by Cece Rose
“Why the fuck are you running through the woods? I shouted for you six times, and you just kept running!” he snaps.
“You shouted?” I whisper.
“Well, duh,” he replies sarcastically, his face painted with annoyance.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, trying to wriggle out of his hold.
“Hey, don’t go timid on me, Crowe. I was just messing around. Are you okay?” he asks, brushing my hair out of my face.
I look up into his dark eyes and shake my head.
“What’s wrong?” he questions softly.
“I don’t know who to trust,” I reply quietly, letting out a sigh.
“You know you can trust me, right?” he says.
“Trust you?” I ask, a small smile crossing my lips.
“Always,” he replies, and then he closes the distance between us, pressing his lips to mine. I gasp from shock, not expecting the kiss. He goes to pull away, and I slide a hand around his neck and pull him back, returning the kiss.
He tangles his hand in my hair, deepening the kiss between us, before pulling away and quickly standing back up. I can’t help but feel like the kiss was over way too quickly.
“Come on then, the others will wonder where you’ve gotten to if we’re late,” he says, no sign in his voice that what had just happened, had happened.
“Um, okay?” I reply, slowly getting to my feet. He leads the way back to the cabin, and as I follow him, I can’t help but wonder what has him so hot and cold. One minute he’s talking to me, flirting with me, and now, kissing me. And then another, he’s ignoring me and acting as if there is nothing at all between us. Shaking my head to myself, I resign myself to the fact that Enzo is confusing, but that I have bigger fish to worry about.
Enzo may be hot and cold, but Kelly loves Ryan.
Ryan is an accomplice in a murder.
And, the rebels need me for something.
When did life get this messed up?
Chapter 30
Kenzie
“Okay that’s it. What is wrong, Kenz? You’ve been ignoring us all and staring at the window for the last hour,” Locke asks me as I stand up and walk over to the window, looking out at the dark forest. How long is Kelly going to be? I can’t focus on the movie the guys chose or the food that East brought. All I can think about is how my brother and Kelly are together. I think back to all the times he texted me about Kelly. The way she blushed when I guessed she was with someone, but didn’t tell me anything. It was right there all along, and I never guessed. I’m such an idiot for not realising.
“Kenzie,” Enzo says firmly, and I turn to look at him and all the guys who are staring at me. East turns off the movie as Enzo gets up and walks over to me. The twins give me worried glances, and I know I’m going to have to make something up or tell them the truth. I glance at East, wondering if he knew, considering he is Ryan’s best friend. Surely, he must have known something about them.
“What’s going on?” he asks, rubbing a hand down my arm, but I don’t get a chance to reply as the cabin door is knocked on once before the door is opened, and Kelly walks in. The moment I see her all I can think of is how she kissed Ryan, how she said she loved him. She’s been there with him all this time, and it’s been ages. The flushed cheeks, and messed up buttons on her coat suggest she is sleeping with him, too. She knows my brother is working with the rebels and knows my brother helped kill Mr. Layan. What else has she been hiding from me?
“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier, I was just stressed,” she says as she starts to take her coat off.
“Are you feeling better now?” I snap, knowing my brother has made her feel better. She stops undoing her coat to stare at me.
“What’s your problem?” she asks me, her eyes widening as she takes in how angry I am. If looks could kill, I doubt she’d be standing.
“Oh, I don’t know, Kelly. Perhaps it’s the fact my best friend is fucking my brother,” I say, and there’s silence in the room as I stare at her. She nods at me, her shoulders dropping.
“How long have you known? How did you find out?” she asks.
“Since I followed you and saw you kissing him through a window earlier tonight,” I tell her.
“Did you hear anything we said?” she asks, and I glance around the room, seeing all the guys watching us with worried glances, but they are smart enough not to say anything. I can’t say anything about the rebels and my brother in front of them all, it’s just not smart. They wouldn’t trust her around me ever again, and I need to find a way to get my brother and Kelly out of this mess. I’m mad, but they’re still two of the people I care about the most.
