The Saint: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Haven Grace Prep Book 2)

by Kelsey Clayton

  I NAVIGATE THE CROWDED hallways, wondering why the fuck everyone is gathered around the front of the school. It’s the end of the day, so it’s not unusual for people to be itching to get out of here, but normally they’re all headed out the back doors. It isn’t until I hear someone whisper something about Haven Grace Prep that I actually pay attention.

  As soon as I push open the doors to step outside, the music being played by the band across the street gets louder. I push my way through all the students trying to get a glance at what’s going on. Thankfully, no one tries to stop me. Once I get to the front, my friends turn to me with fear in their eyes.

  “Knox, you really shouldn’t see this.” Zayn tells me, blocking my view.

  I shove him out of the way and the sight in front of me stops me dead in my tracks. There’s a stage set up in front of the school, with Sound the Sirens jamming out on it, but that’s not what gets me. It’s Carter standing on the stage with them as they play a perfectly in tune love song. Delaney stands front and center, watching him with a disbelieving smile on her face. When the music ends, Carter takes the microphone from Harland Storm, their lead singer, and in front of everyone, he focuses on Laney.

  “Delaney Callahan, will you go to prom with me?”

  She giggles, nodding her head yes and setting my whole world ablaze in a single moment.

  “Knox.” Z tries again by pulling at my arm.

  “Get the fuck off me.”

  Carter must sense my eyes on him, because he looks over at me for a second and grins deviously. He hops off the stage and walks toward the love of my life. I watch in slow motion as he places his hands on her cheeks and kisses her.

  Every bit of rage I’ve ever felt pales in comparison to this. An angry red haze covers everything in my sight and I’m ready to lose it. Within seconds, I’m halfway across the street and ready to kill him with my bare fucking hands. My friends scramble to get a hold on me regardless of how much I fight them on it.

  “Let me fucking go!” I roar, turning everyone’s attention turn to me—including Delaney’s.

  Confusion and concern grace her face as she takes a step away from Carter and toward me, but I’m too focused on Zayn trying to push me back. Stone, Easton, and Gage all struggle to keep me held back while Zayn attempts to get through to me.

  Doesn’t he realize there’s nothing he can say that will stop me?

  “I swear to God, I’ll kill you all if you don’t get your fucking hands off me!”

  “Listen to yourself,” Z says with disgust.

  “He fucking kissed my girl!”

  He shakes his head. “She’s not yours anymore, man. She’s not.”

  It all happens so quick. Gage’s hold on my right arm slips, and my vision blurs as I deck Zayn right in the face. Everyone around gasps, including those across the street. He stretches out his jaw and narrows his eyes on me.

  “Did that make you feel better, scumbag?”

  “Fuck you!” I spit.

  Carter tries to grab Delaney’s hand but she pulls it away, keeping her gaze on me. Meanwhile, Zayn gets even further in my face.

  “Go ahead! Hit me again. Get it all out.”

  “I will if you don’t get out of my way.”

  “For what?” he shouts. “So you can get arrested for attacking the DA’s golden-boy son? Fuck that, you’ll thank me for this shit later.”

  My breathing is so fast, so labored, I know I’m bordering on hyperventilation. I close my eyes for a couple seconds, and when I open them again, they meet Delaney’s. She’s so close, yet so far, as we stand with no more than thirty feet between us—and for a minute, she’s mine again. Only, she’s not. It’s my mind playing tricks on me, like this is some great fucking game and I’m the pawn.

  Carter gives Grayson a pleading look, and he nods at Tessa and Savannah. I can do nothing but watch as her sister and her best friend pull her away and back into the school—leaving me in pieces once again.

  I turn around and remove myself from the grasp of my friends, taking off running. Fuck knows driving my motorcycle isn’t a good idea right now, but I need to get out of here before I do something else I’ll regret.

