by L. E. Bross
His stare turns distant as he looks out over the pool.
“They won’t understand this. Why I forgave you so quickly. I haven't said anything about your sister, just like you asked, but they’re going to wonder. They could help, too. And maybe you should talk to Peter. He does own the best security software company in the world and I’m sure he’d help if you asked.”
When he nudges my shoulder I fight back the sour taste in my throat.
How can I possibly tell him that Peter is the one behind everything? Would they even believe me? It sounds crazy when I think it. I can’t imagine saying it out loud, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. If Peter doesn’t want them to know about the timepiece, then holding Belle over my head is the only way to keep me quiet.
He probably knew everything about me before he set foot in that interrogation room.
“The next time he’s here I’ll talk to him.”
I will, just not about what Baz thinks. Since I’m sure now that Peter is making it impossible for Baz to find Belle, he’s going to tell me where she is if he wants the timepiece. I’m done playing around.
This is going to end one way or another.
Then I’ll just have to figure out how Trey plays into all this. Why he hates the guys enough to blackmail me into hurting them. It’s too petty. I’d understand if he wanted money, that would make sense. Jealousy? That would be obvious, too, but it feels like more than that.
He has way too much rage toward them for it to be something minor. I want to know why he hates them so much. Then I’m going to get those pictures before he jeopardizes my chance at finding Belle.
Until I know what it is, I’ll let Trey think that he’s calling the shots. I’ll play his little game to keep the guys safe. Even if they never forgive me, I can at least protect them from that asshole.
I just have to keep all these balls in the air and hope like hell none of them fall before I’m ready.
Chapter Three
“The fuck?”
I look up, my spoon frozen halfway to my mouth, and see Riot poised on the threshold to the kitchen, his glare aimed at me. X comes up behind him and stops. They both look back and forth from Baz to me, incredulousness mixed with confusion and anger on their faces.
I glance at Baz but he’s having some kind of manly stare down with Ry. The way his jaw flexes and hardens is kind of a turn-on. I’m digging this juxtaposing of sides of him.
X grunts, shoves past Riot and goes to the cupboard.
“When the fuck did this happen?”
He grabs a bowl from the cupboard and then sits down across from us, grabbing the cereal and pouring until it reaches the top of the bowl. When he adds milk, frosted O’s spill out onto the table.
I watch the process with my spoon still halfway to my mouth.
Baz leans back and extends his arm across the back of the seat, like X did that first morning. Ry moves into the kitchen, pausing at the island.
“Yesterday.” The challenge in Baz’s tone is unmistakable.
Riot’s eyes flare when Baz brushes his fingertips over my shoulder. Even through my blazer I can feel his touch and my cheeks go hot. Riot slams his hand down on the counter and I jump reflexively. Baz sits up straighter and even X stops chewing.
“Seriously?” Riot grinds out from across the kitchen. “You gave in after one fucking day? Didn’t get enough humiliation the first time around?”
Baz clenches a fist and red creeps up his neck. I reach out and lay my hand on his leg. After yesterday, there’s a new connection between us. He saw me brought low and instead of reveling in my pain, he took care of me.
The thin strands of trust, however tenuous, are there now.
“And what the hell are you doing?” Ry barks at X.
“Eating. What? I’m hungry man,” X says with a shrug, shoving an overflowing spoonful into his mouth.
Riot’s furious gaze snaps from X to Baz to me and with every passing second, his face grows darker.
“Peter will be back on Saturday. I told him we had a problem and that he needed to come home for once. We all have to be here.”
His narrowed gaze locks onto me and I swallow. He thinks this is going to freak me out, but it’s exactly the opposite. I have the leverage now, and if Peter wants the timepiece, he’s going to give me Belle’s address first.
I don’t trust him, especially now knowing that he’s the one hiding Belle from me. I still don’t understand why he couldn’t just ask Luc’s dad for the watch. Even at odds with him, finding Wendi should take precedence over some falling out that happened.
I just have to figure out how to best play this to ensure that I get what I want. The ultimate goal here is to find Belle. She has to be my priority because she has no one else to look out for her.
The boys? At the end of the day they have each other.
That’s the same bond Belle and I have.
When I don’t respond, Riot shoves away from the counter.
“I’m leaving.”
He storms out of the kitchen and X looks at Baz. Some kind of silent communication happens between them and when X looks at me, there’s less accusation. But he’s still wary.
“Hope you know what the hell you’re doing.”
I’m not sure which one of us he’s telling, but he pushes back and follows after Ry.
“Fuck,” Baz mutters, shoving his fingers through his hair.
I sit perfectly still, hands clenched together in my lap to keep from reaching out to him again. I have a feeling that these boys aren't often at odds with each other. Their bond is strong, that was apparent from the very first day.
“You can go with them.”
He looks over at me, and I can see the struggle in his eyes. Giving in to the urge, I lay my hand along his cheek and stare into his eyes. In the sunlight, the dark chocolate color seems impossibly deep, like I can see right down to the center of who he is.
