by KT Strange
“Are those fucking cops?” Shiv breathed. We started to walk, then run toward the commotion.
“Get back,” a loud, adult voice hollered. Students groaned and cleared, moving away, forming a corridor of human bodies.
And at the end of it?
Colt. Colt, with his hands cuffed behind his back, three officers flanking him. The school principal stood there, and suddenly everything was black and white.
“Oh my god,” Shiv whispered. I ignored her, panic flashing through me. What had happened? I took a few steps, and Colt lifted his eyes, seeing me.
He shook his head hard.
No. No! I ran toward him, even as his eyes widened, and his mouth opened to tell me to stop.
Someone stepped into my path, and I bumped into Buck hard. I bounced off of him and he grabbed me around the waist.
“Stop,” he muttered into my ear. “Don’t. They’ve got guns, okay?” He pulled me back as Colt stared, then looked away.
The cops were taking him somewhere, the police station, maybe. But why?
I didn’t fight Buck as he pulled me into the crowd.
“You need to keep a low profile,” he said, pushing me behind him as the cops walked by, Colt in tow. I couldn’t help it. I peered around Buck’s shoulder, my whole body screaming for me to shout, to fight, to free Colt from their grip.
He met my eyes briefly, giving another shake of his head, no. An abortive sob hiccuped in my chest and Buck moved, shielding me from view as the cops glanced to the side to see who their captive was looking at.
The buzz in the hallway grew as the police passed us, and disappeared down to the end, the principal following them shortly.
“Let’s go, c’mon,” Buck said, pulling me through the crowd in the opposite direction.
“Buck, Buck. Stop!” I tugged my arm back, his grip. He turned, his eyes furious.
“You want to get arrested too?” He asked. Around us, people glanced our way. He cursed and growled. “Fuck off,” he told them, before dragging me through the last of the crowd. There was a stairwell at the end of the hall, with doors at the bottom that let out to the outside. Shawn stood there, Colt’s backpack in his hands. Behind him, Reid and Cael waited.
“Got her,” Buck said, slamming the door hard behind me. My panic was boiling over.
“What’s happening?” I asked, looking from each of them.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us that your mom’s ex was blackmailing you for money?” Reid asked, his dark eyes flashing with anger. I took a step back.
“W-what?” I looked between each of them. “Tell me what’s happening to Colt!”
“He got arrested for stealing and pawning laptops from the school,” Cael said, his voice flat and emotionless. “He’ll be expelled, that much is obvious.”
“He did what?”
Oh god.
The five thousand.
I should have asked where he got it from. I should have pressed harder. I should have made him tell me. I should have never even accepted it. It was currently living in its envelope, under the mattress of my bed.
My fingers shook, going to my mouth to cover it as a sob worked it’s way out of me.
“This can’t happen,” I whispered.
“Well, it fucking is!” Reid snapped.
“Don’t fucking shout at her,” Shawn turned on him an instant, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. “Half of this is your fault, turning her into some kind of fucking spectacle for your goddamn asshole friends at university. What, was she going to ask you for help, when you wanted her to strip for your buddies?” Shawn shoved Reid hard, and he stumbled back.
“I-“
“Shut up,” Buck said, waving a dismissive hand at Reid.
“Mia,” Cael’s voice was steady, soft, as he approached me. His hand came up, two fingers slipping under my chin. I looked up at him, half-closing my eyes as the tears fell.
I’d ruined everything.
“Mia, it’s okay,” Cael said.
“No it’s not,” I replied. “Colt’s… he’s never, he can’t! This can’t happen to him. This school is all he has!”
“We know,” Buck said, shooting looks at the other guys. “We’ll do everything to help him, I promise.”
“That’s not enough,” I said, sniffing hard and hiccuping another sob. Fuck. I needed to stop crying. I’d done this. I’d fucked things up for Colt, by not talking to my uncle… by not… by not talking. By not telling my mother to get fucked when she’d first asked me for money for Brandt.
I should’ve stood up for myself, and I didn’t.
And now… Colt was paying the price.
“I have to fix this,” I whispered, turning and going to the doors.
“Mia, there’s nothing you can do,” Buck said.
“Like hell there isn’t. I’ll give the money back, something like that,” I replied. I needed to save Colt. I wasn’t sure what I would do or say, but I needed to talk to the principal.
