Linc stood, sucking his teeth, still shooting venomous looks to the other side of the room where the coward who’d made the jab about his wife still hadn’t shown his face.
Linc knew they never would, and he had to give them credit for that, because it would be the biggest mistake of their life.
9
“So, who’s next?” Jake Jones beamed at Veda, taking a seat across from her at the wobbly table. The hospital’s cafeteria was in full swing the next morning, but Veda had managed to nab a table by the windows. Jake stood from his chair long enough to adjust his white lab coat after he accidentally sat on it. “Who’s our number three?”
“What is this ‘our’ business?” Veda teased. When in the last few months had she managed to get herself tangled up with not just one friend, but two? Not to mention a boyfriend who she was beginning to suspect had the power to do some serious damage to her sanity and focus? Months ago, she’d been committed to being an island. A lone wolf. Get in, remove balls, and get out.
How had it all spiraled so quickly?
“Girl, who the fuck are you kidding?” Jake tilted his head to the side. His long blond bang fell over his blue eyes. The sides were trimmed close, almost bald, leaving one thick section of hair that swooped down from the top. He was naturally skinny, to the point of looking hungry, regardless of how much greasy food he’d piled onto his tray at the steaming lunch buffet in the corner. The scent of fried food filled the air, topped only by the aroma of self-serve coffee—the only ‘food’ that mattered to most of the employees in that hospital. Veda breathed in the scent of the French roast wafting from her own cup.
Jake kicked her leg under the table.
She yelped, jumping in her seat, the uneven legs of her chair wobbling. “What the hell was that for?”
“You were doing that thing where you go off in your own head and forget that there’s an entire world still spinning all around you. Normally I’m happy to let you fall into the abyss, but I’m too anxious to know who our number three is.”
“Can you keep your voice down? God, I should’ve never gotten you into this.”
“If you hadn’t gotten me into this, you wouldn’t be sitting across this table from me right now. You’d be rotting in a jail cell, with a three-hundred-pound girlfriend, praying for death every time you came close to dropping the soap in the community shower.”
“Did I really need that visual?”
“I could paint you a much more colorful picture. Unless you’d like to entertain me with news of your number three instead.”
Veda crossed her arms with a roll of her eyes, watching as he ripped open the package holding his plastic silverware. “It’s frustrating as hell. I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake with number three as I made with Eugene. I swore that I would take my time learning his schedule, his habits, but he’s proving even more of a pain in the ass than Eugene ever was.”
He filled his fork with a huge helping of barbecue beans, the tines lingering inches from his thin lips. “Why’s that?”
“He’s head of security for the Blackwater family, so it’s basically his job to keep a low profile. I’m sure he’s done a lot of spying for that family. He’s trained to shadow people, not the other way around. I know where he lives. I know where he works. I know everything about him, but somehow I can’t nail him down. At all. Especially not for long enough to get him alone and cut out his gonads.”
He chortled. After he took a bite of his food, he frowned, jabbing his fork at her. “I thought the guys who attacked you were a bunch of rich kids? Why would a rich kid be working security for the Blackwaters?”
Veda shifted in her seat. “Remember when you told me about your brother? How he was out on the town with a bunch of rich kids the night he went missing?”
Jake nodded, his eyes going somber.
Feeling bad for blasting him with that grave memory, Veda realized that they both knew the worst things about each other. The hot buttons that had the power to shift their moods in an instant. It hit her how special it was to have someone who knew her most delicate points but would never go out of his way to exploit them or use them against her.
She sighed. “Well, number three was just like that, times ten. Lived a couple blocks down from me on the hill. We were never friends, never talked, but we knew of each other. Just from seeing each other around. When he got a scholarship to Blackwater Prep, he started feeling desperate to fit in with the wealthy crowd. Of course they never accepted him. Not really.” She took a deep breath. “Looks like he’s still chasing that pathetic dream. Doing the Blackwaters’ bidding as if that’ll gain him acceptance into their world. He probably feels like he’s really one of them, even though if shit ever hit the fan he’d be the first one on the chopping block. Fucking idiot.”
