Red Rose: Red Thorns Crew Book 2

by Hart, Rebel

“Good.”

  His arms hooked underneath mine and he pulled me against him. He rolled over, my tired body draped over his like a blanket. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating against my ear. I let my eyes fall closed again as his even breaths lulled me back to sleep. The feeling of his fingers running through my hair sent chills throughout my entire body. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to go back to campus.

  But I knew I’d have to eventually.

  After falling in and out of sleep with him until almost noon, I relegated myself to fate. I pulled myself out of bed, fumbled around with my clothes, and let Max take me back. I wasn’t sure what day it was, honestly. As I leaned against him, with the motorcycle almost putting me back to sleep, I had no idea what time it was. Or what day of the week.

  For all I knew, I’d missed my classes again.

  “We’re here.”

  His rumbling voice cut through the haze of my sleepiness and I sighed. I pulled my helmet off and slipped off his bike, my heart already aching to be with him again. I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He grinned at me before tossing me a playful wink. And after giving my ass a soft pat, he sent me away to my dorm building.

  While he rode off into the sunset.

  Sunrise.

  Wait, no. The sun was too high in the sky for a sunrise.

  Is it almost lunch time?

  I yawned as I clutched my purse. I fumbled my way inside and into the elevator. I’d never felt so tired, yet so amazing, in all my life. I couldn't wipe the goofy grin off my face as I made my way to my dorm room. Not even Hannah could ruin this for me. I’d done as she asked, so she didn’t have a reason to be upset. I’d messaged her last night to let her know I wasn’t going to be back before morning.

  So hopefully, things would be better.

  “And where the hell were you all night?”

  Or maybe not. “I sent you a message.”

  “Yeah, telling me you weren’t coming in last night. What were you up to?”

  I dropped my purse. “I was with Max.”

  She sighed. “Of course you were. Ruining your life, one step at a time.”

  I climbed into my bed. “I don’t need your judgment, Hannah. I get enough of it from my parents. I know what I’m doing. And if you don’t trust that, then that’s your fault.”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just worried. You missed your classes again. That’s the second time in two weeks you’ve missed an entire day of school for him. And for what?”

  I slid under the covers. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. I have it under control. So you can stop punishing me for finally getting out there. Like you wanted me to at the beginning of the semester, you jerk.”

  “Fine. Whatever.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  And, despite the tension, I didn’t have any issues falling right back asleep.

  * * *

  When my eyes opened from my nap, it was almost dark out. The sun was setting, and it jolted me right out of bed. I practically rolled out of bed and crawled to my purse to yank my phone out. Holy shit, it was already past six o’clock in the evening.

  How long was I out?

  I scrambled to my feet and searched around for my books. I had to do whatever I needed to do to catch up for today. I frantically logged into my school account and found the lectures. My lucky day, apparently. Because both of them were already posted.

  One absence in each of my classes. I can’t do more than two.

  I flipped my calendar opened and started checking things off. I was ahead on my reading, so all I needed to do was refresh my mind with the questions at the back. I was already jotting down notes from my first lecture of the day, so I had that going for me. And thankfully, the material was still pretty easy.

  Then my eyes fell to something in my calendar. Something that was circled in red. Written in green. And bolded with a highlighter, just so it was extra obnoxious.

  “Oh, no,” I murmured.

  I had a paper due tomorrow afternoon.

  I turned the lecture off and shuffled things around. I pulled up a Word document and found the requirements for the paper. I groaned at the sight of a needed bibliography. Of course a bibliography would be involved. I’d be up all night pulling this off. Easily. And since I still had no idea what the hell I was writing for this paper, I still had to research and piece an outline together before I did anything else.

  And of course, my phone started vibrating with a call.

  “Not now, Satan,” I whispered.

  The vibrating stopped, but quickly picked back up. Again, and again. Until I couldn't focus enough to do my research anyway. I groaned as I rummaged around for my phone. My hand finally settled on it and I picked it up. Great. Mom was calling. Which meant Dad wasn’t too far behind.

  Such bad timing.

  I put on my chipper voice. “Hi, Mom!”

  “Well, there’s my little sweetheart. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from you.”

  Dad chuckled. “Not drowning in those books yet, are you?”

  If you only knew. “Well, I’m not going to lie. One of my professors is terrible with deadlines, so I’m scrambling to make some last-minute edits to a paper before I turn it in tomorrow.”

  Dad sighed. “Ugh, I remember those kinds of professors. Don’t worry, they aren’t all like that. Just go with the flow as best as you can and take breaks when necessary.”

  “Exactly, sweetheart,” Mom said, “don’t overdo it. I know you’re proud of your A’s, and we are, too--”

  “Don’t make her compromise her good grades. That’s not the point of college.”

  Mom sighed. “It’s also not the point to stress yourself out to the point of not enjoying anything.”

  I licked my lips. “I can leave you two alone, if you want me to.”

  Dad chuckled. “Not necessary. We just wanted to call and see how school’s treating you.”

  I lied through my teeth. “Oh, everything’s fine. Like I said, just this dumb paper that’s been plaguing me, but I’m almost done with it anyway.”

