Bennett raises his hands. “This will blow over. Just let Kellan cool off.”
“He’s been this way for months now. He was like this before Austin ever came into the picture. He didn’t even want to be involved with Jeff, and that makes me question his loyalty to the group,” Deke growls.
“COLE!” she yells.
“He was just worried that we would get caught,” Shane tells Deke.
I snort. “He just didn’t wanna get his hands dirty.” I hear the faint sound of a door opening and closing behind us.
“Cole?” Deke says.
“What?” I bark.
He looks over my shoulder. “Austin just left.”
AUSTIN
As I come up to his car, I hear someone exiting the barn behind me. I know it’s him. “Take me home!” I order, not even bothering to turn around and face him before I fall into the passenger seat and slam the door shut.
My body physically shakes with rage for what Cole just did.
He gets in and looks over at me, but I keep my eyes straight ahead. My hands ball into fists in my lap, and my heart pounds in my chest.
He offered me up to Kellan. To fucking Kellan of all people! I thought he had been protecting me from him these past two weeks, but I was so wrong.
And my mind can’t seem to process that. I know Cole is a fucking savage. I have seen firsthand what he will do to get what he wants. But to just offer me up to any of them? Like I’m some toy they can just pass around? Is that why they wanted me to join so badly?
“Austin!” he growls my name, his irritation showing.
I turn and glare at him with hatred. I’m fucking panting; I’m breathing so heavily.
His narrowed blue eyes are on me like it’s my fault. As if I should have said yes, Kellan, if you want me, then go ahead and take me.
“Austin …”
I do what he once did to me, reach over and turn up the volume, blaring “Bitter End” by The Veer Union. Then I sit back in my seat, dismissing whatever the fuck he planned to say.
He allows it, putting the car into gear and throwing gravel as he takes off.
When he pulls up to my house, I’m out of the car before he can even bring it to a stop. I walk in, slam the front door, and run up to my room. The moment I shut it, it opens. I turn around to see him entering just as fast as I did. “Get the hell out, Cole,” I say, pointing at the now closed door.
“No,” he says simply.
“Get the fuck out!” I shout.
He takes a step toward me, and I throw up my hands, taking a step back. “Don’t you dare come near me.”
“Austin—”
“No, Cole!” I interrupt him. “What you did back there was completely unacceptable!”
“I—”
“You were out of line!” I shout, fisting my hands down by my sides. “You don’t own me. And you can’t just decide to offer me up to one of your buddies.” I give him my back, planning on locking myself in my bathroom to get away from him.
He grabs my shoulder and yanks me back to face him. “I can do whatever I want.”
My skin is boiling; I’m so mad. “No! You can’t. This is my life!” I scream.
“Need a reminder?”
“No!” I jerk away from him. I wasn’t expecting him to let me go, and I stumble backward but manage not to fall. He smirks. “I don’t need you to remind me that you are a man who doesn’t care if he hurts a woman,” I snap.
His eyes narrow on me. “Don’t push me, Austin.”
“Push you?” I ask and snort. Spreading my arms out wide, I say, “Do your worst, Cole.” What else could this bastard do to me that he hasn’t already?
“You don’t mean that, sweetheart.” He takes a step toward me; his eyes look me up and down, and he licks his lips.
“Not only did you offer me up to Kellan, but you have also humiliated me at school,” I growl. “You recorded us …”
“You begged me for it. The video proved it.”
My mouth falls open at his words. He knew he was coming to the party, and that we were going to have sex. And he knew he was going to have Deke record it.
I stand there speechless as he closes the small space between us. His right hand comes up, and he slides his fingers into my hair. I stare up at him at a complete loss while his eyes roam my face.
“You knew what you were doing, Austin. And I told you, you were going to hate me in the morning, but you didn’t seem to care one bit.”
“I didn’t know you were going to record it,” I say as angry tears start to sting my eyes. My body shakes, and my throat begins to close up.
He lowers his mouth to my ear. “It’s not my fault you spread your legs for the devil, sweetheart. That’s all on you.”
“You set me up.” I choke on the words.
He chuckles. “I did no such thing. You went to a party. You got drunk, and then you dared me.” He pulls back, and his eyes stare into mine. I refuse to blink, to let the tears fall. I’m stronger than this. “You dared me to hurt you.” He runs his busted knuckles over my cheek. He lowers his face to where his lips almost touch mine. “And I did.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, trying not to show him just how much. “You had no right …”
“Even if I hadn’t had Deke record it, everyone there still heard you, sweetheart.”
I swallow the knot in my throat and look away. I hate that he’s right. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have dared him. I shouldn’t have played into his little fucking game. I’ve been pushing back just as much as he has, but I’m the one who seems to lose every time. He has help. He’s got a team on his side. I have no one.
“And it’s not like you didn’t enjoy it.”
I whimper at his words and whisper, “Go to hell, Cole.”
His hand grips my hair, and he moves my head, forcing me to look up at him. His blue eyes search mine. They shine. He lowers his lips and smiles against mine. I don’t dare move. “Sweetheart, I am hell.”
I hate how right he is. “Please go.” I swallow what pride I have left and beg him to leave.
