Chase pushed to his feet and kicked the body next then suddenly all four of them were kicking and stomping and stabbing him with the poker as the boat bobbed and swayed beneath us from all of the movement.
"Enough," I shouted when it looked like they were about to lose their shit completely. "Throw him overboard and let's just all forget that motherfucker ever existed."
JJ looked me in the eye and tossed the bloody poker into the sea while Fox, Chase and Maverick wrapped the body in the tarp once more and then shoved him overboard.
We all watched in silence as he floated there for several achingly long moments and then the tarp tipped one way and the whole thing was swallowed by the waves.
I sighed in relief as I watched our secret sink to the bottom of the ocean and my boys all moved in close around me as the five of us drew strength from the unbreakable bond we all shared.
"B ring all of the clothes you're wearing now and we'll burn them here tomorrow," Fox told us as we parked up at Sunset Beach. Chase and Rogue gasped, glaring at him. She was sitting on his lap this time and Maverick didn't look best pleased about that.
"Not the shoes," Rogue said firmly, looking down at her favourite combat boots.
"Some of us don't have an endless supply of clothes, bro," Chase growled.
Fox got that bossy look in his eyes that said he was going to go top dog on us. Then Maverick caught his gaze and shook his head and he sighed.
"Just bring everything you can afford to lose to the beach tomorrow evening for a bonfire," Fox said and we all nodded our agreement. “And at least try and wash what you’re keeping a few times.”
Maverick stepped out of the truck and we all followed him, but as Fox stepped out too, his phone started ringing. We all stilled, watching him closely, fearing what that phone call could mean. It was nearly three am, why the hell was someone calling him?
Fox looked down at the screen of his phone, his brows pulling tightly together. "It's my dad," he said, his jaw flexing.
"Answer it," Maverick urged as we all grouped around Rogue protectively.
I wasn't sure she even noticed how we all gravitated around her. Or realised how damn far we'd go for her. With the scent of bleach still clinging to me, I should have been more worried about what we'd done. But I'd figured out a long time ago that I'd walk to the ends of the earth for this girl.
"Hey Dad, what's up?" Fox asked and a second later the tension ran out of his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm with Maverick. We'll be home soon." He hung up and tucked his phone into his pocket. "Dad says The Dead Dogs are causing trouble in town. He wants me and Rick to go home in case the gangs start a fight on the streets."
Maverick cursed and Rogue sighed as she hugged him goodbye. He moved forward, clapping me and Chase on the shoulder. "Look after her," he growled in warning, but he knew we would.
We said goodbye to Fox then he hugged Rogue far longer than was necessary, murmuring something in her ear before finally releasing her.
"We’ll meet tomorrow," Fox promised before climbing back into his truck. "Stay at Sinners' Playground. Don't leave until the sun's up."
"Yes, boss," I mocked while Chase rolled his eyes.
They drove off and me and Chase walked on either side of Rogue as we headed towards the old pier we'd claimed as ours. Rogue was shivering so I wrapped my arm tight around her shoulders as the cool sea air whipped around us and she leaned into me.
We made it to the side of the pier where we'd carved hand holds into one of the support beams so we could get into the closed down amusement park. The large gates at the front of the pier were too tall and sharp to climb, but no one could keep us out of anywhere. Chase went first then Rogue went next and I soon followed, the three of us reaching the top and climbing up onto the pier.
Chase strode off ahead of us like he was hankering to put more bodies in the ground tonight and I sensed there was something more going on with him than what had just happened. By the fresh bruises on his face, it was pretty obvious what it was. His motherfucker of a dad had laid into him again.
Me and him often slept here or at Rosewood, trying to escape the shittiness of our homes. I was always out of the house when my mom had clients over. And as rent day was coming up, she seemed to have them there non stop lately. There was nothing worse than hearing your own mother making big hairy men groan and grunt a few doors away. I was pretty immune to the smut that came out of her mouth, but somehow, I never stopped being creeped out by the guys. Call it protectiveness, but I didn't like creeps coming into my home and fucking my mother. Guess I was unusual like that.
