by K. A. Linde
Stacia glared at him, even as her body betrayed her. Weeks of going cold turkey made her ache all over, and he knew every one of her tells. He was the one who had coaxed passion out of her in the first place, and he wouldn’t soon forget what got her riled up. She gnashed her teeth together to try to cover up her body, wanting nothing more than to throw her drunk ass at him. That was something she absolutely could not do.
“I just closed my tab. You ready?” Derek asked, not even realizing what he had just walked into.
“Yes,” Stacia said at once.
“As I was just telling Stacia, I can drive you home,” Pace interjected.
“Cool, man. That’d be really helpful.”
“Derek!” she hissed.
“What? It would be really helpful.”
Stacia rolled her eyes. “You are the worst brother ever.”
“I’m your only brother,” he called after her as she walked toward the door.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she exited the building. Pace, Derek, and Jordan followed shortly after her. She would have much rather taken a cab than follow Pace to his truck. Her eyes widened as they approached it. The truck was massive. Like, she couldn’t even reach the seat without a boost up.
“Compensating much?” she asked.
Pace grabbed her around her waist and hoisted her up into the front seat with him. “You know I’m not.”
Stacia huffed out in exasperation as Pace slammed the door shut. He hopped into the driver’s side and revved the engine. They peeled out of the Posse parking lot late into the night, and Pace drove on autopilot, away from the building.
“Wait…where are you going?” Stacia snapped.
“Your place?” Pace said.
“I moved.”
“Since when?”
“Who cares? I moved. Turn around.”
Pace executed an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street. “Where am I going?”
“Take me to Highland Mills.”
Pace’s foot tapped the brake, slamming all of them forward at her words. “What the fuck?”
“God, Pace, watch what you’re doing!”
“Highland Mills? You’re living in Highland Mills?”
“Yeah. And?”
“No.”
“Excuse me?” she snapped.
“You can’t live in Highland Mills.”
“You are not my fucking keeper! I can live wherever I want and do whatever I want with whoever I want!”
“Just to interrupt,” Derek said from the backseat, “but is Highland Mills as fucking sketch as it looks from the outside?”
“Yes,” Pace said at the same time as Stacia emphatically said, “No!”
“There is no way your father would let you live in Highland Mills,” Pace began.
“Do not bring my father into this!” she spat. “We’re not dating. We’re not together. I don’t even fucking like you. You don’t get to make any fucking calls on my life! And you absolutely do not get to comment on my father!”
“As much as I love all this feistiness that just recently came out of your sweet little mouth,” Pace said, “I do get to make some fucking judgment calls for you when you are clearly fucking impaired!”
“And,” Derek jumped in, “as your brother, I get to make those calls, too. If you continue living there, I’ll have to tell Dad.”
Stacia whipped around so fast that she got a crick in her neck. “You wouldn’t fucking dare.”
“You know I would.” And he was dead serious. He sighed heavily. “I just want you to be safe. You know I always have your back on stuff, S, but this is different. I know you want to avoid any more expectations or obligations from him, and I know that he’s overprotective of you, but wouldn’t it be better to just tell him than to live like this?” He gestured outside as they pulled into Highland Mills.
“No.”
Stacia told Pace what apartment she was in.
She really didn’t think it was that bad. Sure, it was a far cry from where she had lived before, and she did kind of worry that her Mercedes SUV was going to get vandalized, but the apartment was her own. And, with her father, nothing came for free. More money for a new, better apartment would kill her freedom. She just knew it.
“Please, Derek,” she whispered. “Please. I’ll get a security alarm. I’ll get a safe. I’ll add another bolt to the door. I’ll use my spending money to rent a covered garage for the car. Come on, just work with me.”
“Stacia…”
“Uh, guys…” Pace said. “Sorry to interrupt this touching moment, but you didn’t leave your apartment door open before you left, did you?”
“What?” Stacia cried.
“I didn’t think so.”
Pace parked the car, and Stacia dashed out as soon as they stopped moving.
“Stacia!” Pace yelled, running after her. He was faster, even when she wasn’t drunk. “Don’t go in there. We don’t know if someone is inside. Get on your phone and call 911.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked, latching on to his arm.
“Find out what the fuck happened.”
“You can’t go in alone!”
“Derek, let’s go,” Pace called.
Both guys rushed forward and then inched in through the front door. Jordan had his phone out and was already calling the cops. He put a comforting arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him.
Tears trickled down her face as she waited impatiently for Pace and Derek to exit her apartment. She hadn’t wanted to believe that this place was as bad as they had said. She was one hundred percent sober now, and fear crept into her. She felt so violated, and she didn’t even know what could have been stolen. Besides clothes, she didn’t really have all that much stuff to begin with, but clearly, she had deluded herself into thinking she was safe here. Now, she absolutely did not feel safe.
A few minutes later, Derek exited and nodded. “It’s all clear in there. The place is a mess. You’ll need to look through it to see what was taken.”
“I’ll wait out here for the police,” Jordan said.
