by Bella Jewel
I walk over, completely fascinated by the scene in front of me.
Right in the middle of the wall is a picture of Mykel’s mom and dad. Coming off them are strings leading to different places and people. I glance at the strings and see most of them connect to places in and around New York. That’s odd; is that where his parents ended up? Does he know where they are or is he just clutching at straws? There are some people on the board I don’t recognize, but they have names. There are three men, all of who look very powerful and dangerous. Beside them are notes, information about times his parents contacted them, things like that.
I keep staring, but there’s so much to take in.
My eyes home in on a picture of woman. She’s beautiful and young, maybe only my age. She’s got a big question mark beside her, and on the little note next to her, it says, ‘What do you know?’
Who is this woman, and why is Mykel looking into her?
Beside the picture is a name: Harlow McKennon. I quickly pull out my phone and take a picture of the entire board before I get caught in here. I want to keep looking at it; I want to see what exactly it is Mykel is searching for. One thing is for sure: I was right about him. He’s got some big secrets and whatever they are, they’re consuming him.
I leave the room and make sure everything is locked up just the way I left it, and then I go back into his room and place the key in the box and put it back exactly as I found it before leaving the room. When I get back to mine, I pull out my phone and glance at the picture. So many unanswered questions. Obviously, something happened to Mykel’s parents, and he’s determined to find out what.
Were they killed?
Were they kidnapped or did they leave by choice?
And if they are, what exactly is it that made them leave everything behind?
Amongst everything else that’s happening right now, I’m more determined than ever to find out what lies behind Mykel’s impenetrable gaze.
He’s got a whole lot of secrets, and I’m desperate to find out more.
Even if it does get me into trouble.
What’s a little trouble, right?
9
WAVERLY
I place my hands over the pipe that’s suddenly spurting water all through the kitchen. Making a squealing sound, I try to stop the flood happening under Mykel’s sink that I just found after taking a walk outside to clear my head. Within seconds, I’m drenched and water is already soaking the kitchen floor. I open the cupboard and to a busted pipe spraying everywhere. I’m lucky I came home when I did, because it looks like it’s only just burst.
With another squeal, I try to find something I can shove over the end of the broken pipe so I can go on a hunt for Mykel’s water and turn it off. Goddammit. Nothing is within grabbing distance and this is going to start ruining things in a second. I let the pipe go, and water sprays at me again. I tear off my shirt and stuff it into the cupboard door when I close it to try and stop more water coming from the cupboard while I go and find the tap.
It doesn’t work. I’m now shirtless and the cupboard door busts open and water sprays at me again. I scream and just as I do, the door opens and voices trail into the house. Oh thank god. Thank god. “Help!” I cry out. “There’s a busted pipe!”
Within seconds, a bigger than expected group of bikers come around the kitchen counter to see me on my hands and knees, trying to do my best to stop the flow of water. I’m wearing nothing but a pair of short shorts and a bra. I’m sopping wet and the whole kitchen is covered in water. “I came home to find it like this. Hurry, you need to turn the water off.”
Mykel moves quickly, going outside. Alarick gets down on his knees beside me, and I can see the grin on his face. “Do not laugh, Alarick,” I warn him.
He helps me try to stop the water by covering the spray with large hands until Mykel can turn it off.
I hear chuckling behind me and see Cohen, Bohdi, Briella, Merleigh, Kendric, Samson and Cova all standing, staring down at me, grinning. Briella giggles the loudest, and then they all full on laughing just as the water goes off. I release the pipe and stand, no doubt looking like a drowned rat. Alarick stands behind me. “Do not laugh at me,” I warn again, waving my finger at them.
I take a step, slip in the water, and land on my ass with a cry. The laughter becomes hysterical. Booming male laughs and feminine female giggles all fill the room. I just let myself fall onto my back, close my eyes and exhale, pressing my hands to my face. “Why does this shit always happen to me?”
“Why are your clothes half off?” Mykel asks, and I pop my eyes open to see him kneeling down beside me and reaching in beneath the sink.
“I was trying to stop the water. You’re welcome.”
“With a shirt?” he asks me. “A shirt was going to stop the rapid flow of water from a busted pipe?”
Well, when he puts it like that . . .
“I was desperate,” I say, sitting up and glancing down.
I’m wearing a crop top and my nipples are so hard they’re budding out through the white material. It’s a freakin’ wet T-shirt competition and I’m the only competitor. Mykel’s eyes drop to my breasts and when I look at the other guys, there are more than one set of peepers on them. I cover my breasts and cry out, “You bunch of perves!”
“Babe.” Cohen chuckles. “You got your tits on display. We’re goin’ to look at them.”
“They’re not on display!” I protest. “I had to use my top to . . . oh, never mind. Help me up.”
Cohen steps over with a chuckle and reaches a hand down to me. I glance at Mykel as he helps me up and see his eyes are locked on mine in a rather intense stare. I’ll never understand this man for the life of me. Never.
When I’m on my feet, I cover my breasts with one arm and give a sheepish wave with the other. “What are you all doing here?”
“We’re havin’ a night off,” Kendric tells me, holding up a bag of marijuana. “You can’t come to us, so we’re comin’ to you.”
