LEGEND: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 7)

by Tracy Lorraine

  I’m still baffled as to how Kane knows where she is from just a dark picture but I’m not about to question it. I just need to hope that he’s right because if we turn up there and she’s not, I’m not sure what I’m going to fucking do.

  I shift in my seat, rubbing my palms down my thighs in my need to do something.

  “Chill. I need you on point.”

  “On point for what?”

  “Getting your girl back.”

  A low growl rumbles from the back of the car but we both ignore it. I knew Zayn would be fucking livid when he discovered that I’ve gone after his little sister. But right now, I don’t give a fuck about his opinion. We just need to get her. We can fight it out later.

  I mumble some kind of agreement as I clench my fists over and over, watching the cracks in my knuckles opening up and remembering just how good it felt to hit that fucker last night.

  Thanks to Kane’s more than reckless driving, we’re at the Creek in record time and rolling toward an abandoned warehouse that I’ve never been to before on the other side of the town from where we grew up.

  I know Gray has Harrow Creek High and the surrounding trailer parks under his control but I had no idea his reach stretched this far. Clearly things have changed in my year away.

  I don’t have a chance to put too much thought into it, not that I really care if he’s currently hanging out on someone else’s turf, it just means there’s more chance of him dying tonight.

  “Bingo,” Kane says as he turns a corner and finds Gray’s car parked half in the bushes. If he’s attempting to hide it then he’s doing a shit job.

  “Okay, so what’s the plan?” Zayn asks.

  “We go in there and take his fucking head off,” I announce.

  “Oh, and how are you going to do that, bro? You packing?”

  “Well, no but—”

  “Fucking hell. I’ve got this, follow me, and don’t do anything unless I tell you to.”

  He’s out of the car before either of us get to agree, and we hurry to catch up with him as he begins to stride toward the warehouse.

  The place is silent, only distant birdsong and the movement of the trees overhead dancing in the wind.

  Kane comes to a door and peers inside as Zayn and I share a look. He might be furious at me, but his concern for his sister shines brighter in his eyes.

  “We’ll get her,” I assure him. He nods but I know my words aren’t all that helpful. We’re all aware of what Gray is capable of, so we know how risky this really is.

  One second Kane is standing right there, and the next he’s gone, disappeared in the darkness inside the building.

  “Fuck,” I breathe, racing after him.

  The place is dark and it smells like death, which doesn’t help the dread that is sitting heavy in my stomach.

  A single light illuminates a spot on the floor as I come up behind Kane and the second I step aside to get a look at the scene before us, my blood runs cold.

  “Get the fuck off her,” I bark before I’ve even realized I’ve spoken.

  Kane growls in frustration that I’ve just alerted him to our presence but it’s soon drowned out by the blood racing past my ears.

  That motherfucker is on top of my girl.

  My fists clench as I move my leg to race forward.

  Kane throws his arm out, stopping me.

  “Wait,” he demands and I immediately follow orders, assuming he knows more than I do.

  And he’s right because, after a beat, he stands, moving behind her, and dragging her limp body from the floor, the knife in his spare hand glinting in the spotlight trained on Harley.

  My eyes drop to her and my entire chest burns in pain. Her entire body and the few clothes covering her are dirty, her skin covered in cuts and grazes.

  She just about manages to lift her head and her eyes lock with mine.

  “Kyle,” she mouths but she’s too weak to make an actual noise.

  “Don’t fucking move,” Kane growls once more as Gray presses his knife against her throat.

  “Move and I’ll kill her right now,” he warns as Harley whimpers.

  “Fucking shoot him,” I whisper-shout to my brother, knowing he didn’t walk into this unarmed like I did.

  “Not risking it, not yet. He’ll move quicker.”

  “Fuck.”

  Time seems to stand still as we all remain motionless staring at each other.

  That is until three footsteps sound out behind us. Something whips past my ear and Gray cries out, stumbling back and releasing Harley.

