--Authors Note--

Finally getting around to finishing this chapter I guess… so, yeah. Here it is. In all of its suck-y glory but here it is anyway.

-Steph

Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Lauren Brooke.

The Peak

Chapter 14

Wednesday

Ty tried to walk down the stairs as quietly as possible. He was doing a good job of it too; after all, stone stairs do not creak like wooden stairs. And, with the added bonus of the stairs being carpeted, not much could go wrong.

He was down at the bottom of the stairs, car keys held firmly in his hand, and started walking down the hallway that would lead him to the front door.

The black Converse All Stars Ty wore made a little slapping noise against the stones.

"Ty? Where are you going?" Brad's voice filtered out of the living room.

"Nowhere," Ty called back instinctively.

"Come in here, Ty," Jane's light voice joined the conversation.

Ty suppressed a groan and was tempted to just be on his way, but he walked into the living room where his mother and father were seated on a leather couch. Brad clicked of the television as Ty stood in the doorway. Brad stood up from the couch and Jane was right behind him.

"Were you going somewhere, Ty?" Brad asked his son again, suspiciously.

Ty's emerald green eyes narrowed as he surveyed his parents.

"Where are you going, Ty?" Jane tried her hand at getting her eldest son to speak.

"Out," Ty responded simply, no emotion present in his voice.

Jane's heart clenched tightly and painfully at the coldness and detachment in Ty's voice. She knew better of course, this was nothing out of the ordinary for Ty. And yet, as glad as she was that Brad had moved them all out to Scottsdale, Arizona those two years ago, she couldn't help but miss the son she had had before; the son that wouldn't scorn anyone, the son with enough patience and dedication in whatever he did to succeed in everything. It was as though Ty had lost his confidence, oh no, it wasn't that at all. The old Ty had confidence too; he just chose to not flaunt it. The old Ty was respectful of his parents and his elders, the old Ty… The old Ty. Ty swore that if he heard someone say something about "The Old Ty" one more time, he would—

"You're not allowed out of the house," Brad said, his gaze focusing on his son. Brad, being the top notch lawyer that he was, had the whole stare down. All he had to do was focus his stare on someone and that someone would get so uncomfortable that they would just start talking. He didn't have to say anything or ask any questions, one look at the stare and you just started spilling things out. It often times worked in the courtroom, Brad would just fix his gaze on opposing counsel and the truth would magically just come out. But this legendary stare of his did nothing to affect his eldest son. His younger son, Lee, it worked with. Ty, it did not. Ty was well on his way to outclassing his own father, master of the stare, in the stare. That wasn't the problem though, Ty wasn't affected by anything. He never showed fear or sorrow or surprise. It was as though he knew all that was happening around him, and everything that would happen, and there was no room left to be surprised. If Ty ever showed any emotion at all around his parents, he kept it hidden very well.

Ty blinked slowly several times, his eyes remained emotionless and hard. You'd expect the emotions to be leaking into his gorgeous eyes, for those two emerald orbs to be dancing with life but no. They were only like emeralds in color, in every other aspect they were just like an old, gray, beat up pebble that could be found in the backyard. Cold, emotionless, hard.

"Sorry?" Ty said simply, as though he had not heard his father the first time.

"I said," Brad began again, "that you cannot go out."

"I have plans," Ty stated as though that fact alone would change his fathers mind.

"I don't care what plans you may have, Ty, you are not leaving this house. Your curfew is at ten and it is past ten," Brad said as he quickly consulted his watch.

Ty's eyes narrowed even further until they were reduced to emerald slits. Curfew; of course he had had one… he just never abided by said curfew time in the past and his parents had given up on enforcing the curfew time within less than a week. But, ever since Ty had been released from the hospital about a week ago, his parents had been strict on his new curfew time, ten o'clock, on the dot. At first, the insanely early time had infuriated Ty, and it still did, but he had not pushed the issue. He had hoped that his parents would forget about it in a few days. No such luck. And on the one night that Ty actually needed to get out of the house.

"I have plans," Ty repeated.

"Not anymore you don't," Brad kept his eyes focused level on his sons face. Ty returned it.

"I have plans, important plans that I cannot break," Ty's voice was hard.

Locks of Ty's silky, dark brown hair fell across his forehead and covered his eyes. The emerald green slits were still painfully present though, they seemed to glare through the curtain of hair.

Jane couldn't help herself. "For God's sake, Ty! You are getting that hair cut tomorrow!" Jane had always been among the very, very, very few to not adore Ty's hair.

Brad held up his hand for silence, Ty closed his mouth with a glare at his father. "Now is not the time for any of this."

"You're right," Ty agreed. "I'm leaving."

