Flawed (Caught By The Bad Boys Book 2)

by Raathi Chota

  “Then he whispered something to Levi, causing him to back off,” Blake cut off Axel. I looked up and noticed Dad stared at his notes.

  “Dad, did Levi tell you what James said to him?”

  “Err…yes, but let’s just stick to the story, okay?” Dad said as he motioned for us to continue.

  “His men had guns so we couldn’t do anything. H-he, err…he stroked Lana’s cheek and sa—”

  “Sheriff, sorry to disturb you, but I’ve just been to the…” Detective Kale interrupted as he entered the room. He stopped mid-sentence, then glanced at us. “Well, well, look who we have here.”

  “What is he doing here?” Blake demanded as he eyed Detective Kale. No one answered as Detective Kale turned to my dad.

  “You didn’t tell them yet?” Detective Kale asked, then let out a bitter laugh as my dad shook his head.

  “Tell us what?” Blake demanded as he gripped the chair. Detective Kale sniggered as he walked to Blake. He crouched down so that he was eye level as Blake glared at him.

  “Haven’t you heard, Gunner?” he asked as his eyes flicked to me, then Blake. “Sheriff Willson and I are working together, and things are finally starting to add up.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lana

  When we walked out of the station, my face drained of color. Detective Kale and my dad worked together to find not only James but Jack too! After Detective Kale told us that, he said we might come in for a few more interrogations. The creepy thing was he looked at me the whole time. The last thing we told him was what James said when he walked away. He mentioned two names, Mike and Christo. I knew Mike was the one in my room, but I didn’t know Christo. I glanced and noticed Blake walked ahead of us. He was pissed the minute Detective Kale entered the room. I looked over to my shoulder at Axel and Keene.

  “Aren’t you going to talk to him?” I asked Axel.

  “Do you really think he’d listen to me, pumpkin? I might be his brother, but he doesn’t listen to just anybody,” Axel replied as I sighed. I turned back to Blake, who crossed the road. Keene placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned me to follow him. I rolled my eyes as he gave me a supportive smile.

  “Blake!” I called out as I crossed the road. Once I reached the other side, he stopped at the corner of a coffee shop. There was a bench in front of it, and he sat down. As I walked to him, I let out a sneeze. He looked up as I approached him and sat down. “You hate Detective Kale, don’t you?”

  “What gave you that idea?” he sneered as we stared at the station opposite us. “When I got arrested, he’d always look after me. He also talked to me because he knew my father died,” Blake said, then let out a dry laugh. “I thought he felt sorry for me, but apparently he had a thing for my mom.”

  My eyebrows rose as I turned to him. I watched as he took a cigarette out and put it between his lips. It’d be hard to get him to stop. It was only Monday, and it was his third one.

  “He didn’t just talk to me, Lana. He didn’t like that I was a delinquent, so one Saturday night, it was just us two in the building, and he beat me up.”

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

  “Who could I tell? No one would believe me,” he stated. “Then one day I was drunk as shit and knew where he was patrolling, so I went there and beat him too.”

  “What happened?”

  “I got sent to juvie for beating a cop, obviously,” Blake answered, then took a drag.

  “How long did you stay?”

  “A month. Momma came to the rescue and said I was dealing with a lot of grief from Dad’s death.”

  “I-I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” I whispered as we locked eyes.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with Parker,” he said. I nodded, then turned away to Axel and Keene. They spoke by the car. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Blake throw his cigarette on the ground and crush it with his shoe. He stood up and turned to me. “Come on, we’ll take you home.”

  We rose to our feet. We walked across to Axel’s car and got in. I sat in the back with Keene as we drove out of the station. Blake flicked through the radio, and I knew he was pissed, since he missed quite a few good songs.

  “Heard from Levi yet?” Keene asked as he shuffled closer.

  “Yeah.”

  “So I’m assuming he didn’t tell you,” Keene stated, and I noticed how Axel and Blake looked at us through the rearview mirror.

  “Tell me what?” I asked as the car went silent.