  27

  DELANEY

  I sit on the kitchen island, ignoring the party going on around me. Jace is doing body shots off Paige. The music is so loud that the bass vibrates the floor. And there’s enough alcohol being passed around to drown in. Yet, I can’t seem to get my mind to focus on anything but Knox.

  The last thing I expected after being asked to prom in one of the most epic ways possible was for Carter to kiss me. We’ve been hanging out and getting to know each other for weeks, but never has he made a single move. I figured he was waiting for me to tell him it was okay. Realistically, though, that was never going to happen.

  Carter is great, and in an ideal world he would be the perfect guy for me. He’s sweet, and funny, and a great listener when I need someone to talk to, but the spark just isn’t there. At least not for me, anyway. Not the way it was with him.

  Three weeks have passed since the harrowing betrayal that left me the laughing stock of the entire school, and every day he’s been on my mind. Whether it’s when I’m reading my favorite book, watching a romantic comedy, or even getting out of the shower and catching my reflection in the mirror, seeing the masterfully drawn angel wings that are inked into my skin.

  They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m starting to think that’s not true. No amount of time away from him could wipe his memory from my mind or cure the pain that his absence brings.

  “You’re quiet tonight,” Carter tells me, leaning against the counter next to me.

  “Aren’t I always?”

  He shakes his head. “Not lately, no.”

  “Oh.” I look down at the drink in my hands.

  “This is about Knox, isn’t it? How he acted yesterday after I asked you to prom.”

  I don’t bother lying to him. He’d know if I was anyway. One thing Tessa has told me since we were little is that I’m like an open book. If there was ever something we needed to get away with, I was to leave the talking to her.

  “He just looked so…devastated.”

  Carter blows out a long exhale before pushing off the counter and putting out his hand. “All right, I didn’t want to do this, but come with me.”

  I accept his help and hop down. Then, he grabs his keys and leads me out the door.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To show you the kind of guy that you’re in love with.”

  28

  KNOX

  Kick. Swing. Swing. Uppercut. Kick.

  All my extra training and the focus I’ve been putting into this must be paying off, because my opponent doesn’t stand a fucking chance. He puts up a good fight, even managing to get a couple hits in, but the second I decide to end this shit, he’s done for.

  The crowd goes wild as I land an uppercut to his jaw and then a right hook that knocks him on his ass. He falls like a dead weight, out cold and unmoving. The guys carrying him off give a signal up to Cal, who stands in the window of his office. I’ve been doing this long enough now to know what each one means, and thankfully, this one is making it out of here alive but probably not undamaged.

  “Fuck, yes!” Jackson congratulates me as I climb out of the ring. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

  A familiar face catches my eye, and in an instant, all the anger I just let out comes back tenfold. Carter fucking Trayland. I push my way past Jackson and storm toward him.

  “You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve. What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”

  He stands up straight, unintimidated. “Just getting a glimpse at the piece of shit you really are.”

  I chuckle dryly. “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know enough, and now, so does she.” The look on his face is enough to get my full attention—arrogant, cocky, evil.

  “She?”

  “Knox?”


  My eyes widen in horror at the sound of her voice. Standing just a little ways behind Carter, Delaney looks at me with pure fear etched across her face.

  No. No, no, no. She can’t be here.

  “Laney, you have to go. You have to leave, now.”

  She narrows her eyes. “Will you seriously stop with that?” she snaps. “I can’t be near you or your friends. I can’t be at Zayn’s parties. I can’t be at your school. It’s getting really old.”

  “Be at all those places! Move into Zayn’s house and glue yourself to Stone’s side if that’s what you want! But you can’t be here!”

  Paulo, one of Cal’s many goons, walks up to us, looking every inch the bodyguard, with muscles bulging out of his black T-shirt. “Boss wants to see you.”

  “Who the hell is Boss?” Delaney questions indignantly.

  Shit. “Okay, tell him I’ll be right there.” I turn to Carter. “You have to get her out of here, now!”

