“Babe what’s taking you so long?” A man interrupts her, coming into the hallway. “Deke?” His wide eyes meet mine.
I fist my hands down by my sides. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand, looking him over. He too wears a towel low on his hips. And soap still covers his chest and arms. No fucking way! “At my sister’s? Also dressed in a towel?” I snap.
He runs a hand over his wet hair and squares his shoulders. “We were going to tell you.”
“When?” I snap and look at my sister. This motherfucker … “How long?” I demand.
She drops her blue eyes to the floor.
“How fucking long?” I shout.
“Hey.” Bennett pushes her out of the way and steps up to me. “Don’t yell at her. I was the one who wanted to keep this a secret from you.”
I reach out, gripping the back of his neck and yank him to me. “I’m not gonna ask you again.”
He gives me a smile, and says, “A year.”
I punch him in the face, knocking him into a wall.
“Deke!” my sister and Demi both shriek.
“You fucking bastard …” I slam my fist into his face again. He doesn’t fight me back, and I take full advantage of it.
I take him to the floor right here in the hallway. The force making a few pictures fall as well.
“What the fuck?” I hear Cole growl, and then I feel his hands on my shoulders. He yanks me off him, pulling me to my feet.
I stand, hands fisted and breathing heavily.
“What the hell is going on here?” he demands.
“What’s it look like?” I shout. “He’s fucking my sister.”
Cole looks from Bennett to Shelby. But looks away quickly when he realizes she’s only dressed in a towel. He throws his hands up and takes a step back. “By all means.”
“Cole!” Austin growls his name as she pushes Lilly behind her legs. “Not here,” she tells him.
He nods and tells Bennett. “Get dressed. Deke can beat your ass in the backyard.”
Without a second thought, I turn and exit the house. Rolling my shoulders, I get ready to kick my best friend’s ass when Demi walks out back behind me.
“Deke …”
“Don’t,” I growl, interrupting her. I’m in no mood to hear it. Whatever she has to say, she can save it.
“But …”
“Drop it, Demi!” I snap. He’s been fucking her for a year. He deserves at least a broken nose for that.
She lets out a growl and turns, running back into the house just as Cole and Bennett exit.
I lift my fisted hands ready to start punching his face.
“Can I explain?” he asks, lifting his hands in surrender.
“Nope.” I slam my fist into him, knocking him back a few steps.
“Goddammit, Deke.” He growls, covering his face. “Cole …”
“I can’t help you out, man. I’m with Deke. We all knew she was off-limits.”
I step into him ready to throw another punch.
“Just listen for two …”
This time, my fist connects with his jaw, sending him onto his ass.
“Motherfucker!” he shouts, jumping to his feet.
“Is she who you messaged nonstop while you were down in Texas?” I snap. The fucker barely ever looked up from his phone, but I never questioned it because I didn’t give a shit who he was talking to. Obviously, I should have.
“Yes!” he snaps.
Cole falls down into a chair and takes a bite of an apple. The fucker is enjoying this too much. “And the girl you ushered out of the clubhouse the night I called you …? That was her, wasn’t it?”
My hands drop to my sides as my mouth falls open. No fucking way …
“Yes!” he answers Cole.
I let out a growl and run at him. My shoulder hits him in the chest, and I lift him up off the ground before slamming his ass to the snow-covered grass. “I’m gonna kill …”
“I love her!” he shouts.
I pause, one hand fisted in his shirt and the other about to hit him in the face again. “What?” I pant.
He lets out a long sigh and licks the blood off his lip. “I fucking love her, Deke.” He shoves me off, and I go willingly. Sitting up, he runs his hands through his hair. “You think I would risk losing you as a friend for a fuck or a fling?” I don’t answer. “I’ve been in love with her for a long time, and a year ago, I got my chance to show her just how much.” He looks over at Cole who continues to eat his apple with a smirk on his face. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. She wanted to, but I didn’t. I knew you wouldn’t understand. I was selfish and wanted as much time with her as possible before you found out.” He hangs his head. “She broke up with me after Cole killed Kellan. She thought I helped, which I did, but she said she wanted nothing to do with our lives.” He glares up at me. “It took a lot of groveling to get her back and show her that I can be different for her.” He huffs. “And I’ll be damned if I’m gonna allow you to come in and fuck that up for me.”
