Reckless at Westbrook High (The Kingston Brothers #2)

by Bethany Winters

  My nostrils flare and I look down at Callie’s gun in his hand, but he doesn’t offer me the time to make a decision the way he did her. Instead he shoves it at my chest and walks away from me, making a point to bump my shoulder with his before he heads for the employee exit at the back of the building.

  “Where is Freya?”

  “S-She got away from me, boss,” the bald guy stammers, probably expecting a bullet to the head. “Should I keep looking?”

  “No, we’ll deal with her tomorrow,” he waves him off, tipping his chin at the three guys he’s leaving behind. “Clean this place up and get rid of the body, then take the Lamborghinis to the house and meet me in LA.”

  They grin at his suddenly forgiving mood and I grind my teeth, knowing the only reason he seems so happy tonight is because he’s finally got his hands on her. I follow him out to the black limo parked outside and slide Callie’s gun into the waistband of my jeans, climbing inside to sit beside my father. Callie takes the seat between Damon and Kai and I lift my eyes to look at Wren, swallowing the emotion creeping up my throat when I catch the look on his face.

  If looks could kill, I’d be burning in hell.

  Too bad for us, that’s exactly where we’re headed.

  “What are we doing here?” Callie asks me, speaking for the first time since we left the gas station a little over an hour ago.

  She’s sitting beside me at the long wooden table set up in the middle of the warehouse in LA – the same one she and the boys showed up at the night they tagged along on one of her runs a couple months back. They’re sitting side by side on the far end of the building by the stairs leading to the railing overhead, still gagged with their hands cuffed behind their backs and their dark stares on me.

  I don’t like this.

  Not one fucking bit.

  But there’s not much I can do about it without risking a bullet to Wren’s head.

  Fall in line and stay there.

  “I don’t know yet,” I mutter, locking my jaw when she scoffs and looks away from me.

  “You’re lying.”

  I ignore that, looking up when Killian walks through the main door like he owns the world and every fucker in it. He smirks at the sight of the boys in the corner and takes the seat opposite me and Callie, dropping a small stack of papers on the table between us.

  “What are those?”

  “Tell me something, Callie,” he starts, ignoring her question. “If I made a deal with a man and that man couldn’t pay up in time, what would I do?”

  “Take whatever he owed you plus interest,” she answers, barely skipping a beat.

  “Clever girl,” he praises, leaning back in his seat to move her eyes over her form. “Now, what if I told you I made a deal with Jason O’Conner?”

  Her entire body locks up and he cocks his head, enjoying the clear flash of fear in her eyes before she masks it.

  “Three years ago, your father owed me a lot of money and couldn’t pay it back. What do you think he promised me?”

  “His undying loyalty?” she jokes, but I don’t miss the tick in her jaw when he laughs at her.

  “Close, but not quite. Try again.”

  “Dad..” I warn, keeping my tone even despite the fact my nerves are shot. “Don’t do this. Not here.”

  Not in front of them..

  “Try again, sweetheart,” he says softly, reaching out to run his thumb over the back of her hand.

  This motherfucker.

  I react without thinking and slam my fist down on his wrist, jumping up from my seat to shove his ass back. “Don’t fucking touch her.”

  Callie’s eyes damn near fall out of her head and she tugs on my arm to pull me back, staring at me with a look that says what the fuck did you just do?

  Fuck.

  She continues to stare at me like I’ve lost my damn mind so I drop back down in the seat beside her, barely resisting the urge to take her hand in mine to scrub his disgusting scent from her skin. He smirks like he knows it, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out he was testing me just now.

  I failed, but I don’t give a fuck.

  My loyalty will always lie with her.

  Every fucking time.

  “You two haven’t changed a bit,” he chuckles, grinning like he’s proud of the fact.

  “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

  “Don’t you recognize him yet?” he teases her, tilting his head at me. “Look closer.”

  She does and I scrub a hand over my mouth, risking a glance at Wren to check his reaction. His dark hair’s fallen over his eyes and he’s breathing hard through his nose, glaring at me like he’s fixing to throttle me for lying to him this whole time, but what he doesn’t know is that this is about to get so much worse.

  This is the part where I lose him.

  And it’s fucking killing me.

  Callie catches the look in my eyes and locks her jaw, done playing with me, it seems. “Who are you?”

  I turn in my seat to face her fully and take her gun out from my jeans, leaning my elbows on my knees to level with her. “Do you remember the day you got this?”

  All the color drains from her face and she pulls her head back, staring at me like she’s seen a ghost. “What the fuck do you know about my gun?”

  I don’t want her to hear this.

  But I won’t let her hear it from him, either.

  It has to be me.

  “I’m the one who gave it to you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Levi

  Three years ago..

  “How long’s this gonna take?” I mutter, scrolling through Wren’s Instagram account for the seventh time in four hours because I’m a pathetic stalker with no chill, it seems.

  “Not long,” my father replies, reaching into the duffel bag at his feet to toss me a black ski mask. “Quit complaining and put that on.”

  “Why?”