  “We don’t even know the full story, pumpkin,” Axel sighed as I tilted my head.

  “Well, tell me what you know,” I demanded as I thought of the other day when Levi said the things he did in California were bad and he wasn’t ready to tell me.

  “It won’t make sense!” Blake hissed.

  “Shit, sorry,” I muttered. Keene awkwardly tapped my shoulder, and I turned to him. He swung his arm around the seat and leaned in to whisper.

  “Levi Radcliff should be the one to tell you; it’s his story,” he whispered as I watched Blake rest his arm on the window.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll see him soon.” Keene winked at me as I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Pumpkin, do you know her?” Axel asked. I raised my head. I didn’t even realize we were on my street. I leaned forward to see someone knocking at our front door. The car came to a stop, and we got out of the car. I approached the woman only to recognize that it was Linda, my neighbor. Mom somehow didn’t like her; that’s why she didn’t want to answer the door on Christmas Eve. She gave me cookies to give her children because Linda loved to show off her five children and how she had the “perfect” family.

  “Err…hello,” I said as Linda spun around.

  “Lana! Oh my gosh!” she squealed as she ran down the stairs and engulfed me in a hug. I awkwardly patted her shoulder as she squeezed me. Axel walked around and stood behind her as he gave me a questioning look. “I thought you were in there,” she said, finally releasing her grip on me.

  “I don’t understand. Why are you here?” I asked.

  “I was just walking my children home from school, and as I walked past your house, I saw someone trying to break in,” she stated as my eyes widened.

  “Why didn’t you call her dad?” Blake asked.

  “Well, the guy was on the tree by your window, and I started to yell. I think he noticed, so then he just jumped down and drove off,” she explained as I let out a sigh of relief.

  “Did you at least get a good look at the guy?” Keene asked.

  “Oh no, he was dressed in black, but he seemed quite tall, like maybe six foot two or something.” She smiled.

  “You said ‘drove off.’ What did his car look like?” Blake asked.

  “Well, I don’t know much about cars. I think it was black, or it could be those dark blue cars that you think is black, but it’s those dark green ones, but when it’s in the sun it looks black,” she said as I stared at her.

  “Okay then,” Axel dragged out as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  “Err…thank you, I’ll let my dad know.”

  “No problem, Lana, just glad you weren’t in there. Wonder why he wanted to go through your window.” She laughed, then walked off.

  “That woman is officially crazy,” Axel stated as we watched her walk into her house across the street. I glanced back at my home and wondered who could’ve tried to break in, and only one person came to mind. James. Axel handed me my bag, and I thanked him. I slowly approached the house and unlocked it. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Blake towering over me.

  “Should I let your dad know, pumpkin?” Axel asked from his car.

  “Yes, please,” I said, then pushed the door open. When I walked in, everything seemed to be in place. I still felt Blake’s presence as we walked through the house. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and noticed he gave me an assured look. I walked upstairs, and he followed.

  “What if he wasn’t cli
mbing up but down?”

  “I think she would’ve noticed, Blake.”

  “Really? She doesn’t seem very bright,” he stated as I let out a chuckle. We stood in front of my door, and I anxiously stared at the doorknob. I glanced up at Blake, who already looked at me. He opened the door, and I closed my eyes for a second and hoped that I didn’t see another shoe. Yet everything looked the same from this morning. I put my bag down, then glanced around my room. Blake walked to the window and glided his fingers over the windowsill. “No dust.” He rubbed his fingers together.

  “Yeah, and I always leave my window open at least a couple inches for ventilation.” I looked at the closed window. “Well, he didn’t take anything.”

  “Yeah, because he was probably looking for something,” Blake stated as he looked around the room. I walked to my wardrobe, then opened it. I searched the drawers, but I only found Levi’s clean laundry, which Mom placed in there a few days ago. I took out the familiar sweatpants.

  “Err…you might’ve forgotten about this, but I just wanted to say thank you…again.” I closed the drawer with one hand and held out his sweatpants with the other.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled as I felt him take the sweatpants. As I lowered my arm, he gripped it. He spun me around and pulled me in for a hug. His one arm wrapped around my waist as the other went around my shoulder.

