“What are you getting at, Bennett?” I snap.
“I’m trying to tell you that even he knows you’re not faking it anymore. He already tried to kill you once and failed. This time, he won’t go for you. He’ll go for her. And he’ll succeed.”
“What do you suggest I do?” I growl.
“Let her go.”
I shake my head. “That risks putting her in danger.”
“She’s already a target, Cole.”
“I said no, Bennett.”
He sighs as if disappointed in me.
“But we can do the final dare,” I say, taking in a deep breath. “We’ll just change it up.”
“And Kellan?”
“What about him?” I snap at the sound of his name.
“Do we bring him back in, or do we leave him out?”
The final dare was decided before Austin ever entered my life, but even now, having her doesn’t change the plan. Bruce must die. Especially since he tried to kill me. He can’t get away with that, and I can’t let him touch Austin. I’d die protecting her.
This dare was the one dare that was the exception. Just like I told her Jeff was. We didn’t need to draw this one. We knew what we were going to do before senior year even started.
“I don’t trust him,” I decide to say.
He nods. “It’s your call.”
I walk back into the cafeteria and sit down next to Austin. She looks over at me. “Everything okay?” she asks.
I nod and lie. “Yeah.”
AUSTIN
“Your dress is gorgeous,” I say, looking over at Becky as we stand in my bedroom. She chose a strapless champagne mermaid dress. It shows off her thin frame and flares out at the bottom. She loves to watch it flare out when she twirls.
“Thank you.” She smiles. “When are you gonna get dressed?” she asks, looking at Cole’s zip-up hoodie that I still wear and yoga pants.
“As soon as I finish my makeup.” I lean over and line my lips with the deep red liner and then fill them in to match.
A hard knock sounds on my door, and I look over at it frowning. Cole never knocks, and Celeste stays clear of me. “Come in,” I say.
My father enters, and I straighten to my full height. His dark brown eyes have their usual look of impatience in them. “Becky, I need to speak to Austin,” he tells her.
“Sure, sir.” She nods once and then shuffles out of the room.
I turn to face him, giving him my full attention. We don’t speak much, and I prefer it that way. I still haven’t told Celeste that the thing I had been told was that Lilly was my half-sister. And after the secret she told me, I decided to keep my mouth shout about it. My father already tried to hurt Cole once. But no one knows the exact reason. We could guess all day long, but that’s not enough. There was a time I wouldn’t have cared what happened to Cole, but things change. People change. He and Lilly have become the most important people to me, and I refuse to give him any more power than the bastard already has over people in my life.
“I wanna talk to you about your future,” he states.
“Can’t it wait until another time?” I ask, turning my back to him and toward the mirror.
“No,” he growls. “I leave tomorrow for New York and will be gone for a few weeks. I would like to get this out of the way before I leave. It will almost be graduation when I return.”
I refrain from smiling, knowing how close we are to graduation. How close I am to getting the hell out of here.
He doesn’t wait for me to give him the green light. “What are your plans after graduation?”
“I’m not sure,” I lie.
He sighs. “College?”
“Most likely.” Honestly, I have no clue what I want to do with my life besides be with Cole and Lilly. I’ve never been one to plan because plans never seem to work out. Life happens, and things get in the way.
“Well … where would you like to go?” he asks.
I slowly spin back around to face him. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I haven’t decided.” Another lie.
He nods as if he believes me, but his dark eyes say otherwise. “What about the University of Texas?” he asks.
My heart starts to pound in my chest, and I swallow nervously.
“It’s a great school,” he continues at my silence. “They’re ranked very high in swimming.”
How does he know? Cole and I haven’t told anyone except for Deke and Becky, and that’s only because we trust them. They would never tell another soul.
“Anyway.” He reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out a folded-up piece of paper. It’s a check. “I decided since I didn’t get you anything for your birthday that I would help you out with college.”
I thought Celeste had said they got me a trip for my birthday? Doesn’t matter, I won’t be using it.
He reaches out his right hand. I just stare at the check in it. He shakes it a little. “Go ahead.”
I don’t move because I don’t know what he’s up to. The guys aren’t the only sharks in this town. They grew up in an ocean full of them.
“I’ll just leave it here.” He lays it on my bed and straightens his tie, then turns around and walks out.
_______________
It’s been two hours since my father gave me the check in my bedroom. I shoved it in a drawer without even looking at it. Afraid to see what he wrote on it. As far as I know, it could say anything from ten dollars to a hundred thousand dollars. Reading it would make him think I am actually considering his offer. I’m not.
“You okay?” Becky asks for the fifth time.
“Yes.” I continue to lie, running my hands down my dress.
“Red is your color,” she says, and I smile, knowing that’s how Cole feels.
“Thank you,” I say.
The doorbell rings, and Becky smiles. “I’ll go and get it.” She runs out of my room.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I need to clear my head. Forget about my father and this game he is suddenly playing with me. He hasn’t said more than ten words to me in three months, and now he is giving me money to go to college? The same college my boyfriend just happens to be going to? He knows. He has to. But how? Does he know that Lilly is going too? Would Liam try to stop her from going with Cole? I don’t see why he would.