“Is that weed?” I ask, my eyes smiling before my mouth does.
“Fuck yeah it is.”
“And we’ve got alcohol. Lots of alcohol.” Briella grins.
“God yes. You all read my mind!” I nod, smiling. “Let’s get this cleaned up and get this party started.”
“Sounds good to me,” Briella claps. “Merleigh, Cova and I will grab some towels.”
“You ladies got this sorted. I’m goin’ to set up.” Kendric waves the little bag and then walks outside.
“Slacker!” I call after him.
Bohdi and Cohen give Mykel a hand to fix the busted pipe and once we’re all cleaned up, I get changed into a dress and a pair of Converse, and run a brush through my hair. Yep, I’m the girl who wears Converse with a dress, I also don’t give a crap because you gotta be who you gotta be. I spray some perfume on and then head downstairs to the back patio where everyone is sitting.
Mykel has the grill going, and the smell of cooking burgers makes my stomach rumble. I find a seat and pull it over next to Merleigh. She smiles at me when I sit down. “How are you, honey?” I ask her.
“I’m going well. How are you? I heard what happened the other night. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, it was a bit scary. Did anything like that ever happen to you?” I ask her, curious.
She nods. “I got drugged once, but it was from the man who I was being sold to. He drugged me and then took care of me so I’d trust him.”
Oh, well, now that’s strange.
“Do you think that’s what Dax did?” Briella asks, leaning forward.
“Of course he did,” Cova mutters. “That’s what he does.”
Cova is still broken, so damned broken. Briella told me she can’t stop loving the man who paid for her. Briella’s worried Cova’s going to do a runner to get back to him. She’s come down from her drug haze, but she’s still not happy about being here. Briella is trying hard to make her see that life here isn’t so bad, but she doesn’t want to be part
of it.
I understand that.
Her mind is a very fragile place and for years, she’s been used.
She was favored by the man who took her, and he tricked her into believing he was the best thing for her.
I haven’t spent near as much time with Dax as she did with her captor, and yet I ended up kissing him and then feeling the same confusion. Imagine that happening for years.
My heart aches for her. It really does. I hope we can convince her to stay and be with us in this better world.
“I don’t actually think he did,” I say. “I think it was one of the other girls.”
“That’s what he told me, too,” Cova mutters. “It wasn’t the other girls; it was him. It’s what he does. He makes you trust him. He makes you think you’re special. Then he sells you and walks away without even blinking.”
My heart twists.
“Did he . . . did he ever try to kiss any of you?”
They both look at me, and judging by the shocked looks on their faces, that would be a no. Which means I’m right in sensing that the way Dax is with me is not how he was with them.
“No,” Merleigh says. “No, he was never affectionate. He made us trust him, took care of us, but he never touched us . . .”
“No, never,” Cova agrees.
“Did he kiss you?” Merleigh asks.
I swallow and suddenly, I’m terribly embarrassed. I don’t want to tell them that I let him kiss me, that I was weak. I don’t want them to look at me like I’m pathetic. Because that’s how I feel right now—pathetic. I let a man who has ruined their lives kiss me. The worst part is, I kissed him back. For a moment, I fell for his charm and caved. I feel incredibly stupid for that.
“He did,” I finally tell them. “It was quite shocking.”
Merleigh frowns. “That is strange. Maybe you are different . . .”
“Maybe,” I murmur, needing a swift change of subject.
“Did you kiss him back?” Cova asks, her voice tight.
“No,” I lie, and it feels like it lodges in my throat it’s that foreign.
I hate lying.
I hate it.
Cova studies me as if she knows I’m fibbing, then she stands and says, “I’m bored of this party already. I’m going home.”
“You should stay,” Briella pouts. I can feel her disappointment. She’s trying so hard to have Cova fit in, but she’s just not. She’s got her mind elsewhere, and it’s going to take some time to correct that.
“No, I’m tired. See you later.”
With that Cova turns and walks out the door. Merleigh stands and smiles down at Briella. “I’ll take her home, then come back. I’ll make sure she gets there safe.”
Briella gives Merleigh and grateful smile, and then the two of them leave. When they’re gone, I glance over at Kendric and say, “Where’s that weed? Let’s do this.”
With a grin, he pulls the little bag from his jacket and announces, “Let’s get this party started.”
Yes.
Let’s.
MY MIND SPINS IN HEAVENLY delight as all the weight of the world is lifted off my shoulders. There is nothing better than feeling like you can just fly when you’ve been trudging along for weeks. Things finally seem a bit light and airy, like nothing in the world could hold me down. It’s incredible. If it weren’t for the fact that I’d risk addiction, I’d probably do this every single day.
We’re all sitting in a circle in the living area, the room a little hazy even though we have all the windows and doors open. The air that’s trickling in is cool, and the music we’re playing is at a perfect volume in the background. Briella is sitting in between Alarick’s legs, and Merleigh has come back and is sitting beside Bohdi, the two of them deep in conversation.
