by Nicole Fox
Her body is curved towards mine, and for the first time in a long time, I let myself hope that everything will be okay.
“Can you forgive me?” I ask, the words spoken so softly I can barely hear them myself. “I’ve done so much that is unforgivable, but I just have to know if—”
Lily stretches up on her toes and presses her lips to mine.
It is soft and sweet and gentle, but it comes with a tidal wave of relief that nearly knocks me to my knees.
I curl my hand around her waist, pulling her towards me, and kiss her back. So grateful for the taste of her, for the way she fits in my hand and against my body.
Everything else in the world feels manageable if she is by my side.
After we break apart, I grab her hand and pull her along behind me, climbing the hill to the house.
“What about the Hell Princes?” she whispers, looking towards the motionless lump in the yard. I’m not sure if the biker is passed out or dead, but he isn’t an immediate threat, so I ignore him.
“Half of them already ran off, and if there are any left out front, they don’t know Nico is dead. They’ll wait for him to come back. So, in the meantime, we pack a bag and get the hell out of here.”
The house is still dark, but the front door is open from when the guys ran out to save the day. I hope like hell they are all okay. I’ll never forgive myself if any of them got hurt.
But I have to focus on Lily right now. I need to get her out of here.
We walk up the stairs to my room and shut and lock the door once we’re inside.
“Okay. We need to pack a bag,” I say.
But before the words are barely out of my mouth, Lily picks up her duffel bag from the floor, dumps the contents out, and then goes to my top drawer. There, she pulls out my roll of cash and another knife and shoves it in the bag.
“How did you know about that?” I ask.
“It isn’t a very original hiding spot,” she says, smiling at me over her shoulder. “It’s where I found the knife I used to—”
Kill Nico. She shivers at the memory.
I touch her hair gently. “He would have killed both of us if he had the chance. You did the right thing.”
She nods, but I hope she believes it. She saved my life, and I won’t forget it.
Quickly, I move around the room, grabbing clothes, shoes, and some of my important documents. I have no idea if I’ll be able to come back to this house or not, and I don’t want to regret not bringing something important.
“Why do you have all of this money, anyway?” Lily asks. “I know you’re rich, but keeping cash like this in a sock drawer seems unusual even for you.”
“Every time my dad has given me money in the last six years, I’ve hidden it away,” I explain. “I knew there was the possibility he could turn on me one day the way he did my mom and sister, so I wanted to be prepared. If I had a warning that it was going to happen, I’d bolt and never come back.”
“It was really that bad?” she asks, throwing a few extra pairs of socks in the bag.
“Worse.”
I’ve never told anyone. Not even any of the Golden Boys. They thought my life was perfect, and when I was with them, I could pretend it was true for just a little while. I didn’t want to wreck the illusion.
I walk towards her, and she lifts her head, probably thinking I’m going to kiss her again. So, I do.
But at the same time, I pick up the key from my desk, grab the lock around her neck, and slip the key inside. When the tumblers turn, she pulls away from me, brows furrowed.
“I still want you to be mine,” I say, slipping the chain from around her neck. “But on your terms. Your choice.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she blinks them away.
I toss the necklace on the bed, Lily slips her hand in mine, and we leave together.
43
Finn
I don’t want to risk going out the front door and running into any of the Hell Princes who may still be lingering around the property, so I lead Lily down the back stairs and through a hidden door behind a set of shelves into the garage.
“This house is absurd,” Lily whispers.
Once we get in the car, we can lock the doors and pull down the drive regardless of who is in front of us.
From there, we’ll go get Lily’s mom, then drive as far as we can until we want to stop.
And after that … well, I have no idea.
This is reckless, but there doesn’t seem to be another option. We can’t stay in Ravenlake.
Not while my father is running the place and has people like Officer Ingram working underneath him.
Not while the Hell Princes think I killed one of their own.
I have to get myself and Lily away from here and safe. Then, we’ll figure out how to set everything right.
We load our bags into the trunk and climb in the car. Lily presses her hands together between her thighs, her legs bouncing. She is nervous, and I want to comfort her, but I’m just as nervous.
I don’t know how to be this guy I’ve become with her. I don’t know how to care about her openly.
Hopefully, I have plenty of time to learn.
The garage door opens, and I’m ready on the gas to floor it and blow past anyone who may pop up to stop us, but the drive is clear. There are blood smears here and there, but otherwise, nothing.
“I guess they all left?” Lily squints through the windshield, studying the shrubs and trees along the edge of the property.
“Or went looking for us,” I shrug. Either way, we have an opening, and I don’t want to miss it.
As I pull out of the garage, I keep expecting someone to pop up. To appear out of nowhere and try to stop us.
It just seems too good to be true that everyone is simply … gone.
But by the time we make it to the end of the driveway, I’m convinced we have well and truly lucked out.
Until I go to turn and see Officer Ingram’s patrol car blocking the road.
He is standing in front of it…
Gun leveled at us.
