Reckless at Westbrook High (The Kingston Brothers #2)

by Bethany Winters

  Like throttle him.

  Or fuck him so hard it hurts.

  “Wren, you can’t jus–”

  “Can’t what?!” I shout, spinning to face him fully. “I can do whatever the fuck I want, Lev, and when I say leave, you’ll leave. End of fuckin’ story.”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  I laugh lightly at that, ignoring the sincerity in his voice and the truth in his eyes because he’s a fucking liar.

  People always leave.

  Freya.. my mom.. fuck, even my own dad doesn’t bother to stick around long enough to know what the fuck I’m doing half the time.

  Why should he be any fucking different?

  His eyes soften like he can see my goddamn soul and he starts to say something else, but I don’t hear what it is before I pull the door closed to lock it behind me.

  “Is that really necessary?”

  My anger fades at the sound of her voice and I look right, finding Callie leaning back against her bedroom doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes on the key in my hand.

  “He can’t be trusted.”

  “Right,” she says dryly, falling in line beside me while I walk for the stairs. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact you’re scared his dad’ll kill him if you let him outta there. Nothing at all.”

  “Shut up, Callie.”

  She rolls her eyes and I snatch her hand, pulling her into me to wrap my arms around her waist. I drop my head down on her shoulder and she slides her arms around my neck to hug me back, somehow knowing what I need without having to ask.

  I don’t say anything, but I know she hears me.

  Killian Matthews will burn in hell for what he did to her, and if it means having to go through him, so fucking be it.

  A minute passes and she pulls back a bit to look at me, forcing a big ass grin despite the unshed tears filling her pretty hazel eyes. “Wanna get high?”

  “Wait, this is where he lives?”

  Kai laughs lightly and wraps his arm around Callie’s neck, walking her up the long driveway lined by huge oak trees and spotlights on both sides. “Creepy, right?”

  “Looks like fuckin’ Hogwarts.”

  He snorts and I follow behind them, ignoring Damon’s persistent stare on the side of my face while I toss my roach in the dirt.

  Fucking green stuff doesn’t even cut it anymore.

  “Wren.”

  I pretend I don’t hear him and keep walking, locking my jaw when he snatches my arm to pull me back. He scans my face and I glare, not even a little bit in the mood for him and his bullshit big brother mode.

  “What?”

  “The fuck you mean what?” he hisses, torn between anger and sadness. “You’re spiralling, brother. Fast.”

  “And?”

  He winces and I yank my arm from his grip, passing Kai and Callie to walk up to the front door. I ring the doorbell and Zane answers a minute later dressed in a black pair of sweatpants with his chest and abs on full display, his jet black hair falling over his eyes in a way that makes him look more devil than human. Damon called him earlier today so he knew we were coming, but he still raises a cocky ass brow while he moves his eyes over the four of us.

  “Where’s Levi?”

  I cock my head and he laughs at me, tipping his chin for us to follow him inside. We do and he leads us over to the curved staircase in the center of the entryway, up to the first floor and down the hall towards his bedroom. He takes the key from his pocket and unlocks the door, moving for the black wooden desk set up on the far side of the room. Happy Song by Bring Me The Horizon plays quietly from somewhere and I look around, scrunching my nose when I get a look at the live footage of Demi Adams right there on the fucking monitor. She’s kneeling down on her bedroom floor wearing a black t-shirt that’s way too big for her and nothing else, casually muttering the lyrics to herself while she paints something in black and white, and it doesn’t take a genus to figure out she has no idea she’s being watched by a hidden camera twenty four seven.

  Zane catches me looking and turns the screen so we can’t see, dropping down in his seat to hold a hand out to Callie. “I know you’ve got it, sweetheart.”

  Her nostrils flare at the endearment but she takes the USB from her pocket, ignoring his hand to toss it down on the desk in front of him. He smirks like the evil piece of shit he is and plugs it into his laptop, taking his pocketknife out to play with it while he watches the tape of us burying Donovan’s body.

