I sucked in a deep breath and was going to exhale but couldn’t.
My right foot moved off the gas pedal.
Up ahead, the road was blocked by two vehicles facing one another.
And there were two people standing in the road.
Noah. In a nice, white shirt and nice pants. Looking sexy and deadly. And pissed.
Easton. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans, smoking a cigarette. His eyes raged with fire.
I stopped the pickup truck.
I needed to back up and get out of there.
I wasn’t ready to face…
When I looked to the mirror I saw someone had snuck up behind me.
It was Xavier.
I finally exhaled that breath.
I swallowed hard.
They found me.
I carefully stepped out of the truck.
I looked back at Xavier.
He was muscle in a hoodie.
Stone faced. Kind of like how he always was.
That always turned me on about him.
Now it scared me.
I was the target.
Their target.
Yet again.
Nobody moved.
I looked left to right. Left to right. Over and over, waiting for someone to make a move.
The closest thing to it was when Easton dropped his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. Then he folded his arms and leaned against his car.
He and Noah had these sleek, low to the ground sports type cars, with the windows tinted all black.
Xavier drove something much bigger.
It wasn’t the SUV that had been following me. But it was the same size.
“I was being followed,” I said. “Again. I have no idea who it is. Or how they found me.”
Xavier started to walk toward me.
I put my back against the side of the pickup truck.
The only thing that could possibly save me would be if someone came driving down the road. This road was quiet. That wasn’t going to happen. That wasn’t my fate.
Noah and Easton finally started to walk toward me too.
I had all three standing just a few feet away.
I noticed Noah’s hands were messed up. His knuckles were cut and scabbed.
That meant he had been fighting someone. Or people. Or maybe he was just beating the hell out of anyone he felt like. He was that angry.
The three of them side by side by side were tall and deadly.
Part of me felt like blurting everything out.
Everything I knew. Everything I wanted to do to them.
Screaming for them to go away and never talk to me again.
Xavier took one more step to get closer to me. He lifted his right hand and gently touched my hair. He ran his fingers through it and I shivered.
After all that was going on, they still excited me.
I hated myself for that.
Xavier took his hand from my hair and rubbed his fingers together. “Are you okay, Winter?”
“What?” I asked.
“I asked if you were okay. You’ve been hiding. And it’s no secret where you’ve been hiding. So I’ll ask again, are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. I just needed a minute. I needed to regroup and think.”
“Plot out the next lie?” Noah asked.
“Hey, give her a break,” Easton said. “It’s hard to remember, or not remember, or fake remembering, or fake forgetting… I mean, which one is it, right?”
My face turned red. I swallowed hard. “You don’t understand…”
“I think we do,” Noah said. He moved toward me and looked at the truck. “This is quite the ride you’ve got here, Winter.”
“I was just trying to get back home. To the beach house.”
“That’s good,” Easton said. “The beach hasn’t been the same without you. All those walks I’ve taken in the middle of the night. Watching the house. Waiting. Wondering what to do…”
I shivered. “You have to realize that what you three did… to me…”
“And what’s that?” Xavier asked.
I looked at him.
Do it, Winter. This is it. Fucking do it. Say everything that needs to be said.
I opened my mouth.
Noah reached out and touched my cheek. “I’m going to ask this once, Winter. And your answer will dictate what happens next.”
I nodded with my mouth still open.
“What do you remember?” Noah asked.
It was time to stop lying.
I answered with one word.
“Everything.”
My face burned hot, but the truth was sort of out there.
It wasn’t that much of a shock since they already left me a note saying they knew.
But I had confirmed it.
I had admitted it.
“Everything,” Easton said. “Everything. Everything. Everything. So you know the truth about us, right?”
“That you’re full of shit about us being together?” I asked. “Yeah.”
“It was worth a shot, wasn’t it? If you were that fucked up in the head, why not try to plant that seed and see what would happen? You should have played into it, Winter. You gave yourself away too easily.”
“How…”
“So now we have to figure out how to handle this,” Noah said. “We can’t have this meeting here. We just wanted to check up on you, Winter. We said we would. You kind of disappeared on us.”
“I disappeared?” I asked. “You three left me in that house. That mansion. After that stupid ball. The mask party… and then the ball itself. With Barry trying to grope me.”
“He was handled,” Xavier said. “Nothing happened to you. We kept to our word. We kept you safe.”
“You left me,” I said.
“We wanted to see where you would go,” Easton said. “We weren’t that far away either. We just figured we’d give you some space. To process it all. You had worked so hard to trick everyone.”
I felt like I was shrinking.
Like they had some kind of power over me.
“I’m thinking Xavier’s shop,” Noah said. “That’s a good place to meet, right?”