I open my eyes to see Cole standing in my room. Those blue eyes running up and down my dress. Like before, they are still clouded, but I know what’s inside him. His heart. His soul. Cole and I may not have a traditional relationship, but I wouldn’t trade him for anything. He’s mine. And I’m his. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been sure of in my life.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he says, coming up to me. His hand cups my cheek.
“Hey, baby,” I say, and he smiles.
“You look gorgeous.” He lowers his lips to mine. “Just like I knew you would.”
“You too,” I say, running my hands up his black tux with a red tie to match my dress. The man could wear anything and bring me to my knees.
His eyes search mine, and he frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I answer.
He lets out a long breath. “You know I hate it when you lie to me.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s nothing …”
“Austin.”
“I spoke to my father earlier,” I say, giving up.
“And?”
“And it was weird.”
“How?” he urges.
“He asked me about my future. If I was planning to go to college. I lied, but he seemed to know that.”
He chuckles. “Well, you are an awful liar.”
My eyes narrow. “He then went on to tell me that the University of Texas was a good school. Had high rankings for swimming.” His laughter dies. “Then he tried to hand me this check.” I storm over to my dresser and yank the drawer open. I hold it up.
He walks over to me and snatches it out of my hand. Opening it, he glares down at it. “He gave you this?�
�� I nod. “Tonight?”
“About two hours ago.” He pulls his cell out of his tux and places it to his ear. “Who are you calling?” I ask.
“Bennett.”
“Why?”
He hands me the check, and I read over it. It’s made out to me for fifty thousand dollars. But it’s Celeste’s handwriting.
“Hey, man, I need a favor,” he says, turning his back to me. “Those accounts for JJ’s Properties. I need you to check them again,” he orders.
“What is that?”
He doesn’t answer me.
“You sure?” he questions and then nods to himself. “Okay. Thanks.” He hangs up his phone just as my bedroom door swings open.
Deke and Becky walk in. “What’s taking so long?” he asks.
Cole holds up the check. “Bruce gave this check to Austin. Fifty grand to go to college.”
“That was nice of the bastard.” Deke snorts.
“To the University of Texas,” Cole adds, and Deke’s eyes narrow. “And the best part. It is a check from JJ’s Properties.”
Deke’s eyes widen. “Are you serious?”
“Why does that matter?” I ask, my eyes going back and forth between them.
“Because …” Cole turns to face me. “JJ’s Properties is the company that Jerrold and Jeff owned. And Bennett just checked and informed me that only twenty-three cents remain in the accounts. Combined.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
COLE
WHY WOULD HE give her a check that isn’t good? Why give her a check at all? He’s fucking with her, but why? She’s lived here for four months now, and he’s ignored her ninety percent of the time. What’s changed?
I know the answer to that question—me. Just like Bennett said, the whole city knows how I feel about her. And the whole city knows that Bruce hates me.
I take the check back from her and fold it up before placing it in the pocket of my tux. “Let’s go.” I take her hand.
“What does that mean?” she asks, worry in her voice. “Why would he give me a check that wouldn’t clear?”
“I don’t know,” I answer.
“Because he’s a fucking bastard,” Deke growls.
We start down the stairs. “Cole …”
I stop and turn to face her. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’m gonna find out.”
She nods, but I see the hesitation in her green eyes. She doesn’t believe me, but what Austin Lowes doesn’t know is that I’m not going to give up.
Austin was quiet during dinner. The girls chose a seafood restaurant that recently opened. I thought it would help cheer her up, but it didn’t. I can see her mind working by the way she stares off into space. And I hate not knowing what the hell Bruce is up to.
By the time we get to the school, she’s a little better. Her smiles seem to be real, and she is actually making eye contact with me.
“Wow,” Becky says as we walk into the gymnasium. “They went all out.” She tilts her head back and looks up at the decorations.
“Yeah. Pretty,” Austin agrees.
They usher us into a line, and one by one, each couple goes and stands in front of a backdrop to have their picture taken.
Once done, I look up to see Bennett and Shane walking over toward us. Both solo. “Where are your dates?” I ask.
“In the bathroom,” Shane answers.
Deke and Becky join us, just finishing up with their picture. “Can we speak to you guys for a second?” Bennett asks.
My jaw tightens. I know why he wants me alone. He wants to talk about the check Bruce gave to Austin. I’m not in the mood. “No,” I say.
I grab Austin’s hand in mine and take a step away from them, but it’s Deke’s hand that lands on my chest. “It’ll just be for a second.”
My eyes narrow on his. He planned this. He was texting away on his phone while in the limo to the restaurant, and Becky asked him several times who he was talking to, but he never answered her. Now, I know why. “Deke—”
“Go ahead, babe,” Austin interrupts me. “Becky and I will wait right here.” She pulls away from me and turns, talking to Becky.
The guys all walk back toward the door we all just came through, and I follow them with fisted hands.