  “How did my uncle even get this?”

  “Freya told us he’s had his guards watching Levi’s every move since he was born,” Damon tells him, leaning his ass back on the desk to wrap his arms around Callie’s waist. “They must’ve followed you into the woods that night and taped it for him.”

  He nods and takes the USB from the slot, reaching into the drawer beside him to pull out a piece of paper. “Where is Freya, anyway?”

  “Probably hiding out with Derek until she can scrounge enough cash to catch a flight back to New York,” Kai mutters, stealing my lighter to toss it to Zane. “Fuckin’ whore.”

  “You goin’ after her?”

  Four heads turn my way but I ignore it, watching Zane while he sets the paper alight and tosses it into the trash can on the floor.

  I could go after her and make her suffer for fucking me over again, but it’s more fun to let her live in fear, constantly looking over her shoulder like we’re about to pop out of nowhere at any given time.

  That’s her punishment.

  And if Killian gets ahold of her before we get ahold of him, it’s not my fuckin’ problem.

  Bitch can burn in hell for all I care.

  Zane sighs and tosses the USB into the fire, leaning back in his seat to look at me. “He came here the night they raped her, you know.”

  Callie winces before she can stop it and I work my jaw, honest to god resisting the urge to snatch that knife from his hand and shove it through his fucking face, but I can’t resist asking. “Why would he come to you?”

  “Because I’m good at killing people,” he says simply, reaching into the little black box on his desk to toss me something. “Here.”

  I catch it and pull my head back, looking down at the bag of coke in my hand. “The fuck’s this for?”

  “Take it and find out.”

  I swallow and wrap my fist around it, ignoring the eyes on me while I move to leave.

  “Oh, and Callie?” he calls, smirking when she turns to face him fully.

  “What?”

  “If you ever touch my girl again,” he starts, casually holding the tip of his knife to his forefinger. “I’ll cut your throat out and feed it to your husband.”

  She smirks right back at him and takes her gun out from the waistband of her jeans, lifting it up to put a bullet through the monitor sitting on his desk. He inhales an aggravated breath and Kai hides a grin, falling in line beside me while we walk back through the house and down to the front door. We get outside and Damon moves to block my path, holding his hand out in front of me like I’m a fucking child.

  “Gimme the bag.”

  “Fuck off, Damon.”

  He snatches my wrist to take it from me and I laugh like an asshole, making a point to bump his shoulder with mine while I walk for my car.

  “You’re not driving by yourself.”

  “Fuckin’ watch me.”

  He glares and I rip the driver’s side door open, jumping inside to speed off towards the edge of Sainte Haven without them. Tossing whatever dignity I had left, I pull my phone out and text Tommy to get me some coke, punching the wheel when I read his reply a couple minutes later.

  Tommy: Sorry, man. Damon says no.

  Fuckin’ asshole.

  “I miss you, Mom,” I whisper, tipping my head back on the headstone behind me. “I miss you so fucking much.”

  Silence follows and I wipe my face with my sleeves, resting my forearms on my knees to relight the end of my joint. My eyes
are still burning and my head feels too heavy for my shoulders, and the longer I sit here feeling sorry for myself, the harder it’s getting to ignore the constant ache in my nonexistent heart that won’t leave me the fuck alone.

  How the fuck do you make it stop?

  I scrub a hand over my face and lean over to take another drink from the bottle I bought just now, frowning at nothing when I realize it’s empty.

  That’s unfortunate.

  I groan and try to stand, fully intent on going to get more, but then movement to my left catches my attention and I drop back down, squinting into the darkness to eye the cute ass blond girl standing a couple graves away from me.

  I know her.

  She jumps a little bit when she catches me looking and moves to leave, freezing mid step when I call out to her. “Hey, coffee girl.”

  She curses and adjusts the ball cap on her head, glancing off to the gate a second before she turns to face me fully. “What?”

  I raise a brow at her snippy ass tone and she locks her jaw, shoving her hands into the pocket of her hoodie while she moves her eyes over my beat up face.