“Sad.” He shook his head. “But even if he is hard to pin down, I’m sure you’ll find a way to give him what he deserves.”
“I always do.”
“And I’m ready for you whenever that day comes.”
‘I’m ready for you’ meant that Jake was prepared to put his job on the line by supplying Veda with the drug she used to incapacitate her attackers. It meant he was prepared to break protocol by neglecting to make a log of it in the hospital database. It meant Veda had already broken her number one rule when she’d returned to the island.
To only hurt those who’d hurt her.
Jake couldn’t see it, and when she tried to tell him, he couldn’t hear it, but she was hurting him. He couldn’t feel it yet, but she knew if she ever got caught he would feel it with the strength of a thousand men.
Just another reason why she had to be extra careful.
She couldn’t get caught.
She wouldn’t get caught.
“How are things with Gage?” he asked.
Veda’s heartbeat tripled, forced to close her eyes when they started to burn. Only when that burn subsided did she reopen them, staring down at her coffee. “Fine.”
“Most unconvincing lie ever. The moment I said his name, you looked like you were seconds from throwing up all over this table.” He lowered his voice. “Do those names I gave you mean nothing?”
Flames lapped under her skin. “Gage isn’t the only Blackwater on this island.”
“But he is a Blackwater.”
Her eyes shot up. She felt the fire zooming out of them, reaching across that table and searing Jake’s skin. The same way her coffee would sear his skin if she decided to send the hot liquid flying straight for his face. And she was seconds away from doing just that if he didn’t stop saying the gut-wrenching words he was saying.
“He’s different, Jake.”
“Would you give any other billionaire on this island that same benefit of the doubt?”
“If I knew them as well as I know Gage, yes.”
“Look. I know you love him. And I know love can sometimes make it hard to see—”
“He’s different.”
“I just don’t want you to let it blind you—”
“He’s different, Jake.”
“Denial can be a powerful thing—”
“He’s not ten,” Veda spat, collecting herself when her voice rose. She shifted in her seat, watching Jake’s chin fall into his chest. “He can’t be.”
He peered at her from under his lowered lashes.
“He isn’t.” She drew in a breath, hearing it tremble. “So drop it.”
A silence fell. Jake gave his food tray as much of his attention as he could for several minutes, clearly struggling to bite his tongue.
Moments later, he won the silent war against what his mouth wanted to say and what his mind knew it shouldn’t, changing the subject.
“So number three is a hill kid, huh? Do you think that’ll make it harder? Punishing a kid from the hill?” he asked. “One of our own?”
“Despite the actions I’ve taken that say otherwise, I’m not classist. Do I hate most of the rich people on this island? Yes. But
that doesn’t mean I love all the poor people on this island. Especially not a poor person who played a hand in destroying my life. He was there that night. Did he hesitate a little longer than the other guys? Yeah. Was he less violent? Sure. He was doing it to fit in. But he still did it. And he’ll still pay. Any man who was on that balcony that night, rich or poor, will pay me in blood, and I’ll deliver the invoice with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.”
“Hey, don’t get me wrong. You know I’m all for it.” Jake held out his hands. “Just making conversation.” He set down his fork after taking a big bite. “What’s his name?”
“Jax….” Veda’s voice slowed to a crawl, her voice lowering to a mumble as she looked up and saw someone approaching their table. “Murphy.”
“Jax Murphy?” Jake repeated.
His voice had been reduced to an incomprehensible muddle in Veda’s ears as she found herself gazing up at Coco Lockwood. Tall, skinny, with brown skin that put the coffee and cream steaming up from Veda’s cup to shame, Coco gave her a smile that lit up the room. The sight of Coco’s everlasting smile made Veda straighten in her seat. Her lips went tight and her heart swelled. It didn’t swell because she was unhappy to see Coco, but because Coco exemplified the second big mistake she’d made since returning home. The second friend Veda’d had no business making.
