twitch.

“And when you went missing after that, you were actually—”

“With Tria,” Kode says to finish his sentence again.

“When did this start?”

Kode grins, looking down at me for a second. “That bar. The one where I disappeared on you guys after playing pool with the brunette.”

Recognition crosses the eyes of the other Sterling, and he asks, “Tria was the brunette?”

Kode nods.

“That’s why you were acting like a fucking weirdo,” he says under his breath.

What?

“I didn’t realize she had dyed her hair,” Kode says, snickering as though there’s a secret I’m missing.

“Damn. So all this time that you’ve been blowing us off has been to spend time—”

“With Tria,” Kode says, still grinning.

Maverick takes a deep breath, his head dropping back as all the world stops spinning in the right direction.

“Wow. Head trip. So is it cold in hell now that it has frozen over?”

Kode groans while wrapping his arms around my bare midriff, covering me as though he doesn’t want Maverick’s eyes seeing any more of me than he already has.

“Think you can keep your mouth shut until after the wedding?” Kode asks him.

“Yeah. I can do that.” He sighs like he wants to say more, but he apparently changes his mind. “So this is legit? Like you two are an actual item or whatever?”

This is actually a question I’d like to hear the answer to, so I remain silent and still in Kode’s arms.

“Definitely legit. So legit that it’s pissing me off that you’re seeing her wearing very little. Probably should go.”

I grin as Maverick snickers, still seeming to be taken aback by this revelation. Then his eyes narrow on Kode. “That asshole knows, doesn’t he? That’s why he and you have been talking in code lately—no pun intended.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Kode laughs while nodding. “He figured it out at the club the night you were passed out and snoring at the table.”

Oh. Corbin.

“Son of a bitch. I knew he was keeping something from me. If you’ll excuse me, I have an ass to go kick. Since you’ve already had yours handed to you, I’ll give you a free pass.”

Kode grins while flipping him off—his favorite gesture by far. Maverick gives me an uneasy smile before heading out, and Kode inhales a fresh breath. When he winces again and clutches his side, I almost cry. This is my fault.

“Maverick took it better than I expected. He and Rain are tight. At least the second worst one is out of the way,” he says with a lopsided grin, trying his best to keep my mind off his wounded body.

Not happening.

“Pete did all this?” I ask, lifting his shirt over his head. He’s forced to bend in order for me to get it off him, and I gasp when I see the numerous bruises around his shoulders and arms as well.

“Nah. I could have killed Pete with barely any effort. The douche did run from four girls. He had friends today that helped out. No worries. Cops got there in time.”

My eyes water again as I trace the outlines of the proof they didn’t get there in time. He wouldn’t have been touched if they had gotten there in time.

“Stop worrying, Tria. You’re killing me with those sad eyes. This is a good thing. Pete can’t touch you from inside a cell. Since he violated the terms of his parole, he won’t get out on bail either. He’s gone.”

Like a bomb explodes under me, I launch myself up and crash my lips against his. He quickly picks me up, even though it has to hurt, and settles me on the counter in the kitchen. Stepping in between my legs to draw me closer, he kisses me like he can’t get enough.

“I see you’re not as bad off as I was expecting,” an unwelcome, but friendly voice says, causing us both to jump and me to squeal in surprise.

Dale Sterling is standing there, his buzz-cut looking freshly groomed, and his arms crossed over his chest as he stares at us.

“Fuck,” Kode groans, reluctantly turning away from me to glare at his cousin.

“How many people have a key to your place?” I whisper, squirming uncomfortably.

“Too damn many, apparently,” he mutters under his breath. Then he addresses Dale in a tone that echoes my own exasperation. “Go ahead. Get going with the bullshit about how I’m doing this to get at Rain and Dane so I can argue and then be with my girl. It’s been a shitty day, and I’d like a break—if you don’t mind.”