“I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“I don’t want any trouble, Cole,” she says softly. “You know I can’t …”
“I know. It’s not like that,” I say and then hang up before she can say any more.
I chance a glance over at Austin, and she’s already staring at me. “We’re going to go see Shelby.”
“Is she your girlfriend?” she asks softly.
I almost laugh. Deke would kill me if I tried anything with his sister. Plus, she’s not my type. She wants commitment. Stability. Love. I have none of those things to give. Not to mention, I’m a senior in high school, and she is six years older than the guys and me. But I don’t respond to Austin either. Because a part of me likes that she is curious. Why would she care if I’m already taken?
I don’t have time to process that thought, though, because a phone rings, breaking the silence of the car.
Austin looks down at her cell in her hand, lets out a long sigh, and then places it to her ear. “Hey, Mom.” There’s a pause. “No, I haven’t seen him.” She bows her head and rubs her temple with her free hand. “I don’t know …” she growls. “What do you want me to do?” she snaps. “You’re the one who shipped me off like a Christmas present that you wanted to return.” Her voice grows inside my car. “If you want to speak to him, then you call him.” I glance over at her, and she stares straight ahead, but I can see her eyes start to glisten from unshed tears. “I’m not sending you money, Mom.” Her hand fists in her lap. “Is that why you sent me here?” she demands. “To send you his money?” She gives a dark laugh. “You call him and ask him to send you money for you and your piece of shit boyfriend,” she snaps. “I’m not gonna do it.” She pulls the phone from her ear, shuts it off, and tosses it into my back seat.
The silence fills the car once again. I shift uncomfortably. “Do you wanna …?”
“No!” she interrupts me.
I’m not sure how long she has been in town, and I never stopped to question why she was here in the first place. I didn’t even know that Bruce Lowes had a daughter. And today, standing outside the church, Celeste said she is a senior this year. I stayed up trying to decide what to do with her. How to corner her so she can’t run from me. Then I remembered that Celeste never misses church on Sunday mornings. So I sat in my car in the parking lot until I saw them leaving after the service was over. Then I made my move.
“Where did you move here from?” I ask.
She reaches up and quickly wipes away a tear from her cheek. “What does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. Just making small talk.”
“I prefer when I thought you were trying to kill me over small talk,” she snaps.
I smile. Yeah, there’s something about Austin Lowes that I like. A lot.
AUSTIN
My hands fist in my lap. My throat is tight and heart pounding. I’m so angry with my mother.
I haven’t always been the best daughter. I caused trouble. I got expelled from school for stupid shit. She had to talk the cops into not taking me to jail for smoking pot. She was just saving her own ass since she was the one who supplied me with it. But she made a big scene. “That was the final straw,” she said.
We walk in the house and she slams the front door behind me. “What the fuck were you thinking?” she demands.
I ignore her and keep walking toward my room. Wanting to get away from her.
“Hey!” Phillip, her boyfriend, steps out of their room and into the hallway in front of me. “Your mother asked you a question.” His dark brown eyes stare down at me.
I ignore him and go to step around him. He reaches up, grabbing my backpack, and yanks me backward. I trip over my feet and fall on my ass. Before I can recover, he pulls me up and throws me into the wall, causing my books to dig into my back. Then his hand comes up, and he slaps me across the face.
I slap him back. It’s not the first time he’s put his hands on me. But I prefer this kind over the soft and gentle kind he attempts when my mother isn’t around.
“You ungrateful bitch!” he yells in my face. “Without us, you would have nothing.”
“You would have nothing if not for me!” I scream. “I don’t see you working for anything. My father gave my mother and me all this. What the fuck do you give us?”
He hits me again. So hard that it knocks me to my knees. I taste blood and get up, running to my room. I slam my door and lock it.
I lean up against it as angry tears sting my eyes. I can still hear them in the hallway. “Send that bitch to her dad’s,” he snarls.
“He never wanted her before. Why the hell would he want her now? She is nothing but trouble,” she growls.
“We have to do something. I can’t take her in this place with us any longer,” he tells her.
There’s a long pause. Then she says, “I’ll call Celeste. That stupid bitch will want her.”
The first tear falls down my cheek. I run over to my window, yank it up, and jump through it, wanting to get the fuck out of here.
Three weeks later, I was on a plane to Oregon.
My life wasn’t a good one. And honestly, I wasn’t all that surprised when my mother dropped me like a bad habit for her boyfriend. But I still thought she would fight for me. Want me. But she didn’t; all she needed was him. She stood by and let him hit me. Touch me.
But now it’s clear they have a hidden agenda. She wants me to get access to his money and send it to her. Fuck no! If she wants his money, she can call and ask for it. She’s never been shy about asking before.
Cole slows the car down, and I realize we are pulling into a driveway. And I’m instantly on alert once I realize it’s not my father’s. “Where are we?” I ask as panic bubbles up my throat.
“Shelby’s,” he answers and shuts the car off, getting out.
I follow him up to the front door. He enters without even knocking.
“Shelby?” he calls out.
“In here,” a woman’s soft voice says.