  Mom snickered. “That’s my girl. Make sure to treat yourself tonight before you go to bed. You deserve it.”

  “Oh! Before you go, get this. One of your mother’s friends has a son who just came back from two years travelling abroad.”

  I nodded mindlessly. “That’s nice.”

  “And he’s such a nice boy. Very respectful. Cute, too. Your father wasn’t happy with me--”

  “Eh, I suppose he could be a worse kid.”

  Mom laughed. “But I took the liberty of passing on your number.”

  I blinked. “Wait, what?”

  Mom sighed. “I know, I know. I got a bit hasty. But he really is a good kid. And he doesn't live far from your campus! He told me he’d call you sometime soon and ask you to dinner or a movie or something like that. Isn’t that nice?”

  Dad butted in. “And I approve, too. So no using me to wiggle out of this. It’s good for you to get out and live a little. You can’t stay cooped up in your dorm room all the time.”

  My heart thundered in my chest. “You gave out my number?”

  The delight in Mom’s voice made me confused. “Oh, you’re going to adore him. Ask him about his adventures. I’m sure he’s got so many stories to tell.”

  “As well as a future in acupuncture. Don’t forget about that.”

  I paused. “Acupuncture?”

  Mom clapped her hands. “Yes! He’s very well studied. His name is Kline. He’s not quite thirty yet. Just turned twenty-nine. And he’s got that nice dark hair I know you like. Please tell me you’ll say yes if he calls.”

  What the fuck? “Mom, I don’t know. I’m--I’m pretty busy with school. I don’t really want to see someone right now, because I’m just getting into my core classes. It’s just a bit much to juggle right now.”

  Dad snickered. “Oh, come on, you party pooper. Even I’m on board
with this one, and that’s saying something. Just one date. Coffee. You can squeeze in coffee, I’m sure.”

  I sighed. “I’ll think about it. How does that sound?”

  Mom clicked her tongue. “Well, it’s not a no. I’ll take it. For now.”

  “But princess, if he calls and you get a weird vibe--or you meet and you don’t feel comfortable--just leave. Or hang up. No harm done.”

  “He’s not going to be like that. I promise. You trust me, right?”

  Uh… “I mean, you did marry Dad.”

  He snickered. “Awww, thanks, princess.”

  “Exactly. Just give it a shot. Or at least consider it. Have a few conversations with him. Get out and spread those wings of yours. Make a few memories. You're in college. And while we’re both proud of you, we also don’t want you to miss out on all the fun things college has to offer.”

  “Just--not too much fun. Dad’s rules.”

  Could this call get any worse? “Not too much fun. Got it. You guys, I really have to get back to this paper. I’m so sorry.”

  “No, no, no! Don’t let us hold you up, sweetheart.”

  “We’ll talk soon, princess. Love you.”

  I smiled. “I love you guys, too.”

  And as I hung up the phone, only one question ran through my head.

  What the fuck just happened with my life?

  20

  Max

  John cracked open another beer. “All right. Give me the rundown one last time. Because I swear to fuck, if I figure out you’re hiding anything else, I’m gonna kill you myself.”

  Rupert nodded. “I’m with him. I didn’t even know your father paid you a visit.”

  I paused. “I’m pretty sure I mentioned that.”

  Rupert snickered. “Trust me, I’d remember if you did.”

  John chugged his drink back. “Give us the rundown one more time. And don’t leave anything out.”

  I sighed. “Well, the two of you know about Dad coming to visit me in the garage. Yes?”

  John nodded. “With the goons.”

  Rupert reached for a slice of pizza. “That practically beat you into the wall. Yep.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, so that happened. Then Dani and I kicked things off a bit. Then that night happened where I took her back to her dorm and I got jumped.”

  John pointed at me. “You said Benji called you and said he wanted to talk?”

  I nodded. “Before I got jumped, yeah.”

  Rupert cocked his head. “That’s a bit weird, don’t you think?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t think anything of it until Benji came to visit me in the garage himself.”

  John pointed at me. “This is the part I want to hear again. What happened?”

  Rupert chewed his pizza as loud as fucking sin as I tried gathering my thoughts.

  “It was the weirdest thing. I asked him where the hell he’d been. Because other than the meeting I called to inform the crew about the jump, he was nowhere to be found. Not answering anyone’s calls. Not showing up for shit. It was weird to me, especially since he wanted to talk.”

  John nodded. “What happened once he got here?”

  “I don’t know. He was just… weird. Off. Very nonchalant about things. I got onto him about being absent and shit always taking priority in his life over the club, and then he wonders why I don’t induct him.”

  Rupert swallowed. “I thought you didn’t want to induct him anyway.”

  “I don’t. But Benji doesn’t get why. I went ahead and laid that shit out for him in the hopes that it would completely deter him from trying again.”

  John paused. “Why does he attend the meetings if he’s not part of the crew?”

  “To keep his ass out of trouble. Remember the last time we tried to keep him out of the group?”

  Rupert’s eyes widened. “How the fuck did I forget about that?”

  John groaned. “Do we even know how the fuck he blew that car sky high?”

