Little Devil

by Bethany Winters

“They have a warrant, Travis. Be quiet and let them do their jobs.”

  He curses and I search the crowd for Jordyn, doing a double take at Noah when I find him talking to one of the teachers like the kiss ass he is. He shakes his head in mock disapproval and I bounce my eyes between his, laughing when it hits me because fuck, he really didn’t want me to look inside that locker just now, did he?

  “Piece of shit,” I mutter, wincing when the officer behind me tightens the cuffs on my wrists. “Ow, you motherf– dude, that’s not my kink.”

  He shoves me forward and I wiggle my hands to make myself more comfortable, looking up when I spot Jordyn walking around the corner just to freeze where she stands. Her face falls when she realizes what’s happening and she tries to come towards me, but then Travis wraps his arm around her waist and holds her back, not letting go when she attempts to fight him off.

  “Xan.”

  “Trav,” I bite out. “Get your hands off my girl.”

  He does as he’s told and she rushes me, her eyes filled with unshed tears while she pulls my face down to hers. “Don’t say anything,” she orders, quickly shoving her hand into my pocket to steal my keys. “Keep your mouth shut and wait for my lawyer to come get you.”

  I groan at that, dipping my head to catch her lips with mine. “You’re too fucking good for me, Jordyn James.”

  A light laugh leaves her despite the circumstances and she kisses me back, swallowing what looks like fear when they pull me away from her. The officer who cuffed me leads me out towards the parking lot and I look over my shoulder, ignoring the sea of eyes on me while I keep mine on Jordyn.

  “That’s my girlfriend,” I say smugly, tilting my head at her to show him. “She’s hot, right?”

  He mutters something I don’t catch and shoves my head down to throw me into the back of his car, angrily slamming the door in my face before he walks around to jump into the driver’s seat. I blow out a breath and drop my head back on the head rest, frowning to myself when I realize how hungry I am.

  “Can we stop and get some food on the way?”

  32

  Jordyn

  The police car disappears out of the parking lot and I wipe my tears with my fingers, struggling not to choke on my heart considering it’s lodged itself somewhere inside my throat. Students and teachers surround me on all sides and although their voices are loud and obnoxious, I do my best to drown them out and ignore the bad things they’re saying about him.

  Drug dealer.

  Fucking freak.

  Years..

  I can’t lose him like this.

  Not for years.

  I squeeze the car keys in my hand and force my feet to move, stopping mid step when the principal’s voice rings out from somewhere behind me. “Miss James?”

  “Yes?” I ask, turning around on the front steps to face her fully.

  She opens her mouth to say something but snaps it shut again, her eyes narrowing while she moves them over my school uniform. “Is your skirt rolled up?”

  It is, but I’m not about to tell her that. “No.”

  “Can you prove it please?”

  “I’d really rather not.”

  She raises a dark brow at that, crossing her arms over her chest with a look that resembles humor. That can’t be right considering her nephew was just arrested for possession with intent, but it’s still there all the same.

  “I know what you’re about to do and I’m warning you, I let you off once but I will not let it slide a second time.”

  “What’s the punishment?”

  “A three day suspension.”

  I nod and shrug my shoulders, struggling to care about anything but Xan in this particular moment. “I guess I’ll be back on Friday, then.”

  With that, I turn around and walk away, taking my phone out from my purse on my way to Xan’s Camaro. I find my mother’s lawyer’s number and hit the call button, but then I catch Penelope hiding behind a row of cars with her phone in her hand and a stupid little grin on her face, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth while she stares at the video playing on the small screen in front of her. The lawyer’s voice fills my ear and I hang up without saying anything, not wanting Penelope to catch me spying on her. I can always call him back in a minute, but if she’s watching what I think she’s watching, I might not need him at all.

  “It’s not for me, you idiot,” Noah hisses through the phone. “This punk ass kid thinks he can steal my girlfriend and I want him gone. How much is it gonna take to get him put away for a few years, at least?”

  I lock my jaw and step closer to her, quickly snatching the phone from her hand before she even realizes I’m here. She squeals and I shove her head back, turning my body away from her to watch the rest of it.

  “Get me double that,” he orders, pacing his bedroom with his shirt off and his phone pressed up to his ear. “Can you meet me now? I want it done by tomorrow.”

  After about ten seconds of him nodding and grabbing some clothes to pull on, the video cuts off and I glare at my former best friend, pulling the phone out of reach when she tries to snatch it from my hand.

  “Did you take this without him knowing?”

  She hesitates but nods, her eyes wide with panic. “I heard him talking when I went to his house last night and taped him before he saw me.”

  “Why?”

  She squeezes her lips shut and I take a minute to think about my options, rewatching the whole thing so I know exactly what I’m dealing with here. As soon as I’ve come up with a plan that may or may not be very illegal and very stupid, I grab her forearm and drag her over to the passenger seat of Xan’s car. She screams out in surprise but I ignore it, shoving her in to lock her inside. I’d never lay a hand on her under any other circumstances, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I can’t risk leaving her here for her to rat me out to Noah the first chance she gets.

  I jump in next to her and hit the gas, nervously flexing my small hands around the wheel while I drive us out of the parking lot.