“Nothing. Once I saw you, I didn’t want to stay for the show,” I answer.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I love him. I’ve always liked him, growing up, but last Christmas, it became something more. Then we started texting and meeting up,” she says, her voice drifting off as I walk around her towards the door and hold it open.
“How can I ever trust you again? You’re meant to be my friend, and you’ve been lying to me for months. I just can’t deal with you, with this, right now. Can you leave?” I ask her, watching as she wipes a few tears away and walks away from me. She stops in the doorway and looks back at me.
“You can’t help who you fall in love with, you should know that, Kenz. Don’t hate me for loving your brother, I couldn’t help it. I am sorry I lied to you,” she tells me and then leaves. I watch her walk away and wrap my arms around myself. I don’t trust her because she still didn’t tell me about the rebels and everything that happened. I can’t help but hope she comes to me later and says something. Maybe she just didn’t want the guys to hear?
“Kenz?” East says coming over to me, shutting the door and pulling me into his arms. I rest my head on his chest and hug him back.
“Did you know?” I ask East, and he rubs his hands down my back.
“No idea. Ryan said he was dating someone he met at Christmas, but he never said who. I guessed it was someone he works with.”
“I just don’t get why she didn’t tell me. I mean, I wouldn’t have been against them being together, but to lie to me all this time?” I ask, but don’t want an answer, and East seems to realise it.
“Maybe she was scared she would lose your friendship?” I hear Locke say, and I pull away from East to walk over to the sofa and sit next to him. I look over at Enzo, who is leaning against the window.
“I want to get drunk again, can we find wherever Mr. Daniels hid the vodka?” I ask him. He smirks at me.
“Under the kitchen sink, behind the cleaning stuff. There should be Vodka, whiskey, and possibly some rum,” he answers.
“How do you know that?” Locke questions as he and Logan wander into the kitchen to check. Sure enough, they walk back in with vodka, whiskey, and half a bottle of rum.
“I’ve been down here a few times before Kenzie moved in, he always has some extra down there,” he answers.
“Are you sure we should be drinking this? You’re not eighteen yet, Miss Crowe,” East says mockingly, his impression of Mr. Daniel’s voice is eerie. I shrug.
“A week isn’t going to make much of a difference,” I reply, snagging the bottle of rum from Logan.
“It’s your birthday next week?” Locke asks, his eyebrows raised.
“Shit, it is next Wednesday, isn’t it?” East mutters, before taking a swig from one of the bottles.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Logan asks, snagging the bottle back from East.
“I guess between being stabbed, all the training, and Mr. Layan turning up dead, a birthday party didn’t seem appropriate,” I answer with a small smile.
“Screw that,” Locke says.
“Definitely screw that,” Logan reiterates.
“I hereby call this an early celebration of Kenzie’s birthday,” East says, snatching the bottle back again and raising it as if in toast. “Happy early birthday, Kenz,” he adds and then takes a swig. I follow suit, a
nd so does Locke, who’s holding the other bottle. East and Locke pass their bottles to Logan and Enzo, who both take a drink, too.
“Let me grab some glasses,” I say, standing up from the sofa. I make my way into the kitchen area and grab five glasses and attempt not to drop them as I wander back to the sofa. I place the glasses onto the coffee table and slide back onto my seat.
“You made that look so difficult, Kenzie,” Logan says teasingly.
“I didn’t want to drop them, okay?” I reply.
“You weren’t walking on a tightrope,” he replies.
“Not everyone was blessed with coordination. I sucked at sports in the human school I went to,” I say.
“You went to a human school?” Enzo asks curiously.
“Yeah I went to the local comprehensive school. My mum thought it would be good for me to mix with human kids as well as Marked, I guess. I ended up loving a few of the human subjects, though. I wanted to go to University next year, but I had to let go of that dream because of well, marked powers and all,” I say, sighing.