Lily yelps and ducks down. I slam on the brakes.
Ingram smiles and waves for us to get out of the car.
“We can’t get out,” Lily says. “We can’t trust him.”
Before she can even get the words entirely out, there is a shot. She screams again, and I lunge across the seat to try and shield her.
There is another shot. And another.
Four shots in total, and I realize Ingram has shot out my tires. Every single one of them.
“Fuck.” I slam my hands on the wheel, angry at myself for not being more careful. For thinking it could be this easy.
“Finn, what do we do?” Lily whispers. “Can we run?”
“My feet are shredded. I won’t be able to keep up with you, and I certainly can’t outrun a bullet.” I curse again and then turn to Lily. “You should run. I’ll gun it and take Ingram out while you get away. Run and get help.”
“Finn, no.” Lily grabs my hand. “I’m not going to leave you to die.”
“If you don’t, we’ll both die. Please.”
Suddenly, the world is imploding. My ears are ringing, glasses shatters and rains down on us, and Lily is screaming.
When I finally look up, the windshield is gone, and Ingram is standing next to my door, the gun aimed at my head.
“Out of the car, Foster,” he orders. “Nice and easy. Lie face-down on the ground and put your hands behind your back.”
“Ingram, come on,” I say, holding my hands up to show him I have nothing. “I’m leaving town. I’m not going to tell anyone about the drugs or what you’ve been doing. Just let me leave and this can be over. You don’t have to do anything you’ll regret.”
“It’s too late,” he says.
“No, it isn’t. It really isn’t. Just let us go, and—”
“Shut up!” he yells, waving the gun around. “Shut up, okay? I’m so fucking tired of listening to you talk.”<
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I hold my hands up a bit higher and nod silently. My instinct is to keep trying to reason with him, but right now, he has the gun, and the girl I love is behind me in the car. I’m going to do whatever he asks.
“It’s too late because I was already caught taking drugs from the locker.” Ingram rolls his lips together, his mustache twitching. “And I nearly lost my job.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” he growls, lifting the gun to my forehead. “I wanted to be done, but you refused to let it go. You threatened me and forced me to steal until I got caught. It’s entirely your fault.”
“Let me fix it.” I have no idea how I’ll go about doing that, but if I can just get him to lower the gun, then I can fight him for it and try to regain control of this situation. “Give me some time, and I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re too late for that, too,” he says with a smile. “Your dad took care of it for me.”
I blink at him, trying to comprehend what this all means.
Trying to understand how everything is interconnected.
“If my dad helped you, then why the fuck did you leave me at the mercy of the Hell Princes earlier? What a way to repay my dad.”
“What a way, indeed.”
I was so focused on Ingram and the gun aimed at my face that I didn’t see anyone get out of the patrol car.
I didn’t realize my dad was standing there until he says something, but now my attention is locked on him.
He is in a suit just like always, crisp and clean. His hands are in his pockets, relaxed, and he is smiling.
“I asked Officer Ingram to keep an eye on you and ensure you were doing as I asked. He’s the one who told me about your betrayal.”
“Fuck you,” I snort. “I never betrayed you.”
“You had a chance to finish what we started. Didn’t even have to get your own hands dirty. Nico was going to do that for you. But you didn’t. You failed at the crucial moment.” He sighs in disgust. “And now, here you are, running away from me with this trash.”
He glares through the windshield at Lily, and gun or no gun, I want to charge at him and knock his teeth in.
Then he fixes his eyes back on me. “You are a disappointment in every sense of the word.”
“Then let me go.”
“What was that?” he asks casually, kicking a rock with the toe of his shoe.
“Let me go,” I repeat, trying to keep my voice even and free of the rage boiling inside of me. “If I’m such a disappointment, let me and Lily leave. You won’t ever hear from me again. You can tell people I died or killed myself or disappeared. Tell them I had plastic surgery on my face and moved to Bermuda. I don’t care. Just let us leave.”
He studies me the way you would watch a worm squirm in the mud. A mild look of disgust mingled with curiosity.
He likes that I’m dangling at the end of his hook. He likes that I’m begging him.
I can only hope that sense of power is enough to earn me some mercy.
“Please.”
My father blinks at me, studying my face for a second before he turns on his heel and waves over his shoulder at Officer Ingram. “Get rid of him. I’m done here.”
44
Lily
I could make a run for the trees. I can see the lights of a neighbor’s house through the leaves. Maybe they would even hear my screams and come out to help.
Or maybe they would just call the police, and Ingram would answer the call.
Maybe no one can save us, and we have to save ourselves.
The car is still running. Officer Ingram didn’t tell Finn to turn off the car or confiscate the key, so if I can slide over into the driver’s seat without any noticing, I can run him down.
The problem is that he could shoot Finn in the time it takes for me to cross the console.
The other problem is that even if doesn’t shoot Finn when I cross the console, when I warn Finn to get out of the way so I can run Ingram down, he could shoot Finn.