I stand staring down at my friend sitting in the snow with blood running down his nose. I should be mad, but all I can think about is how my sister can’t accept him for who he really is. I’m not surprised. She never really did me either. But she doesn’t understand our need for revenge. Demi understands it. She’s lived it with her sister for years.
I walk over to him and reach out my hand. He looks at it and then up at me before taking it. I pull him into me and slap his back. “I already consider you a brother, Bennett. But if you hurt her, I’ll have no problem killing you.”
He chuckles pulling away. “That’s not gonna happen.”
The three of us enter the house to find my sister sitting at her kitchen table. She jumps up the moment she sees us and gasps. “What the hell, Deke?” She runs to him, placing her hands on his bloody face.
“He’s fine.” I wave her off. “Just a scratch.”
“Where are the girls?” Cole asks, looking around for Austin.
“They left to go take Lilly to see Blanche for the day. They’ll be back later.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
DEMI
I SIT IN the spare bedroom scrolling through my Facebook when I hear a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Austin pops her head in. “Hey, I’m gonna go pick up Lilly from Blanche’s. Wanna ride with me? I thought we could grab dinner on the way back for everyone.”
“Yeah,” I say, getting up and grabbing my jacket. “Sounds good.”
She backs out of the driveway, and I send Deke a quick message. I haven’t spoken to him much today. Austin and I left earlier while he was outside beating the shit out of his friend. We had dropped Lilly off at Blanche’s and then met Shelby at the mall for some girl time. She explained the guys made up and how they were going to meet Shane at the clubhouse later to go over some things. Whatever that meant.
Me: Gonna pick up Lilly and grab dinner. Ask the guys what sounds good.
Locking my phone, I put it down in my lap and look out the windshield. When we arrived in Collins earlier today, it had been snowing. It’s stopped for the time being but looks like it could start again at any minute.
We’re on a two-lane road heading back to Blanche’s. She lives on the outskirts of Collins. The road is curvy with lots of hills so we’re going slower than normal due to the weather. We make a curve, and Austin slams on the brakes. Her hand comes out, shooting across to my chest to hold my back to the seat.
“What the hell is going on here?” she asks as we come to an abrupt stop.
“Maybe they wrecked,” I say, looking over the tire tracks of a car that sits in the middle of the road. You can tell that they were heading in the same direction as us and then spun around, doing a one-eighty. When it finally stopped, it’s now facing us head on but still across both lanes.
Austin opens her door and gets out, so I do the same. “Hello?” she calls out.
I look over at the ditch, and my heart begins to pound in my chest wh
en I see the three, white wooden crosses that Deke and Cole placed here after their friends were killed in the car wreck. I remember being at Eli’s funeral and hearing people whisper that Cole and Deke didn’t show. They had been here, setting these.
Right where we stand.
“Austin?” I turn to face her, and she’s got her hands on the window of the car, trying to look through the blacked-out windows. “I think we should leave,” I say, getting a bad feeling about this.
“I don’t see anyone …” The door opens, hitting her in the face, knocking her off her feet and onto her ass.
“Austin?” I shout, running over to her, but an arm wraps around me from behind, and I’m yanked off my feet. Oh, no. God, no!
She rolls over onto her hands and gets up on her knees. A guy steps out of the car, and my breath hitches. No, no, no. “Austin … run.”
He walks over and kicks her in the side, and she cries out, grabbing it.
“Stop!” I scream, trying to fight the hands that hold me.
The passenger door opens, and I watch my sister walk around the back of the car. My teeth clench at the sight of her smiling at me. “You fucking bitch!” I scream.