My arm brushed Rogue's and her fingers slid smoothly into mine as we walked towards the arcade. Chase lifted up the block of wood we'd used to wedge the door closed, opening it and heading inside with a glance back at Rogue like he was double checking she was still here. Still okay.
I wasn't feeling one hundred percent comfortable with what had gone down tonight. Not that I would have done anything differently. But seeing a dead body had rattled me. There was plenty of fucked up shit in Sunset Cove to witness every day. Bodies were one of the things I'd managed to go without making any contact with up until now. But that asshole had touched Rogue, and I damn well wasn't remorseful over his death. I just felt slightly off after throwing his ass into the ocean like a sack of shit.
We slipped into the arcade and I wedged the door shut again before we followed Chase around to the Pac-Man and Space Invaders machines where a nest of warm blankets were waiting between them.
"You're safe now, pretty girl," I murmured in Rogue's ear and she looked to me with a half smile.
"I know," she said lightly.
Chase kicked off his shoes and we mimicked him before crawling onto the blankets and sitting with our backs to the wall. Rogue was wedged between us and she took Chase's hand too, still shivering. I hooked up one of the blankets and pulled it over us and Rogue sighed, her head falling against my shoulder.
"That's better," she breathed and I had the urge to turn and kiss her head, but I held off. Because that shit was bordering on creepsville.
"You know what's weird?" Chase mused. "I don't feel weird. Like, if someone hurt you again, Rogue, or any of us, I'd happily drag them out to sea and feed them to the fishes."
"That's dark, bro," I pointed out with a laugh and Rogue laughed too.
"I just don't wanna think about it. It’s not even the death part, or the dumping him in the sea part that freaks me out, it’s just thinking about the way he touched me, what he was going to do to me..." Her upper lip curled back and I squeezed her hand firmly.
My throat was tight and there was a fire in me that burned on her behalf. It normally simmered low, but tonight it was roaring and urgent. I just couldn't shake the thoughts of how much worse this could have been. But I should have known Rogue could take care of herself. She could have seen off a sea storm blowing into the cove any day of the week. I just wished she hadn’t had to.
"What would take your mind off of it?" I asked her, realising she'd stopped shivering.
Chase took out a box of cigarettes and lit one up, taking a few drags before passing it to Rogue.
She looked to me, her lips twisting in thought before she took a toke. "Would you rather have tastebuds in your butt or tastebuds in your fingertips?" she asked and I burst out laughing the same moment Chase did.
We often played this game and we were always trying to outdo each other with how ridiculous we could make it.
"Well, do I have to eat through my butt or just taste everything that comes out of it?" I asked, snatching the cigarette from her.
"Valid question," Chase said with a snort.
"Why would you have to eat through your butt?" Rogue laughed and I freaking loved that sound. It was all throaty and sexy and full of life that she didn’t try to hide from. It was why I tried so damn hard to be funny, because I was addicted to hearing her laugh.
"Well why would there be tastebuds there otherwise?" I refuted and I grinned as
she cracked up, releasing our hands so she could clutch her stomach.
"I vote fingertips," Chase decided as I passed the smoke over to him.
"Naw man, then you'd have to taste your junk every time you peed," I said.
"Well my junk is squeaky clean so maybe that's more of a you problem," he tossed back.
"What about when you touch a park bench or a shopping cart or a public toilet seat?" Rogue said, wrinkling her nose. "You'd basically be licking all of that people scum."
"I don't wanna taste my own shit though," Chase balked.
"Better than tasting other people's shit by accident," I said and we all fell apart again.
"Alright how about this one..." Chase said, puffing on the cigarette. "Would you rather have to shit yourself once a year in public or once a week in private?"
"Hmm, can I go to the next town over for my public shit?" Rogue asked.
"Nah that's cheating. It's gotta be in Sunset Cove," I pushed and she sighed dramatically.