  I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that even if I’m involving Benji on a ‘trial basis,’ I know where he is and what he’s doing.”

  John nodded. “Until now.”

  I pointed. “Exactly. He was much too relaxed in my garage when he was talking with me. And he didn’t ride up on his bike, either.”

  Rupert blinked. “What?”

  “Yeah. That was weird to me, too. I chased him off once he started mouthing off at me, and he ran down the road until he was out of sight. He wasn’t on his bike when he came to visit.”

  John snickered. “Well, how the fuck did he get here?”

  All of us fell silent, and I knew they were thinking what I was.

  “No,” Rupert said.

  I shrugged. “It’s all very fishy. Even for Benji. You have to at least admit that.”

  John shook his head. “I’m with Rupert on this one. I mean, this is Benji we’re talking about. Do you really think he’s got something to do with all of this?”

  I reached for some pizza. “If anything, that’s what my gut’s been telling me this entire time. I’m sure of it. Somehow, Benji has gotten himself involved in some shit. I mean, when he was in the garage with me, he kept talking about how he didn’t need the Red Thorns anyway. How he had his own plans. His own time now to make his own moves. I thought he was just mouthing off after I told him the reasons why he’d never be inducted into the crew. But now?”

  John and Rupert looked at one another as I took a massive bite of my pizza.

  “Now I’m almost certain he’s involved somehow.”

  Rupert chuckled. “Come on. Do you really think Benji is heading all of this up?”

  John nodded. “Yeah. Benji’s not known for his organization. Or his thirst for revenge.”

  “See, that’s what I can’t put together. My guess is that he’s gotten in over his head with someone else. Maybe, in the heat of some moment, he entangled himself with someone else to piss someone off that pissed him off. Benji might not like revenge, but he doesn't like feeling like an idiot.”

  Rupert shrugged. “Then he needs to stop being an idiot.”

  John chuckled. “Well, outside of all that, that theory sounds more plausible than Benji coming out of the woodwork and being a plotting mastermind.”

  I sighed. “If I run with the theory and how Benji’s mind works, I’m thinking that someone’s convinced him that he could do better with someone else rather than with us.”

  John paused. “You mean, used the fact that we won’t induct him to show him that we don’t care about it.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Bingo.”

  John sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, it makes sense.”

  I shook my head. “Trust me, I don’t get any fun out of it, either.”

  Rupert reached for more pizza. “The kid never could see past the end of his fucking nose.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” I said as I grabbed my beer. “What matters is that he knows things about us that he could pass along to the wrong people. People like my father.”

  Rupert coughed. “Wait a second.”

  John held up his finger. “Hold on. You think Benji is working with our father?”

  I snickered. “Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that there’s been a little too much beating going on in my life, and those two enjoy dropping in on me in my garage at inopportune times. And think about it. The two of them together? Dad with his manipulative ways, and Benji being as gullible as he always is? That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

  John grimaced. “I don’t like the sound of any of this.”

  Rupert put his food down. “So what do we do about it? If all of this is true, where the fuck do we go from here?”

  I paused. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think I have to pay him a visit.”

  Rupert’s eyebrows rose. “Your father? You, go to him? Without him summoning for you like some warlock?”

  I nodded. “I think it’s the only way. Lay down m
y theories. See how he reacts. Even my father isn’t infallible when it comes to involuntary twitches of his face.”

  John cleared his throat. “Well, I’m going with you then.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “He’s my father, too. I don’t want you doing this alone.”

  “And I don’t want you getting hurt any further than you’ve already gotten hurt.”

  John rolled his shoulders back. “Max, you’re not going to bench me because I’m damaged goods. Got it? I’m going with you. And that’s fucking final.”

  I sighed as I looked over at my brother. He was the strongest man I’d ever known. After he pulled through all of his surgeries, he’d swallowed his pride long enough to step back and let me have a crack at the show. It took a lot of guts for him to step down like that. Usually, presidents tried to make a comeback after injuries like the ones he sustained. But it just wasn’t possible. With the permanent damage and never being able to ride a bike again, it took a great toll on his ability to govern.

  I still respected him for approaching me the way he did and passing the torch. And I needed to treat him as such.

  “Fine. You ready?”

  John blinked. “What?”

  I stood up. “Let’s go. You said you wanted to go with me. No time like the present.”

  Rupert choked on his beer. “Wait, now? You’re going now?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going now.”

  I stared at John and waited for him to stand. Even with his cane, he walked tall with pride. I threw back the rest of my beer, knowing damn good and well I’d need the courage in order to face my father with something like this.

  I turned to Rupert. “Keep your wits about you while we’re doing this. I want you to call around and see if anyone’s heard from Benji lately. I mean, anything. A text. A drive-by. Him yelling at them from across the street. I want to know if he’s been spotted by any of us lately.”

  Rupert nodded. “I’ll put out feelers and make some calls.”

  I drew in a deep breath. “Good. After you’re done with that, warn the rest of the crew that Benji can’t be trusted any longer. No one is to speak about business with him. No one is to inform him about meetings. Nothing, until we can get this sorted out.”