Unlike Jake, Veda had no intention of Coco ever learning her secret. The girl was so sweet, so docile, so sheltered. She’d sooner die than drag Coco into her madness.
“Murphy? Who’s Murphy?” Coco asked, her upbeat, slightly hoarse voice lighting up Veda’s heart. Her long black ponytail swung behind her as she looked back and forth between Veda and Jake, the big spiral curl on the ends bopping with each swing.
The power of Coco’s sugary presence made Veda instantly desperate to keep that sweetness right where it belonged. Safely inside Coco’s eyes and her luminous smile.
“We were talking, Coco,” Veda said, motioning to Jake.
“Oh.” Coco looked wounded, tugging at the sleeves of the long-sleeved white shirt under her blue scrubs. “Sorry. Yeah. It was totally rude of me to interrupt.” Coco locked the sleeves of her shirt low on her hands. “It’s just… we always have lunch together, so I thought I’d pull up a chair?”
“But we’re talking, bub,” Jake said, using a softer tone of voice. “And it’s kind of a private conversation, so….”
Coco’s big brown eyes seemed to explode to twice their size. That explosion seemed amplified by the moisture that instantly filled them, threatening to bubble over.
Her lips quivered and she looked down. “Totally.” She yanked her sleeves all the way down to her nails, shrugging. “Sorry,” she whispered, turning away and hurrying for the door.
“Oh, damn it.” Veda abandoned her coffee cup, standing and saying a quick good-bye to Jake before following the trail Coco had left in her race to get out of the cafeteria.
Why did the people she was most desperate to protect seem to be the only people bearing the brunt of her pain?
——
This was why Veda had made a vow not to make friends. Instead of brainstorming with Jake on how to nail down her number three and destroy his life, Veda was instead chasing after that long black ponytail, swinging and bopping as Coco took up a run to get to the front doors of the hospital. Her soft cries wafted behind her and split Veda’s soul in half.
Veda knew she should just let her go. Let her cry. Let that hurt eventually transform into anger—because hurt always did. She should step back and let Coco’s gentle heart harden to all things Veda Vandyke. Let it learn the real truth.
And the truth was that, one way or another, Veda was venom to a heart so pure.
She should let her go.
“Coco!” Veda begged, following Coco outside of the hospital doors and into the afternoon air. The sun shone bright that day, making the grass seem greener, the roses seem redder, and the fountain trickling in the middle of the parking lot sparkle harder.
Veda took Coco’s arm from behind, stopping her next to the line of rose bushes.
Coco swung on her heel.
Veda drew in a sharp breath at the tears on her cheeks, immediately reaching up to wipe them away. She sighed deeply when a new one popped from Coco’s shattered eyes to replace every single one she swiped away.
“Please don’t cry. I’m such an asshole. My heart is so black that it’s easy for me to forget one so sweet as yours could ever exist,” Veda said.
Coco crossed her arms tight, the sleeves of her shirt still pulled low over her hands, eyes lowered. The nostrils of her slightly wide nose flared as she kicked the toe of her sneakers against the sidewalk.
“It’s totally cool,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not cool.” Veda set her hands on Coco’s shoulders, waiting for her to lift her eyes. “Jake and I were both out of line. We were talking about something personal in there, but we could’ve been a lot nicer about it.”
I don’t deserve you, Veda’s mind cried.
“Can you forgive me, Coco?”
Don’t forgive me. Her inner cries moved to screams. I’ll only hurt you more.
Coco sniffled, her tears slowly drying. “It’s okay, Veda.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m used to it.”
Veda searched her eyes. “Used to what?”
Coco’s shrugged shoulder went higher. The tears that had managed to dry were re-saturated by the fresh ones that popped from her eyes. “Losing friends,” she whispered, voice barely audible.