He releases my hair, and his hand moves to cup my face. I try to swallow the knot in my throat. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He leans down, kisses my forehead, and then walks out. I throw myself onto my bed and scream into my pillow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
COLE
I STAND OUTSIDE her door as I hear her muffled scream. She’s breaking. Every day, I’m dragging her closer to the edge of no return. But in order to get her to fall, I’m going to have to drag her. I won’t be able to save myself, and we’re both going to hit fucking bottom.
Minutes later, I walk into my father’s house and go straight up to Lilly’s room. Her pink kitty lamp is on next to her bed, and she is sound asleep. I turn it off, and the only light comes from her nightlight.
Leaning down, I kiss her forehead and then walk out, leaving her door cracked open. I head to my bedroom, strip out of my clothes, and slide on my board shorts, then make my way down to the pool.
I dive in and the cold night air burns my skin when I come up for a breath.
Kellan is becoming a bigger problem every day that goes by. And I don’t know what to do about it or what he has planned. He knows about our final dare. The one we have planned for graduation night. I wonder how much he has told Celeste about what we do. People in this town know we destroy shit. We’ve been daring each other to do stupid shit since we were little kids. But when I was sixteen, Eli dared me to steal my father’s car and run it into the creek. I did it three hours later. I hated that car, and he fucking loved it. It was his baby. His beloved. Nothing mattered other than that car.
He never found out it was me. He was in a pissy mood for months, and I loved it.
The dares just snowballed from there. We got a system down, and it worked for us. Eight boys whose parents had money and could get away with anything. We did it all. Well, not murder. We just progressed to that recently.
I
go back underwater and do a lap. Then another. I’m tired and exhausted when I finally get out. The time on my phone reads 1:05 a.m. I dry off, and thoughts of Austin enter my mind.
I need more from her.
I smile when I think of why I’m doing this to her. Because I can. It’s that fucking simple. It’s like she forgets she has no one. Except me.
_______________
The following morning, I pull up to her house, and she’s already sitting on the front steps. Her backpack at her feet and phone in her hands. She stands when she sees my car and walks toward it. I find it odd but don’t question it.
She wears a pair of holey jeans with her black Chucks and a simple black t-shirt. Her hair is down and in big curls. A pair of black sunglasses cover her green eyes, and red lipstick highlights her lips. She looks fucking delicious.
She gets in, not saying a word, and sits back in the seat. I take off, trying to ignore the erection in my pants. I can’t think straight whenever she is around me. All I want to do is bury myself in her.
After dropping Lilly off, we pull up to the school, and she still hasn’t spoken a word. Not unusual for us, but it has me on alert. We walk inside and go to our lockers. She takes her time, and I watch her. She hasn’t removed her sunglasses, nor has she smiled.
She’s still pissed. And I find it sexy as fuck!
The bell rings, and I grab her hand, expecting her to pull away, but she doesn’t. I walk her to class, and as we step inside her room, she turns to face me. And before I can do anything, she lifts on her tiptoes and kisses me. Which is unusual. I always initiate it.
She moans into my mouth, and I tangle my hands in her hair. She kisses me like she’s desperate for me. Her body presses into mine, and I deepen the kiss. As if we are alone in my room and I’m about to rip her fucking clothes off.
Finally, she pulls away first, and I push her glasses up to her head. The smile she gives me is nothing short of wicked. I narrow my eyes on her.
She’s up to something. The only other time she looked at me like that was when she sent me the video of Jeff’s body burning.
She’s like me, after all—has no limits.
“I’ll see you next period,” I say, and she turns, giving me her back. Not saying a word.
AUSTIN
I sit in first period in the back next to Becky. She is on her phone texting—Deke, I’m sure. For two people who are only having sex, they seem to be obsessed with one another. It’s annoying. She was supposed to be my friend, but I only get her when he is at practice with the guys.
I have so many questions I want to ask her, but they are going to have to wait. I decided last night after Cole left that I wasn’t going to let him get to me. Not anymore. I was going to show all of them that I can do this. You don’t see them crying or begging one another to stop doing something they don’t like, so I’m not going to either.
I grab my bag, get up, and walk to the teacher’s desk. “May I use the restroom?”
She raises her hand and waves me off without looking at me. I walk out of class and down the silent hallway. I pass Cole and Deke’s calculus classroom and head straight to Cole’s locker. I’ve watched him do his combination enough to know it by heart now.
Once it pops open, I reach up to the top shelf and grab his car keys and then slam it shut. I finish running down the hall and take a right, heading up the stairs to the second floor. I turn to the red box on the wall with a red handle. I then look up at the camera and pull it down.
Go big or go home!
The alarm sounds, and the lights start to flash. Doors burst open, and students run out into the hallway. I stand on my tiptoes, looking for Shane. I see him exit the last classroom on the right. I make my way down the hall to him. “Let’s go,” I yell over the sounding alarms.
“What are you doing, Austin?” he asks confused.
“We don’t have time. Let’s go.” I grab his hand and drag him down the hall.
We make it down the stairs, and I see Cole out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t stop. We barge out the double doors. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” I tell him the same thing Cole has told me so many times. I press the unlock button on Cole’s car, and it lights up.