"Fine, but I'll do it in the upper quarter in front of some fancy ass restaurant every time," she said with a smirk. "Just as those posh assholes are about to shove foie gras into their mouths, I'll pull my pants down and do a crap in the street."
"No one said you had to shit on the street," Chase laughed.
"I know, but if I'm shitting in public once a year, it might as well be worthwhile," she reasoned.
"They'll get to know you as Lady Dumpington who comes for her yearly shit outside the Le Petit Dauphin," I said and she giggled.
"That has a nice ring to it," she said. "So would you rather have no dick or five dicks?"
"Five dicks," me and Chase answered at the same time and Rogue barked a laugh.
"What would you pick?" I asked.
"Well, that depends. If I say no dick, can I keep my vag?" she asked. "Or will I be like a Ken Doll down there?"
"Definitely a Ken Doll, little one," Chase said, smirking as he stubbed the cigarette out on the Space Invaders machine and flicked the butt away.
"Well five dicks it is," she decided. "That's actually the perfect number because you can all help me satisfy myself. It'll be a bonding exercise."
I roared a laugh as she fell against me then nuzzled into Chase who smiled stupidly at her.
"Okay I've got another one," Rogue said. "Would you rather live forever but always be poor like we are now, or live a long normal life but be as rich as kings?"
Silence fell and the game suddenly took a serious turn. I glanced at Chase as he contemplated it and Rogue frowned as she thought on it too. We'd always fantasised about having money, buying this pier and doing it up, opening the amusement park again and living right on the beach in a big house we all built for ourselves. It wasn’t the same for Fox and Rick, the Harlequins were a big gang and Luther was loaded. It was one thing they could never fully understand about the three of us and a special, pathetic kind of bond that me, Chase and Rogue shared exclusively. If you hadn’t had to wear clothes with holes in them, wash in cold water or skip a few meals on a regular basis, it really wasn’t something you could understand.
"Live like kings," I decided. "We could have everything we ever dreamed of and fill a whole lifetime with all we could ever want."
"Yeah...me too. I could pay someone to kill my dad and set my mom up on a yacht," Chase said with a smirk, his tone only half joking. "What about you Rogue?"
A crease had formed on her brow. "I'd stay like this. Forever. With the four of you. I mean, I want the house and stuff, but I don't really care about the money. I just want to be here with my boys. Always."
My heart squeezed and my fingers itched to touch her. I wanted to say something reassuring like the fact that things wouldn't change. But deep down, I knew they would. I just hoped they'd change for the better. I really did plan on having my friends around me forever, but I also planned on me making it big somehow. Getting money and setting ourselves up. But we all knew our little bubble was going to pop eventually. Most likely when Rogue either decided she wanted one of us, or someone else. The idea of her picking anyone was painful, but someone outside of the group was unthinkable. I wanted to keep our bubble unpopped for as long as humanely possible. But time just kept slipping away.
"I'm gonna go grab those snacks we stashed behind the slot machines," Chase announced, pushing the blanket back and getting up.
He headed away and silence fell between us, the heat of Rogue's body calling to me on a primal level. I hated that puberty was being a royal dick to me lately. My friends were shooting up all around me, and though I was the same height as Rogue, I still felt like I was getting dwarfed by Maverick with his bulk, Fox with his height and Chase with his ever-thickening arms. The more I worked out, the skinnier I seemed to get. Though I was the only one of us who could claim to have abs because of it. So there was that. But I'd seen the way Rogue had started appreciating the guy's bodies when we went surfing. And she was growing too. In places I liked fantasising about way too fucking much. I swear we'd all noticed she'd got tits long before she had.
Rogue snuggled down under the blanket and tugged my hand to draw me with her, curling up with her knees brushing mine, our heads angled towards one another.
"Remember when we scared Chase shitless when we hid in the teacups that time?" she said.
I snorted a laugh as I nodded. We'd waited there for over an hour for him to arrive and jumped out, spraying whipped cream all over him. He'd punched me so hard in the nose, he'd almost fucking broken it. But it had been so worth it. We'd tried it on Maverick and Fox the next time and they'd just cocked their heads like they knew we'd been there the whole time. I swear they could telepathically communicate sometimes too. Maverick would just wiggle his eyebrows and Fox would twitch his nose and they'd know exactly what each other meant. They might not have been blood brothers, but their souls were connected in some way that I'd always admired.