I follow much slower as I’m taking in my surroundings. The house is nothing like my father’s. It’s much smaller, homier. Smells of coconut.
We round a corner and walk into a kitchen. A beautiful blond sits at the table. She looks up at him, smiling warmly, her crystal blue eyes soft. She stands and walks right to him. He hugs her, and it makes me think they have something going on.
“This is Austin.” He gestures to me without looking my way. “She needs stitches.”
My eyes widen. That’s why we’re here? Stitches?
Her eyes widen as well. “Oh, my, what happened?” she asks, concern in her words.
“He took a knife to my forearm,” I say, lifting my chin.
“He what?” Her wide eyes snap to his. “Cole …?”
“Just stitch her up so we can go. I need to get home,” he snaps.
She closes her mouth and then walks over to me. “May I see it?”
I remove my red cardigan and lift my right hand in the air to show her my forearm. It’s covered in blood from when he broke it open earlier.
She gasps. “Cole Reynolds. Why the hell would you do this to her?” she demands.
We both look at him, and he’s glaring at us, lips thinned. When she realizes he’s not going to answer, she looks back at me. “I tried to superglue it.”
She sighs heavily. “That won’t do on a cut like this.”
His phone rings, and he pulls it out of his back pocket. A soft smile appears on his face and then he walks out, answering it to where we can’t hear him.
“You poor thing. Come on. I have everything we need in my spare bedroom.”
I follow her and sit down on the end of the bed like she instructs. “Do you do this for him often?” I ask. She frowns, walking into the adjoining bathroom. “Stitch people up?” I clarify.
She laughs softly, coming out with a wet washcloth to clean the blood off. “For others, no. For them, yes.” I tilt my head to the side. “They tend to get into trouble a lot.�
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“They?”
“Great White Sharks.”
“I don’t understand what you are talking about,” I say, shaking my head.
“Do you not know them?”
“I don’t know who them are. I just moved here and …”
“Oh.” She nods in understanding, tossing the washcloth into a dirty clothes hamper in the corner. “The GWS, Great White Sharks is what everyone calls them. Cole, Deke, Shane, Bennett, and Kellan are all on the school swim team. They are sharks in and out of the water. Cole is their captain. All of them already have scholarships for college next fall.”
“Do you go to school with them?” She seems older than us but how else would she know them?
She chuckles. “I’ll take that as a compliment. But, no, I am Deke’s older sister.”
“I see.” The bastard who wanted to kill me last night. Now here I am, and his sister is going to stitch me up. “But you have done this before?” It’s not that I’m afraid she’s not qualified; at this point, I’ll take anyone’s help.
“Yes. I’m a trauma nurse. I keep stuff here just in case the guys need something done.”
“What kind of something do you mean?” I ask slowly.
She sets down a box next to me on the bed. “They dare one another to do stupid shit. Half the time, they end up in an emergency room. And I’m there to patch them up only to send them on their way to do it again.”
“Dare one another?” Is this one of your dares? Jeff had asked Cole last night.
She opens the box to pull out a package. She rips it open and takes out a cold cloth that she rubs over my cut. I hiss in a breath through gritted teeth. Then a syringe and a vial of clear liquid. She sticks the end of the needle into it. “It’s hard to explain. Even I don’t know all the details. But they dare one another to do something stupid, and if they don’t complete the dare, they have consequences. It’s so juvenile, if you ask me. But then again, they are still boys.” She smiles at me. “Okay. Now you’re gonna feel a sting. I’m going to numb the area.”
_______________
Thirty minutes and fifteen stitches later, I’m walking out of the spare bedroom with my arm stitched and wrapped. I hold my forearm in my hand as I look at all the pictures that cover her soft yellow hallway. I stop at a picture of Cole. Seven other boys stand around him in front of an indoor pool. All of them in white sweatpants and matching jackets unzipped. Like they just finished a swim meet.
Shelby walks up behind me. “Which one is your brother?” I ask just because I want to know which guy wants me dead.
“This is Deke.” She points at the one to the right of Cole. He has soft blue eyes and a pretty smile. Of course, the bastard is good looking. Hell, they’re all pretty decent looking. “Then it goes Kellan, Bennett, and Shane.” She points at the others to the right of Cole.
“Who are these guys?” I point at the three on his left side.
She sighs. “That is Maddox, Landen, and Eli.”
“Eli?” I ask. He’s the one who had the sister. The reason they killed Jeff. What was her name? Did Cole ever mention it?
“Yeah. He, Maddox, and Landen all passed away last year.”
“What?” I ask, turning to face her. When Cole spoke of him earlier, he didn’t mention that he was dead.
“They were in a car wreck. The only one who survived was Cole.”
“Cole was with them?” What Jeff was saying makes sense now. What about your consequences, Cole? You killed three of your best friends …
She nods. “Cole has always been a troubled soul. And then … well … He hasn’t been himself since. He had a rough life growing up. Losing his mother at such a young age. And Lilly …”
That’s who Celeste had asked about. “Lilly? Is that his girlfriend?” I keep asking this question because I’m curious for any personal information about him. And what’s more personal than loving someone?