“Whoa.” Shane comes to a stop. “Why do you have Cole’s car keys?” he demands.
“Because I’m gonna drive us.”
He shakes his head.
“Yes. This is your dare,” I state, and he grinds his teeth, knowing he has to do it.
“Cole is gonna be pissed.”
I smile. Fuckin’ right, he will be. All part of my plan. “When is Cole not pissed?”
“We can’t leave, Austin,” he states.
“I didn’t pull that fire alarm for nothing,” I growl.
“You did that?” he asks wide-eyed. “Shit. You’re gonna be in so much trouble.”
I grab his arm and yank on it, finally getting him to move again. We get into the car, and I hold out my right hand. “Phone,” I demand.
He digs it out of his pocket without question. I turn his off along with mine and shove them into the center console.
Then we’re off.
_______________
I pull up to the same parking spot Cole brought me to three weeks ago and turn off his car.
“Why are we here, Austin?” Shane asks.
I let out a long breath, nervousness setting in. “Cole told me all about Jeff’s brother,” I say, and he stays quiet. “About how he beat his wife who was Eli’s sister.” I look over at him. “One of his best friends.”
He looks away from me, his lips thinned. I look down at my hands knotted in my lap, letting out a long breath. I’m about to tell this guy too much about myself, but I want him to trust me, right? To have one more person on my side. “I know what it’s like to have a man put his hands on you and not be able to stop it. To have no control.” My chest tightens. “I don’t believe in what you guys do or how you do it, but I do believe he deserves to suffer for hurting someone he was supposed to protect. Love.” I clear my throat. “And I want to help.”
I look over at him to find him staring at me with a blank expression. I bite my lip, nervously waiting for him to say no. That I’m screwing up plans they already have. Instead, he nods. “I’m guessing you have a plan?”
“I do.” I smile at him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
COLE
I SIT IN fourth period with only twenty minutes left when the door opens. Austin walks right in with a smile on her face and her head held high. I want to yank her back out the door and choke her.
“Where have you been?” I demand when she plops down next to me.
She doesn’t answer.
I’ve been calling her for three hours. And then between classes, we realized that Shane was gone too. A call to his phone told me it was also off. And they were together. That’s when I realized my car keys were gone. Talk about pissed!
“Mrs. Duncan, can you send Austin Lowes to the office please?” The office comes over the intercom.
“You heard her, Miss Lowes,” the teacher tells her, and she stands.
I get up as well and follow her out. “What the hell did you do?” I demand, bringing her to a stop in the hall. “Austin?”
She just looks up at me. Her green eyes full of mischief.
“Where did you go?”
“To do Shane’s dare.”
I grind my teeth. “How did you get out of class?” She isn’t eighteen yet. She can’t sign herself out.
“I pulled the fire alarm,” she explains.
“What?” I shout. That was her?
She doesn’t even flinch at my tone. “I did it for the dare.”
“What the hell were you thinking? They’re gonna suspend you.” Fuck! I told her dad I would keep her out of trouble. How the hell am I going to get her out of this? The guys and I may do some really stupid, illegal shit, but it never involves the school. That jeopardizes our chance
on the swim team. We’re not that stupid.
“Get off my back, Cole,” she snaps, her finger pressed into my chest. “You brought me into this,” she shouts. “Don’t blame me for something I didn’t have any control over.” She steps into me. “You should have taken what I did to Jeff as a warning. Instead, you took it as a challenge. But you know what, Cole? You underestimate me, and that’s your fault. Not mine.” Then she walks off down the quiet hall, heading to the office with a little too much hop in her step for someone who is about to get suspended.
And I can’t help but smile. Austin Lowes is more of a shark than I thought.
AUSTIN
“I got suspended,” I tell Celeste as I plop down on the couch in my father’s house.
She stands in front of me, eyes narrowed and hands on her hips. Cole stands in the corner, glaring. He’s still pissed off at me from earlier. After I walked out of the principal’s office, he was waiting for me, looking every bit of the dick he is. We haven’t spoken since, but he had to drive me home. I was hoping he would just drop me off and go, but no, he is obviously just as nosy as he is an asshole.
“Yes! The school called me! I had to convince them not to press charges. What you did was illegal!” she barks. Her eyes go to Cole. “You’re supposed to be keeping her out of trouble.”
I snort. “He’s not my babysitter.” If she only had a clue of what he’s put me through, she’d see what I did was nothing.
“I had nothing to do with it,” he chimes in, and my eyes narrow on him. He’s the reason I did the damn dare in the first place!
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just three days,” I tell her. I’ve been suspended for more.
“No big deal? Your father is gonna be pissed,” she snaps.
“What’s he gonna do, ground me?”
“He’s sending you back to your mother’s,” Cole answers me.
“What?” I ask, looking back over at him.
“Cole—” Celeste starts.
But he continues. “He wanted to ship you back to your mother’s the other day with twenty grand. Because, like your mother, he doesn’t want you.”
“Cole,” she snaps.
How much does he know? “How do you know that?” I demand, standing from the couch. Then I look at her. “Jesus, how much have you told him about my life?”
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 16