“I’m so sorry this is happening on your weekend here,” Stacia said through sniffles.
“Oh, honey, this is not your fault. Don’t apologize. We’ll work it out.”
But working it out ended up taking hours and hours. The apartment was more than a mess; it was a disaster. Every drawer had been emptied. Her bedroom had been ransacked. Every article of clothing had been taken off hangers. Shoes had been strewn from one end of the place to the other. Though, thankfully, once she had tallied them, they were all still there. Apparently, whoever had robbed her wasn’t looking for five-hundred-dollars-and-up shoes.
The sum total of what they had taken was pretty small—a Gucci boho purse with two hundred dollars in cash, her MacBook, and a pearl necklace. The real damage was that the purse had contained her completely filled out final-exam study guide, her MacBook had the only draft of her completed journalism admission essay, and the pearl necklace…had belonged to her mother. As much as she detested the woman, it really had been the only thing she had of her.
“It’s official,” Derek said as the police officers wrapped up and left at four in the morning. “We’re moving you out of this apartment this weekend.”
Stacia sagged onto the couch. She looked between Derek, Jordan, and Pace, who had all stayed this whole time to help her get her apartment back into a semi-livable condition. How could she even argue?
“I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Well,” Pace said, scratching the back of his head and looking at the floor. It was a gesture she knew he only used when he was uncertain. “I do have an extra bedroom.”
“You cannot be serious,” Stacia said in disbelief.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Derek said.
“No. It’s a horrible idea.”
“Come on, S,” Derek continued.
“No, you come on. How can you take his side?” Stacia demanded.
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Derek shrugged. “I’m on the side of your safety, and this place is clearly not safe.”
“I live near campus,” Pace said. “The apartment is paid for. You wouldn’t even have to pay rent.”
“Oh, I would fucking pay rent. There is no way I would be beholden to you.”
“Great. Glad that’s settled then.” Pace shot her a smug smile.
“This is not fucking settled!” Stacia shrieked. “I just had my apartment vandalized. I lost all the work I’d been doing for weeks now. I have to start over from square one. And I don’t even want to be here tonight, but I also do not want to leave. Can we just figure this out in the morning when I’ve had some sleep? I’m not making this important of a decision with this much alcohol in my system, and I’m not being frightened into it.”
“All right, we’ll figure it out tomorrow,” Derek agreed.
“Sure,” Pace said. “I’ll just…head out then. Walk me out, Pink?”
Stacia glared at him for using the nickname, but he had stayed the entire time all of this shit was going down. She might hate his guts, but he hadn’t had to stay. He hadn’t had to help with cleaning her apartment or speaking to the police. He hadn’t had to rush into the apartment ahead of her to guarantee her safety.
“Fine,” she muttered. “You guys can just take the bedroom.”
Derek’s cheeks heated, and she realized her mistake too late. Pace glanced between Derek and Jordan and then back again, as if piecing her comment together.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Jordan said at once. “Really. Don’t worry about it. It’s been a long night.”
And then they disappeared into the bedroom.
“So…your brother and Jordan…” Pace said, trailing off as they exited the apartment.
“Please don’t say anything to anyone.”
Pace held his hands up. “Not my place.”
Stacia narrowed her eyes. “Seriously. Don’t ever mention this to anyone ever again. I would die of mortification if this were the reason Derek was outed to the football team.”
“And your dad?”
“Pace,” she snapped, “this is important.”
“Got it. No one. Ever.”
They made it to the driver’s side of his truck, and he leaned back against the door.
She glanced up at him and bit her lip. “Thank you for your help tonight,” she said.
“Don’t mention it.”
“I wish you were like this all the time.”
Pace licked his lips and shrugged, looking off in the distance. “You see what you want, Stacia. I’m always the same person.”
“That’s not true, and you know it.”
Pace reached for her so fast; it was practically a blur as he spun her around and pressed her body against the cold metal of his truck. His lips hovered less than an inch from her own, and a moan escaped her at his touch. His hands gripped her hips. His lower half pushed firmly against her own. Her body trembled, wanting the kiss and wanting to escape it at the same time.
“This is who I am. This is what we are. The push and pull, the craving, the desire. It’s not going to go away. I wanted you that first day I saw you walk into Posse in that pink dress, and I still want you. I would take you right here on the hood of my truck if you’d let me. I’d fuck you until you forgot you ever left me for Marshall,” he practically spat in her face.
Her eyes fluttered closed as she shattered inside for the pain that shot through every syllable. Was it possible that Pace was just as angry with her as she was with him?
“But I’m not going to,” he said, straightening and leaving her empty and cold.
She couldn’t help asking, “Why not?”
“Do you want me to?”
She bit her lip and lied, “No.”
He chuckled and dropped a rough kiss on her lips. She nearly fell over when he pulled back.
“You’re a terrible liar, Pink.”