The halls passed me in a rush, as I walked fast toward the front of the school, my pulse pounding my ears with each step.
There, outside, in the drop-off zone. There was a cluster of cop cars, and Colt, god, they’d already loaded him inside of one. One of the police officers was speaking to the principal. My heart was in my throat, the world melting away as I zeroed in on them. One step, then another. My mind whirled. I had no words to give them, but I had to do something.
“No, his only living relative is in jail, killed-” The principal was saying.
Someone pushed past me, a streak of ginger in my vision.
It was Shawn. He was running, only slowing down when the police turned to him, the principal as well, holding up a hand so Shawn would stop.
“You got the wrong guy,” Shawn’s voice were in my ears, hollow and stretched out, like time was warping them.
“What? Mr. Riordan, now is not the-”
“I stole the laptops,” Shawn said. “It was me. I needed Colt to do work on my car, and he had no idea they were stolen. I paid him with the computers. It was me. My fault.”
My mouth dropped open. The principal frowned, giving Shawn a furious look.
“If this is a joke-”
“It’s not sir, it’s not. Please, I don’t… I never meant for this to happen,” he said. I must have made a noise, because he looked at me, over his shoulders, his eyes light for the first time in… forever. He looked like he was at peace with what he was doing, like he wasn’t even upset. How could he not be upset?
“Let’s go to the station, son,” the officer said.
“I’ll call your father,” the principal said, voice tight and irritated.
I took a step back, my heart feeling like it was splintering into pieces.
What was Shawn doing?
“Miss Quinn, get back inside the building,” the principal ordered, and I jerked, nearly stumbling backward.
Shawn was talking to the police officer, low murmurs I couldn’t hear. Everything was falling apart right in front of me. I wanted to scream. It was all my fault. All of it.
My knees gave out, the world hazy and smoky at the edges.
“Easy,” Reid muttered, catching me, pulling me against him. I glanced up at him. Buck was a half step behind, Cael moving in front of me.
“She can’t stay here,” Cael said. “Mia? Mia, don’t cry, okay? Let’s go.”
“I need to tell them,” I whispered, even as Reid half dragged me, my legs feeling numb and barely working.
“No you don’t, not now,” Reid said. “Cael, is your family lawyer in town? Mine’s in Saint Barth’s.”
“Always. I’m on it,” Cael said, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“C’mon Mia, you gotta walk with us,” Buck said, his voice low. He offered me his hand. I stared at it and with a shaking breath, I took it.
“We’ll fix this,” Reid promised me. I glanced back over my shoulder. Shawn was being put in a different patrol car. He met my eyes from behind
the glass. I couldn’t look away.
He lifted his fingers, pressing them to the window. A goodbye. An apology? Who knew. I didn’t. Nothing made sense.
I closed my eyes.
The only thing I knew was that I’d wrecked everything. I could have it all if only, from the very beginning, I’d talked, actually communicated.
“Mia?” Buck’s presence was warm, welcoming even. I didn’t deserve it. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.
“No it’s not,” I replied, looking back again. The cop cars were leaving, taking Colt and Shawn with them. Nothing was going to be the same after this.
And it was all my fault.
Dying to know what happens next?
Mia, Buck, Shawn, Colt, and all the rest are waiting for you!
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Another book bites the dust!
This book was one of those things that comes together at the last minute, and when it does, it’s all in a rush that just pours out of you. I always say the best books are the ones that just kind of write themselves, and this book is no exception to that.
I wanted to say I appreciate you so much, sticking with this series that is so close to my heart. Thank you for all the amazing reviews on book 2, and your patience and kindness. Make sure to join us on Facebook here in my group, KT’s Beauties: http://pxlme.me/rvGrrf8X
Thank you to my beta readers, I had such a blast with you listening to your feedback on all the chapters. If you’ve never beta read before, and don’t know what it’s about, c’mon over to Facebook! I’ll be posting about the beta for book 4 shortly! :D
Also thank you to Katie Z, for your cheerleading on this book! So many things would not have happened if not for you.
- Kit
(KT Strange)
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About the Author
KT Strange is an internationally best-selling and Top 100 Amazon author from the Great White North. After spending a decade in the music scene babysitting drunk rock-stars, she’s finally ready to settle down and write books inspired by her life on the road with bands and her love of everything paranormal.
Also she is rather fond of cats.
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