He’s still holding so much back and I don’t blame him. I broke his trust and even though he’s giving me another chance, he’s wary. In the meantime, I don’t want to drive a wedge between him and his brothers.
I just want to find my sister.
“Go ahead. I have to get my things and I’m meeting Meri early to get yesterday’s assignments anyway.”
He nods, his gaze drifting to the door. I don’t tell him I got a text from Trey first thing this morning demanding I meet him before class. That’s a whole other problem I’m not ready to share yet.
Not until I know what Trey wants.
“I started a new crawler last night so come to the computer room at lunch and I’ll let you know if it found anything.”
I run my thumb over his shadowed jaw because I seriously love touching him. Human contact is underrated and you don’t really know how much you miss it until it’s gone.
“I don’t know what that means, but thank you. For everything, Baz.”
“I told you I wasn’t giving up. I will find her for you. And you really should consider asking Peter for help when he comes home. I know he’s not around much anymore, honestly he wasn’t really here before, so we’re all used to it, but at least back then we had…” His voice cracks and he drops his gaze.
My chest tightens. They had Wendi.
I can’t look him in the eyes when he lifts his head. What will they say when they find out Peter’s looking for her, that he didn’t just forget all about her? Will they be happy or mad he didn’t tell them? Will they hate me because of my part?
“Think about it, okay?” he says, interrupting my thoughts. “If Panchard can’t find her, no one can.”
That’s my fear, but I drop my hand and give him a half smile. “You’re a Panchard, too, so I have no doubt.”
His expression changes and he slides out from the bench seat lost in thought.
“I’ll see you at school.” He’s already off in his own world as he walks out of the kitchen. Maybe he’ll discover that it is Peter’s tech hiding Belle and put it
together. That way I don’t have to tell him and go against Peter, but he’ll know.
Hell, if he figures it out, I won’t even need Peter.
I grab my bag and phone, see a couple of new texts from Meri, and tell her I’m on my way. I owe her an apology for not answering her last night. She was worried when I wasn’t in class, then more so when I left school, but I was too wrung out to reply to her. Things are looking better now with a little bit of hope.
There are also several texts from Luc. I haven’t talked to him since I ran out Monday night. I’m not really sure what I’m going to say to him. He’s nice and under different circumstances, there might have been a chance, but I’m juggling three guys, two of which aren’t talking to me currently.
I’ll need to let Luc down easy because I really would like to be his friend. But first, I need to apologize to Meri.
Meet me before class?
Her reply is immediate.
Lockers? Hope you have a sexy story starring a certain hot computer nerd. ;P If not then make one up or we can’t be friends.
I laugh out loud. She’s crazy and by far one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I still don’t know how she and Trey make sense. Not when he’s a dickweed. A dickweed who’s just going to have to wait because his girlfriend is more important to me than he is.
Twenty minutes later, I press my thumb on the keypad and my locker clicks open. Baz also promised my homework would be where it should be, too.
“So, before you deny deny deny, I’ll just say that I saw, with my own eyes, you and Baz leaving school together yesterday,” Meri says, coming up beside me with a hip check. “And because of that, I won’t ask why you didn’t text back because I’d ignore the Pope himself if I was with that fine specimen.”
My cheeks turn pink as I dig around my locker for my Calc book.
“But I do want to know all the dirty details.”
I laugh and pull my head out, slamming the door shut.
“We just hung out. No dirty details. Yet.” I give her a wink and she loops her arm with mine. I ignore the glare from Aine when I walk by, happy that the boys aren’t at their locker yet. At least I don’t have to see her draped all over Riot this morning.
She sits next to him in English of course, but the PDA is toned down today. I’m not sure if it’s because of her or him. He still ignores me, though, and I still get shoulder-checked on the way out by one of Aine’s bitch crew.
“God, they’re so original,” Meri says, falling into step next to me. “So, I know this is weird timing and you’ve only been here for like two weeks, but prom is coming up and I was hoping we could go together.”
I stumble and come to a stop. Heat climbs up my neck and I glance at Meri. Fuck, is she...I’m completely speechless. Is Trey a front or something? It would explain so much, though.
“Ummm…” I’m tongue-tied to the extreme. I like her. She’s the first girl friend I’ve ever had, but what if she misunderstood everything? What if I’ve been throwing out the wrong signals because this is all so new to me?
Her eyes go wide. “Oh crap, Luc hasn’t asked you yet, has he? He said he was going to the other night at his house but then you got sick and went home early. I spoiled the surprise. Shit. Act surprised when he does, okay?”
I’m torn between relief and angst. Prom? With Luc? Yes, I’ve seen the signs all over school, but have ignored them on purpose. Proms aren’t something I do. Or have done. Or ever wanted to do.
“Sure?”
“Unless you’re already going with Baz?” she prods.
“No, no one’s asked me.”
“Good. Then we can double-date. It’ll be epic. We can get together at your place because your bathroom is to die for and bigger than my entire bedroom. When do you want to go shopping? There are really only three places to get a killer prom dress and they keep a list so no one has the same one…”
She keeps talking as we walk, but I don’t hear half of what she says. Do I want to go to prom? With Luc? Can I stomach looking at Trey all night? And what about the guys? My stomach already feels twisted just thinking about them all there with dates.