  Paulo shakes his head. “No, you and the girl.”

  Dread courses through my entire body. He knows. Everything I’ve done for the last month, every effort I’ve made and all the pain I’ve put both of us through, is rendered pointless in the blink of an eye. Now, there’s no telling what will happen.

  I take a deep breath, wondering how in the world I’m going to get her and me out of this one. A part of me considers running, but it’s guaranteed Paulo is armed and he’ll hold us at gunpoint to get Cal what he wants.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done,” I tell the dipshit who brought her here. “Come on, Delaney.”

  Carter steps in front of me, blocking my way. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

  “Yeah? Are you going to fucking tell him that?” I shout. “He’ll put bullet in all our damn heads!”

  “Okay, someone better tell me what is going on, and now.”

  Focusing my attention on her, I instantly soften. “There’s so much you don’t know. So much I tried to protect you from.”

  “He’s getting impatient,” Paulo says.

  I roll my eyes, shoving my way past Carter and taking Delaney’s hand in my own. The two of us follow Paulo out of the arena and up the stairs. Just as we reach the door, he positions himself outside it. I turn to Delaney and gently touch her cheeks.

  “I am so sorry.”

  Closing my eyes, I press a kiss to her forehead. She gives me a confused look as I pull away but I don’t give her an explanation. She’s about to learn for herself.

  I open the door and the two of us walk through. Cal turns around from the window with a snide grin on his face.

  Delaney’s breath hitches. “Uncle Dom?”

  “Hi, beautiful.” He puts his arms out for a hug and instinctively, I put my hand out to stop her from going to him. His expression turns to a glare. “Let me hug my niece.”

  “Not fucking happening. She’s not leaving my side.”

  He smirks. “So, she was more than a good fuck after all.”

  “You said that about me?” she questions, clearly hurt.

  Cal lets out a deep laugh. “Oh, don’t hold it against him, doll. He was just trying to protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?”

  “Me…or him, depending on how you look at it.”

  My jaw is locked so tight my teeth could cut through steel right now. “Don’t.”

  Delaney is getting impatient as she smacks my hand away. “Can someone please explain to me what’s going on? What is this place?”

  He leans against his desk and lights a cigar. “You see, darling, I’m in the business of providing services. People who need a willing target to take out their anger on. People who want to see a fight. Gamblers who need a little thrill with their bets.” He levels me with a look. “Even messes that need to be cleaned up.”

  “Is that what you were doing down there?” she asks me. “Taking your anger out on that guy?”

  I go to answer her, but Cal obviously isn’t going to let me. “No, Knox is in much deeper than that.”

  “Shut up,” I hiss through gritted teeth.

  “Delaney, come over here.”

  Stepping in front of her, I’m ready to snap. “Over my dead body.”

  He pulls out a gun and cocks it, pointing it straight at me. Delaney shrieks but I don’t even flinch. I’ve stared down the barrel of his pistol enough times to be numb to it.

  “Delaney, now,” he demands, keeping his eyes on me. I watch as she hesitantly walks around me and over to her uncle. “Easy, boy. You don’t want to end up like the ones you’ve killed, do you?”

  “Y-you’ve killed people?”

  Cal hums, seeming prideful despite Laney’s obvious horror. “Four. Well, five if you include the first one, but I don’t. Not for him, anyway.”

  She looks between me and her uncle, unsure who will give her the answers she’s looking for. “But why?”

  “Because I did him a favor, and covering up a murder doesn’t come for free.” She’s stunned into silence as he turns his full attention back to her and rubs the tip of the gun down her cheek. “You’ve always been a pretty little thing. I could get a lot of money for you, in the right market of course.”

  The urge to vomit rolls over me as I realize his intentions. “You lay a finger on her and, I swear to God, I’ll bring this whole fucking place to the ground.”