The guy holding me tightens his hold, pinning my arms down to my side. “Nice to see you too, sis.” She gives me a smile that I wanna cut off her fucking face.
“Let her go,” I order. I can’t let Austin get hurt. Not because of me. Not because I stole my sister’s boyfriend.
She laughs. “Not a chance.”
“Your fight is with me.” My eyes go to Austin, and she’s now on her knees with her head in her hands. The car door hit her pretty hard, and I’m surprised it didn’t knock her unconscious. She’s definitely confused as to what is going on. “You hate me. I took him from you.”
Becky steps into me, pressing her chest into mine. Her blue eyes narrowed. “I no longer give a fuck that he picked you.”
She spits in my face. Then she gathers her blond hair to the top of her head and spins around, giving me her back. I see four tally marks across the back of her neck just below her hair and then one across it. Fuck, Deke, what did you guys do to her? They had to know she wouldn’t quit. Not after that.
She spins back around. “The sharks did that to me. Because of you. Because of her …”
“You deserved it.” I growl. They should have just killed her.
She slaps me across the face, and I taste blood, but I refuse to make a fucking sound or let her think she hurt me. Instead, I spit it on her.
She laughs, and says, “Do it.”
Before I even get the chance to comprehend what she says, I feel a sting in my arm. “What …?”
“You’re done, Demi. Once and for all.”
I panic as I look over at Austin. She’s getting to her feet, her hands up and fisted because she’s more alert now. Just as the guy goes to swing, she ducks and punches him in the dick.
Good for her. Maybe one of us will survive this.
“Don’t worry. It’ll only hurt a lot,” Becky taunts.
The guy shoves me forward, and I fall to my knees in the middle of the street. I watch Becky walk over to Austin, and I take the chance to pull my phone out of my back pocket and go to Deke’s number.
“I’ll take that.” She yanks it from my hands and throws it out into the woods behind me.
“I hope he fucking kills you,” I growl up at her from my knees.
“He already has,” she states with a smile.
The guy who was holding me walks around and picks her up. She kisses him while he spins her around, and I blink, making sure I’m seeing what I think I see. What did she give me? Am I hallucinating? “No …”
He drops her back down to her feet.
“Can’t … be.” My eyes are getting heavy, and my lips won’t work.
She kneels in front of me. “Nothing is ever what it seems.” That’s the last thing I hear her say before my arms give out, and I fall to the snow-covered street.
BECKY
“Put her in the back of the Range Rover,” I order David.
He bends down to pick up my sister and carries her over to Austin’s SUV. I turn to face the bitch who was supposed to be my best friend.
“What’s your plan, Becky?” she asks with a sarcastic laugh, wiping the blood off her bottom lip. Then she sticks her finger in her mouth and sucks it off. I never realized how psycho she is until just now. I had quite a few what the fuck moments when I read her journal, but I thought maybe she was overexaggerating. “Gonna kill us?”
“Yes,” I say simply.
“It’s gonna take more than this.” She holds her hands out wide, gesturing to me and the two guys I brought. I knew she’d be harder to catch than Demi. Austin Lowes grew up having to fight to survive. My sister has always been handed everything.
I also knew I wouldn’t be able to get them both on my own. I needed help. They’ve been helping me all along. “Oh, I’ve got an entire night planned for you.” Her green eyes narrow on me. “And you know what?” I chuckle. “This isn’t the first time I’ve ever fucked you over.”
Six months ago.
“I need a ride,” Kellan says, leaning up against the locker beside mine in the senior hallway.
“Go away,” I order.
He gives me a charming smile that makes him look like he’s a nice guy. If I didn’t know he was so evil, I would give him a chance. I hear he’s a good fuck. “Come on, Becky. Help me out.”
“No.” I slam my locker and turn my back on him.
He grabs my upper arm and yanks me into the women’s bathroom. “Kellan, what the fuck?” What is it with me and him always being in a bathroom?
