Broken Trust: A Dark High School Romance(80)

“Just going to clean up,” I explained. “Back in a sec.”

Without waiting for a response, I scurried my butt into the bathroom and cranked the shower. But no amount of soap was going to wash away the revelations of the night. Beck loved me. And if I wasn’t such a massive pussy, I could have admitted that I loved him too.

But with all the broken trust and heartache I’d only just started to get over, I wasn’t ready to voice those heavy feelings.

Not yet.





32





It took hardly any time for Beck to fall asleep, and even though my exhausted body kept pushing me to do the same, this was my only chance to escape without any of them knowing. I knew it was stupid. I was well aware I was the fucking moron heroine in the scary movie that deliberately ran away from the highly trained men that cared about her and were trying to protect her. But I was starting to understand that stupid heroine better, especially with my recent situations.

Sometimes the stupid decision was the best one for sanity, and I needed to know about Catherine and Dante. I needed to know before I lost my fucking mind, and since it didn’t appear they were going to let me talk to Dante any time soon, there was only one person who could tell me anything.

Sliding from the bed, I stared down at Beck for a few minutes. Even in sleep there was a coiled lethality about him. I’d have to be very stealthy to even have a chance of getting away; it was only that he was exhausted I even had a shot.

Silently, I opened the drawer and removed the gun and magazine filled with bullets. They slid almost soundlessly together, and I left the room to grab some clothes from my bathroom. Jeans, a hoodie, and my converse was all I needed. Catherine didn’t care if I wore a bra when I confronted her about being a lying bitch of a human.

The last thing was my keys. The butterfly and I were going for a drive tonight. As long as I didn’t wake any of my guard-dudes.

I made it out of my apartment and into the elevator without incident. As the doors were sliding closed, I kept waiting for someone to shout my name and rush forward, but no one did. When I entered the parking lot, I had the gun ready in my hand, and I was on high alert. I hadn’t forgotten about the last assassination attempt.

No one disturbed me, and I got into the butterfly without a problem. I clicked the button to open our automatic gates first, and then I started her up. I really wanted to give her a few minutes to warm up, but the engine was so loud that I was afraid it would somehow alert the guys, so I just carefully backed out and pulled out of the parking lot, closing the gate behind me. It was very early morning, the sun just starting to make itself known to Jefferson, and I was basically the only one on the road. My heart rate picked up as I made my way closer to the Delta estate, and when I pulled into the first set of armed gates, I was sure they could hear the beat from where they stood. “Name?” one said, looking at his sheet and not at me.

“Riley Deboise,” I said back.

His head jerked up, and he stepped aside. “Sorry, Miss Deboise. I did not recognize the car.”

I waved a hand at him. “No problem. I’m just here to visit my dad.”

He smiled, and stepped away. “Have a nice visit.”

Not fucking likely, buddy.

When I got closer to the estate, I parked the butterfly beside some bushes, and went the rest of the way on foot. I knew it was going to be next to impossible to surprise her, considering all the security, and the fact that the front guards had probably called my arrival in, but I was at least hoping not to give her too much advance notice. She might take off. Or plan some horrible shit to do to me.

A surprise attack felt like the right move.

Out of the car, I checked that the safety was on on my gun, and slid it into the front pocket of my hoodie. Then, creeping around, I did my best to avoid the camera, knowing the angle where I could stand to be out of sight. I used a stick to press the buttons and unlock the gates.

A lot of my plan was relying on the hope that Richard had not changed the code he’d given me to enter with.

Sure enough, it opened smoothly, and I slipped inside. I wasted no time, sprinting like my life depended on it down the driveway. When I got closer to the house, I silently debated with myself about trying to sneak in, or just knocking on the front door and getting it over with. I’d almost settled on sneaking in, because I might get a shot at looking through Oscar’s room first, when something caught my eye.

I hit the ground hard, wincing as the gun rammed into my gut. I shifted to ease off the hard metal, while remaining partially hidden by the rose bushes that lined the circular driveway. Catherine was right there in front of me, on the front stoop, talking to someone who had his back to me. Someone who was definitely not Richard Deboise. The man was tall, standing above her even when she was in five inch heels, and there was something vaguely familiar about him.

I needed to get closer so I could listen in, but I was afraid any movement would draw attention to me, which would limit whatever I could find out from whomever Catherine was meeting so early today. It was probably a lover; wouldn’t surprise me at all if she was cheating on Richard.

Sure enough, she reached around and threaded her fingers through the back of his hair, blood red nails flashing as she pulled him closer.

I shook my head at the cliché of it all. Rich woman having an affair. My god.

They kissed for a long time, passionate, pressing their bodies together. Catherine was clutching at him like he was actually important to her, and that shocked me a little. I didn’t think there was anyone important to that bitch. As he went to turn, she pulled him back for one last kiss, and he must have said something nice, because she smiled, her face softening.