Navy's Sons: Bullied by Quadruplet Stepbrothers novel Chapter 40

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35. Daredevil

suffocating sometimes. The house. The name. All of it. There are nights I come up here just to breathe.”

I stay quiet for a moment. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. The wind moves through the tower opening, brushing past us like it’s listening too.

“I get that. The estate feels… big. But never empty. Like even when no one’s talking, you can still hear them,” I admit, because it’s true. Sure, the mansion is ten times bigger than our small apartment back in the mainland, but it also comes with a lot of baggage. Like living in the same roof with the Alpha of the Crystal Ridge pack, and having to abide by his rules and of his pack.

I have to present myself in such a way that the pack will deem acceptable. If that’s how I feel as someone who just joined the family, then I can’t imagine how Reed and his brothers feel as people who were born into it—as sons who have to live their whole lives fitting into the perfect mold that Alpha Emery expected from them.

It’s funny how I’m starting to sympathize with them now.

Reed lets out a long breath, then straightens up. “At least up here I can draw dicks on my dad’s old war base.”

The laugh comes out of me before I can stop it. “But… won’t he getomad if he finds out?” I ask.

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determined to beat the thing into submission.

Look at that… The son of the island’s naval commander is trying to break into military property with a rock. What a great role model.

“You know you’re committing a felony, right?” I say with a sigh.

“It’s not my first time.” Reed glances over with a taunt in his voice. “Are you just gonna stand there and look pretty? Or are you gonna help? Don’t tell me you’re scared to chip a naiÌ?”

I click my tongue in mock disapproval, then casually crouch beside him, because apparently I’m now an accomplice.

“For someone who breaks rules for fun, your methods seriously need help.” I brush my fingers across the lock, ignoring his smug face.

“Think you can do better, Princess?” His brow rises.

I pull the hairpin out of my ponytail, letting my hair fall around my shoulders.

“Move,” I bark at him. Surprisingly, he does step back without arguing with me.

I set the rock back where he found it and work the pin through thegmechanism. This padlock is bigger than the one I kec8:31

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back in the restricted part of the estate library, but the pin slides into the mechanism after some coaxing. It takes longer than I want, but the moment it clicks open, I rise and flick the padlock into Reed’s waiting hand.

“Here you go.” I throw the huge lock at his feet. “And here I didn’t even break a nail.”

A wide smile splits his face. “You look sweet, but you’ve got the mind of a criminal.”

He pats the top of my head like I am some kind of pet he is proud of.

“Race you inside!”

“You’re so childish!” I shout as he bolts for a shattered window

pane.

He dives through it with a laugh. I curse under my breath but chase after him, hiking up my hoodie so it does not snag on what remains of the glass. Inside, the old tower smells like dust and sea rot. This place is probably older than my mom. The walls are streaked with old graffiti and peeling paint. Reed shakes a flare stick from his backpack and cracks it. A red glow floods the narrow interior of the ground level, enough to illuminate the spiral staircase leading to the upper level of the tower.

Whoever wins gets to make one request the loser has follo

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33. The rogue brother

wants, and he’s just good at getting on people’s nerves. Just like what he did to me earlier

But I don’t want him to have the satisfaction of seeing my feathers ruffled this time, so I equal his taunting eyes with a frown.

“Isn’t it too late to be fixing a bike?” I ask, shifting the topic.

“I’m used to being up late from patrol shifts. What’s your excuse? I’m sure there is plenty of air in your room if that’s really what you want.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, well. I can’t sleep. So, there’s also that.”

“You can stay here sulking, or you can do something about that insomnia.” His mouth tips in a half-grin. He flicks a switch, and the motorcycle rumbles to life beneath him. “Want to go for a ride?”

ľ

Before I can answer, he reaches behind him and grabs a spare helmet hanging from the handlebars. He holds it out to me with a raised brow. I stare at it for a second before I hesitantly take it.

It’s late. Too late to be wandering outside, even later to be climbing onto a motorcycle with Reed Aldair of all people. But something inside me is too wound-up to care. The cool night air brushes my skin, and the idea of cruising through the island’s empty streets suddenly feels like exactly what I need.

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Reed sets the bottle aside and pulls a marker from his pocket. He uncaps it with his teeth, then begins scribbling something crude and lazy on the metal panel beside his shoulder. He begins to snicker and that’s when I realize what he’s doodling- a dick-shaped rocket with flames shooting out the bottom and a little speech bubble that says: “MISSION: DEEP SPACE — R.A.”

–

“You’re unbelievable,” I groan, half laughing, half horrified.

I lean back and sweep my eyes across the rusted panels and sun-bleached stone walls. There’s graffiti everywhere and some drawn with actual effort, but most of it is chaotic and stupid. I catch a stick figure with fangs chasing a terrified chicken. I snicker. There’s also a jagged crown floating above a butt and one sketch that looks like a wolf got flattened by a truck.

“You did all this?” I tilt my head at a particularly offensive mural featuring a throne, a sword, and what might be testicles.

“Most. But not all.” Reed grins and taps the rocket he just drew.

He fishes the marker out of his lap and holds it out to me like he’s offering a lit match.

“Go on. Start your criminal record.” He winks at me.

“Awesome, you’re not satisfied with us breaking into public property. Now, you want me to vandalize too?”

