FIRST MEET
919 Words
(Season 1)
CHAPTER 5
The call ended with no goodbye.
RYAN VEX stared at his phone for three seconds after it went dark.
Then he tossed it onto the leather seat and dragged a hand down his face.
He’d just briefed KALEN about the Brown Estate. About the girl on the floor. About the deal imploding.
Kalen hadn’t yelled. Hadn’t cursed.
Which was worse.
Because silence from Kalen meant the deal was already dead.
“*Lucas. Did Kai say anything about the suggestions I sent?*” Ryan asked, trying to sound casual.
From the driver’s seat, *LUCAS* turned and gave him a grin so wide it was insulting.
“You already know what he’d say, boss.”
Ryan groaned and threw his head back. “I was _hoping_ you wouldn’t say that. Why does he have to be such a spoiler and a jerk?!”
He hated it. Hated that his older brothers treated him like the baby of the family.
Like he couldn’t run a deal without them breathing down his neck.
“He said,” Lucas drawled, “you should give him a reason to agree to your suggestion.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Wipe that smile off your face before I throw you out of this moving car.”
Lucas cleared his throat instantly. Composed. Eyes forward.
He knew Ryan wasn’t bluffing. Not when he was in _this_ mood.
The car hit a wet patch.
SCREECH.
Ryan lurched forward, catching himself on the dash.
“What the _heck_, Lucas?!”
But Lucas wasn’t smirking anymore.
His hands were frozen on the wheel. His knuckles white.
With a shaking finger, he pointed at the windshield.
“*Bo...ss. I think we... hit someone.*”
Ryan’s blood went cold.
“What?!”
His mind blanked.
_What if she’s dead? What if we killed someone?_
Kai would cover it. Zach would fix it. The Vex name would bury it.
But could _he_ live with it?
“Don’t panic, boss. Let me check. Could be a trap.” Lucas was already unbuckling.
“Well, get going then!” Ryan snapped, voice cracking.
Lucas stepped out into the rain. Ryan sat for ten seconds. Then he couldn’t take it.
He shoved the door open and followed.
“*Did we kill someone?*”
Lucas was crouched on the asphalt. Rain was washing blood off the road.
He looked up.
“*She’s not dead, boss. But she’s bad.* Really bad.”
Ryan’s eyes dropped.
A girl. Soaked. Broken. Blood mixing with rainwater.
He could smell it. Metal and cold.
“Then what are we waiting for? Get her to *Zach*. Now.”
Lucas bit back a sigh. _Babysitter._ That’s what he was.
Ryan threw tantrums like a kid, but when someone was hurt, he moved first and thought later.
He scooped her up.
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Beeping.
That was the first thing.
Relentless. Sharp. Digging into her skull.
*LIORA* wanted it to stop. Her head and her ears felt like they were being drilled.
Voices next. Arguing.
She tried to open her eyes. The light was a knife.
Like she hadn’t opened them in years.
“*Why do you have to drive so carelessly, Ryan?!*”
*KAI’S* voice. Low. Furious. Controlled.
“*How is this my fault? Lucas was driving, not me!*”
*RYAN.* Defensive. Loud.
Kai rolled his eyes so hard Liora could hear it. “Sure. You weren’t driving. But I’m sure you were nagging like a housewife the whole time.”
“*Shut up, both of you.*”
A new voice. Tired. Final.
*ZACH.* Doctor. Older brother. The one who actually kept them alive.
“I have a patient in here.”
The room went quiet.
Then — a sound. Small. Broken.
“*She’s waking up!*” Ryan practically shouted, like he’d won the lottery.
He’d been pacing for three days. Three days of Zach saying “she’s stable” and Ryan still looking like someone died.
Liora tried to talk. “Hm... er...”
Her throat was sandpaper. Nothing came out but pain.
“*Zach, why can’t she speak?*” Ryan was at the bed in two steps. Eyes wide. Terrified he’d broken her. “Did I—”
“*Stop being a whining baby, Ryan.*” Kai cut in. “She needs water. That’s all.”
Ryan glared at him. “I am _not_ whining.”
Zach sighed. The long, exhausted sigh of a man with three problematic younger brothers.
He ignored them, poured water, and sat on the edge of the bed.
Careful hands lifted Liora into a sitting position. He held the glass to her lips so she wouldn’t choke.
“*Are you okay?*” His voice was warm. Steady. The opposite of everything she’d heard in the last year.
Liora swallowed. The water burned and soothed at the same time.
She gave a slow nod.
Then her eyes moved.
Three men.
All tall. All expensive suits, now wrinkled. All staring at her like she might shatter.
*Ryan* — young, frantic, guilty.
*Kai* — sharp, Jovial and nonchalant.
*Zach* — calm, clinical, kind.
Her brain lagged.
_Who are they? Where am I? How did I get here?_
The last thing she remembered was rain. Headlights. Black.
Fear flickered.
_Are they bad? Did Mrs. Brown send them?_
But her body was too tired to run.
So she just stared. And waited to see which one of them was going to hurt her first.
TBC
- Writer