  “He’s got jokes, doesn’t he? Acting like he’s in charge here.” Delaney swallows, afraid to say anything at all. “Maybe I should trade him for you. He’s nothing but a pain in the fucking ass, anyway. But you, I’ve got a lot of men who would love some time with a girl like you.”

  “You sick son of a bitch!” I charge forward, only to end up with a gun pressed against the center of my chest.

  Cal stares me down, daring me to tempt him. “One more move and I’ll kill you right here, right now.” He looks Delaney up and down. “Who would protect your sweet little Bambi then?”

  I watch a tear escape from her eye as she fears for not her life, but mine. Little does she know, I’d gladly trade my life for hers. It’s not even a question.

  A commotion from outside the door grabs all our attention, distracting Cal for only a second, but that’s all the time I need. I turn my body and grab his wrist with one hand while my other grabs the slider of the gun, preventing it from firing. I bend his arm and use my elbow to hit him in the face. His hand releases on impact, which gives me possession. I immediately flip the gun around and slam the butt of the pistol into his head. He falls to the ground, unconscious, and I lean over my knees, head swimming with relief.

  “Let’s go.”

  I shove the gun under my waistband and grab Laney’s hand to pull her out of there. As soon as I open the door, I see Paulo’s body motionless on the floor. I whip around and cover her mouth as she lets out a muffled scream.

  “Is he d-dead?”

  Stepping over him, I help her over as well. “We don’t have time to ask questions. We have to get the hell out of here, and fast.”

  The two of us rush down the steps and out the door. The car I borrowed from Stone stays parked where I left it. As soon as we get in, I turn it on and peel out of the parking lot—checking the rear-view mirror every few seconds to see if someone is following us.

  “What the hell happened back there?” she half-shrieks, half-sobs.

  “I may have just put the world’s biggest target on both our heads.” I grab my phone from the center console and dial Grayson. The second he answers, I don’t give him a chance to talk. “Meet me at Zayn’s and bring your girlfriend. We have a major fucking problem.”

  29

  KNOX

  I pound on the door, glancing around for any sign of someone watching us. Zayn opens it with a confused look on his face. I push past him and pull Delaney with me. Once we’re inside, I slam it shut and lock it before peeking out the window.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I vent.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Z asks Laney.
>
  She shakes her head, her arms wrapped around her petite body. I sit down on the couch and rest my head in my hands. This can’t be happening.

  Why the fuck did Carter bring her there? I had this shit under control. Maybe it wasn’t ideal, but it was fucking handled. Now, it’s a massive disaster.

  The way Cal spoke to Delaney, like he wanted to use her as some kind of prostitute, it made me see red. If I didn’t think the sound of gunfire would’ve had his goons swarming in, I would have shot him when I had the chance. He can do anything he wants to me, but I’ll die before letting him touch her.

  “You want to tell me what’s wrong?” Zayn watches me carefully.

  With my knee bouncing, I give him a look, one that screams I’m in trouble, and I watch as his eyes widen. A knock at the door has me ready to attack until I hear Pretty Boy’s voice come from the other side. I open it and usher him and Savannah in quickly, only to lock it again.

  “Grayson?” Delaney wonders out loud. “What the hell does he have to do with this?”

  The two of us ignore her entirely as he turns to me. “You said we have a problem?”

  I nod rapidly. “I fucking hit him.”

  “You did what?” he balks. “What the hell made you think that was a good idea?”

  “I had no choice! He had me and Delaney at fucking gunpoint. If it wasn’t for someone taking out Paulo outside the door, we probably both would have died.”

  Zayn chokes on air. “Okay, I need a beer.”

  Grayson nods toward Delaney. “How much does she know?”

  “Enough to ask questions.”

  “Gray, what’s going on?” Savannah’s voice is calm, concerned even.

  Delaney places a hand on her hip. “That’s what I’d like to know. What the fuck was that place? And why was my uncle there?”

  I sit down on the couch, watching Grayson take the seat next to me. He’s made one thing very clear, one thing I can respect—we’re in this together.