Then, he pulled her off the truck, yanked open the door, and disappeared into the night, leaving her thoroughly confused and bewildered. She was all the more certain that she could never move in with him. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. And, if she walked into that disaster, she was sure that her heart wouldn’t be the only casualty.
HOWEVER, NOTHING WORKED OUT how Stacia had planned.
She awoke the next morning at some ungodly hour to the police calling her about her computer.
“Derek,” she grumbled, knocking on her own bedroom door and yawning. “Police found my computer.”
The door peeked open, and he peered back at her, bleary-eyed. “That’s great. What time is it?”
“Eight. Too early. I have to go to the police station and talk to my landlord about breaking the lease.”
Derek heaved a sigh of relief. “You’re still planning on moving out?”
“Yeah,” she admitted. “You were right. It’s not safe. I don’t feel safe. Can we go and look at places this afternoon?”
“Let’s go as soon as you get back. But, if we don’t find anything tonight, I’m moving you into Pace’s place.”
“What? Why?” she asked.
“You think I’m leaving you here for another moment? You’re wrong. There’s no way I’m heading back to LA without you living somewhere secure.”
“And why do you think Pace’s place will be any more secure?” she asked. “You know what happened with Madison. You know how upset I’ve been. Living with him would be a terrible idea.”
“Yeah, I know about Madison.” He walked through the doorframe and shut the door tight behind him, letting Jordan sleep in. “I know what went down. I’m not saying you need to get back together with him. But think about how he was with you last night. He stood up for you against Boomer. He drove you home when you were drunk. He checked on the apartment ahead of you and stayed until the police left. He might have messed up before, but I can trust him with you.”
Stacia gritted her teeth. “Sure. That’s all true, but—”
“Just make it a temporary thing if we don’t find something more permanent. You’ll be safe with him until you find your own thing, okay?”
“Fine,” she finally conceded. “I’m going to get my computer back.”
Derek nodded and then headed back into her bedroom. She would have killed for a few more hours of sleep, but that didn’t seem possible. Plus, if she didn’t find a new place by the end of the day, she’d be moving in with Pace, which was a disaster waiting to happen.
And everything took longer than anticipated.
She spent hours at the police station.
Despite the fact that she had remote-locked her computer last night, they had to double- and triple-check everything with her. She hadn’t had any real hope of getting it back to begin with, so suffering through a few hours at the police station instead of rewriting her essay seemed fair.
Luckily for Stacia, she hadn’t been the only robbery in the neighborhood that night, which meant the police were able to track down the perpetrators. Turned out they were just some assholes who lived nearby. After mounds of paperwork and lots of wait time, her computer and pearls had been returned to her, and the police said they would contact her if they needed anything else.
She counted it as a miracle. Her purse and study guide were missing, but both were easily replaceable. She was just glad to have the two most important things back to her. Now, all she had to do was get out of her lease, and then she would be free from this six-week hellhole.
What she hadn’t intended was for it to be so fucking impossible to break her lease. She had gone straight to the main office of the apartment complex to get it all fixed, but it wasn’t that simple. After being shuffled from person to person who claimed she couldn’t break her lease for burglary, she finally had to threaten to get her LA-based lawyer involved before they let her out of the lease without her having to pay a separation fee or wait for someone else to fill her spot. As if that wo
uld even be possible here.
By the time it was all done, it was the middle of the afternoon. She hadn’t slept. She had barely eaten anything. And she was ready to drop.
“What the hell is this?” Stacia asked when she walked through her front door.
“We, uh…packed for you,” Jordan told her.
“Where’s the other half of my stuff,” she accused.
Then, a rumbling started from outside, and Derek and Pace barreled through the front door, as if they owned the place. They both stopped dead when they saw Stacia.
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.
Pace crossed his arms and smiled wide. “Just finishing up.”
“Finishing up what?”
“Moving, of course.”
“What the fuck, Pace? Are you moving my stuff into your place without my permission?” she nearly shrieked.
Pace raised an eyebrow in question. “You said you were into it last night, and Derek said you were going to move in if you didn’t find another place today. I just cut out the middle man and got shit done while you were busy.”
Stacia walked forward and shoved her finger in his face. “I did not say that last night, you insufferable, presumptuous motherfucking—”
“Whoa there!” Derek said, interjecting between them. “This is a good idea. You’re dead on your feet right now. It’s four in the afternoon. Do you really think you’re going to find somewhere to live today? On a Saturday?”
“I don’t care. Don’t you see how wrong this is?”
“It’s a temp spot until you find something else.”
“I’m just trying to help,” Pace reminded her.
“Since when?” Stacia snapped.
“Always.”
Stacia shook her head and stepped away from them. “This is insane. This whole weekend is shot, and I have so much work to do.”
Derek placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Let us take care of this for you. I know you’ve been working hard on your classes. I was honestly just trying to make this easier on you.”
Stacia sighed heavily. “Fine. Is my bed here or there? Can I sleep for a couple of hours while this is happening?”
“You can use my bed,” Pace said with a smile that said he remembered every other time she’d been in it.