  “Are you..” she trails off, changing her mind. “What are you doing?”

  I laugh lightly and lean back on my mom’s headstone, looking up at the stars while I lift my joint to my mouth.

  I don’t know what I’m doing.

  That’s a lie.

  Running away from my goddamn problems is what I’m doing, drowning myself in whiskey and smoke because I’m too much of a pussy to face them head on.

  It’s pathetic.

  I’m pathetic, but I don’t give a fuck.

  I don’t give a fuck about anything.

  I tell myself that’s true and offer her a hit, hiding a grin when she scrunches her nose in disgust. “No, thanks.”

  Right.

  She’s a good girl.

  A good girl with a big fuckin’ mouth who likes handing out fuck yous for sport, but a good girl all the same.

  Doesn’t stop Kai from wanting her, though.

  If anything, that only makes him want her more.

  “Why are you out here all alone in the dark?” I ask, purposely fucking with her because I’m an asshole and it pleases me. “Don’t you know it’s not safe?”

  “I’m not afraid of the dark, Kingston.”

  I cock my head at that, sliding my eyes from her face to her feet and back up again. “You’re not, are you?”

  She glares and I smirk, forcing my ass up to stand, but then my legs stop working and I fall down on my face, groaning at the pain racking through my body.

  Fuck, that hurts.

  “Fucking hell,” she whispers to herself, crouching down beside me to take the bottle from my hand. “How much of this did you drink?”

  “All of it.”

  Her eyes widen in horror and I push myself up on my elbows, only just noticing the thin layer of mascara staining her cheeks.

  “Who died, coffee girl?”

  “None of your goddamn business.”

  I nod, expecting that. “Can I use your phone?”

  “What’s wrong with yours?”

  “It’s dead.”

  She hesitates but nods, taking it out from her pocket to pass it to me. I dial the number Kai’s had since we were nine and lift the phone to my ear, dropping my head down on my forearm while I wait for him to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey,” I say lamely, clearing my throat when he doesn’t say anything back. “It’s m–”

  “I know your voice, Wren,” he mutters, still pissed at me for taking off the way I did, it seems. “What is it?”

  I swallow my guilt and close my eyes, forcing myself not to puke at the way the earth spins beneath me. “You made me promise, Kai.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Levi

  Fuck this.

  He’s been gone for hours.

  No fucking clue how many hours considering the fucker stole my phone, but it’s been hours all the same and I’m done fucking waiting.

  I open the closet filled with all Freya’s shit and search for a couple bobby pins, thankful Zane taught me how to pick a lock when I was twelve because he’s weird like that. I find what I’m looking for and move for the door to get it done, listening for movement on the other side while I pick the rubber ends off with my teeth.

  I’ll probably get my ass handed to me for this, but anything’s better than sitting here going out of my mind while I wait for him to come back to me.

  If he comes back to me.

  I ignore that and get the door open to head downstairs, swallowing the unease creeping up my throat when I find the penthouse empty.

  They should’ve been back by now.

  Just as I think it, the elevator pings and I turn that way, freezing where I stand when Wren stumbles out with his arm wrapped around Kai’s neck. Damon and Callie follow closely behind and Wren frowns to himself, muttering something I don’t catch, then he trips over his own feet and face plants the floor.

  Fuck.

  Damon does a double take at me and Kai rolls his eyes, slapping a fifty dollar bill into Callie’s open hand.

  “Told you,” she mutters, sliding the note into her back pocket.

  “How’d you do it?” Kai asks, side eyeing me while he crouches down beside Wren.

  I frown at that, lifting my hand to show him the bobby pins. “What happened?”

  “What happened?” Damon bites out, stepping closer to wrap his hand around my neck. “You happened, you fucking idiot.”

  I wince and he glares, tightening his grip on my throat with every intention of cutting off my air.

  “Damon..” Callie warns, stepping closer to pull on his arm when he doesn’t let up. “Damon, stop.”