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The sky above is ink-dark, the path ahead barely visible, but somehow, I’m not scared. I lean into the curves without thinking, trusting the instinct I didn’t know I had, chasing the flicker of something wild and electric that’s taken hold of me.

A few more bends, and I’m tempted to keep going forever but then Reed taps twice against my hip.

“Alright, ease down a bit,” he says, his voice low behind me. “Pull over by that turnout.”

I slow us to a crawl and steer off the road, following his cue. We roll into a narrow patch just off the shoulder, half-covered by trees, the road behind us fading into quiet. The engine softens into a purr before I kill it completely.

Before I can ask why he made me park here, Reed swings one leg off and reaches into his jacket. He pulls out a folded strip of cloth and holds it up, letting it dangle from two fingers.

“Time to level up, princess.” A slow grin tugs at his mouth.

“What’s that?” My brow furrows.

“A blindfold,” he answers almost proudly.

“Why the hell do you have a blindfold in your jacket?”

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“Gravity’s intense on their planet,” he says, matter-of-fact, adding a dumb-looking ray gun shaped like a slingshot. “You’d be ripped too.”

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35. Daredevil

“This isn’t even the first time I’ve done this.”

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34.Midnight Escapade

“Damn it! They changed the lock again.”

“Again? Does that happen a lot?” I ask, watching as he wrestles with the shiny padlock which is in stark contrast to the rusty metal door it’s meant to guard.

“It’s supposed to stay locked,” he replies, sounding almost proud. “But I’ve broken at least ten locks over the years. They gave up for a while and didn’t bother bolting this door for a year. But I guess they changed their mind now. Looks like my old man’s men finally got around to tightening security.” He bites down a curse and yanks again, but the lock only groans against the pressure, rattling the chains stubbornly in place. “This shit is not budging at all. You wanna help me break this damn thing?”

“I’m pretty sure they put that lock there for a reason. Breaking it would be illegal!” I protest.

r

Reed snorts and shakes his head. “That’s the point. It’s what

makes it fun.”

Awesome. He brought me here to be an accessory to his crime.

I gape in utter disbelief as I watch the brute snatch up a fist-sized rock. He starts smashing it against the padlock like a damn caveman, swinging with reckless cracks that echo off the tower walls. I wince as the metal angrily clangs with each hit, the impact ringing sharp in the night air. He grunts. His shoulders By while he repeatedly slams the rock down like he’s

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35. Daredevil

“He probably already knows. His men are constantly changing the locks to this tower anyway. But he knows he can’t actually stop me from coming up here.” He shifts his weight onto his elbows as he leans over the stone bannister, peering out at the treetops below, voice edged with dry amusement. “Honestly, he should be glad I’m wasting my time in this ancient fossil of a tower instead of loitering in active training zones. I’m doing him a favor.”

“Oh-speaking of favors, you owe me one!” I turn to him and nudge his shoulder. “I won the race earlier, remember? Now, pay up.”

He mock-groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Fine. What do you want?”

“I want to ride your bike.” I wiggle my brow and grin.

“Are you serious?” His brows knit in surprise, like he doesn’t expect this is what I’m going to ask of him.

“Yes!”

He lets out a short breath, half a scoff. “You don’t even know how to ride.”

“Then teach me,” I insist, undeterred.

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Reed looks away for a moment, staring out past the treetops. “You’re not going to drop it, are you?”

I smirk before racing down the spiral staircase. “There’s only one way to find out.”

**

The night air bites at my skin as we step out of the tower. Reed swings a leg over the bike and starts it. The engine purrs low, then growls as he revs it once, jerking his chin for me to get on.

We ride past the old pier and head further down the hidden trail until we reach the coastal highway. This is where I realize that we’re practically at the edge of the island. The road clings to the mountainside with one side pressed against steep cliffs and the other completely exposed to the vast open sea. There are no streetlights here, just white reflective posts and a crumbling guardrail that looks too flimsy to stop anything going fast. The ocean stretches endlessly to the left while the road winds ahead in long, twisting curves that seem to melt into the horizon.

This place is the perfect spot to practice my not-so-polished driving skills.

The road narrows as Reed slows the bike and pulls over to a stretch where nothing interrupts the view but the endless black ocean. The highway is empty, and the only sound is the engine ticking in the cool night air. He cuts the throttle, shifts

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weight, and looks over his shoulder.

“Your turn,” he says.

My turn.

I hesitate for a moment. Suddenly, his enormous bike looks more intimidating now that we’re in the open. All the courage I have felt earlier is slowly dissipating out of me.

But Reed patiently waits, already swinging a leg over to stand beside the bike. I take a deep breath and pat myself.

You ask for this. Is what I told myself.

We trade places, and I settle into the seat while Reed moves in behind me. His arms rest loosely around my waist while his knees brackets mine. I grip the handles and focus on the unfamiliar weight of the machine beneath me. This bike is so huge, my feet are barely reaching the pedals for dear life.

“Throttle here. Clutch on the left. Balance with your legs. Lean with the bike,” he instructs, his breath brushing my ear.

I nod. Let’s go.

I start slow, keeping the wheels steady on the dark ribbon of road. My hands are tense, and my shoulders ache from the effort ef/not oversteering. Reed stays close and his grip adju

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enough to guide me through the first few turns.