“What did you want to do?” East asks, sliding down onto the sofa next to me.
“I’m not completely sure to be honest. There were a few things I enjoyed. I had to leave my A levels half way through, though, so not much chance now,” I say bitterly. Even I’m shocked at how bitter my voice sounds.
“That sucks,” Locke says.
“Can’t you go back and do it later?” Logan asks.
“I could, but I guess I’ll just get a normal marked job. Maybe I’ll teach or be a healer? Hell, they’ll probably offer me a job at the council just because of my stupid marks,” I answer.
“There are some marked who take jobs in human society,” East says gently. I shake my head, pushing the foolish ideas away. I wasn’t going to be a normal human, I wasn’t born to be that.
“It’s okay, I think since being marked with all twelve I’ve accepted the fact my life is going to be different to what I thought it would be before,” I reply. I catch the concerned looks on the guys faces and decide that’s enough moping for now. “Ugh, sorry guys. Total downer on my own early birthday party. Let’s play a drinking game, shall we?” I ask, leaning forward and pouring drinks into all the glasses.
“What are we gonna play?” Locke asks, a roguish smile on his face. I think for a moment.
“Well, there’s the card game ones, but I’m not sure we have a deck here . . .,” I trail off, trying to figure out where, if at all, Mr. Daniels would leave a deck of cards.
“We could always play a game that doesn’t require cards,” Logan suggests.
“Like what?” I ask.
“Never have I ever?” he answers, a matching roguish smile taking over his face as is on his twin’s. East and Enzo groan.
“What?” I ask, looking at them.
“Logan or Locke always suggest it, they’re terrible,” East answers.
“You’re only saying that because you’re a man-whore that clearly gets drunk too easily,” Locke says, downing half of his drink. Man-whore? I look across at the four guys sitting with me. I really don’t want to know all the things they’ve done, knowing the kind of statements that are normally made in this game.
“Maybe this isn’t such a clever idea?” I suggest.
“Kenzie, what dirty secrets are you trying to hide from us?” Logan teases. I laugh so hard and suddenly, a snort escapes. I pull a mortified face as my eyes meet East’s who laughs at me.
“Yeah, not so many dirty secrets here,” I reply, trying to swiftly move on from the snort laughter.
“Did you just snort?” Locke asks. Or not.
“Just a little,” I reply, trying to laugh it off. I take a big drink from my glass of rum.
“Well, wasn’t that adorable?” Enzo says.
“Please shut up now,” I plead, looking between them all.
“Fine, we’ll shut up, but we’re playing a drinking game,” Logan replies.
“I know where the cards are,” Enzo adds, moving away from the window and heading for Mr. Daniels’ room. I watch the bedroom door, waiting for Enzo to return.
“The fact you know where stuff is in Mr. Daniels’ bedroom is beyond creepy,” I mutter, as Enzo walks back in with the deck of cards.
“Hey now, don’t try and draw attention away from the fact you are well and truly about to get smashed losing this game, Mackenzie,” he says, laying the cards out across the coffee table.
“What are we playing?” I ask.
“You’re going to ride the bus,” he answers.
“Ride the bus?” I ask quizzically, looking at the cards faced down across the table. He flips the first card over, a seven.
“Which card on the next row and will it be higher or lower, Mackenzie?” he questions.
“The one closer to me, and Higher?” I guess. He flips over the card. A six.
“Drink up, Kenz,” Logan says, nudging my drink towards me. I look at the seven rows of cards that I’m guessing I have to make it through.
“I have to get them all right to finish, right?” I ask, the dread already pooling in my stomach. Enzo nods.
“Let’s hope you can hold your booze better than the twins can,” East says, throwing an arm over my shoulders. I sink into him and take a sip of my drink, feeling the warmth of his body against mine warm me outside, as the drink warms me from inside.
Enzo replaces the first two cards that were flipped for me to start again.
“Ready?”
Ready to guess them all wrong and get blindly drunk? Yeah sure, why not.