I’m beside Mykel, and Kendric is on my other side with Samson and Cohen sitting next to him. We’re all chatting, and laughing, and passing the smoke around. We’re about to run out, and Kendric hands the smoke to Mykel, who takes a long inhale before realizing that there isn’t enough left to keep passing it. His eyes swing to mine, all glassy and gorgeous, and then, without warning or question, he leans in and crooks his finger, indicating I should lean in closer.
I do, my mind spinning blissfully. He brings his lips so close to mine. The whole world feels like it stops. Locking eyes with him, I prepare, knowing exactly what he’s going to do.
Slowly, he lets the smoke trickle from his lips and as it does, I breathe it in. The moment is so incredibly intense, I feel like we’re alone and not a single other person is here. Like the universe has just shut everything else down. My eyes stay locked on his and I keep inhaling the smoke that he’s breathing into my mouth.
My god.
I want him.
I want him so damned badly my whole body aches.
I know I shouldn’t. I know that wanting him is dangerous for my soul, because his heart doesn’t lie with me—it lies with another girl in this room. Yet I find myself unable to stop as I lean forward just a little more. Mostly to see what he’ll do, and partly because I want his lips on mine more than I want this smoke he’s currently blowing softly into my mouth.
He doesn’t move back. His eyes stay held on mine, and I want to beg him to close the distance between us and kiss me. I need his lips on mine so fucking badly. I inch forward just a little more, and his eyes go from smoldering and sexy to lusty and needy. He feels it too; I can see it in his gaze. He wants me as much as I want him right now.
“Fuckin’ hell. Kiss her already, man, before I fuckin’ do,” Kendric murmurs, his voice low.
I swallow and Mykel’s eyes drop to my lips.
He moves a little closer, closer still—Then my phone rings. It rings so loudly I jerk, and in that second, the moment is lost. Mykel pulls back and my heart plummets into my stomach. I take a few minutes to recover from that, and then I glance over at my phone, which is on the floor beside me somewhere. I shift around until I find it, and then I stare at the screen.
“It’s Dax,” I mutter, closing my eyes and exhaling.
“Take it,” Alarick orders.
I don’t want to take it.
Goddammit, I don’t even want to look at it.
But I do as I’m told, because that’s what I’m here for.
I bring a finger to my lips, telling everyone to be quiet, and then I answer the phone and put it on loud speaker.
“Hey,” I say softly, trying to make my voice sound like the voice he’s come to know, that of the fragile, gentle girl he thinks he’s falling for.
“Waverly,” he says, and I can hear the pain in his voice.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard another person’s voice sound so pained. So broken. For a moment, I have to remind myself who I’m dealing with so I don’t immediately fall for for his act and try to help him.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, glancing at Alarick who is now listening intently, his eyes narrowed.
“We’ve got a problem here. A big . . . a big fuckin’ problem. I need your help. I have nobody else to talk to and . . . can you come over?”
“What’s happened?”
“It’s better if you just come here and see for yourself.”
“Are you . . . hurt?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he murmurs. “But it’s worse than that. Please, just come here. I need you to come to me.”
Oh god.
This feels bad.
It feels so fucking bad.
I glance over to Alarick, who nods very softly. I glance at Mykel, and the look on his face screams that he is going to protest the moment I hang up the phone.
“I’ll be there soon.”
I disconnect the call and try to leave before anyone can stop me. It doesn’t halt Mykel, though. He stands and demands, “You’re not fuckin’ goin’ over there.”
“I have to head back,” I say, grabbing my things off the bench and turning to where everyone is now gathered. “I have to.”
“You’re high as fuck, f
or a start,” Mykel growls. “You can’t drive. Secondly, he sounded like he’d just fuckin’ murdered someone, and you’re about to walk in on that. It didn’t sound right and you shouldn’t be over there.”
He’s right; it didn’t sound safe.
But I also know I’ve made a commitment to this club, and I very much plan on following through with it.
“I have to go,” I say.
“I’ll drive you,” Merleigh says. “I’m not high. I’ll get you as close as I can. You’ll probably have to walk the rest of the way so I’m not seen.”
“Thanks,” I say.
“She shouldn’t be goin’, Pres,” Mykel snaps at Alarick.
“We’ll send some back up to stay nearby in case anything goes down. This could be huge, and it could be somethin’ we can use. She’s gotta go.”
“You’re not carin’ at all about her safety.” Mykel snarls, baring his teeth in an angry way that has even me taking a step back.
“Back down, brother. This is not your fuckin’ call.”
“Isn’t it?” Mykel barks. “I think we all get a fuckin’ say in this, and I say it’s fuckin’ dangerous.”
“I agree,” Briella says. “I don’t think she should go. She’s under the influence of drugs, and we can’t be close enough to protect her if anything goes down. It’d be different if she was in a clear headspace, but she’s not.”
“Gotta agree,” Cohen pipes up. “Tonight it ain’t safe.”
Fuck me.
They’re all making sure this doesn’t happen.
“Last time I checked,” I say, grabbing a coat, “it’s not up to any of you. I’m going. You can try and stop me or you can have my back. I’ll keep you all updated, and I’m not that high that I can’t think straight. I’m doing this.”
“Fuck,” Mykel growls and looks to Alarick, knowing that if Alarick tells me not to go, I won’t.