  He doesn’t stop and I swear to god he’s about to kill me, but then he growls and lets me go, shoving my ass back to wrap his arms around her waist. Kai moves to stand beside them and I look at Callie, hating myself more than ever when I catch the look on her face.

  I told her I’d never break him and I did it anyway.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “All of it.”

  Her jaw ticks and she looks at Wren, hesitating for what feels like forever before she takes his phone from Kai and tosses it to me. “Do not fuck this up.”

  I nod and shove it into the ass pocket of my jeans, moving around them to kneel down beside Wren.

  “Hey,” I whisper, gently lifting his chin to pull his eyes up to mine. “I’m gonna get you upstairs, okay?”

  He groans and I take that as a yes, wrapping my arms around his waist to pull him up to his feet. I lift his arm over my neck and get him up to his bedroom, walking him through to the bathroom to start the shower. I pull him into me with one hand wrapped around his back and lift his shirt over his abs with the other, cursing when I realize how pale he is.

  “You gonna puke?”

  He nods and I pull him over to the toilet, leaning over him to rub his back while he throws up what looks like thirty shots of whiskey.

  “Fuck, man, what did you do to yourself?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” he slurs, dropping his head down on his forearms.

  My chest tightens but I force myself to look at him, already knowing what he means without having to ask.

  I did this to him.

  “Are you done?”

  He nods and I stand him up to undress him, ignoring the glare burning a hole through my face while I back him up into the shower. I lean him back against the wall beneath the water and leave him there a minute, watching him watch me while I strip down to my boxers. He drops his eyes to my dick so I take those off too, tossing my clothes on the floor just outside the shower. I keep my eyes on his while I uncap the shower gel and squeeze a little bit on my palm, slowly running my hands over his chest and up to the back of his neck. He shivers and I move closer until my hips bump his, dipping my head to kiss his jaw beneath his ear.


  “I love you.”

  “So you keep saying.”

  “I mean it, Wren,” I whisper, sliding my hand over the spot where his heart lies. “I love you more than anything and I’ll never stop.”

  He keeps his mouth shut and I decide to let it go, knowing he’s too fucked up to do this right now. I finish washing us both and walk him out to wrap a towel around his waist, flipping the toilet seat down to sit him down on it. He sways a little bit and I catch him, holding him up with one hand on his jaw while I lean over him to grab the toothpaste from the sink.

  “Open your mouth.”

  He looks up at me with a lazy ass brow raised and I laugh lightly, lifting his toothbrush to show him.

  “Trust me, you’ll thank me tomorrow.”

  “Trust you,” he mutters, talking to himself more than me. “Right.”

  I ignore that and tip his head back to brush his teeth for him, taking my time while I do it because he’s letting me be here and I’m too fucking selfish not to take every inch he gives me. I lean him over the sink to spit and rinse his mouth out with water, grabbing another towel from the rack to dry his face with it. His eyes flutter closed and I lift him up to take him back to his bedroom, sitting him down on the edge of the bed while I grab a couple pairs of boxers from his closet. I pull them on over his legs and do the same with mine, carefully lying him down on his side before I slide in to lie behind him. He passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow and I wrap my arms around his waist, struggling to ignore the fear creeping up my spine.

  I felt him slip through my fingers today and I’m fucking terrified it’s about to happen again tomorrow.

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” I whisper, dipping my head to kiss the crook of his neck. “Just.. don’t leave me, okay?”

  Silence follows and I close my eyes, tightening my grip on him to pull him in closer.

  Please don’t fucking leave me.

  Chapter Thirty

  Wren

  I groan at the pain splitting through my skull and crack an eye open, dropping my head just as quick when I realize I couldn’t be any fucking closer to him if I tried. I’m lying half on top of him with my arms wrapped around his neck and my leg wrapped around his hips, clinging to him like a goddamn monkey, and I don’t miss the way his cock’s pressed right up against mine, long and thick and hard as a fucking rock.