Brad stopped Ty before he could leave the room. "You are not going anywhere Ty," he said firmly.

Ty turned around slowly and blinked several times, equally as slow, before speaking again. "Pardon?"

"Now is not the time for your little games, Ty," Brad's rose several notches.

"Where is that you want to go, Ty," Jane rested a hand gently on her husbands forearm and tried her hand at being calm and composed.

"Out," Ty responded simply, not one to fall for his mothers soothing voice.

"And where is "out"?" Jane tried again.

"Out," Ty repeated his previous answer.

Ty attempted to exit once again and once again Brad stopped him before he made it out of the room.

"After your last stunt, you are not aloud out of the house after ten, Ty, and you know that," Brad reminded Ty.

Ty kept his back turned to his parents and rolled his eyes. "I don't have a curfew."

"You do now."

"No, I'm going out. I have things to do," Ty said firmly.

"Well your 'things' are now canceled. You are staying here, in the house, where you can't get into trouble," Jane snapped in a voice sharper then her previous one. Apparently, Ty was starting to bug her too.

"I cannot 'cancel' the things that I have to do," Ty told them both, his back still turned to them.

"You can cancel and you will cancel," Brad said quickly.

Now, Ty turned around and faced his father. "Wasn't it always you that's told me to always keep my word?" Ty smirked at the moment of speechlessness his father endured at his expense. "I plan to keep my word tonight and meet the person that I have made plans with."

"I'm sure that whatever young lady you are meeting tonight will understand if you…" Jane started to say in a voice filled with understanding, thinking that she had figured out what Ty was up too. She stopped as Ty started to laugh. "What's so funny, Ty?"

"I'm not meeting a 'young lady' as you put it," he laughed harder. "Not even an older woman," Ty continued to laugh at the look on his mothers face. "In fact, I'm not even meeting someone of the X chromosome."

"Oh," was all Jane managed to say, a faint blush spreading across her rosy cheeks.

"Yes," Ty agreed with her. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"You're not excused," Brad gruffly said, interrupting Ty's exit yet again.

"You know?" Ty asked, his patience now fully gone. "I'm going and there isn't a damn thing that you can do about it."

Jane gasped. "Tyler Baldwin! You do not speak to your parents that way!"

"I just did."

"Now you're just digging yourself in deeper, Ty," Brad jumped in. "Go upstairs and find something to do because you are not leaving this house."

"I'm leaving," Ty said confidently. "And, as I already made clear, there isn't a fucking thing you can do about it."

"If you want to leave than leave," Brad surprised both Jane and Ty by saying.

"I'm leaving," Ty said simply.

"Fine. Just don't come back," Brad said to Ty's retreating form.

Ty stopped and turned back around slowly. "What?"

"You heard me," Brad began, "if you leave this house tonight then don't expect to come back. If you leave then you are out."

Ty's laughter was completely uncalled for but it came regardless. "I'm eighteen, I'm an adult, you can't order me around anymore," he stated.

"Maybe you are an adult but this is my house and while you are living under my roof you abide by my rules," Brad jabbed a finger at his chest.

"Whatever. Don't expect me back tonight," Ty called over his shoulder as he retreated down the darkened hallway once and for all. He knew his parents weren't really kicking him out. First off, his mother would never stick with or enforce that decision. Secondly, how would his father, the prestigious lawyer, look if his son was living on the streets? Not that Ty would resort to that of course, living on the street that is. And then there was the other worry in him mothers mind. How would she look among her high society friends?

No, there was no way that his parents would actually kick him out of the house. No way. He'd come back whenever he felt like it and they wouldn't say a word on their discussion from the previous night.

Ty got into his black Ferrari and turned the key in the ignition. He lightly pressed on the gas pedal and swung the car around and out of his houses driveway. Ty slowed the Ferrari down as he drew up alongside Mick's house. Mick's hunter green Corvette's lights turned on and it drew up alongside Ty. Mick had also been given a curfew, that he was clearly breaking, and his Corvette Z06 had been taken away for three months.

"Where are we going?" Ty asked Mick.

Mick looked over at Ty from his Corvette.

"Tony didn't call me," Ty added.

"Oh, right, he called me," Mick began. "We're going to the Four Seasons."

"The Four Seasons?" Ty echoed.

Mick's shoulders shrugged in the darkness. "Yeah, that's where he said to meet him. I don't know why."

"Alright then," Ty said as he put his hand back on the steering wheel, "let's go, shall we? Don't want to keep our good friend waiting."

Mick and Ty sped off into the still and warmth of the warm, spring night in Scottsdale Arizona.