  “To hide your face,” he draws out, explaining it to me like I’m stupid. “Jason O’Conner has no idea who we are and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  I don’t know who Jason O’Conner is, I don’t know what the fuck he did to earn himself a home visit from my father and his psycho best friend at two in the morning, and honestly, I don’t fucking care.

  I just wanna get this over with.

  The driver pulls up outside some shitty apartment building in the middle of Vegas and I frown, looking from it to Killian. “How much does this guy owe you?”

  “He lost five grand at the casino last weekend,” Frank tells me, laughing at the memory. “Stupid fucker couldn’t pay up and promised us six by tonight.”

  “There’s no way he’s got six hundred, let alone six grand,” I inform him, shoving my phone back into the pocket of my sweats.

  “I know,” he grins wickedly, pulling his mask over his face. “You ready to have some fun, kid?”

  I ignore him and pull my own mask on, climbing out of the limo to follow them to the front entrance. Killian presses the button for apartment seven and waits, pushing his way through the door when it finally clicks open a few minutes later.

  “He’s expecting you?” I ask, falling in line beside him while Frank does the same on his other side.

  He nods, pulling a gun out from his waistband to pass it to me.

  “What’s this for?”

  “If you point it at someone you don’t like and press that little button underneath, their head’ll blow off and they’ll die,” Frank jokes, laughing at me when I flip him off.

  “Fuck you.”

  He laughs some more and I roll my eyes, sliding the gun into the pocket of my hoodie. We walk up to the first floor and Frank pounds his fist against the wood, damn near bouncing on his heels at the thought of what’s to come. Another minute passes and I’m almost sure my father’s about three seconds away from kicking it down, but then a shirtless guy with dark hair swings the door open and swallows, sliding his eyes across the three of us. He looks fucking terrifie
d, and I don’t miss the knife in his hand or the fresh blood dripping from the tips of his fingers.

  What the fuck?

  He swallows again and starts to speak, shutting his mouth just as quick when Killian lifts his gun to his forehead. “I’m gonna make this real simple for you, Jason. Do you have my money? Yes or n–”

  “I have a girlfriend,” he blurts, moving aside to reveal the girl lying on the dingy kitchen floor.

  She’s got dark brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing black sweats and a tight tank with her mouth taped shut and her hands zip locked behind her back. My eyes drop to the blood leaking from the nasty looking stab wound between her shoulder blades and she glares at me, struggling to sit up like she’s attempting to hide it.

  “A girlfriend,” Killian says dryly, lowering his gun to his side. “How old is she?”

  “Nineteen.”

  That girl is not nineteen, but it seems my father doesn’t feel like calling him out on his bullshit. He steps inside the apartment and crooks a finger for us to follow him, crouching down beside her to remove the tape from her mouth.

  “Don’t scream,” he warns, gently brushing his thumb over the metal ring on her bottom lip. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Fuck you.”

  He slaps her and snatches her jaw, digging his fingers into her flesh to force her eyes back to his. “Try again.”

  “Fuck.. you,” she repeats, smirking up at him despite the blood dripping from her mouth. “A little bitch slap ain’t gonna rattle me, old man. Try again.”

  My brows jump at the balls on this girl and he cocks his head at her, turning to look at Jason over his shoulder. “What’s her name?”

  “Callie.”

  “Callie,” he echoes, reaching over to take the knife from his hand. “And you’re offering her to me? Just like that?”

  “Clear my debt and she’s yours.”

  He pauses, but I can practically hear the grin splitting his lips. “Deal.”

  Frank laughs like a psychopath and I pull my head back, nervously bouncing my eyes between the two. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  They ignore me and Killian gets behind her to cut the zip lock from her wrists, grabbing a fist full of her hair to shove her down on her stomach.

  “Get off me, you sick fuck,” she growls, curling her arms beneath her chest in an attempt to push herself up, but she can’t do it, and it’s only now I realize how sluggish her movements are.

  She’s been drugged.

  That’s why he didn’t hurt her just now.

  She can’t fucking feel it.

  Killian holds her down while he shoves her sweats down over her ass and I move without thinking, but then Frank locks his arms around my waist and pulls me back to his chest, still laughing his ass off while my father unbuttons his pants to pull his cock out.

  “Dad!” I shout, watching in horror while he forces his way inside her. “Jesus, fuck, she’s just a kid!”

  “Who the fuck you callin’ a kid, kid?” Frank teases, leaning over me to speak in my ear. “She’s fucking gorgeous. Don’t tell me you don’t want a piece of that hot little pussy.”

  I throw my elbow back to hit the fucker square in the nose and he grunts out a curse, shoving my ass to the floor to kick me in the ribs. He does it again and I fight like fuck to try to get to her, but that only pisses him off more.

  “Stupid little cunt,” he bites out, kicking me in the head this time.

  My vision blackens at the edges and I groan, opening my eyes to find him kneeling behind Callie to take his turn with her. Whatever he does next forces a scream from her throat and I try to pull my gun from my hoodie, but then Killian wraps his hand around my throat and smashes my head back against the floor. He beats the shit out of me while Frank rapes her without remorse, then they get up and switch places just to start all over again.

  “Dad, stop,” I plead, struggling not to choke on the blood pouring down my throat. “Dad.”