  I race forward without even thinking, needing to catch her before she hits the hard floor while Gray groans in pain.

  “I’ve got you,” I say softly. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.”

  I pull her fragile body onto my lap and hold her tight as she trembles and sobs in my arms.

  “Kyle,” she whimpers, pain splinters my chest at the brokenness of her voice.

  I hold her tighter, hoping she can take some strength from me as more footsteps sound out.

  “Holy shit, Stella,” I gasp. My chin damn near hitting the floor when she emerges from the shadows, a pistol hanging by her side with a silencer attached to the end.

  She looks around the scene before her eyes drop to Harley in my arms.

  Her lips part to say something but someone else beats her to it.

  “Good shot, baby,” an older man says as he wraps his arm around her shoulder and kisses the top of her hair.

  As I stare at the two of them, a few more guys come rushing in and go straight to Gray, hauling him from the floor, ignoring his screams of pain, and they drag him from the warehouse.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” Kane barks, looking between Stella, the man I can only assume is her father, and Harley and me.

  “How did you know where we were?”

  “I followed him last night after you kicked him out. His guys brought him back to Harrow Creek and left him in his trailer. I put a tracker on his car.”

  “You put a… right, of course you did,” I mutter.

  “Then when you unceremoniously abandoned me in the Hunter’s driveway earlier, I took matters into my own hands. And aren’t you fucking glad I did.”

  “But… how’d you… who are you?” Kane stutters, much to Stella and her dad’s amusement.

  “No one you need to worry about, son,” the man says.

  I focus on him. He’s wearing a sharp black suit, shirt and tie. His hair is almost as dark with just a few flecks of grey at the sides. But his face is a stone mask. It actually sends a shiver of fear down my spine. Whoever he is, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of him, I know that for a fact.

  “I’m going to deal with that cunt. You good?” he asks Stella.

  “Yeah, we’ve got this.”

  He nods once, squeezes her shoulder, and walks away.

  We’re all silent as he disappears into the darkness and no one speaks until his footsteps have vanished and a car speeds off in the distance.

  “Okay, what the fuck just happened?” Zayn asks.

  “I saved her ass from that sick fuck. Now let’s get the fuck out of this shithole, yeah?”

  33

  Harley

  I thrash about, trying to get his hands off me. His fingers are like tiny knives against my skin, and I wish he’d just carved it all off so I didn’t have to feel it.

  I lost all sense of time only moments after being abandoned in that dark space with no idea when he was going to reappear again.

  I wanted to stay awake, stay alert, but it was impossible to fight the darkness that clawed at me.

  I drifted in and out of reality, each time I woke, more terrified than the last.

  “No,” I cry when I wake again and he’s there, looming over me with a deadly expression covering his face.

  “It’s time to play, whore.”

  “NOOOO,” I scream.

  “Kitten, it’s okay. It’s just me,” a familiar voice says
in my ear.

  I continue for a few more seconds until my drug-fuzzed brain registers who it is.

  “Kyle?” I cry, my entire body relaxing in his hold. I try to curl up in a ball on his lap to stop the cold assaulting my bones.

  “Here, wrap this around her,” another familiar voice says.

  “Z-Zayn?”

  “It’s okay, sis,” he says gently as a warm, soft fabric wraps around my arms.

  Kyle’s arms hold me tighter and I succumb to the exhaustion trying to claim my body.

  I’m safe now. I can let go.

  The next thing I know, I’m being lifted out of the car, still in Kyle’s arms. While I’m here, I know that no one can hurt me and I don’t so much as bother opening my eyes.

  I know we’re in our house the second we walk through the front door, the familiar scent of Mom’s favorite candles almost makes me sigh with relief.

  “Mom,” I say in a rush. She can’t see me like this.

  “It’s okay, she’s not here, Har,” Zayn says as Kyle begins carrying me up the stairs.

  “I’ll go run a bath,” Stella says, her small footsteps pounding ahead of us.