The Peak

The front parking lot that was reserved for diners or people wishing to play golf or enjoy the spa or bar was remarkably empty. Of course, that was only due to the time of night. Ty and Mick parked in adjacent parking spots right in the front of the grand hotel. The turned off their respective vehicles and walked through the front doors, side by side.

"Ah, I was starting to think that you boys weren't going to make it," a voice greeted them casually as the entered the lobby.

"I thought that we've already established that it is not us who are the chickens," Ty faced down the man who had addressed him, "Tony."

Tony's smile flitted across his pale yet outstanding facial features. His teeth were just the right shade of white. "You are a fool, Baldwin."

"I may be a fool, but I am a fool who intends to defend his pride," Ty challenged.

"Well then, we have much to discuss." Tony led Ty and Mick over to the corner of the room where Adam, Tony's friend or sidekick or minion, posse, entourage, whatever you chose to call him, was securing a circle of armchairs for them all.

Ty, Mick and Tony all took a seat and faced one another.

"Any particular reason we are at the Four Seasons?" Mick broke the silence by asking.

"Yes, now that you mention it, there is," Tony began, he leant forwards in his chair just the tiniest bit. "First, we are in a public place where there are other people present." Ty glanced around the room and noted that other then an elderly man and woman making their way back to the elevator they were all alone. He chose to not mention that information for the time. "And second," Tony smirked as he looked directly at Ty, "you don't remember? Do you?"

"Remember what?"

Tony smiled brighter. "Why, your little friends are staying here," he said gleefully.

Ty's handsome face twisted with annoyance. Damn those people, they were everywhere. He couldn't go anywhere without constantly being reminded of them. "And that should mean something to me," it was meant to be a question but it came out sounding more like a statement.

"Not particularly," Tony shrugged his leather jacket clad shoulders. "Just thought it would be fun."

"Indeed, fun," Ty said dryly. "And now," Ty sat up straighter, "you really are wasting my time with all this talk of those people, so let's get to business."

"As you wish, Baldwin, as you wish," Tony's voice lowered substantially as he spoke until if was no more then a fierce purr.

The Peak

Amy was walking down the hall of the Four Seasons, heading back up to her rooms with a bag of chips and a bottle of soda. She, Matt, Tom, Joni and Soraya were planning on watching a movie, everyone else was out that night. She was just about to cross through the hotels lobby and get on the elevator when something caught her eye. She stopped and focused on it.

In the far corner of the room were four people, men by the looks of them, seated in a circle. They appeared to be deep in conversation.

It was just the voice that made Amy stop in her tracks and back up so that she was hidden behind the grand piano in the corner nearest her. She watched the four men carefully. The one she had her eyes on turned his head ever so slightly but it was all Amy needed to be sure.

Ty Baldwin.

She'd know his face anywhere.

And he was sitting in the lobby of the hotel she was staying out.

Amy's nosey side took over her next actions. She set the soda and chips down on the floor underneath the piano and skittered back along the wall. She exited the lobby the way she had come and ran down the hall, almost crashing into a middle aged couple. She uttered a quick apology to the frazzled adults before continuing on her way.

Right where Ty, Mick, Tony and Adam were seated, there was another doorway. The door was directly across from where Ty was seated in his armchair. Amy stood on the side of the doorway, as close as she dared and pressed up against the wall. Desperate to hear what was going on.

Amy chanced a peek around the doorframe and was relieved to see the no one was even looking in her direction. Now, Amy could pick out Ty and Mick, a man she didn't recognize and another man. She knew she had seen him before.

"It really took some nerve for you to show up at the hospital and speak to Ty's parents that way," Mick said to one of the unknown men in a cold voice.

Of course, Amy realized, the man from the hospital, Tony.

Tony laughed at Mick's comment. "I'd say that it was you who was out of line, Laurence."

"I my parents only knew the truth about you," Ty cut in before Mick could say respond to Tony's latest comment. Ty's voice was calm and self assured, the edges marred with a tint of disgust.

"It's my word over yours," Tony said.

"That only makes it all the more sick," Mick spat. "Our own parents don't believe us."

"You've established that reputation for yourselves so don't complain about it to me," Tony said in a bored manner.

"I get the feeling that I'm wasting my time here," Ty cut in between the squabbling pair. "If we are only discussing my parents then I'm out."

"We are getting to it, Baldwin," Tony snapped irritably. "Your parents, and Laurence's here for that matter, play a big part in this."

"I don't give a shit about some stupid ass adults."

Amy stifled a gasp at the way Ty spoke of his parents. Two years ago, he had shown nothing but respect for his mother and father. Once again, Amy got the feeling that she didn't know Ty at all anymore.

"Moving on to the business," Ty requested.

"I was getting to it, Baldwin," Tony repeated. "Are you anxious to be out of a car?"