A lot of my plans end with Finn being shot, which does not make them very good plans.
After everything that has happened tonight and the last few weeks, I should want to run away and save myself.
But I love Finn.
I love him.
It feels crazy to admit it, but I’ve seen a soft side of him. I’ve seen the dark parts of his life that have hardened him.
And I understand.
He was doing what he thought he needed to do to survive. I can’t blame him for that. Not now that I know the whole picture.
So now, I need to do what I need to do so we can both survive.
Ingram keeps shifting his gaze from Finn to me and there is never an opening for me to move to the driver’s seat.
Until Mr. Foster appears.
I see him get out of the cop car, and I know Finn doesn’t notice because he doesn’t move. He doesn’t have any reaction at all.
Until his dad speaks.
Only then does Finn flinch. More importantly, Ingram shifts focus.
He forgets about me. They all do.
Just like I wanted when I first came to Ravenlake Prep, I’m flying under the radar, and this time, I don’t intend to let it go to waste.
I lift one leg over the console and then carefully drag the other over, holding my breath the entire time as though that will somehow help me be stealthier.
The leather seat is still warm from Finn’s body. I take a deep breath, trying to absorb some of his heat to thaw the ice in my chest.
If I mess this up at all, Finn could die. I could die.
The pressure is building, squeezing my chest like a vise, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to overcome it.
Then, I hear Mr. Foster call over his shoulder. “Get rid of him. I’m done here.”
I nearly scream. He is going to have his son killed.
Officer Ingram seems surprised by the order as well. He stares after Mr. Foster for a second.
And it’s enough.
I see my opening, and I take it.
I slam my hand on the horn, and Finn jumps out from in front of the car in one smooth motion, ducking and rolling in the asphalt.
Officer Ingram spins around, gun waving wildly.
I throw the car in drive and hit the gas.
The gun goes off. I swear I can hear the whistle of the bullet, but I ignore everything except the mustachioed police officer directly between the headlights.
I don’t have much space to accelerate, but Finn’s car is fast even with the tires shot out, and Ingram has nowhere to go.
As soon as the car hits him, he flies up onto the hood. I worry he’ll come through the windshield, but he soars over the top of the car, thuds off the trunk, and lands behind the car.
Just for safety, I hit the brakes, throw the car in reverse, and mash the gas again.
It feels like hitting a speed bump going a bit too fast. Unlike killing Nico in the woods, killing Ingram is impersonal. Quick.
I barely realize I’ve done it until it’s done.
Then I see Mr. Foster.
He is standing in front of the patrol car, mouth hanging open in shock. And in that moment, I hate him more than I’ve ever hated anyone.
He killed his wife and daughter, and now he wanted to kill his own son.
No, even worse somehow—he wanted to blackmail someone else into doing it for him.
I hate him, and there isn’t a single thought in my head except pure hatred when I shift back into drive and hit the gas.
The car thuds along clunkily, but the flat tires aren’t enough to make the car any less deadly.
Especially since Mr. Foster is still standing dumbly, frozen with fear in front of the police car.
When I hit him, his body crunches between the two metal objects like a marshmallow in a garlic press.
Then, silence. Punctured only by the metallic groan of the two cars sandwiching Mr. Foster’s limp body together.
Suddenly, Finn i
s at the driver’s side door, and I realize I don’t know how much time has passed.
My hands are still on the steering wheel, but the car is in park, and I don’t remember doing it. I don’t remember anything.
“Lily?” Finn opens the door and grabs my arm, pulling me from the car. “Are you okay?”
I stare at him blankly, trying to feel something—anything—but I’m empty. Entirely empty.
I’m cold and sore and exhausted and … empty.
“You’re in shock.” Finn lays a cool hand over my forehead and then helps me sit down. When I look to my left, I see Officer Ingram’s body lying on the ground, but Finn quickly grabs my chin and helps me focus on him.
Looking into his bright blue eyes, everything else seems to fade away.
“Stay here,” he whispers before leaning forward to kiss my forehead. “And don’t look around.”
He runs over towards where Ingram is and then jogs past me to the front of the car. I hear the gunshot, and I know what he’s done.
His father is dead.
It’s over.
We’re alive.
I saved us both.
45
Lily
We didn’t need to call the cops. Someone else already did.
When the officer arrives, he sees Ingram on the ground, Mr. Foster pinned between two vehicles, and two shaking teenagers in the middle of the road and immediately calls for back up.
Finn is able to spin a story better and faster than I’m capable of in my current state. He settles on the truth, more or less, telling the officers that Ingram had been dealing drugs to the teens of Ravenlake for years, and Finn was going to take the evidence of that to the police. So, when I called 911 earlier to save Finn from the Hell Princes, Ingram didn’t do anything to help him because he wanted Finn out of the picture.
“The body of Nico Barber is in the woods behind my house,” Finn says coldly. “I stabbed him in the back when he tried to strangle me.”
He points to the growing bruises around his neck as proof.