“I’m not asking, Becky. I’m telling you that I need a ride.” His brown eyes bore into mine. That smile no longer present. The charming act over.
“You have a car,” I snap. “I’m pissed off at you, Kellan.” He wasn’t supposed to touch her. Hurt her that night of her birthday. Of course, Cole was pissed, and I was fucking terrified. He could have killed her.
“Like I give a fuck.” He shrugs. I wanna knock his head off with my books, but it wouldn’t kill a shark. “Give me a ride, or I’ll make sure that Cole finds out you were the one who allowed me entrance to the Lowes house on Austin’s birthday.”
My heart begins to pound, and I look around the women’s bathroom to make sure no one overheard him. “Don’t you dare …”
He grips my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I think it’s funny that no one has questioned you as to why I shoved Austin’s face into a mirror, knocking her out and taking her phone, yet you stayed the night with her and never heard me.”
I try to shove him away as panic crawls up my spine. “Fuck you—”
“Cole will kill you.” He interrupts me, gripping me tighter, and I whimper. “If Austin doesn’t get to you first.”
“What do you want with Celeste?” I ask, trying to forget the betrayal of my best friend. I failed her, and she can’t know that. Deke can’t know it, and Cole sure as fuck can’t know it. I’ve faked it this long, so I’m not gonna allow Kellan to bring me down now.
Letting go of me, he takes a step back, giving me some space. “She fucked with the wrong person.” He gives me a cryptic answer.
I let out a sigh. “Austin—”
“Has a date with Myers tonight.” He interrupts me. “She won’t be home.”
“How do you know that?” I haven’t got to spend much time with her since she and Cole broke up again. They got back together last time the morning after her birthday party. But the night after prom, they called it off. Well, I think she did ’cause he’s acting like a sad little bitch. I’m always with Deke, and he’s always by Cole. Austin steers clear of him.
“I overheard Myers fucking running his mouth about it. They’re going to a movie.”
I bite my bottom lip. “I can’t stay …”
“Just drop me off and go.”
“Who is gonna pick you up?” I ask, confus
ed with his half-assed plans.
“That …” He steps back into me, running his finger along my jawline, and whispers, “Is none of your business.”
“I felt awful when the news broke that you had been shot. Especially since I was the one who drove Kellan to your house.” I smile.
She gasps.
“He couldn’t get the job done, but I will.”
She lunges for me, knocking me onto my back in the middle of the road. “Fuck you, you fucking bitch …” she shouts before punching me in the face.
Instead of hitting her back, I cover up my face, not wanting anymore marks on my damn body from these crazy fucking sharks. “Get her off me!” I shout, trying to dodge her hits.
She’s dragged off me a second later. I get up and dust the snow off my clothes. The snow seeping into my jeans makes me shiver. She’s like a feral cat in his arms, kicking, screaming and trying to head-butt him. “Throw her ass in the SUV and let’s get the hell out of here before someone sees us,” I snap. We had this planned. We’ve been watching Shelby’s house, knowing they were coming in for Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Mother, for that bit of info.
Then today, they appeared. We weren’t going to waste any time since we didn’t know how long they were staying. So we followed them to Blanche’s house and then the mall. We knew they’d have to go back to get Lilly, so we waited. They didn’t disappoint me.
“Turn her phone off and tie her up,” I add. I’m not gonna drug her. Not yet. I’ve got some payback to give her and Cole. She betrayed me by walking away from me, and he fucking rammed my face into a mirror before cutting me. She’ll pay.
Blood for blood.
He’ll never want her after I’m done with her. That is if I decide to let her live.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
DEKE
I SIT WITH the guys at the clubhouse. Cole is next to me on the couch. Bennett stands to our right, typing away on his phone. “Can you stop that?” I snap.
“What?” he asks.
“Sexting. My sister.” I grip the beer bottle and take a swig. It’s all I think about. And it’s fucking disgusting. I know he loves her, but that doesn’t mean I’m a hundred percent okay with it just yet. It’s gonna take time.
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