by Sonya Jesus
“You don’t have to. Have fun tonight.”
“It would be more fun with you.”
“True, but unfortunately I’m in work mode. I’ll probably grab some takeout and load up my night with reports. Talk to you tomorrow?”
She hangs up first. Tucking the phone into my pocket, I cut through the cemetery, inconspicuously walking towards the hidden spot below Connor and Austin’s window. It’s almost three a.m. If people are out, they are too drunk to care.
I scan my surroundings before jumping up and using the ledge for leverage. Once inside, I place the camera on the dresser in the far corner. It’s piled with junk and looks like it hasn’t been dusted. Not that I expect college guys to dust, but it also means that they don’t use it much. I find a black skull lamp and unscrew the top and place the camera inside the hollow interior, positioning it so that it has a view out of the empty eyes. Stepping back, I examine it and make sure it blends in well.
I assemble the lamp again and turn it on; still not detectable. I quickly turn on the lights and position myself at various angles. Pleased with myself, I turn off the lights and leave the room the same way I came in.
Now, I can get back to Lacey. I’m about to emerge from the bushes when I hear a ruckus from the path. I hide deeper in the shrubbery, evading detection. I poke my head out to see who is causing the boisterous noise at this hour in the morning. I relax when I see the soccer suite approaching, probably heading to Tony´s per usual.
I glance at the time. Lacey should still be sleeping. I give them a ten-minute head start then I head to the diner, hoping to gather intel on the Aiden Keys situation. I walk in, put my acting face on and ask the waitress for a booth near the window, knowing I will have to walk past them. I pretend not to notice them as I do.
“Hey!” Sebastian calls out. I turn and shoot them a grin, then look at my watch for the hell of it.
“What are you guys doing here?” I say, acting surprised to see them.
Dylan chuckles. “Aiden had the sudden urge for some carrot cake.” The guys start laughing, which pisses Aiden off. I wait for him to explain but he doesn’t bother. One of the guys pulls up a seat at the head of the table and tells me to sit.
I hesitate but take a seat anyway. “Just for a bit. How was your night?”
“Well,” Dylan says, patting Aiden on the back, pushing him forward a little. “Aiden here is an idiot.” Christian tries to keep a straight face while the others laugh. “Not as smooth as he thinks he is.”
Why was Dylan taking this so light-heartedly, wasn’t he interested in Amelia?
“He finally made a move,” Sebastian chimes in.
“Umm, am I supposed to know on who?” I motion for the waitress.
“How do you not know?” Theodore asks.
“On Amelia,” Aiden clarifies, finally joining the conversation.
On my Amelia.
“Oh?” The waitress comes over bringing coffee and menus. We wait for her to pour our drinks before starting back up again. After taking a sip of my black coffee, I thank the waitress, dismissing her. “Wait, isn’t that the girl with the curly hair that I saw with Dylan the other day?”
Dylan rolls his eyes. “Had to do something. Aiden was taking forever. Letting the Freshman move in on her.”
“So you don’t like her,” I confirm. Only one of the so-called Soccer Gods making a move on my Queen will make my life a tiny bit easier.
“Oh, I like her, but Aiden called dibs.” Dibs? “Anyway, he finally made his move tonight, and blew it.”
Aiden stares trancelike at his coffee.
“Why? What did you do, Aiden?” I know exactly what he did. It’s hard to forget he saw my Queen’s breasts.
Aiden grunts. Still avoiding eye contact, he admits, “All the wrong things.” The guys hoot at how upset he is. “Shut the fuck up! It isn’t funny. She kicked me out.”
“Maybe she’s immune to your charm,” Dylan says, poking the bear.
“You practically insulted her, you shit.” Sebastian surprises me. “You don’t talk to her for years, and then when you do, you act like a complete asshole.”
“Oh, that doesn’t matter, she already thinks he’s an ass.” Christian sips his coffee nonchalantly, as if he didn’t just deliver a blow to Aiden’s ego.
“I still don’t understand what happened.” I push for the details so I can analyze his intentions.