  “JJ, what the hell are you doing?”

  Instead of answering her, I turn his music up in an attempt to calm my racing heart, willing myself to get through this without losing my nerve or throwing up.

  You’re too fucking good for me, Jordyn James.

  But I can be bad when I want to be.

  I can do this.

  Ten minutes later, I pull up outside the police station and kill the ignition. “If you open your mouth or leave my side, I’ll tell Noah what you did last night and make your life a living hell. Your choice, Pen.”

  She pulls her brows in but wisely follows me out of the car, her six inch stilettos tapping along the floor while she scurries to keep up with me. I push the main door open and Sheriff Brennan looks up from behind his desk, grinning when he sees it’s me. He’s Noah’s mother’s younger brother, a thirty seven year old man with dark blond hair and a killer pair of blue eyes. I used to have a minor crush on him when I was little, but then I realized he’s just another narcissistic prick with his head up his brother in law’s ass.

  “Hey, sweetheart–”

  “I need to talk to you about Xander Reid,” I cut in, walking over to stand directly in front of him.

  His mouth pops open and he starts to say something, but then the door I know leads to the jail cells swings open and crashes against the wall with a loud bang, making everyone jump.

  “Cocky little shit,” the officer who took Xan spits out, angrily ripping his hands through his hair while he moves for the coffee machine in the corner.

  I hide a knowing grin and the sheriff rolls his eyes, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed over his wide chest, his attention on me. “You were saying?”

  “He didn’t do it,” I tell him, keeping my voice low to ensure no one else hears me. “Noah bought the drugs last night and set it all up for Xander to take the fall.”

  He sighs at that, shaking his head at me the way he used to when I was ten
. “Look, JJ, I don’t know what’s going on between you and this new kid but you’re being ridiculous. My nephew would never–”

  I raise a brow and press play on the video in my hand, turning the volume down a bit before I turn it around to show him the screen. Noah’s one sided conversation shocks him into silence and he narrows his eyes, his nostrils flaring while he watches it to the end.

  “Have you lost your mind?” he whispers, leaning over the desk between us with his hands clenched into fists. “Taping someone without consent is illegal, something you could go to jail for. Did you really think you’d be able to show this in court?”

  “We’re not going to court,” I inform him, casually twisting the phone around in my hand. “If you don’t release him and drop the charges today, I’ll send this to everyone I know. Every student at Lakewood, every teacher, every parent, every neighbor.. everyone.”

  “JJ..” he warns, speaking through his teeth. “I love you like a niece, you know that. But blackmailing the sheriff is just about the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

  I nod because he’s right about that, but I also know how this family works. Much like my mother, they treasure their image like diamonds. They thrive on power and respect and loyalty, and if this town were to find out that their future mayor has a tendency to frame innocent people for shit they didn’t do, I’m sure that would reflect very, very badly on them.

  The threat hangs in the air between us and he sighs, angrily shoving the papers on his desk before barking his orders at the officer by the coffee machine. “Release the kid and get the mayor up here.”

  Penelope’s jaw drops and I smirk, keeping hold of the evidence while I walk her outside. “You can go now.”

  “But..” she trails off, looking between me and the building in confusion. “What about Noah?”

  “I don’t give a fuck about Noah.”

  “Okay, then,” she mouths, awkwardly clearing her throat before speaking again. “What about my phone?”

  “I’m sure you can afford a new one,” I mutter, side eyeing her when she makes no move to leave. “What?”

  “I, uh.. you asked me why I did it and I just..”

  “Spit it out, Pen.”

  “I only wanted to lay a little harmless blackmail on him to make him mine,” she admits, shrugging with a look that seems an awful lot like sadness. “I never would have showed it to anyone if you hadn’t heard it before.”

  I frown at that, unsure why she’d need to blackmail him when she’s already fucking him on a regular basis.

  “He doesn’t want more with me, JJ,” she says quietly, somehow reading my mind. “He only wants you.”

  I stare at her face and she walks away, stopping in the middle of the parking lot when I call out to her.

  “Penelope.”

  She sighs heavily and turns around to face me, silently waiting for whatever I’m about to say.

  “You deserve better.”

  She nods slowly and moves to leave, not so discreetly wiping the tears from her cheeks before she disappears out of sight. I chew the inside of my cheek and look back at the main door, nervously pacing back and forth while I wait for Xan to come out.

  h

  “You look tired, sweetie,” Kian tells me, dropping down on the front steps beside me to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “You want us to go grab you one of those iced coffees you like from that shop on the beach?”

  I nod and smile at him, gently scratching the spot beneath Bear’s ears in an attempt to comfort him. School ended just over an hour ago and I asked him and Travis to go check on him, knowing he’d been on his own all day while I’ve been waiting for Xan to get out of jail. They said he was restless and upset and scaring the shit out of them, as they put it, so I told them to put him in the car and bring him to me.

