The bunk squeaks when Paul hops out of the top and scurries to Elsie’s bed. He tucks a pillow to his chest and doesn’t look at anyone. A few seconds later, Zac bolts over the invisible line that has always separated me from everyone else.
Zac encircles his arms around my waist as Elsie tightens her hold on my neck. I’m leaving them. I glance around the room. Joshua has his head down and Liam’s staring at the ceiling as if we told him of an impending death.
“What did you tell them?” I whisper.
“I told them I’d do it. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
My mouth feels like a desert and it’s difficult to breathe. “What if I don’t want to go?”
Liam meets my eyes. “It doesn’t matter what you want. The decision’s already been made. You’re leaving this week.”
RAZOR
We need to talk about Kyle as soon as you get back. That was the last text Breanna sent before I hauled ass to Snowflake.
Sitting on my motorcycle in the student parking lot, I can hear the time bomb ticking in my brain. There was no other contact from her. No other text, no voice mail. Kyle did something to shake Breanna and each second of silence from her is causing my mood to become deadly.
A growl of motorcycles and two bikes from a pack of Reign of Terror driving past the school break off and turn in to the parking lot. Only one wears a three-piece patch and, from his bike, I can tell it’s Oz. Chevy rides beside him. They fly into the empty spot beside me and I do little more than glance at them as they dismount. Where the hell is Breanna?
“Where have you been?” says Chevy. “No one’s heard shit from you since Friday.”
No, they haven’t, but I can’t deal with the club. Breanna’s best friend, Addison, slips out of the passenger side of a car and her gaze hits mine. The wires that are crossed inside me cause the ticking to speed up. Everything is wrong.
“Razor!” Oz steps in front of me. “What’s going on?”
I push past Oz and he easily gives as I stalk toward Addison. She waits for me and the lone sign that she’s nervous is how she adjusts the backpack she carries on one shoulder.
“Addison!” her other friend chides as she looks at me as if I’m the devil bent on stealing their souls. “Let’s go.”
“Go on without me. Thomas and I need to talk.” Addison rips her glare from me to behind me, and because we have always backed each other up, I have no doubt Chevy and Oz are coming up on my six.
Her friend leaves and I don’t waste time. “Where is she?”
“Home. Reagan and I pulled in to pick her up this morning and her older brother Liam came out and told us she’s not going to school.”
An edge of worry shakes my frame. “Is she sick?”
“He said she’s not going to school anymore. Breanna’s parents are sending her away.” The perfect cheerleader leans into me like she’s the Riot willing to go to war. “I’m assuming they found out about you, and if you’re the reason why I’m losing my best friend, I’m going to make sure you pay.”
She wants a piece of me, she can have it, but not now, not until I know how deep this hole goes. “Have you talked with her?”
Addison grimaces like I struck her, but she’s quick to recover. “I was allowed to hug her goodbye. Thirty seconds. I’ve been her best friend for years and because of you I got thirty seconds and you know what she told me to tell you? That the warning shot was sent. Not sure what that means, but I hope it means you’ll rot in hell.”
My entire body straightens as pissed-off energy rolls off me in waves. “Did she say anything? About Kyle? About a picture?”
Addison’s head ticks back. “No, but what do you mean Kyle and a picture? Is Breanna in trouble? Is—”
No time. The seconds are counting down in rapid succession. The explosion’s imminent and Kyle will be part of the damage. I’m through the crowd, scanning faces, and there’s footsteps behind me, and unlike on Friday, they aren’t trying to stop me, but they’re moving with me as if we’re a synchronized machine.
The son of a bitch is by his car, chatting with a freshman girl who believes he’s God.
“Get her away,” I growl, and Chevy maneuvers past me, catching the arm of the freshman and navigating her away with a smile and a daisy popping out of thin air. She’s confused and amused, and she’s officially out of the impact zone.
Like the moron he is, Kyle’s dumbfounded as he regards Chevy’s show and he doesn’t see my fist until it makes contact with his face. A smack of flesh against flesh and Kyle falls sideways into the hood of his car.
Before he can recover, I grab him by the lapels of his football jacket and drag him to his feet. “You’re a fucking dead man.”
His eyes widen with fear, but his lips twitch like he’s attempting to laugh. “Only sent the picture to her parents, but if she doesn’t write that paper, it’s going live.” He puts his hands over my wrists. “I’m in control of this game now. We found the back door you placed on our phones and we won’t be falling for your shit anymore. Because you care for her, you won’t do a thing to me. If you do, I’ll make sure everyone knows that she’s your whore.”
I go cold on the inside and the world tilts. He’s dead. The guy in front of me is inhaling air, but he’s as good as dead.
My fingers curl tighter, but there’re hands on my shoulders. The power of horses pulling me away and Chevy’s in my face. “Not now. We’ll take care of this, but not now.”