“I finally got in there, walked up to her; I was going to kiss her again and then she looked at me with these eyes- and I just got lost in them for a second, and by the time I realized it, she was telling me to get out.”
“What do you mean ‘again’?” Keeping the irritation from my voice is far harder than expected. Aiden notices my agitation and questions me with his expression. I hold my hands up in the air and surrender. Now is not the time to hash this out. I have more pressing matters to worry myself with.
“Don’t forget your proposition,” Dylan taunts.
“What the fuck came over you?” Christian’s face is livid. “It’s like you get stupid around her! She isn’t like Lacey! You can’t just order her around and expect her to fawn all over you.”
Lacey. I had to wrap this up.
“Look, I resorted to being a jerk,” Aiden says mournfully. “I didn’t mean to. She provokes me.”
Interesting. Just a little while longer. “She provokes the asshole in you?” I ask incredulously. “Like, when you are in middle school and hit girls because you have a crush on them? I expected more from you.”
Aiden rolls his eyes and pretends to peruse the menu, ignoring my comment.
Theodore answers for him, “Man, that’s what happens when you’re in love with the girl who thinks you’re a dick.”
Everyone looks up at Theodore like he just gave away a secret, which I guess he did.
“You love her?” I ask carefully, because there’s an itch in my fingers and the only way to scratch it is by squeezing his neck. “You don’t even know her.” Not like I do. “Isn’t this the first time you’ve even talked to her?”
Christian laughs. “Aww come on, everyone knows, well at least all of us. It isn’t a secret. Aiden has been crushing on Amelia for years now. He just has an awkward way of showing it.”
“I was waiting for the right moment. You should judge, Christian. Have you talked to Nat yet?”
“That’s different,” Christian replies immediately. “Nat’s an open book, she tells me right out she likes me, and I don’t go out of my way to avoid her.”
“I didn’t go out of my way,” Aiden defends. “I just- she catches me off guard, and when she looks at me with those eyes, I get all weird. All right?”
I knew exactly what he was talking about. Those damn eyes who tease you, yet expect everything from you.
“So you fucked up, can we have a chance now?” a frustrated Marcus speaks up. Everyone stares at him awkwardly. “What? She shot Aiden down. Your dibs are over.”
“She didn’t shoot him down,” Dylan comes to Aiden’s defense. “He was in there a good half hour. She kicked him out, but she did talk to him.”
“And they hooked up,” Sebastian plays.
I don’t much like his game. One kiss does not a hook up make.
“Maybe she will call.”
“Doubtful. You made it seem like all you were interested in was if she was cherry or not.” Marcus seems really happy. “Your loss can be my gain.”
“MARCUS!” Aiden raises his voice with a captain’s authority that actually manages to impress me. “You will do one of two things: respect or leave.” That has some kind of meaning that I wasn’t catching. “Amelia is still off limits.”
Off limits. I liked that. However, I did not like that those limitations only applied to his suitemates. “Aiden? Isn’t she dating someone?”
“The Freshman,” Dylan answers my question. Then closes his menu. I realize I didn’t even look at mine, but I would just get a burger to go.
“What are you
planning on doing? Breaking them up?” The contingency plan, if the auction somehow fails. Though Robins is supposed to take care of that, not these guys.
Christian laughs. “I think Aiden was hoping that he would go in there, kiss the princess with true loves kiss, spark something in her and whisk her away from the Freshman.” He crumples up a sugar packet and throws it at Aiden, switching his attention off Dylan. “Wasn’t that your plan?”
“All I managed to do was spark the bitch inside her.” I watched their interaction, and she did curse a lot. Then again, she had been drinking. She never drinks. “I didn’t even think she drank. She’s actually really hot when she’s pissed.” The guys grunt and chuckle, enough to make me uncomfortable with the collective approval. “I couldn’t leave. She was kind of turning me on the more pissed off she got.”
“Why did you leave then?” I ask, swallowing the bile in my esophagus. You would think I would be used to guys talking about Amelia by now, but it still ruffles my feathers.
“I only left because I thought she was going to slap me,” Aiden says remorsefully. “She would have every reason to, especially after the pep rally.”
