I push my feet into my sneakers and swing the door open. Galen stands there, propped against the doorway, looking anxious. “I’ll give you a ride to the hospital.”
“I’m driving myself.” I swipe the keys to my Lexus off the bedside table and grab my jacket from the end of the bed.
“Until we deal with The Bulls, we feel it’s best if one of us goes with you everywhere.”
I whirl around, ready to lay into him, when Saint materializes behind his cousin. “Don’t fight us on this.” Air whooshes out of his mouth as he rubs a spot between his brows. “We know how fucking badass you are, but you can’t have eyes and ears everywhere. You want to visit your friend and not look over your shoulder.”
“Can’t you ride with me?”
Galen’s head drops, and I feel like a bit of a bitch. Which is ridic, because he’s the one who tried to have me murdered. But it’s getting harder and harder to hold on to that anger and resentment.
“No.” Saint pushes between me and his cousin. “You two need to sort your shit.”
I open my mouth to snap at him that attempted murder is not some shit, but he stops me with a hard kiss. When he pulls back, he weaves his hands through my hair. “He fucked up. He knows it, and he’s genuinely sorry for his actions. Now, more than ever, we need unity. I won’t ask you to forgive him, because I can’t ask that of you, but I am asking if you could find a way of putting it behind you and work with Galen so it doesn’t get in the way of what we need to do.”
“Okay.” He arches a brow, and I know he was expecting an argument. “I can’t disagree with your logic, and my head is cluttered with all this stuff.” I glance at Galen. “I know this has to happen, so I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises.”
“I can drive,” Galen says a few minutes later when we land in the garage.
“You’re injured,” I say, opening the driver’s side door. “You keep lookout.”
I buckle my seat belt as he climbs into the passenger seat, hissing under his breath, his face contorting into a painful grimace. When he is finally settled, I pull out of the garage and along our driveway. “You still taking your meds and icing those ribs?” I inquire.
“Yeah. And I’ve seen a doc. Just have to wait for them to heal.”
An awkward silence fills the space between us, and maybe, I should attempt to smooth things over, but I’m too exhausted to go there tonight. So, I hook my iPhone to the stereo system and pull up one of my more mellow playlists, cranking up the volume as music pours into the car.
The roads are quiet, and we make it to the hospital in good time.
We walk silently side by side to Sariah’s room, and when we reach it, I rap gently on the door before poking my head inside.
Sean, Sar’s boyfriend, and Emmett, his fellow football player and friend, are alone with my bestie, sitting on either side of her cot.
Emmett hops up, walking toward me and pulling me into a bear hug. I’ve missed my friends. Missed normal days at school, hanging out in the cafeteria at lunchtime, just shooting the shit. “Thank fuck, you’re okay.” He keeps me in his arms as he shoots daggers at Galen over my head.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It was only the flu.” I shuck out of his hold, offering him a lopsided smile. Saint had texted me on Tuesday to say they’d spread the word at school that I had the flu and was sick in bed with no visitors permitted on the doctor’s orders.
“You were brief in your text messages, and that worried me.” Emmett continues glaring at Galen, so I loop my arm through his, dragging him over to the bed. “Plus, that asshole said jack shit every day when he turned up.” He jerks his head at Galen again, and I’m grateful he is in groveling mode, because otherwise, he’d most likely beat Emmett to a pulp for throwing shade.
“I slept most of the time, and I stayed away until the doc gave me the all clear because I didn’t want to risk passing anything to Sar.” I hate lying to my friends, but I must keep them out of this. “How has she been?” I bend down and kiss Sean on the cheek.
“The same.” His voice is monotone and bereft of hope.
“What are the doctors saying?”
“Every day that she doesn’t wake up lessens the possibility she will.”