“You’re going to include me this time?” I asked.
“What does that mean?” Xavier asked.
I laughed. “So I have to be honest but you don’t?”
Xavier’s eyes looked enraged.
“We have to do this, Winter,” Noah said. “And we can’t do it here.”
“Fine. Whatever you want to do. I’m not the one who did anything wrong. Remember that. I was just trying to survive. You want to use your power and your money against me, have at it. But I know the truth. I remember it all. All I have to do is say one word and it’s all over…”
I felt a little bit more empowered.
At least until Easton started to laugh.
“You think you’re innocent?” he asked.
“I didn’t say that,” I said.
“Then don’t act it,” Xavier said. He touched my hair again. “Maybe take a shower too. You smell like a Troc.”
He curled his lip and walked to his vehicle.
“Just please tell me one thing, Winter,” Noah said. “Please tell me you didn’t end up in bed with a Troc.”
“That’s not your business,” I said.
“If you remember correctly, it just might be,” he said.
He walked away next.
I wasn’t sure what that comment meant.
I slowly moved my eyes to Easton.
He put his hand up and had his thumb and pointer finger close to touching.
“This close, Winter,” he said.
“What’s that? You showing me the size of your dick?”
“So close to having my plan work out,” he said. “Too bad. You would have loved it.”
“I doubt it, Easton,” I said. “Goodbye.”
“For now,” he said. He grabbed my hand. His thumb gently stroked the palm of my hand.
“We’ll text you. Xavier’s shop. Don’t fuck around this time. You said you were followed again? Remember that. I would hate to see something happen to you for real.”
He backed away and reached for a cigarette.
I didn’t move.
I watched as all three got into their vehicles and drove away.
I was back to being alone.
But I didn’t feel safe at all.
When I walked into the beach house, I took a deep breath of the clean air and I smiled. The place finally had a sense of home.
I walked toward the kitchen and saw my mother at the island, hunched over her phone.
“Oh, hey,” she said.
So casual. Like she had just seen me a few hours ago.
Not like I had been gone for days.
“Hey,” I said.
“Everything okay?”
“Not really,” I said.
My mother put her phone down. “Shit hitting the fan?”
“Big time.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I need to shower.”
“Good. You smell.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t think you smell?” my mother asked.
“Oh, I know I smell. I was throwing up.”
My mother stood up tall. “Booze or pregnancy?”
“Wow,” I said.
“What? Those are the only two choices. So just be honest.”
“I’m not pregnant,” I said.
“So you can’t handle your liquor. That’s a shame. That makes me look bad.”
I laughed. “It’s all about you, huh?”
“Well, it is my house. And I did give birth to you. So, yeah, it kind of is all about me.”
I nodded. “I really thought you’d be happier to see me. Hug me. Kiss me. Say you missed me. Get mad at me for being gone.”
“Winter, you’re not a kid,” my mother said. “You’re an adult. You can do whatever you want. And this thing you have going on…”
“You supported it,” I said.
“I just wanted to see what you would come up with.”
“And?”
“You were riding a bicycle in a motorcycle race,” she said.
I sighed. “Okay.”
“I’m being honest. You took your time. You started to feel things for them. Don’t deny that. You didn’t attack. You let them get close to you.”
“Now what do I do?”
“Whatever you think you should,” my mother said. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“Kind of.”
“Better than nothing,” she said.
“If I left here… I mean, if I went back home… would you miss me?”
“So you’re planning on running from it all?”
“I didn’t say that,” I said. “I’m listing my options.”
“Go shower, Winter. Then think about what you want to do. I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
I turned and she said my name.
“Were you serious about the hug and kiss?”
I looked back at my mother. I swallowed hard. “No.”
Because… why would a scared daughter ever want a hug and kiss from their mother?
Chapter 8
What Was Always Coming
The shower might have been the best shower I ever had in my life. Back at Talon’s place, the shower had been dirty, the water pressure had been low and the hot water didn’t seem to exist.
I took a shower so long and hot, I couldn’t see a foot in front of me from the thick steam.
Even after I turned the water off, I just stood there with my head back, taking deep breaths of the steam.
Feeling the Troc world vanish from my body.
The sights and smells.
It was all in the past.
Chances were I’d never see that place again.
Unless Gia was down there and ended up getting herself into some kind of trouble and she needed me.
I exited the bathroom and looked at my phone.
There were a few texts waiting for me.
The first was from Gia.
U okay?
The second was from Talon.
I need my truck back.
I rolled my eyes.
And the third one was from Noah.
Ten. Tonight.
The last one was the one that made my heart jump.
They wanted me to meet them at Xavier’s shop to talk. At ten at night. Which was very early in the night for all of us, but it still had that allure of being a little creepy or spooky.