“She isn’t going to call,” Marcus said. “You unhooked her bra in public.”
“She is.” Aiden was so sure of himself. “I think she liked that. I didn’t plan it though, but I couldn’t resist.” Well, that answers one of my questions. He didn’t plan that. I would have found out and stopped it somehow. This way it just added fuel to the spark of doubt I put in Amelia and Connor’s relationship.
“What? And she just doesn’t know it yet?” Sebastian chastises his captain. “I saw the pictures, and she looked ready to kill you.”
I saw those too, and yes she did. I just nod my head in agreement.
“There is no way in hell Amelia is going to fuck you,” Sebastian proclaims adamantly.
I stop shaking my head when his words sink in. I slap him on the back of the head.
“What the hell was that for?!” Sebastian squeals like a little kid.
“It’s called respect,” I scold him. I will have nothing less when we are talking about Amelia. “Won’t you ever learn that talking about women like that will not get you anywhere?” The rest of the guys’ chuckle and Aiden grunts a thank you. “It especially won’t get any undergarments dropped.”
“Oh, girls have dropped plenty of undergarments,” he says crudely. “Must be my panty-dropping smile.”
“Shut up.” Theodore, the more silent one, says again. “Everyone knows you don’t talk to girls like that, Sebastian. You learned after the first one popped you in the nose.” I vaguely remember a young Sebastian with a broken nose. He got benched my first year back here.
“So what? She had more muscles than I did,” Sebastian huffs.
“And the Freshman?” I ask, bringing the conversation back to what is important.
“He’s irrelevant,” Marcus supplies.
“She’s still with him.” Christian points out. “Maybe Connor’s not as irrelevant as you think.”
Truth. Little shit has been resilient lately. “And Christopher? Wasn’t he supposed to irritate the newcomer by attaching himself more to Amelia?”
Aiden scoffs. “He doesn’t know how to detach himself. He’s got Lia more confused than ever.”
“So, what? You think you can make things clearer for her?” Christian speaks my thoughts.
“Actually, yeah,” Aiden growls. “I wouldn’t mess with her emotions. We all know Robins would screw her over.” Perhaps Aiden is right. Christopher has the potential to be as much a problem as the Freshman.
“In every way.” Sebastian chuckles, earning a glare from Christian, Aiden and I. He rolls his eyes and makes a zipping motion over his lips. Aiden and Christian exchange an awkward glance that confuses me. Coach Reid has a no girlfriend policy during the season. Unless they are in serious relationships, he asks them to shy away from distractions. Usually, they listen. Shit. Aiden enforces it, thus, the Revolvers like Lacey. So, why show up at Amelia’s place? Why kiss her. What’s his game strategy? Or is he the one pranking her?
“Wait!” I don’t like to be confused. “Lay it all out for me, Aiden.” He studies me cautiously, judging whether or not I should be let into the inner circle. I’d like to think, over the years, I’ve earned enough credit for entry. “I won’t tell a soul.”
Christian smiles encouragingly and waits for Aiden to make his deliberation. Aiden’s trust isn’t easily gained, that I know for a fact. His inner circle consists of the boys at this table. Even then, some are kept at arm’s length for a good reason.
“Let’s just say,” Aiden opens up while I stifle a triumphant cheer. “Lia is someone I’ve always kept an eye on.”
Well, isn’t this ironic? A slow smile creeps across my face as I remind myself that my Hawkeyes are far superior to his. My love, for that matter, far exceeds any infatuation these pricks may have with her. She’s not the reason I breathe, or the air I fill my lungs with. She’s the oxygen that binds my hemoglobin, infiltrates every tissue in my being, and fuels every important function in my system. She oxygenates my life. Without her, breathing would be useless.
“That’s how you are going to sum up your epic crush on that chick?” Marcus’ words bring me out of my thoughts.
Chick? Degrading terms such as those are not how my Queen should be referred to.
“You’ve been pining for her for years. Drowning yourself in Revolver pussy doesn’t hide it. At least not from us.”
“Shut it down, Marcus.” Christian’s warning echoes in the nearly empty diner. “Out of everyone here, you should have the least to say.”