“Bring it,” I mutter. He flips the new first card over.
Chapter 31
Kenzie
Waking up sandwiched between the twins probably would have been nice if it wasn’t for Logan’s snores in my ear. I force open my eyes, despite the banging already settling into my head and look down. At least, I’m still dressed. I’ve had enough awkward nudity recently to last a lifetime.
I roll over closer to Locke to escape Logan’s soft snoring, only to find his gentle snores match his twin’s. Great. I slide down to the bottom of the bed and climb off, coming to a halt when I realise where I am. Shit, why are we sleeping in Mr. Daniels’ room? I look around at the practically bare room. No wonder Enzo found the cards so easily, there’s barely anything in here.
Slinking quietly out the door, I creep through the cabin, noting a sleeping Enzo on the sofa as I pass him by. I reach my bedroom, and slip inside, closing the door softly behind me. I turn to face the room and let out a half-scream, smacking my hand over my mouth to cut it off before I wake anyone.
Holy shit.
Easton Black is lying naked in my bed.
Completely fucking naked.
I stand there gaping, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. After a few seconds, I realise he’s asleep, the slight movement of his sculpted chest rising and falling. At least, I didn’t wake him. I can’t help but run my eyes across him one last time, and then turn to leave.
“Morning, Kenzie,” East’s voice rumbles from behind me as I reach for the door handle. Shit.
“Morning, East,” I choke out.
“Enjoy the view?” he asks.
“View?”
“Don’t play innocent now, Kenz. I know you looked,” he teases.
“I didn’t—”
“You’re more than welcome to continue your perusal,” he adds, cutting off my denial. I turn around, deliberately keeping my eyes on his face.
“I don’t know what you mean, East, but I do need to grab some clothes. Maybe you could do the same?” I suggest, walking across to the chest of drawers. I rifle through them hastily grabbing underwear, jeans, and a black camisole top. I feel East before I hear him, his hot breath on my neck, as his hands slide around my waist.
“You could always take some clothes off instead?” he suggests, whispering into my ear. I shiver, feeling the tremble run right through me. Dropping the clothes in my hands to the floor, I turn a
round to face him, caged between his body and the chest of drawers. He slides a hand behind my neck and pulls me toward him, stopping just before our lips can meet. I lean forward and close the gap between us, gently kissing him as I slide my own hands around his back, feeling his muscles tense under my touch. The kiss doesn’t stay gentle for long. East deepens it as he moves his hands down my body and then slips them back around me, lifting me on top of the chest of drawers. I wrap my legs around him as he presses in close, feeling every inch of him pushed up against me. He moves his hands over my shirt, teasing as he runs his fingertips over the edges of my bra.
I reach up, running my fingers through his soft, light-brown hair. He pulls his lips away from mine, and kisses down my neck, and down to my chest. He tugs my shirt down, continuing to trail kisses and gentle bites across me. The sound of something being knocked over in the next room drags me to my senses.
“Shit, East. We’ve got to stop,” I say, pulling his head back up to look at me.
“Why?” he asks confused. I turn my head to the closed door, knowing Enzo, Logan, and Locke are on the other side. With the dynamic of whatever relationship there is between us not decided, it wouldn’t be fair for me to just do this, would it? That’s not even including my feelings for Mr. Daniels, which are utterly pointless anyway. Sighing, I turn back to East.
“I just can’t. The others . . .,” I begin, but trail off. Unable to complete the sentence. I chew on my lip nervously.
“It’s okay, Kenz. The twins know how I feel, and I know how they feel,” he says, running a soothing hand up and down my back. I stay silent, not able to form the words I want to say. “Enzo too, huh?” he adds gently. I nod mutely. That’s half of it anyway. “We can sort that all out first, then. There’s no rush,” he says, dropping a gentle kiss onto my forehead before untangling our bodies and stepping away. He pulls on his boxers and jeans before stepping back to me and kissing me hard. He steps back again and looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.