  The boys drive away without me and I look at the door again, honest to god contemplating storming in there and giving those assholes a piece of my mind. A few more minutes pass and I almost do it, but then Bear lifts his head and whines at something in front of us, standing up to pull on the heavy leash in my hand. I look that way and find a black limo pulled up outside the station, quickly slapping a hand over my mouth when I realize Alec Reid and Isla Montgomery are climbing out through the back door. He’s dressed in black jeans and a t–shirt and she’s dressed in leggings and a loose tank top, both wearing matching ball caps to hide their identities, I’m assuming.

  “Oh, shit,” I whisper to myself, nervous as hell and completely unprepared. “Bear, wait–”

  But he doesn’t stop pulling me down towards them.

  “..still don’t understand why I have to be here,” Xan’s mother mutters, adjusting the hat on her head while she falls in line beside her husband.

  “Because you’re his mom.”

  “He’s eighteen, Alec,” she argues, rolling her eyes when she catches the disappointed glare on his face. “We all agreed he’d be Karen’s problem from now on. Why couldn’t she handle this by herself?”

  “Will you get a fucking grip?” he bites out, snatching her upper arm to pull her chest to his. “She already told us she’s got no choice but to expel him after what he did today. He’s not her responsibility anymore, Isla.”

  Her jaw ticks and she slaps his hand from her arm, looking up at him without an ounce of fear there. “I don’t want him back at home.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s good, because he’s going to jail,” he deadpans, doing a quick double take when he catches the big ass dog pawing at his shin. “Bear.”

  Xan’s parents look up at me and I clear my throat, struggling to think of anything but the very private conversation I just overheard.

  “Um.. hi,” I say lamely, offering a small wave because I don’t know what to do with my hands. “Mr Reid, Mrs Montgomery. I’m JJ James, Xander’s girlfriend.”

  Their dark brows jump as one and I die a little on the inside, cursing myself when I catch the clear look of surprise on their faces.

  “I’m sorry, did he not–”

  “He told us about you,” his mom assures me, pausing a second to move her light hazel eyes over my form. “We just didn’t expect you to be so..”

  “You look like a really nice girl,” her husband finishes for her, half smiling to himself while he reaches down to scratch Bear’s head.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  He smiles for real this time and removes his hat from his head, scrubbing a hand through his dark hair the same way Xan does. “Have they told you anything yet?”

  “Yeah, they said they’d release him but that was hours ago,” I explain. “I was just about to–”

  “Wait, why is he being released?” his mother asks, frowning while she looks up at the building behind me.

  “Because it wasn’t him.”

  “Of course it wasn’t,” she says dryly, sighing heavily when she catches the look I must be giving her. “Listen, honey, I don’t know what he told you about the drugs but I can assure you he’s lying. This is just what he does.”

  I laugh lightly at that, shaking my head in disgust while I step back to look between the two. I was willing to drop what I heard just now because it’s been a long fucking day for all of us and I’m sure they’re tired after getting up at the crack of dawn to catch a five hour flight from LA, but I won’t stand here and allow them to talk shit about Xan to my face.

  “You know what? How about you listen while I assure you something?” I bite out, speaking slowly to ensure they hear me loud and clear. “Your son is a good person. He might not be perfect but he’s loyal and honest and sweet and funny and I know his brother would be proud of him. You should count yourselves lucky to call him yours, because I sure as hell do.”

  They stare at me in shock and I pass the leash to Xan’s dad, ignoring my guilt for yelling at my boyfriend’s parents because fuck them, they deserved it.

  “Where are you going?” Alec calls, unable to follow me considering Bear’s not allowed inside the station. />
  “To find out what’s taking so damn long,” I call back, leaving them outside while I push my way through the main door.

  33

  Xander

  “Reid,” the moody officer barks, opening the cell door to let me out. “Let’s go.”

  Fucking finally.

  I force myself up to stand and stretch my arms above my head, tired as shit after spending I don’t know how long locked up in here by myself.

  “You don’t get many criminals in this town, huh?” I guess, sighing dramatically when he continues to ignore me and my questions. “Hey, will you make a quick run to Starbucks for m–”

  He shoves me forward and I stumble, chuckling to myself when I catch the tick in his jaw. At first I assume he’s taking me to the interview room, but then he leads me out the way we came in earlier and I frown at him, quickly facing forward again when I hear the sound of her voice by the sheriff’s desk.

  “..your hands off me,” she growls, angrily kicking her legs out while they cuff her wrists behind her back. “I am Jordyn fucking James and I will have your jobs–”

  “Baby,” I laugh, and she stops fighting them, instantly relaxing when she sees me standing here.

  “Hey,” the guy beside me hisses, speaking to the two officers restraining her. “That’s the sheriff’s niece and the mayor’s future daughter in law, you idiots. Take those off her before they come back. Now.”

  They do as they’re told and she huffs out an aggravated breath, ignoring the daughter in law comment while she walks over to me. She wraps her arms around my neck and I pick her up, gently lifting her thighs up around my waist to hold her close.

  “Baby, what did you do?” I ask quietly, still amused by her little outburst just now.

  “I fixed it,” she tells me, grinning like a bad bitch while she lowers her mouth to mine.

  I kiss her back and squeeze her thighs with both hands, laughing lightly when the officer who walked me out just now looks like he wants to hit me for it.

  “I told you she was mine,” I say smugly, setting her down on her feet to follow him to the front desk.