“He’s right though,” Dylan defies his superiors. In this group, it’s clear that Aiden, the Westbrook Captain, is the alpha and Christian is his beta. “You not only called dibs, but you also blocked her from the potential pool altogether.”
Sebastian’s drunkenness invades my space, distracting me from the argument. “This is why Reid doesn’t like Amelia.” His chin points towards the guys. Christian is arguing with the rest, while Aiden scowls in the corner.
Sebastian continues, “Those meetings Coach has with each of us?” I nod encouragingly. “Her name always pops up. If it’s not one of us talking about liking her,” he masks Aiden’s name with a cough. “It’s one of us confessing how she stresses our environment. They’ve been arguing all semester, and her name is always in the mix.”
“This is a mess.” I wholeheartedly believe it. Amelia’s a Chaos Queen, and she doesn’t even know it.
“Tell me about it! When she fainted, Aiden lost his shit. Coach had to call a meeting. Marcus and Aiden threw down, Dylan got in the mix and Christian had to break it up. Coach gave up and told us to figure it out before the next game.”
I was unaware of that meeting or the tension in the suite. Lacey hasn’t been as informative since I started my thing with Harper. I must take this opportunity for intel. “Harper tells me someone has been pranking Amelia. Leaving gifts, calling, sending her messages. Is that true? Is it one of you?”
“One of us?” Sebastian shakes his head vehemently. “No fucking way. Dylan mentioned it a while back and asked if we were responsible. That’s still going on?”
I shrug, giving it little importance. “I didn’t think—“
“I said she’s different!” Aiden roars, shutting everyone up. I only notice how loud we were when the room goes impressively silent. “Why do we always keep coming back to this conversation?” All eyes are on him. “I’m done talking about this. Amelia is no longer up for discussion. I’m not giving up, which means you all should.”
He’s so very wrong. She’s mine, and I’m not going to abdicate for him.
Chapter 20: Taking This One to the Grave
Hawk
“Lacey?” The bed is empty, the sheets are on the floor. I scan the living room, the kitchen, the basement, and the ratty upstairs floor. I don’t see her. Returning to the room, I dial her cel
l. It rings from somewhere in the middle of the tussled sheets. Her coat hangs over the open top drawer of my dresser. I didn’t bring her coat in here, which means she got her phone all on her own. How long had she been awake and why did she leave her cell phone here when she left?
Or maybe she didn't leave.
The only places I didn’t check were the bathroom and Amelia’s secret room. I locked it. She would not be there. Just in case, I run over and shake the door. It’s locked.
Wait? Did I actually lock the door? I take my keys out of my pocket and insert it in the lock. I don’t remember doing this earlier. Fuck. I didn’t lock it. But it's locked.
Damn it. I know where Lacey is. She couldn’t stay asleep, could she?
“Lacey?” I say softly. “Are you in there, sweetheart?” I put my ear to the door. “Lacey? It’s okay, come out.” I hear nothing. Twisting the key, I open the door slightly, peeking in. If she’s seen everything in here, she’ll attack me.
I sigh, the killer in me taking over. So much for keeping a low profile after Bruce’s death. I reach into my pocket, search for the knife and hold it between my fingers while I contemplate the weapon. Stabbing leaves blood, and this requires a meticulously untraceable approach.
In case she’s hiding behind the door, I shove it back, forcefully, hoping to deflect her attack, but it meets no resistance. I walk into the room, eyeing the area cautiously.
I’ve hung the pictures of Amelia all over the walls. The pair of underwear I stole hangs from the light fixture to remind me of that night. The punching bag I hung is off to the side with the bloody work out shirts on the floor, still in the same place I left them. I run my fingers over the scratches on my knuckles; sometimes Amelia unhinges me, so I punch the bag until I bleed. That’s why my hands are almost always scratched or scabbed. My training background gives an explanation, and I never get questioned anymore.
I search behind anything large enough to hide a body. My search comes up empty. Standing in front of the closet where I keep the unmentionable things the police would probably not find amusing, I prepare for the jump. I swing the door open to find a Lacey free hiding spot.