Emmett pulls the chair around the bed, placing it beside Sean, and I sit down. “That sucks, but I refuse to believe it. Sar is a fighter, and she won’t give up. I bet she’s listening to all of us, having a little chuckle at our expense, because she’s healing herself, and she’ll wake up when the time is right.” I’m not sure I believe that, but after today, I need to cling to something positive, to believe there is hope and that good triumphs over evil sometimes.
“I want to believe that so bad,” Sean says, taking my free hand and squeezing it. His other hand is placed over Sariah’s hand on the bed. “But it’s hard to hold on to hope day in, day out when there is no change.”
“You’ve got to try, Sean, because Sar needs all of us to be strong for her.”
He nods, turning to face me with a sad smile. “I’m glad you’re here. We missed you.”
“I’ll be here as often as I can, but there’s a lot of shit going on right now.”
“Like what?” Emmett asks, folding his arms and staring at me.
“How’s your sister?” I purposely ask because it seems he needs a reminder.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “She’s good,” he says, following my lead. “Still asking when you’re dropping by.”
“I’ll come by soon. I promise.”
He nods. “That would really cheer her up.”
“What happened with the school investigations?” I hadn’t thought to ask the guys before now.
“No one will say a word, and the only witness is still missing,” Sean says. I make a mental note to ask the guys where that freshman girl is and what they plan to do with her. I know they had sent her away so we could deal with the situation ourselves, but events have overtaken us, and I think it might be best now to let the authorities handle it.
Emmett eyeballs Galen. “As are Parker, Finn, and Brooklyn, but I suspect you guys already know that.”
It’s obvious he’s suspicious—and with good reason. “I wasn’t aware they were MIA.” I cast a glance at Galen over my shoulder, and his eyes warn me to say nothing. I’m not sure how much of a threat Finn represents now he’s lost control to the Saints at school. His little rebellion at the warehouse backfired, so I presume he’s running scared with Brooklyn. Or maybe, they’ve officially and permanently joined forces with The Bulls. I make a mental note to ask Saint.
“Beth is shitting her pants,” Emmett says, but there’s no humor in his tone. “We gave statements to the school and the police saying it was Beth, Parker, and some of their cronies, but we weren’t there at the time of the attack, so our word doesn’t mean much.”
“I think the cops believe us,” Sean adds. “But with no evidence or any witnesses, they can’t do much.”
“They’re not getting away with this.” I peer straight into Sean’s eyes. “I promise you that. Just hold tight, and they will get what’s coming to them.”
I get twenty minutes with Sar before the nurse comes to confirm visiting hours are over. Sar’s grandma arrives to stay the night, and we leave with Emmett and Sean.
When we reach outside, they head off in Sean’s car, and we walk to mine. I open the passenger side door and Galen frowns. “You want me to drive?”
I shake my head. “I’ll drive. Get in.” I place my arms around his toned waist from behind, and he looks down at me, his gorgeous green eyes staring at me in confusion. He hasn’t been styling his faux hawk lately, I’ve noticed, and though the sides are still shorn tight, the brown hair on top of his head is in a messy heap of tangled waves. It’s every bit as sexy as the faux hawk, and I hate how much I’m attracted to him.
Guess that’s another side to my perverse personality—feeling desire for the person who would sooner kill me than fuck me.
I help him into the ca
r, and then, we drive home in silence.
When we get back to the house, Galen disappears into his room while I go in search of the guys. Mom and the psycho are still out, thank fuck.
Saint is alone in the basement when I find him, shirtless, his back glistening with sweat as he punches the shit out of the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. I walk toward him, admiring his muscular form, as he keeps thrusting, his fists pounding the bag powerfully. I step around, holding the bag and urging him to continue.
“How’s Sariah?” he pants, bouncing from foot to foot, as he jabs the bag.
“No change. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
Beads of sweat dot his brow, and he swipes his arm along his forehead. “Talk.”
“Are you still hiding that witness?” He nods, and my eyes zoom in on the muscles bulging in his arms as he hits the bag and the way his abs ripple and flex with the motion. The only clothes he’s wearing are training shorts, and I’m having a hard time concentrating.
