Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) by B. B. Hamel
Authors: B. B. Hamel
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That’s amazing.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, the usual. I work here and live over in the apartments with some girls.”
“You have your own place?”
“It’s not the Taj Mahal, but yeah.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Well, it’s mine along with two roommates.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Nah.” She took a drag of her cigarette.
“Still, that’s really cool.”
There was a short silence as we looked across the parking lot together. It was becoming really clear that a lot of time had passed between us. We hardly knew each other anymore. The simplest details about each other’s life were complete mysteries.
“Hey, so, there’s this cool party happening tomorrow night. You want to come?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Reid’ll be there. You can probably get a ride from him.”
I frowned. Great, that was exactly what I needed. Some party with my asshole stepbrother. My sexy as hell stepbrother. My animal stepbrother.
“Okay, cool. That sounds fun.”
“Awesome. Reid knows where.”
“You see him a lot?”
“Not really. I mean, our circles touch sometimes, but only once in a while. His people are a little . . .” she trailed off.
“A little what?”
“Rough. But you didn’t hear that from me, okay?”
I blinked. What did she mean, his people were “rough?” From what I remembered, Reid hung around with a bunch of nice guys. They were popular jocks, and all of them were dumb as bricks, but they were nice enough kids. Nobody got in trouble, least of all Reid.
Did something change? How was I just noticing it?
I opened my mouth to press for more when I caught sight of Reid leaving the Blue with another guy. I nodded in their direction.
“Who’s that?”
Lindsey looked. “That’s Thom. They’re in business together.”
“Business?”
“Yeah. Ask him about it. I don’t really want to get too involved.”
I watched as the two of them climbed into a car and took off, heading farther out of town.
“Anyway,” Lindsey said, stubbing out her cigarette. “I should get back in there, grab some food while I can.”
“Okay.”
We stood up and walked back in. “See you tomorrow?” she asked.
“Definitely.”
She smiled and hurried into the back. I sat back down in my spot and sipped my cold coffee.
My mind was a swirling hurricane of questions. What was Reid doing with a rough crowd, and what kind of business was he involved in? I knew he had been giving his mom and my dad money for the cancer treatments, but he always said that came from his climbing competitions.
Was there something else going on?
With a sigh, I motioned for the check from Marci. When it came, I paid up front and walked outside to my bike.
As I rode home, I kept wondering: what was Reid hiding?
Maybe the party was the perfect place to find out.
Chapter Six: Reid
E arly morning sunlight streamed in through my windows as I began to pack my hiking gear. I always carried the same objects, the sort of stuff I would never want to be caught out in the wilderness without. Map, compass, food, and water were the essentials; I also made sure I had a good knife, my tent, extra clothes, sunscreen, matches, a first aid kit, and more. Extra socks were always important, since the rain would undoubtedly soak through whatever I wore.
I told my mom and Jack that I’d be guiding some hunters for the next day or two, trying to get them some deer. I was leaving early the next morning.
And I was a little nervous. I never got nervous for climbs, but trekking across borders with prescription pills always seemed more dangerous to me. Out on the cliff face, I had control. What happened to me was entirely dependent on my own skills and abilities.
But with these smuggling crossings, I was at the mercy of fate. Or whatever controlled the world. If someone stumbled on me sleeping in my tent somewhere that I shouldn’t be, or if they saw me ignoring the border signs, I’d be toast.
So far, I’d been lucky. Aside from that
“What about you?”
“Oh, the usual. I work here and live over in the apartments with some girls.”
“You have your own place?”
“It’s not the Taj Mahal, but yeah.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Well, it’s mine along with two roommates.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Nah.” She took a drag of her cigarette.
“Still, that’s really cool.”
There was a short silence as we looked across the parking lot together. It was becoming really clear that a lot of time had passed between us. We hardly knew each other anymore. The simplest details about each other’s life were complete mysteries.
“Hey, so, there’s this cool party happening tomorrow night. You want to come?”
“Sure, why not.”
“Reid’ll be there. You can probably get a ride from him.”
I frowned. Great, that was exactly what I needed. Some party with my asshole stepbrother. My sexy as hell stepbrother. My animal stepbrother.
“Okay, cool. That sounds fun.”
“Awesome. Reid knows where.”
“You see him a lot?”
“Not really. I mean, our circles touch sometimes, but only once in a while. His people are a little . . .” she trailed off.
“A little what?”
“Rough. But you didn’t hear that from me, okay?”
I blinked. What did she mean, his people were “rough?” From what I remembered, Reid hung around with a bunch of nice guys. They were popular jocks, and all of them were dumb as bricks, but they were nice enough kids. Nobody got in trouble, least of all Reid.
Did something change? How was I just noticing it?
I opened my mouth to press for more when I caught sight of Reid leaving the Blue with another guy. I nodded in their direction.
“Who’s that?”
Lindsey looked. “That’s Thom. They’re in business together.”
“Business?”
“Yeah. Ask him about it. I don’t really want to get too involved.”
I watched as the two of them climbed into a car and took off, heading farther out of town.
“Anyway,” Lindsey said, stubbing out her cigarette. “I should get back in there, grab some food while I can.”
“Okay.”
We stood up and walked back in. “See you tomorrow?” she asked.
“Definitely.”
She smiled and hurried into the back. I sat back down in my spot and sipped my cold coffee.
My mind was a swirling hurricane of questions. What was Reid doing with a rough crowd, and what kind of business was he involved in? I knew he had been giving his mom and my dad money for the cancer treatments, but he always said that came from his climbing competitions.
Was there something else going on?
With a sigh, I motioned for the check from Marci. When it came, I paid up front and walked outside to my bike.
As I rode home, I kept wondering: what was Reid hiding?
Maybe the party was the perfect place to find out.
Chapter Six: Reid
E arly morning sunlight streamed in through my windows as I began to pack my hiking gear. I always carried the same objects, the sort of stuff I would never want to be caught out in the wilderness without. Map, compass, food, and water were the essentials; I also made sure I had a good knife, my tent, extra clothes, sunscreen, matches, a first aid kit, and more. Extra socks were always important, since the rain would undoubtedly soak through whatever I wore.
I told my mom and Jack that I’d be guiding some hunters for the next day or two, trying to get them some deer. I was leaving early the next morning.
And I was a little nervous. I never got nervous for climbs, but trekking across borders with prescription pills always seemed more dangerous to me. Out on the cliff face, I had control. What happened to me was entirely dependent on my own skills and abilities.
But with these smuggling crossings, I was at the mercy of fate. Or whatever controlled the world. If someone stumbled on me sleeping in my tent somewhere that I shouldn’t be, or if they saw me ignoring the border signs, I’d be toast.
So far, I’d been lucky. Aside from that
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