Broken Trust: A Dark High School Romance(9)

Beck immediately released me, groaning and clutching his junk as I sidestepped out of reach.

“What did I fucking tell you about touching me, Beck?” I snarled at him. “And no chick wants to be locked in a cage, you deranged psychopath.”

With a disgusted sneer, I left him cradling his family jewels while I snatched my jacket out of the Mustang and stalked across the abandoned lot to where Dante waited ... with Jasper.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” I snapped at Dante, barely sparing a cursory glance at Jasper. My winning mood was officially soured.

Dante heaved a sigh and exchanged a look with Jasper. Since when the fuck did Dante and Jasper know each other well enough to share looks?

“Riles, babe, I think—” Whatever Dante was about to say, I didn’t want to hear it.

“Nope.” I threw up a hand to cut off his words and shook my head. “You’re on my side or theirs. No middle ground.” Dante opened his mouth, and I knew he was going to argue, just based on the set of his jaw, so I glared at him harder. “Them or me, Dante.”

He held my gaze for a long time, like he was checking if I was serious or not.

“You, obviously,” he finally said on a long sigh. “Always you, Riles. But—”

My sharpened death glare made him think twice about whatever he was going to say, and he just shook his head instead.

“Can I say something?” Jasper asked, putting his hand in the air like we were in elementary school or some shit.

“No,” I snapped, grabbing Dante’s hand and stalking back toward the Mustang.

Beck was limping in our direction, his face drawn, but I breezed past him like he didn’t even exist.

“So much for a fun night out,” I snapped when Dante joined me in the car and I revved the engine. I could see that the other racers who’d just finished looked confused that I was leaving, but fuck them. I had zero desires to hang around those lying, traitorous bastards a second longer.

We drove in silence for a long time before Dante shifted in his seat to stare at me.

“What pissed you off more?” he asked. “The fact that they played you? Or that you fell in love with that asshole?”

My jaw dropped, and I shot Dante a glare. “I did not fall in love with him,” I spluttered my denial, but my cheeks heated and my stomach churned.

“Uh huh,” Dante murmured, then cranked the stereo and wound down his window. Apparently that’s all the conversation he was in the mood for.

Fucking fine by me. The last thing I wanted to do, was examine whether I was more pissed off at Beck for forcing me to kill a man, or the fact that he made me ... care.





5





Dante dropped me off at Jefferson the next morning, and I waited until the very last minute to get out at Ducis Academy. A uniform, makeup and hair shit, had been delivered to Dante’s last night, so I was dressed the part. Even if I was all broken inside.

“See you later, Riles,” he called through the window. “Call me if you need anything.”

I nodded and blew him a kiss. “I will. Drive carefully back to Jersey.”

He had shit to do this week and couldn’t hang around to babysit me. Which was fine. I was planning on keeping my head down, ignoring Delta, and moving into my new apartment. One promise Catherine was going to keep.

“Go away,” I growled as Evan fell into step beside me on my way to class.

“Would if I could,” he muttered on a sigh, but it was his irritated tone that had me pausing in the empty hallway and scowling at him.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I demanded. “I didn’t ask you to stalk me, so just go away.”

Evan rolled his eyes, scrubbing a hand through his brown and blond streaked hair. “Cut the shit, Riles. It’s Beck you’re pissed at so quit taking it out on the rest of us.”

Outrage choked me for a moment, and I stared at him like he’d just grown three heads. “Ex-cuse me? I’m not pissed at you? Oh, I guess I just imagined that happy family bullshit at breakfast just hours before masked goons kidnapped me naked and then I got forced to shoot someone.” I was trying really fucking hard to keep my voice down, but hot pulses of anger had me on the edge of losing control.

Evan darted his gaze around to make sure no one was listening before glaring at me. “You know it’s not safe to talk about that shit here, Riley.” His voice was pitched low and full of ... what? Regret? Doubtful. “But it’s not an option to leave you alone. Things ... shit has happened while you’ve been gone and it’s important that people know you’re still one of us.”

I scoffed a humorless laugh. “I’ve fallen for this cloak and dagger bullshit one too many times, Evan. Why should I believe a damn word out of your mouth?”

He didn’t reply, his jaw tight and his fists curled by his side as he looked down the hallway, like he was waiting for...

“Of course,” I sneered. “You were nothing but a glorified stalling tactic.”

Beck stormed toward us with long strides, and I shook my head. I couldn’t face him again so soon. Not after how rattled he’d left me after the race. Despite my tough bitch act, and my strong words to Dante, when we’d gotten home I’d spent the whole night crying. It was only through the grace of makeup that the evidence didn’t show today in my puffy eyes.