We all had our ways with each other like that though, our own special friendships that were as deep as theirs. It had been like that for so many years, that I'd taken it for granted for way too long. Tonight had reminded me of how easily the world could end. One minute you were perving on underage girls and the next minute five kids were throwing you into the ocean as shark bait. Sucked balls for him.
But maybe that was karma or God or divine intervention or some shit. I'd once read a book where the characters had been slaves to the stars and the twinkly bastards just kept fucking with their fates again and again until their lives were destroyed. I hoped real life wasn't like that. I'd seen a lot of miserable shits in my time and I didn't wanna become one of them. Old people just seemed so unhappy all the time in this town. I was never gonna grow into someone who didn't have a smile on their face. No fucking chance. And if fate wanted to fuck me, then it had better bring a rubber and some lube, because I was going to at least make a good time of it.
"We should get him in the morning," I said. "Maybe I can find a spider to put on his face."
She giggled but then her eyes dimmed and she shook her head. "He's had a shit night. Did you see his bruises?"
"How could I miss them?" I muttered, my jaw tightening.
I hated his asshole dad. I'd offered to let Chase stay with me countless times, but my place wasn't exactly a sanctuary, though my mom didn't care who I had over. So long as he could put up with the sex noises and the crack smoke seeping through the walls, I always had an open door to him. But we usually ended up sleeping here instead. Because, you know, crack smoke and sex noises.
"I hate seeing him hurt," she whispered and I nodded my agreement.
"Just a couple more years and we'll all be free to do what we want," I said firmly. "We'll get jobs and shit and become respectable people." I snorted at my own joke and she chuckled.
"I don't ever want to be respectable. If you ever see me doing my taxes and wearing some ugly ass pant suit, shoot me in the head. Just a clean shot. No warning. It's already too late for me."
I breathed a la
ugh then reached out and brushed a lock of deep brown hair behind her ear before I could overthink it. "I couldn't kill you, Rogue."
"Not even a pant-suit wearing, tax-filing, ass-eating version of me?" she asked, her eyes dancing with light.
"Well you didn't mention the ass eating before. Is that literally or metaphorically?" I teased and she shivered as my fingers grazed down to her neck though I wasn't sure she even noticed it.
"Hmm, literally ass-eating my boring accountant husband." She mimed puking
"At least your sex life is lively," I said. "You sure you'll still want to die then?"
"Yeah, because there's only one love of my life." She beamed and my heart beat harder and harder.
"Oh yeah?" I breathed. "Who's that?"
I leaned closer to her, my tongue heavy as I gazed at her mouth, a crazy part of me wondering if maybe it was me she wanted. And after all that had happened tonight, I just wanted to get over my fucking fear and show her how I felt. I was so tired of craving her, watching her, never having her. I wanted to be brave like she had been. I wanted to prove I was as manly as any of my friends, and that in another year I'd be able to put all of them on their asses. And if I kissed her like a man then she'd know I was one.
I got closer, almost nose to nose while she grinned.
"The sea," she said but I couldn't remember what the question was that she was answering.
I just nodded, mumbling something that sounded like dolphins before figuring fuck it and just lunging at her, mouth half open, eyes sort of closed but not quite. My mouth hit blanket and I opened my eyes, fully in surprise, finding her yawning, her head dropped back onto the pillow and my whole body burned with shame. Did she just reject me? Or did she not notice? Oh god, what's worse?
"I'm exhausted," she said sleepily. "Where's Chase?"
"Um, snacks," I said dumbly, swiping a hand over my face, feeling like the world's biggest tool. Did she palm me off or what? I was fucking confused. And definitely not manly.
Devil's Pass: A Sinners' Playground Prequel Novella (A Harlequin Crew Novella Book 1) Page 6