  I don’t open my eyes even as Kyle walks us into my bedroom. I don’t want to look at my bed.

  This is a place I should feel safe, but knowing he got to me so easily makes me feel the opposite.

  What if he comes back?

  What if this isn’t over?

  “It is, Harley,” Stella says softly, making me realize I must have said those thoughts out loud. “My dad has him. He won’t come after you again.”

  At hearing her words, I rip my eyes open, my gaze landing on her. Her eyes soften as she crouches down on her haunches beside where I’m on Kyle’s lap on the edge of my bed.

  “But—”

  “You don’t need to worry. He’s not coming back for you,” she says again, her eyes pleading with me to believe her.

  “O-okay,” I breathe, needing to trust her.

  “I’ve run you a bath, Harley. Would you like me to—”

  “No, Kyle can.” A growl rumbles at the other side of the room and when I look over, I find Zayn standing in my doorway, a murderous expression on his face and a concerned looking Poppy in his arms. His lips are pressed into a thin line and there’s a vein I’m sure I’ve never seen before pulsating at his temple.

  “It’s okay, Z.”

  “No, it’s not, Har. It’s really fucking not,” he fumes before turning his back and marching away. His angry footsteps pound down the stairs leaving Poppy behind.

  “He’ll be okay. Just worry about you,” she says, walking over, sitting down beside us and taking my hand. “Let Kyle look after you, I’ll sort Zayn out.”

  “T-thank you.”

  “No need to thank me, Har.” She leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead. “It’s what sisters do.”

  A sob rumbles up my throat at her words.

  “Yeah.”

  She squeezes my hand a little. “I’ll go find him. He’s probably taking it out on the treehouse.”

  “Biding his time until he can get to my face.”

  “Yeah,” Poppy mutters. “You might want to watch your back.”

  “I’ll take whatever is coming to me. I deserve it.” Kyle shrugs as Poppy leaves.

  “Where’s Kane?” I ask, noticing his absence for the first time.

  “Don’t know. He took off the second he dropped us off.”

  “Har, would you like me to stay?” Stella asks after a few minutes of silence.

  “Umm…” I hesitate.

  “It’s okay. I can just go and hang out downstairs for a bit. Ruby and Ash are coming over.”

  “O-okay. Thank you, Stella. I don’t even—”

  “Shush,” she soothes. “All in a day’s work, girl.”

  “I don’t even—”

  “It’s okay. We’ll talk later, yeah?”

  She brushes a lock of my hair from my face before standing and walking out of the room, leaving the two of us alone for the first time.

  “I’m so fucking sorry, Har.”

  A sob erupts and this time I can’t contain my tears. I curl into his chest and cry wishing the tears would wash away the memories of this night from my head permanently.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up then you can sleep,” he whispers, standing with me still in his arms and walking toward the bathroom.

  The scent of my favorite bubbles fill the air and I sigh, needing to sink into that hot water and wash the dirt away.

  “I’m going to put you down, okay?” I nod and Kyle drops my feet to the ground.

  My legs feel weak and unstable but I manage to stand with the support of the basin as he peels my ruined tank up my torso and drags my panties down my legs.

  I watch as his eyes track over all the cuts and scrapes. None are serious but they still look bad enough.

  “Did he—” Kyle cuts himself off. “I’m sorry. Don’t answer that.” His blue eyes search out mine and I gasp when I find them full of unshed tears.

  He stands, his chest brushing against my bare nipples causing a spark of lust to shoot down my body. It’s a welcome feeling after the hopelessness the last few hours have brought.

  I was sure the only thing I’d feel would be the slow painful death that Gray granted me.

  His hands cup my cheeks, his thumbs brushing away the silent tears that continue to track down my cheeks.

  “Fuck, Harley. I thought—”

  “Shush, not now, okay. I just need… I just need you to hold me.”

  “O-okay.” his voice cracks on that one word and a tear finally drops from his eyes.