Saint is so freaking hot, and my attraction to him is only growing stronger.
He smirks as he watches me checking him out, and I shrug. He ogles me too, so he’s not one to talk. “You need to bring her back,” I say. “We don’t have time to dig up dirt on Beth or the others, but I want them to pay for what they’ve done to my bestie. Let the witness give a statement, and then, the police can do their job.”
“They might make looking for Parker a priority,” he admits, stopping and dropping to his knees to grab the bottle of water at his feet.
“I’ve had a thought about that.”
“I’m listening.” He lifts the bottle to his lips, drinking greedily, and the way his throat works as he swallows is so sexy.
Fuck. I’ve got it bad.
I clear my throat and shake my head. “I know the guys buried her remains, but now, we know she had ties to The Bulls, would it not make more sense to pin her murder on them?”
I can almost see the wheels churning in his head. “We could dig her up and bury her in their backyard and then get a tip sent to the cops.”
I nod. “There’s no evidence linking me to her, so I think it’d be nice to set the cops crawling all over The Bulls. They’ll be forced to lie low, and it buys us some time to plan our takedown.”
“Your sharp mind gets my dick hard every bit as much as your hot body,” he admits, smirking as he cups his crotch.
“Should I be flattered?”
“Come here.” He holds out his hand, and I take it, letting him pull me into his sweat-soaked body. “Shower with me?”
“To get clean or dirty?” I tease, grabbing his ass cheeks and pulling his hard-on flush against my crotch.
“Both, princess,” he says, licking a line up the side of my neck. “It’s always both.”
CHAPTER 18
Harlow
“HONEY. IT’S SO good you’re home,” Mom says the following morning as I’m standing in the kitchen at the window, looking out over the back lawn. Her heels click across the tile floor as she heads for the coffeepot.
I turn around, clasping my hands around the mug I’m holding. “I waited up for you last night.”
Her spine stiffens. “We were out late.” She busies herself making coffee.
I walk toward her, pressing my hip into the counter and facing her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says, finally glancing at me, and I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek.
Gently, I turn her face toward me. She’s wearing a ton of makeup, but it’s still not enough to disguise the swelling on her left cheek, and there’s no disguising the cut on her lip.
She pulls her face out of my grip. “Don’t, honey.”
“Why are you with him, Mom?”
“I love him.” She’s quick to reply as she removes bread from the breadbox.
“I’m not buying it.”
She pops the bread in the toaster, still averting her gaze. “I know that, and I hope in time you’ll warm to him.”
I harrumph. “That will never happen. He’s a monster.”
I’d love to tell her what he expects of me. That he’s salivating at the prospect of fucking me with his perverted buddies. But I won’t expose her to those truths because it’s not safe for her to know.
Doesn’t mean I can’t drop a few clues.
I shudder on purpose. “And I hate how he looks at me sometimes and how he’s finding more and more opportunities to touch me.”
Her face pales before she catches herself. “I’m sure you’re imagining it. He’s just trying to get closer to you, stepfather to stepdaughter.”
I can’t tell if she’s trying to convince herself or me. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” Sarcasm drips from my tone. “Not that he’s a sick bastard with grabby hands and perverted ideas.”
She rubs at her temples. “Harlow, you can’t talk about him like that.” She grabs my hands, her eyes pleading with me. “But if he makes you feel uncomfortable, perhaps, it’s best you keep your distance and do nothing to upset him.”
Her changing thoughts are giving me whiplash. “How about you give that pep talk to him, huh?”
Air whooshes out of her mouth, and she lets go of my hands, rubbing her temples again. “Can you please try? For my sake?”
“Why should I, Mom?” I top up my coffee as acid churns in my gut.
“Because you don’t have much longer left in this house, and it’ll be a much more pleasant experience for everyone if you act civil toward him.”