  “Wha-What’s this for?” I asked as he let out a deep sigh.

  “You looked pale at the station. You don’t deserve to go through all of this,” he began. “It’s hard to relive that moment, especially when James stroked your cheek and said ‘such a beautiful girl can cause so much damage’…Lana, what did he me—”

  “Sshh.” I cut him off as I wrapped my arms around his torso and pressed my head against his chest. I didn’t want to tell him. Too many were involved. As I pulled away, his arms fell to my waist. I glanced up at Blake. My eyes widened as I slowly backed away, then cleared my throat. He dropped his arms. He shrugged it off as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I-I think it’s best to leave, Blake.” My voice had dropped to a whisper. He had a stone hard look on his face as he nodded.

  “Yeah, they’re probably waiting,” he mumbled, then spun around. We silently walked downstairs and to the front door. He opened the door and turned to face me. “Will you be okay here all alone?”

  “Yeah, my mom will be home soon anyway,” I said.

  “Okay, then I’ll see you in school.” He walked off. I leaned on the doorframe as I watched him get into the car. Keene and Axel waved at me, and I returned the gesture. As the vehicle started, Blake looked at me with a poker face. They drove off, and I shut the door. I let out a sigh as I walked upstairs and into my room to start my homework. I tied my hair into a bun and walked to the bathroom. I placed my glasses on the sink and stared at myself in the mirror. The bags under my eyes showed again. The dream affected me, but I couldn’t get the message it tried to tell me. I finally looked away and washed my face with cold water. I was going to wipe my face but noticed there was no towel hung up. I let out a sigh as I crouched down and opened the cabinet. When I took out a hand towel, I noticed something wasn’t right. I squinted my eyes because I knew that he bought another one and always left it here, but I couldn’t find Levi’s hair gel anywhere.

  ***

  Over the next few days, it was the same. Homework after homework and everyone was busy with their applications. Dad hadn’t said anything about James or Detective Kale. I told him about the guy Linda saw, and he almost scolded her for not phoning him. I think Blake got the message that I had a boyfriend and learned to back off. We still talked, but he always sent awkward glances.

  Today when I woke up, Levi wanted to FaceTime. I got ready as quick as possible so that I could talk before school. I sat by the desk in front of my laptop with a blanket wrapped around me as I spoke to him.

  “I don’t think Uncle Griff likes his job.” Levi shook his head as I stared at him. He laid on a bed shirtless with his earphones in as he spoke to me.

  “He loves his job, he just…hates the people who disrespect him.”

  “Yeah, Carter told me what a prick Blake was.”

  “When did he tell you?”

  “Oh, we talk all the time,” he said as his eyelids drooped.

  “Are you tired? We can chat later. It must be really early there…” I trailed off as he gave me a weak smile.

  “I’m perfectly fine, princess.” I smiled as I sat crossed leg on my chair and pushed my glasses up, then snuggled into the blanket as I stared at him. “I-I heard you spoke to Detective Kale.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded, then squinted my eyes. “Levi, how do you know James?”

  “How do I not know the most wanted drug dealer in the US who played my friends?”

  “Wait. You know about the whole Ethan’s cottage and cocaine thing?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do.” He pressed a hand to his cheek as he leaned on his elbow.

  “Oh okay,” I mumbled.

  “Hey, cheer up. They’ll get the bastard. Besides, you have Keene, Axel, Blake, Carter, Ethan, and Aidan protecting you,” Levi pointed out as I glared at him.

  “You forgot someone,” I reminded him.

  “Who? I did mention Aid—oh! That weird kid…what’s his name? Sam!” Levi said as he snapped his fingers.

  “My boyfriend, Levi…Sam’s brother.”

  “Oh, shit, you’re still with him?”

  “Yes! What the heck?”

  “Hehe, jokes, princess. I know you’re with him. I just don’t want you to be with him.”

  “Well, I don’t care. I like him a lot.” I bit my lip.