“What?” I demand as we enter the silent hallway. “This better not be about Austin and me.”
“It is.” Bennett starts. “You need to step back.”
“I’ve already told you no.”
“Cole,” Deke starts, “trust me, out of the four of us, I know the most how hard it would be to step away from someone you love, but this is the only thing left to do at this point.”
“It’s not!” I snap.
“It is,” he argues. “Bruce is playing a game with her that we don’t know. Kellan has gone off the deep end. He’s drinking all the time, missing school, and he no longer gives a fuck about swimming. He never comes to practice. If he doesn’t wake the fuck up, he’s gonna end up losing his scholarship.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he loses.”
“He has to be working with Bruce.” Shane finally speaks. “No one else would tell Bruce that you guys plan on going to the University of Texas together.”
“How do you fucking know what we’re gonna do?” I demand, turning to him. “We only told Deke and Becky.” I spin back around to face Deke. “You been telling everyone?” I shout.
“Cole!” Bennett raises his voice, and I look at him. “I put two and two together when you called me about the check her father wrote her.”
“Well …”
“Everyone knows where you got your scholarship from. I’m sure everyone just assumes she would be going with you.”
“I didn’t think of that,” I admit with a grunt.
“That’s because you’re too close. Take a step back,” Bennett goes on.
“And what if he hurts her?” I shake my head. “I can’t take that chance.”
“Bruce is about to leave for New York for a few weeks. He can’t do anything to her while he’s gone. But Kellan … we think that’s when he’ll make his move.”
“Cole …” Shane swallows nervously.
“What?” I snap.
“That dare that she drew … It wasn’t mine.” I open my mouth to ask what the fuck he’s talking about, but he continues. “Kellan had me write that dare down. That’s how he knew it belonged to me when you asked him what it meant.”
I step into him, but Deke yanks me back. “You fucking …”
“I wasn’t gonna let him hurt her,” he says quickly.
I shrug Deke off me and run a hand through my hair. The dare doesn’t matter. She isn’t doing it. She’s out of the group. “So what do you expect him to do?” I ask at a loss.
Deke shrugs. “It’s hard to tell. At this point, I think he still wants to hurt you, and he will go through Austin to accomplish that. We all know he’s not gonna harm Celeste. But …”
“But what?” I demand.
He looks at me. “But if you step back, he might not touch Austin at all.”
“That’s a big gamble,” I snap.
“I agree, but what other choice do we have?” Deke places his hand on my shoulder. “You need to decide right now, Cole. What’s more important? Spending the next month with her or the rest of your life. Because we all have the same feeling that you won’t get both.”
AUSTIN
“Well, that didn’t last long,” Becky says as she stares over at Bryan and his prom date. It’s not Kaitlin.
“I told him he only had to date her for a couple of weeks. I figured by then the dare would have blown over.”
She shakes her head with a laugh. “Those two weeks were a fake relationship, and she still managed to cheat on the guy. No wonder he dumped her before.”
Yep. I blackmailed him to go back out with her, and she still managed to fuck him over. I think they’re made for one another.
“Hey, babe,” Becky says as the guys come back to join us.
> I give Cole a smile, but he doesn’t return it.
“You okay?” I ask, rubbing his upper arm.
He doesn’t respond.
“Who wants to have a little fun?” Deke asks, pulling a silver flask out of his pocket.
Becky laughs. “What is in there?”
“Fireball.” He winks at me. “I know how much you two like this shit.” He nods over at the table. “Go get a glass of punch.”
I pull away from Cole and walk over to the table with the white tablecloth over it. “What’s going on with Cole?” Becky asks, filling a cup three-quarters full of punch.
“Who knows?” I sigh. I didn’t think he was all that upset about what my father did, but maybe I was wrong.
I fill myself a cup, and we make our way back over to them. Deke takes a quick look around to see if any teachers are around before he unscrews the lid and pours some into my cup. Prom started over an hour ago, but we were in no hurry to be the first ones here. We don’t plan on staying long anyway. We all decided last night just to make an appearance and then bail. The best thing about prom are the after parties anyway. If we wanted to dance, we could all use our fake IDs and hit the clubs in surrounding towns.
I twirl my cup around to mix up the drink and take a sip. I hiss in a breath at the taste. Fruit punch and cinnamon isn’t the best combination, but it’s all we’ve got at the moment. “Want a drink?” I offer Cole. Not like he is driving tonight. The guys got us a limo.
He doesn’t even look at me, just shakes his head.
I turn to fully face him. “Are you mad at me?”
He looks down at me. “No.” His reply comes out flat.
“I haven’t said anything,” I say, just in case he thinks I have.
He sighs heavily. “I didn’t say that you did.”
“Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?” I take another drink.
His eyes narrow on me. “I’m not.”
“You are,” I argue, taking another drink.
He reaches out and takes the cup from my hand. I protest as he hands it off to Bennett. He looks at it for a long second before he takes a drink of it. The look he makes afterward lets me know he won’t be drinking any more of it.
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 35