I shake my head. Un-fucking-believable. He’s using her as his punching bag, and she’s trying to smooth things over so I don’t upset him. She’s so weak it makes me sick. “What happened to you? Or are you so blind you can’t see what he’s doing to you?”
Her shoulders straighten, and the softness in her features evaporates. “My relationship is none of your business, Harlow. And all I ask is that you don’t argue with him. Is that really too much for a mother to ask of her daughter?”
“Do you even know where I was this week?” I challenge, losing control of the tenuous hold on my emotions. “Or do you just not care?”
“Of course, I care.” She reaches her hand out to touch me, and I take a step back. Her arm drops to her side as her face showcases resignation. “I know you were training and that you’re an initiate. My fiancé doesn’t keep secrets from me.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Learning how to defend yourself is not a bad thing, and it’s an honor to be the first female member of The Sainthood.”
I stare at her, wondering who the woman standing in front of me is. Does she not hear herself? Have I wandered onto the set of some movie or show? How is she okay with this? “You disgust me.” I empty the rest of my coffee down the sink as Caz appears in the doorway.
“Hey, princess. You ready?”
“Yep.” I throw a scathing look at my mother as Caz walks away, and I move to go after him.
“Harlow.”
I stop and look at her over my shoulder.
“I was wrong about those boys. Stay close to them, both inside and outside of the house. They care about you.”
“How about you butt out of my relationship, and I’ll butt out of yours?”
“That sounds like a plan,” she agrees, and I shake my head in disgust, walking out without another word.
_______________
Saint pulls into the parking lot right in front of the school, killing the engine. When I refused to get in his Land Rover, citing safety reasons and my desire to abide by my late father’s wishes, I expected him to argue his point. But he surprised me, grabbing the keys to my Lexus and jumping in the driver’s seat. “Theo and Caz will keep you company today,” he says, grabbing the back of my head and pulling me in for a kiss.
“You’re not coming?” I ask when he releases my mouth.
“Galen and I have stuff to attend to.”
I remember our discussion last night and nod. “Okay. Be car
eful.” I peck his lips before exiting the car the same time he does. Saint locks the car using the fob and then tosses the keys to me. Caz and Theo are already at the top of the steps, having arrived first, and Galen is waiting on the sidewalk in front of Saint’s Land Rover, dangling the keys from the tips of his fingers.
I walk toward him as Saint steps onto the sidewalk behind me. Galen and I stare at one another, and there is so much unspoken between us.
“Be safe,” he says.
I nod and walk away, joining the guys at the entrance doors and making my way inside.
Morning classes are boring in their normality, but there’s something so refreshing about it.
When the bell chimes after the last class before lunch, I gather up my stuff and head out into the corridor. Caz and Theo are waiting against the lockers for me, and I walk toward them. “Hey, babe.” Caz plants his lips on mine, kissing me in a way that screams possession. Imaginary daggers embed in my back from the various female bystanders.
“We’re going out for lunch,” Theo says. “Let’s go.”
Caz links his fingers in mine as we walk beside Theo, in the direction of the exit. “We’re doing this, huh?” I ask, raising our conjoined hands, a smile teasing my lips.
Caz smirks, pulling our hands to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “Everyone knows you are ours. This isn’t a shock.”
“You guys haven’t done this before though, right?”
Caz squeezes my shoulder. “You’re the first and the last.” He lets go for a second, only to bring his hands to my hips, steering me out the door while Theo holds it open. Caz brushes his plump lips against my neck, and his warm breath raises goose bumps along my flesh. “Because we’re keeping you.” Caz removes my car keys from my pocket, throwing them at Theo. “You drive. I want to feel our princess up in the back seat.”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t protest as Caz leads me to the Lexus, helping me inside.
Theo hasn’t even started up the engine when Caz pounces on me, pushing me down on the back seat and covering me with his large body. I sink into the seat, melting under the warmth of his toned torso and the feel of his lips grazing mine.
The Sainthood : A Dark High School Romance (The Complete Series) Page 43