Sweet Retribution (Rydeville High Elite #3)(11)

“I’m not saying I won’t deal with it. Just I won’t deal with it now.” I come around the counter and lean against a stool beside him. “I thought my life was fucked up a few months ago but that was barely a blip, you know?”

He circles his arm around my shoulder. “You couldn’t make this shit up,” he agrees. “And the more I hear of Parkhurst, the elite, and the order, the more determined I am that we’re taking them down.”

My eyes burn with red-hot anger and dogged determination. “We’re going to do it. Starting with my father, and then we’ll tackle the rest.” I sigh, finally giving up something I’ve spent a year dreaming about. “I can’t escape Rydeville now. Too much has happened for me to turn a blind eye. There is so much more to this than just me or us.”

I turn to face him. “You didn’t see those girls in the dungeon. How many hundreds, thousands, of innocent kids has he destroyed? And Drew says there are towns like Rydeville, and men like my father, all over the country. Think of how many innocent lives have been ruined. We’ve got to do something to stop them.”

“I agree, but it’s a tall order even with our combined skills.”

“I have an idea. One I think will work or at least it will cause uproar within the order and bring a spotlight on them that will force them to back down for a while.” I hop up, offering him my hand. “I’m going to ask Drew to set up a meeting tomorrow night at Lauder’s house, and I’ll fill you all in then. For now, let’s go to my room and check for bugs, because Charlie could be home anytime.”

After Xavier proves my room is clean, we sneak into Charlie’s room, and he checks it for bugs first, confirming there are none, before we insert the tracking chips in some of his shoes. I hold one back to slip into the shoes he’s wearing today when I next get the chance. I have a feeling Charlie will be spending a lot more time at the investment-slash-banking firm his dad owned and ran. It’s been in his family for generations, so I expect a lot more responsibility is about to fall on his shoulders.

I hope it keeps him too busy to keep tabs on me.

I grab some chips, dips, and sodas from the kitchen and return to my bedroom. We sit cross-legged on my bed, munching as we talk. “Did you have time to look at the security footage from the house yet?” I ask.

His face contorts. “I didn’t have to mess it up as your father had already tended to that.”

I stop mid-chew. “What do you mean?” I mumble around a mouthful of cheesy nacho chips.

“The feed is all scrambled and unusable. I need to probe deeper to see if I can unscramble it. I can’t figure out if it was still recording and the footage is just hidden or the scrambling was to hide the fact the cameras weren’t recording on Christmas Day.”

“Damn that conniving bastard.” I thump my headboard in frustration. “I was hoping we’d caught the murder on tape.”

“We might have,” Xavier says over a mouthful of Pringles. “But I won’t know until we examine it more closely. Hunt said he’d look at it tonight, so I’m dropping by their place after I leave you.”

“You two are working very closely together these days. How’s that going?” I plant my most innocent expression on my face.

Xavier smirks. “Ask what you really want to, babe.” He waggles his brows.

My lips pull up at the corners. “Kai says I shouldn’t interfere.”

He arches a brow. “And when have you ever done what Kai tells you to do?”

My grin widens. “You raise a valid point.” I brush chip crumbs off the side of my mouth. “Are you and Sawyer hooking up?” I bluntly ask.

He roars laughing. “I thought that’s what you were hinting at. No, we’re not hooking up.”

I drill him with a look. “And?”

He pops a chip in his mouth, grinning as he chews, forcing me to wait him out.

“Oh, come on. Give a girl a break,” I say when he reaches for the Pringles can again. “Put me out of my misery.”

He leans forward, and I angle my head in closer. “Sawyer is hot.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I roll my eyes.

“And I wouldn’t kick him out of bed.”

I rub my hands. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Has something happened?”

“Nope, and I hate to disappoint you, chica, but it’s not going to. He drives me fucking insane.” He waves his hands about. “He’s so pedantic. So structured. Way too fucking neat. I mean, the guy would blow his top if he had a hair out of place or if that crease in his dress pants wasn’t exactly in the right spot.” He scoffs, a look of distaste appearing on his face.

“Uh-huh. I believe you. Thousands wouldn’t, but I do,” I lie, and he throws a pillow at me.

“He’s sexy as fuck, but it wouldn’t be worth it. I can just imagine him now.” He puts on a deep voice, wearing a serious expression. “Lift your hips five centimeters, spread your legs ten, and angle your ass so it’s exactly in line with my cock.” He grabs a handful of Pringles. “Fuck that shit. Sex should be messy and unplanned. And Sawyer doesn’t do messy and unplanned.”

“There’s always a first time for everything,” I quip, grabbing the chips from his hand and smooshing them into his mouth.