"I haven't lost anything," Ty leaned forwards a bit, his emerald eyes blazed with a roaring fire. "The race was not completed and therefore you, or I for that matter, have won nothing."

"I won that race, Baldwin," Tony argued heatedly. "You and Laurence didn't walk away. I won, fair and square."

"You won nothing," Ty said again. "You smashed me into the boulders," Amy's eyes widened, "but, if you want the Vanquish then be my guest, all you have to do is find the twisted clump of metal first."

Tony glared at Ty. "You know the rules, Baldwin—"

"You're right, I do know the rules," Ty agreed with Tony, a smug look adjourned Tony's features. "And our rules said that the race would be finished and the winner would receive the purse, no questions asked. However, the race was not finished and therefore you have won nothing. We are exactly where we started."

"Are you challenging me to another race?" Tony asked, his voice stunned with disbelief. He had thought that he had put Ty out of it once and for all.

"I am," Ty answered confidently.

Amy gasped and pressed her back against the wall. She took several deep breaths to calm down. Did Ty have a death wish? He had almost died the last time and now he was willingly challenging the person who had come so close to being his murdered in the game that had almost claimed his life.

"You're messed up, Baldwin," was all Tony could say.

"I may be," Ty responded smoothly. "But, you swore a make up race after I killed you the first time and you will get a make up race. And this time, I will finish the race."

"I could kill you," Tony's voice was dangerously low. His eyes locked with Ty's Mick and Adam wisely stayed out of the conversation and just observed.

"You could," Ty agreed, "and I could do the same to you," he reasoned.

Tony stood his ground, refusing to let Ty intimidate him. "Fine. You want a re-race? Then you will, by all means, get a re-race. Saturday night at—"

"No," Ty shook his head.

"Chickening out now, Baldwin?" Tony jumped to the very wrong conclusion.

"No," Ty repeated. "You named the time and place the last time, it's my turn now."

"Fine," Tony folded his hands in his lad and leaned back in his chair. "Name your terms."

Ty's eyes remained focused on Tony as he spoke his neck words. "We go tonight."

Tony sat straighter. "Tonight?"

"Yes."

"Are you mental? You don't even have a car!" he laughed brightly.

"I have my Ferrari," Tony eyed Ty greedily, "not the Enzo but it's a Ferrari still. Mick has his Vet. The question is, do you have a suitable car?"

"I have my car," was all Tony said.

"Very well then," Ty nodded, "we go tonight, in one hour at Hang Mans (a/n: sorry, I can't remember. I think that this is a real street in AZ. Anyhow, if it isn't, it is taking the place of a street that exists). We race to the Peak and back."

Tony laughed. "Come on, Baldwin! Is that the best you can do? Hang Mans!" he said the name with pure scorn, "Really! That's a baby's course."

"Fine then," a wicked smile lifted the corners of Ty's lips, "you want something more difficult? By all means, I'll give you something more difficult."

Tony shifted his weight in his chair eagerly. "Name it."

Ty only paused for half a second before he said, "Kalinichenko." (a/n: I'm stumped for a name so I am borrowing the last name from a Ukraine soccer player. He's really hot too…)

"Fine."

"We go at midnight, on the dot."

"Perfect." Tony grinned cockily.

"Don't get to too cocky," Ty warned him in a low voice. "You may have caught me off guard last time but don't expect to do the same tonight."

"I do not make a habit of underestimating my opponents, Mr. Baldwin, they, on the other hand, seem to make a habit of underestimating me."

"Well then I assure you that I will not make that mistake tonight."

Ty and Tony stood up and face each other. Mick stood and stood at Ty's side while Adam stood at Tony's side.

Tony held out his hand. "Think before you shake, Baldwin," Tony advised Ty. "Once you shake on it there is no turning back. You either race or I win and get the cars."

"I know. I have thought and this is it. This is the end of it. Tonight we end it all and see who the better driver is."

"The better driver," Tony echoed.

Amy watched in a mixture of horror and fascination and Ty reached out his right hand to clasp Tony's firmly. They shook on it, pumping each others hand up and down five times. Their eyes remained glues on the others, they gripped the others hand.

Amy was so absorbed in what was happening that she didn't even notice Ty spot her until his emerald eyes were meeting her gray ones. They only met for the shortest of moments before Ty looked back to Tony.

"May the better driver win."

a/n: I told you it sucked. Sorry for the bad ending but I really want to get this up before I go away and… hey, I have to get up in like six hours to go to the airport. I don't know when I'll update again; I'll be in AZ (so fitting with this story) until July 16th. Please excuse the mistakes that I know are here. And I know what you're all probably thinking after this chapter but let me just say, Ty will just get worse before he gets any better. Review! -Steph