I sat down on the edge of my bed in my towel and thought about what my next move was going to be.
There was no avoiding Noah, Easton, and Xavier.
The truth was for the most part out there. I just needed to fill in a few blanks to see what would happen next. More so, I wanted to know who was in the black SUV following me. Because it had been happening before I went to the ball with the guys and now it was happening again as soon as I left Talon’s.
If the black SUV was following me, then it was following the guys too.
In a way, we kind of needed each other.
Except… it was three guys. And one girl.
That’s what they were expecting.
Just like with the dresses. They each got me a dress to wear.
What did I do?
I got my own.
Just to show them I wasn’t going to be pushed around.
My fingers went to work on my phone.
To Noah, I texted one letter.
K.
For Gia, I texted something a little longer.
Home and showered. We need to talk. You won’t believe what happened…
She replied right away to meet down on the beach.
Down on the beach.
That was like music to my ears.
I needed the beach.
I was spoiled with it.
I stood up from the bed.
But I wasn’t done texting yet.
There was one more text I had to send.
I watched as Talon walked along the side of the road with the hood of his hoodie pulled up. He looked menacing. And once again I had no idea how he got into town without his truck.
He was slippery like that.
Almost like a magician.
Even if magic wasn’t exactly real.
Or was it?
It felt so good to be behind the wheel of Tank Two.
As much as I hated to admit it, when I got into the driver’s seat, I laughed and kissed the steering wheel a few times.
Nobody else knew that.
I told Gia she needed to stay home.
We hung out on the beach for a few hours. Then we went for a run. Which meant Gia jogged while I ran at full speed until I waved for her to go and she took off on me.
It was a normal afternoon. My body and my mind needed it.
All of it led me to where I was… pulling to the side of the road to pick up Talon.
Tank Two came to a stop and Talon opened the passenger door.
He got into the seat, pulled his hood down and looked at me.
“Got the money?”
“Hello to you too.”
“We just spent how many days together, Winter? And now I’m hanging with you just hours after you left. So we need to say hello?”
“I almost forgot how much of a dick you can be.”
“Money. Now.”
I opened the middle console. “Take it.”
Talon grabbed the money from the console and flipped through it. “Okay. Looks good.”
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Now you care?” he asked. “You had no problem texting me for help. You had no problem calling me because you didn’t want to text everything. You had no problem asking me to hang back and make sure you were safe while you talk to these douchebag Bumps. And you had no problem bringing money to pay me for my time. But now�
� now you’re worried?”
“I’m not worried,” I said. “I’m asking a question.”
“Money is the answer to your question,” he said. “You pay me. I do my job. That’s where this relationship ends.”
“What happens when we hang out because of Gia?” I asked. “Do I have to pay you then?”
“Maybe,” Talon said. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Please, don’t hurt her.”
Talon curled his lip. “Are you really going to tell me what to do when it comes to your friend?”
“Yeah, I am,” I said. “I’m her best friend. It’s my job. I will go to war with you, Talon. For the sake of Gia, I will fight you.”
Talon laughed. “You’re going to fight me? You mean like fists?”
“I will cut you. Stab you. Hurt you. I…”
“Can you just focus on tonight?” Talon asked.
“Sure,” I said. “Whatever you say.”
Talon tucked the money into his pocket and pulled his hood back up.
I started to drive again.
Talon and I in Tank Two.
Both of us silent.
Easton flicked his cigarette into the night.
“Come on in, Winter,” he said.
I carefully walked toward the open garage door area.
All the lights were on inside the place, which was good.
Bright was good.
I saw Noah and Xavier as soon as I stepped inside.
Noah sat at a table.
The same table where they had sat to plot trying to kill me.
My mind tried to flash those memories again but I fought them off.
I didn’t need to have those images in my head.
I knew what had happened.
I had lived through it.
Xavier sat on the hood of an old car.
“Are you fixing that up?” I asked him.
“Plan to,” he said. “There’s serious money to be made with this shit. It’s fun to do. Pisses everyone off because it doesn’t match their story for me.”
“Take a seat, Winter,” Noah said.
He kicked a chair.
I shook my head. “I’m fine standing. Let’s get this over with.”
“Fair enough,” Easton said. “You lied to us.”
“I know,” I said.
“Why?” Noah asked.
“I wanted to figure more out,” I said. “I wanted to get as much information as I could about all of you to use against you. I had no choice. I had to protect myself. Hate me all you want, but you’d do the same. Oh, and for the record, when I first woke up from the accident, I did not have any of my memory. So I didn’t plan this out too far in advance.”
Devious Love (Bay Falls High NEXT Book 3) Page 7