  My heart shatters at the sight of it.

  My poor broken boy.

  “I’m okay,” I say, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, reaching up and pressing my brow to his. “I’m okay. You saved me.”

  “Fuck, Kitten. You never should have—” I press two fingers to his lips, cutting off his words.

  “Off,” I demand, dropping my hand once more and tugging at his shirt.

  “Are you sure?” I stare at him for a second and lift my brow. “O-okay.”

  He sweeps me off my feet and carries me to the tub. The second the hot water engulfs my skin, I groan in relief.

  “Good?” he asks, the first hint of the humor I love so much about him in that one word.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

  He lowers me right down, the water and bubbles swallowing my broken and battered body.

  Gray might not have had me captive all that long but he certainly left his mark.

  I wrap my arms around my knees and rest my chin on top as I watch Kyle strip down.

  His body is in a similar state to mine after his fight last night. His face is a mess and he’s got bruises forming on his ribs. He’s still the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen though. His muscles ripple as he moves, giving me a nice show to make me forget reality for a few seconds.

  “Scoot forward, Kitten.”

  I do as I’m told and in seconds, he sinks down behind me and is pulling me back into his arms.

  His lips come to the top of my head and his lips press down as he holds me tight.

  “I can’t lose you, Har. I fucking can’t.”

  His words echo around my head for the longest time. I want to return the sentiment, but my head is too messed up to talk about something as serious as that right now. I haven’t forgotten the events of last night or the girl.

  But right now, I need him. I need to be in his arms and soak up his strength. I’ll worry about the rest and where we go from here later.

  He slides us back, his legs trapping my body in and his arms wrapped around my chest, holding so tightly it’s actually hard to breathe, not that I’m going to tell him that.

  Eventually, he reaches for my sponge, pours a ton of shower gel onto it and begins lathering it onto my skin.

  It feels incredible as he washes away all the dirt of my unforgettable
few hours.

  I groan, leaning back into him harder and feel his length press into my lower back.

  My fingers dig into his thighs as he continues his trail around my body, setting my skin on fire with his gentle touch.

  “Ky,” I moan as he brushes across my breasts.

  “Don’t tempt me, Kitten.”

  “Make me forget, Ky.”

  “Kitten,” he growls, clearly not happy with my request. “You’ve just been through hell.”

  “Right? So take me to heaven.”

  “Fucking hell, Har.”

  He places the sponge on the side of the tub and ghosts his fingers down my stomach, parting my folds and finding my clit.

  “Oh God,” I moan as his fingers drop lower to my entrance while his thumb circles my clit.

  “Enjoy it, Kitten. It’s all you’re getting until you’re healed,” he warns, although his cock poking me in the back says otherwise.

  If I weren’t so exhausted, I might take it as a challenge to see how quickly I could break him.

  His other hand comes up to my breast, pinching and pulling at my nipple, adding to the pleasure that’s assaulting my body.

  “Come for me, Kitten. Show me how good my fingers feel inside your pussy.”

  “Kyle, fuck. Kyle,” I cry as I crash over the edge. Everything slips away as my pleasure engulfs the fear and the hopelessness that consumed me last night.

  He continues working me until my body stops pulsating around his fingers before he pulls them out of me and rests his palm possessively over my stomach as my chest heaves and my heart rate begins to return to normal.

  The silence returns along with my memories and I shiver against him.

  “The water’s getting cold, we should get out.”

  I swallow down my disappointment. I’m not ready for this to end yet.

  “Will you… will you wash my hair?” I ask almost nervously.

  “Anything for you, Kitten.”

  I sink down lower, allowing him to wet my hair before he begins massaging my scalp with shampoo.

  It feels incredible and I almost demand he continues when he encourages my head back so he can wash the bubbles away.

  “Come on, time to get out.”

  I sit forward, allowing him to climb out of the tub first and watch his ass as he walks to the towel rack.