  “Don’t do that lip action if you’re not thinking of me,” he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes, and we sat and laughed for a few minutes. I stopped and looked at the screen. I didn’t even notice that he stopped and stared at me. An unreadable expression filled his face, but the corner of his lip pulled up in a smile. In the background, I heard voices, and Levi looked up. The person spoke, but Levi quickly cut them off when he said my name. I raised a brow as I heard the door shut, then Levi turned to me. “Look, err…I gotta go.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “Love you, princess.”

  “Love you too,” I murmured. He gave a small wave then ended the FaceTime.

  ***

  When I walked into Biology, I sighed. I enjoyed the class, but Mrs. Singleton ruined it. I sat in the back with Benny on my right. The only other people in the class that I knew were Jennifer, Carter, and Marcus.

  “Did you study?” Marcus asked as he sat in front of Benny.

  “Of course, she could ask any one of us,” Benny answered. At the start of every lesson, Mrs. Singleton asked us random definitions. Marcus learned that the hard way when he didn’t study and got detention. I glanced around the classroom and looked for the familiar blond. He already stared at me with a concerned look. I raised my brow at Carter, and he stared, then turned to the front.

  “Quiet! Everyone!” Mrs. Singleton hissed as she took the eraser and hit it against the board. I winced at the noise as my eyes narrowed. She took the attendance, and I glanced at Carter, who sat right in front as he tapped his fingers on the desk. I sank in my seat and whipped out my phone.

  Lana: Hey you okay?

  Carter: Yeah, I’m fine.

  Lana: You sure?

  Carter: Yep, it’s just all this homework and stuff along with the colleges we want to go to…

  Lana: Agree, but you’re Carter freaking Halls. You can do it.

  Carter: Thanks bro.

  Carter: Can I call you bro? 0___o

  Lana: Lol sure.

  “Miss Willson, what do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Singleton’s voice echoed throughout the classroom. My head shot up, and that’s when I noticed that she was right in front of me. I quickly slipped my phone in my pocket, then sat up straight.

  “Nothing,” I replied.

  “Very well then, if you’re going to lie…what is the
definition of a primary structure?” she asked as I avoided eye contact.

  “Primary structures…a chain of amino acids.”

  “Secondary?”

  “An alpha helix or beta pleated sheet.”

  “Very good. Now, Mr. Sanders, what is a geometric isomer?” she asked Marcus as I let out a sigh of relief.

  “Err…different arrangement around a double bond,” he answered as she stared at him.

  “Don’t tell me, show me,” she demanded, then pointed at the board. Marcus quickly got up and walked to the board. He used a black marker and drew a diagram of the cis isomer and trans isomer. “For a second there I didn’t think you knew what you were doing,” Mrs. Singleton said as Marcus walked back to his table.

  “Now, Mr. Carter Raymond Halls, what is a phosphodiester bond?” She walked to the front and stared down at Carter.

  “Err…I do-don’t know,” he mumbled as she tilted her head. I squinted my eyes because I knew something was wrong. Carter was smart…well, when he wanted to be, and Bio was his favorite subject.

  “First you don’t do the homework, and now you can’t answer my questions,” she stated as Carter slowly nodded. “You have lunch detention, Carter. Enjoy picking up litter with Marcus.”

  “Why do I have detention?” Marcus demanded.

  “That’s wrong! It looks like a cat with lazy eyes.” She pointed to the board.

  “Really? I thought he was drawing you, miss,” Carter said as people laughed.

  “Both of you! Lunch and after school detention!” she yelled.

  “No surprise there.” Marcus sighed as he slouched in his seat.

  The bell rang, and I gathered my stuff. When I looked up, I saw Carter walk out, and I quickly grabbed Benny’s hand as we tried to catch up with him. Since we were in the same Phys Ed class, I knew where Carter would go.

  “You okay, man?” Benny asked as we stood on either side of Carter.

  “Yeah, just had a long night at Blake’s house, then we went street racing, so I only got home at, like, four.” He yawned.