  He doesn’t stop and I force myself to move, ignoring the pain racking through my body while I roll onto my side to face Callie. Her glassy eyes hit mine and I drag myself closer to her, leaning up on my elbows to take her face in my hand. She flinches like she’s never known love and I pull her face to the crook of my neck, gently running my fingers through her hair in a lame ass attempt to comfort her.

  “Aww,” Frank teases, crouching down beside us to slap me on the back. “Look, Dad. Your boy’s got a girlfriend.”

  Killian laughs lightly and digs his fingers into her waist to finish inside her, pulling out to lift his eyes to mine. “Your turn.”

  I shake my head no and he grabs me by the scruff of the neck, spinning Callie to shove her down on her back before he throws me down on top of her. She winces and I grit my teeth, keeping my weight off her the best I can while I lean over her to speak in her ear.

  “Me and you..” I whisper, keeping my voice low so only she can hear me. “We’re gonna run. You think you can do that for me?”

  She hesitates but nods, turning her head to face me fully. “We won’t get far.”

  She’s probably right, but I’m not naïve enough to believe they won’t beat me half dead if I refuse to do this, and I wouldn’t put it past them to kill her while I’m knocked out just to fuck with me.

  I give myself exactly three seconds to think of a plan that may or may not get us both killed, then I take a deep breath and push myself up to stand, grabbing the wooden chair on my left to smash it across my father’s head. He stumbles back into the dining table and Frank moves to rush me, freezing where he stands when I take my gun out to shoot him in the ribs. He drops to his knees and I take Callie’s hand to pull her with me, shoving Jason’s ass to the floor when he reaches out like he’s about to fucking grab her. We stumble through the front door and rush downstairs as fast as we can, not stopping when Killian’s voice calls out from above us.

  “Get the fuck back here, you little shit!” he roars, banging his fist against the railing. “Fuck!”

  He turns around to go save his best friend’s life and I push the main door open, turning left to pull Callie into the dark alley across the street. She sways a little bit and I catch her by the waist, wrapping my arms around her to pull her into me. Her tiny little body shakes against mine and I drop back against the wall, dipping my head to press my mouth to her hair.

  “You’re okay,” I rasp, gently running my hands over her lower back. “I got you, Callie. You’re okay.”

  “You’re a stubborn little bitch, you know that?” I mutter, snatching the vodka from her hand to set it down on the ground next to my feet.

  She rolls her eyes and snatches it right back, lifting the bottle to her mouth to swallow yet another shot. “Quit bein’ a pussy and get it done.”

  I shake my head at her but do as I’m told, threading the needle through her flesh as gently and quickly as I can before these drugs wear all the way off.

  She’s sitting on the ground with her back to me in some park a couple blocks from the store we robbed just now, still fucking drinking despite the fact I told her not to.

  This girl doesn’t do a damn thing she’s told.

  She won’t go to the cops, won’t even go to the hospital to get herself checked out after what just happened, and I damn near had to fight her little ass to get her to agree to let me fix this stab wound on her back before she dies of a fucking infection.

  “What’s your name?”

  I don’t answer that.

  “Okay, then..” she draws out, tipping her chin at my face. “You ever gonna take that mask off?”

  I don’t answer that, either.

  Instead I get done with her stitches and steal her vodka to take a drink, pulling my brows in when I catch her staring at me.

  “What?”

  “Are you alright?”

  I laugh lightly at that, ignoring the way my ribs are screaming at me and my head feels like I got hit by a truck because this isn’t about me.
r />   I wasn’t just held down on my stomach, stabbed in the back and raped within an inch of my life.

  She’s fucking covered in bruises – some new and some not – and I don’t miss the way she’s still shaking like a leaf despite the fact it’s the middle of summer and hot as shit out here.

  I grab my hoodie off the floor and wrap it around her shoulders, gently running my hands over her arms to warm her up. “Will you let me take you home now?”

  Silence follows and she drops her eyes to avoid mine, playing with the grass at her feet.

  “That was your home,” I guess, locking my jaw when it hits me. “Jason’s not your boyfriend, is he?”

  She shakes her head no and I slide my arms around her waist, carefully pulling her into me to sit between my legs.

  “How old are you?”

  “Fifteen.”

  Jesus.

  “Callie, you need to go to the c–”

  “No,” she snaps, turning to glare at me over her shoulder. “You don’t know me, kid, and you sure as shit don’t get to tell me what to do. The only thing I need is for you to keep your damn mouth shut and stay the fuck outta my business, alright?”

  I sigh and drop my head down on her shoulder, letting it go because as much as I hate the fact there’s nothing I can do to convince her to let me get her out of this fucked up situation she calls life, I get it.

  It sucks being the kid who needs help.

  Just as I think it, my father’s voice rings out from somewhere behind me and Callie jumps, standing to pull me over to the tree a few feet away to hide us from the street light overhead. She pokes her head around to look for him and I take my phone out from my pocket, quickly pulling up my contacts to pass it to her.

  “Put your number in there.”

  “What?”

  “Shut up and do it.”

  She does as she’s told for once and I shoot her a quick text so she has mine, pulling my gun out to slide it into the waistband of her sweats.