Veda pushed the new tears away, feeling shredded. “You’re not going to lose me.”
Coco sniffled again, peering at Veda from the corner of her eyes.
Veda was reminded of what it was like to be seventeen. To believe good still existed in the world. To believe it so much that when the world took a machete to your heart, you felt every inch of the blade. You were surprised by the wound, because it was a wound you never saw coming.
“How about this,” Veda started. “How about we have a girls’ night. Tomorrow. Dante’s. Just us.”
A small smile threatened the edge of Coco’s lips. She hesitated. “You don’t have to feel bad for me.”
“I don’t feel bad. You’re my friend and I want to hang out. I’d hang out with you all the time if I could. Now that summer’s over and you’re back in school, I only get to see you on the weekends around here. That sucks.”
Run, Coco. Run for your life!
Coco’s eyes lit up. “Okay. Do you think Gage could come too?”
“Absolutely. He’s unemployed now so he’s got plenty of time to kill.”
A giggle bubbled up Coco’s throat.
The sound lit up Veda’s heart. She opened her arms and Coco launched into them. A laugh left her lips when Coco hugged her tightly and tucked her head into Veda’s shoulder. Veda rubbed her back, chuckling, but her laughter was short-lived as her eyes lifted and flew across the courtyard.
Several feet away, behind the bushes, was that fucking asshole with the camera.
That asshole who’d been following her around for days—days—now.
Veda stepped out of the hug with a gasp.
Coco noted her stunned face and matched it with one of her own. “What’s wrong?”
Veda tried to shrink her wide eyes, seal her parted lips, and keep the tremble threatening her voice level. She took a fierce hold of Coco’s arms when she tried to look over her shoulder to see what had stunned Veda so badly.
“Nothing at all, my love,” Veda said, a slight hitch to her voice. She tried to mask it with a wide smile. “So, tomorrow?” she beamed. “It’s a date!”
Coco cocked an eye at her. “You’re being weird.”
Veda’s face fell. Feigning happiness with Coco was always a waste of time. She knew Veda far too well.
“Just… get outta here, all right?” Veda grumbled, pushing Coco.
“Okay.” Coco moved away with a laugh. “You’re not coming back to the cafet
eria?”
“Nah. I’ve actually got a few errands I need to run before my lunch hour’s over.” Veda pointed to the parking lot. “But you go.”
Coco waved good-bye and disappeared back into the hospital.
Once she was out of sight, Veda shot a glare at the bushes.
Not only was the photographer still there, but he’d stood tall now, looking right at her. No longer trying to crouch behind the bushes, no longer trying to hide. The brim of his baseball cap cast a deep shadow that hid half his face, erasing his eyes.
But the smile that bloomed on his pink lips, so pale they nearly disappeared against his white—almost albino—skin, was in full view.
He waved.
He actually waved at her.
That pleasantry made something snap in Veda and, with a growl, she began stomping toward him. The fury encasing her heart exploded and rolled over every inch of her body, making her skin tingle with each step that brought her closer to his smiling face.
10
“Why the fuck are you following me?” Veda demanded, blazing toward that pale man, wondering if she could get away with punching a complete stranger square in the face. “Why are you taking pictures of me? Why the hell are you—”
Her words caught in her throat as the shadow cast by his baseball cap faded. The closer she got to him, the more of his smiling face came into view. She nearly stumbled over her feet as his features grew sharper by the second.
His lips, so baby pink they were almost white.
She frowned, slowed, but kept moving.
The freckles on his chiseled jaw, just a hint darker than his ghostly skin.
Her pace moved to a crawl.
Those gray-blue irises, just a few shades lighter than the whites of his eyes.
Her mouth fell open.
Those eyes, perpetually wide open, so much so that the whites showed all the way around, making him look stunned and demonic.
It was the eyes.
Purr (Revenge Book 3) Page 7