If I have to watch Riot and Aine be crowned king and queen I might commit murder. It’s bad enough to sit through one class a day with them. I set my things on my desk and walk up to Mr. Reynolds.
He looks unhappy to see me. I have no idea what he has against me but he barely contains his derision when he looks at me.
“It seems you were right. I got a notice this morning that there was a glitch yesterday that caused several students to lose their entire accounts. It’s been remedied and I have your assignment now. Provided you did it correctly, there will be no points taken off for tardiness. Just remember that your place here depends on academic excellence.”
I thank him through gritted teeth and go back to my desk. A glance at Riot shows that he’s staring at Reynolds with narrowed eyes. If he’s mad that I got my assignment turned in after all, that’s his problem. He was the cause of the problem in the first place.
“Everything fixed?” Meri asks.
I only told her that something was wrong with my school account and not that the guys had done it.
“All set.”
The rest of the morning is uneventful, which is a nice change of pace. Baz isn’t in Calc but he’s only there about half the time. He must have some kind of special permission to miss that much. Probably because he’s a genius. Right before the bell chimes, an underclassman comes in and hands the teacher a note.
“Ever, after class the guidance counselor would like to see you.”
I tense and fight the dread crawling up my spine. Summons to guidance are never good. The bell chimes all too soon.
“I’ll save you a seat,” Meri says as we leave the room.
“I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
Hopefully this meeting won’t take long and I can go see Baz after. At least I’ll have a legitimate excuse for missing lunch. I wasn’t looking forward to being that close to Trey for forty minutes.
The urge to throw food in his face might be too much to resist. Picturing his face dripping with spaghetti does make me smile, though, as I head to the front office.
“Can I help you?” the white-haired woman in the office says.
“Guidance?”
“Right down that hall, second door on the left.”
I follow her directions and stop in front of an open door marked Ms. Millay, Guidance Counselor. A young looking woman slams a file cabinet shut and when she turns, her eyes widen before she smiles.
“Are you Ever? Come in, I’m Ms. Millay.”
Her dark hair is pulled back into a low ponytail and she has cheekbones a model would envy. Her black pencil skirt hits just above her knees and she has on a similar styled cream-colored blouse that the girls all wear, but hers looks silkier.
I’ll bet the guys in school have needed guidance a lot.
She ushers me in and motions to a soft looking chair in front of her desk before she moves behind it and sits. The file must be mine because as soon as she settles into her seat, she leans forward and opens it.
“I’m sorry we haven’t met. I try to make it a point to touch base with new students but I was at a conference last week and just returned yesterday. I was part of the committee that evaluated your transcripts, though, so I feel like I know you a little bit. How are you settling in? How are your classes? Any trouble you need to talk about?”
She watches me curiously but I keep my mask firmly in place. School counselors don't really care about how you’re doing. They want to feel important, like they’re really making a difference, but in my experience, they don’t want more than the cursory everything’s fine.
“Everything's fine.”
Ms. Millay smiles like she knows what I’m doing, and sits back.
“Have you given any thought to college? What are your interests? Do you know yet what you’d like to do after graduation?”
I stare
at her a little dumbfounded. I don’t think any adult has ever asked me what I planned to do with my future. Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve lived in the moment for so long I haven’t given much thought to what comes after.
After I find Belle.
After we’re together again.
I just figured I’d take care of her and make sure that she had everything she wanted. I shrug and can’t quite look Ms. Millay in the eye. People like her love to solve problems, and I don’t want her to see me as something she can fix.
I’ve been broken for so long that there’s not much hope for me. It’s why I’m going to make sure that Belle has every chance given to her. She will make it. She’ll become something important.
“Your math scores are pretty impressive,” she says, picking up my file. “Have you considered engineering, or perhaps accounting?”
I laugh out loud and she gives me a curious head tilt. Never in a million years have I ever envisioned myself in a fancy job like that. Flipping burgers maybe, or behind the bulletproof glass of a convenience store, but an office job?
“Next Tuesday is our annual college fair. It’s in the gym and we have an impressive lineup of institutions represented. From community colleges, technical schools and even a few Ivy Leagues. We require all students to make three contacts, but that’s never hard to do because there is something for everyone.”
I nod because I have a feeling she won’t take anything less than agreement. She’s one of those people that believe anyone can be anything.
“I’ve pulled a few catalogs that I think would be a great fit for you. Take a look and see what you think. If any pique your interest, let me know and I can schedule a one-on-one interview. It’s good to aim high with a first choice.”
She sets several booklets in front of me and they all have shiny covers with perfectly framed campuses that look like they’d cost more than a house to attend.
It’s a waste of time to take them, but I do just so she won’t start asking questions. I mean, if everything works out, there’s no telling where Belle and I will end up. There’s an entire country to choose from and I think I’ll let Belle decide.