“No.” She smiles down at me. “Lilly is his little sister. He raises her.”
My brows pull together. “What about their dad?”
She goes to open her mouth, but Cole clears his throat from behind us. I spin around to see him glaring at me. His eyes briefly go to the picture on the wall of all his friends, then they are back on mine. “Let’s go.” He turns and walks out without a backward glance.
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she surprises me by pulling me in for a hug.
“Anytime. Come back in a week and I’ll remove them.”
CHAPTER FIVE
COLE
AUSTIN STAYED SILENT in the car, but I could hear her mind working. The questions she had were ones I would never answer. Some things are just better left the way they are.
I dropped her off at her father’s without a goodbye or a see you around. She got out, and I sped off, heading home.
As soon as I step into my father’s house, I hear Lilly’s voice. “Cole?”
“In here,” I tell her, entering the kitchen. My father stands at the breakfast bar with a glass of his favorite scotch in his hand. It’s not even five yet.
“Where have you been?” he demands.
Just then, Lilly runs in, carrying her stuffed bunny, Hippo, in her hands. “Hey, princess,” I say, and she jumps into my arms. “How was ballet today?”
“Ms. Talon taught me how to twirl.”
“That’s awesome,” I say, hugging her.
My father clears his throat. “Lilly, give Cole and me a moment.”
I kiss her soft cheek. “I’ll be right there.” I set her down and then turn to my father.
“I spoke to Bruce Lowes this morning.”
I fucking hate that guy! Knowing that he has a daughter makes me hate him even more. She’s already causing problems for me. “And?”
“And his daughter is in town. Moved in with him.” He eyes me skeptically.
“I don’t see how this requires a conversation between us.” I avoid my father at all costs. He’s not any better than Bruce Lowes. They’re best friends, after all.
He sets his glass down. “She’s trouble. Stay away from her.”
That piques my interest. But I’m not surprised, considering she burned a body and crushed the bones with a hammer. I like her creativity. It’s sexy. “How so?”
“Guess her mother is some crack whore. The mom’s boyfriend abuses her.” He rolls his eyes. “He said the mother wants her to stay until she graduates. But he plans on sending her back the moment she fucks up.”
“And you’re telling me this why?”
“Because I’m giving you a warning. Lord knows you don’t need anyone helping you and your friends get into trouble.” Then he picks up his drink. “Oh, and quit fucking his wife.”
I smile at that statement.
He grunts. “He knew that your car was over there one night last week. All night. He has help, for Christ’s sake. You think you’d be a little more discreet.” Then he walks out of the kitchen.
My smile widens. Pulling my cell out, I send a quick text to Celeste. I want to know everything there is about Austin Lowes.
Up for swimming?
She sends a text back immediately. Absolutely. Bring that little princess on over.
_______________
“Cole, watch me,” Lilly calls out from the side of the pool.
I stand in the shallow end, looking up at her. “Watching.”
She puts her feet together, bends her knees, and leans over at the waist, her hands out in front of her before she falls into the pool face first, doing her version of a dive.
She comes up sucking in a long breath. I reach out and grab her even though she can swim. “That was awesome, Lil,” I say with a big smile. Celeste claps from her raft in the deep end.
“I’ve been practicing,” she says, smiling up at me. Her blond hair sticks to her face and neck because I forgot to braid it. Now it’ll take me forever to get the tangles out.
“So how was lunch with Austin today?” Celeste asks from behind me.
She sighs. “Yeah, I asked her how it went, and she didn’t respond. Just went up to her room, saying she was tired.”
That’s because she spent last night watching us kill a guy and then she burned the body. I lick my lips and say, “I hate to be forward, but I didn’t even know Bruce had a daughter.”
She frowns. “You’ve met her before. I remembered that earlier this afternoon after I introduced you two.”
“What? When?” She must be mistaken.
She sits up on her raft and uses her hands to paddle over to me. “You guys must have been around nine. Maybe ten. I don’t know. Bruce and I have been married for ten years now, and she’s seventeen. So seven.” She laughs. “I was off on the math.”
My frown deepens. “I don’t remember.”
“I don’t think she does either.” She sighs. “She came to stay with us for a few weeks during the summer. We had just gotten married. Her mother had been admitted to the hospital for an overdose.”
“Then why did she go back?” Lilly throws some diving rings into the water and watches them sink as she puts her goggles on.
“Her mom went to rehab. Got better. Bruce bought them a house, sent her money …”
He sounds like my father. Just wants to throw money at it. Bruce doesn’t care about Austin any more than my father cares about Lilly. At least he knows I have a scholarship. He knows I have plans. He just doesn’t know that I plan on taking Lilly with me when I go to college. It’ll be hard, but I’ll make it work. And he won’t fight me. He’s never wanted her.
“So why now?” I watch Lilly dive in and kick her little feet to make it to the bottom to grab a ring. Then she pushes off the bottom and shoots up. I help her to the side of the pool where she will get out to repeat the process again.
Celeste sighs. “She got expelled from school. Caught with drugs.” She shakes her head. “Her mother called me, demanding I take her. That she was just too much to handle anymore.”
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 5