Mayhem At Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #3)(51)

Once I’m dressed, I put my hair into a loose pony and shove my ruined clothes into the bag to take with us. Victor waits for me by the office door, lighting up yet another cigarette. Chain-smoking again. Means he’s nervous as shit.

He shoves open the door and saunters out of there with every ounce of cockiness inside his DNA.

“Listen up,” he calls out as Oscar moves up to the open garage door to await his boss’ orders. Cal, Aaron, and Hael are still in the corner, gossiping and smoking. “Bernie and I just had a chat.” He holds up a hand and ticks off a finger. “First, no babies. That’s my job. Second, I’m not a referee. Work on your own crap.”

“What the fuck are you trying to say?” Aaron asks, blinking at Vic like he can’t quite believe this is happening.

“I’m saying: you can decide what the term Havoc Girl means to you. I won’t stop you.” Victor pauses and shakes his head, raking his fingers through his purple hair. “Don’t ever tell me I never did anything nice for you,” he murmurs, cigarette hanging from his lips as he lets his dark gaze pan across the other Havoc boys. It’s embarrassing as fuck, since I happen to be standing there with that I just got my brains banged out look going on. “I am Bernadette’s husband. But I’m also the middle letter of Havoc. You know I choose our family every time.” He holds up his hand and gestures loosely with inked fingers. “Figure your relationships out on your own time; just don’t let them interfere with mine.”

Victor continues on toward the garage door and out into the watercolor purple of early evening.

I step out of the office, adjusting the baggy sweatpants. The hair on the back of my neck prickles, alerting me to the fact that four very different, very hungry male gazes have just landed on me. Down, boys, I think, taking out another pack of smokes that Vic gave me and lighting one up. Sure, sure, it’s a filthy, dirty habit.

Did you think there was anything clean about my story?

“Well, now, that was unexpected,” Hael murmurs, running his tongue slowly across his lower lip. His expression—starved and wild all at once—doesn’t surprise me. Oscar’s, on the other hand, does. There’s the briefest flicker of desperation before Oscar clamps down on it and turns away.

“Get ready. We leave in fifteen.” He takes off after Vic as I turn to Aaron, Hael, and Cal with a smile.

“Wish I knew where we were going,” I grumble, but then I have to turn away again and clamp a hand over my mouth. Did Victor just … did he just tell me to play with his boys?! I jump when a hand lands on my shoulder, even though I can already tell by the gentleness of the touch that it’s Aaron. That strange flicker takes over me again, like lightning during a summer storm. This time though, I know what it is: happiness.

“Cute that he thinks I need his fucking permission,” Aaron growls, sliding his hands up and down my arms before letting them settle on my shoulders. He squeezes me with strong fingers, working out some of my worst knots. “But that’s what he just did, right? Give us his dark and unwanted blessing?”

“Pretty sure he did,” I say, but I’m still struggling to believe it.

“Hey Bernie,” Callum calls out, and I glance over my shoulder, past Aaron and over to where he’s standing with a handful of peanuts in his palm. He holds the plastic bag with the rest in his other hand. “Have you ever heard the term gang bang?”

“Fuck you, Cal,” I blurt, dancing away from Aaron and then flicking my cigarette at him, as if I’m just too fucking cool for school. Only the devil knows that I’m still a teenage girl inside the dark recesses of my heart. I flip Callum off with both hands, but he just laughs at me as Hael snorts.

“Yo, I was going to make that joke!” he says, snapping his fingers. “Motherfucker.”

“Should’ve moved on it quicker,” Callum purrs in that husky voice of his. He sidles past me, turning in a half-circle and walking backward. “Talk to your husband about it maybe?” he asks, and then he spins around and starts laughing again.

I flip him off again, but Hael just howls and howls.

“Oh, Bernie, can you only imagine? Bet when you agreed to be our girl, you didn’t think you’d have to—”

I put my fingers in my ears to drown him out as I start walking out of the garage.

“Can’t hear you!” I call, until he’s suddenly right there and scooping me into his arms. Hael Harbin carries me over to the blacked-out Escalade as I scream, and then tosses me inside like I weigh nothing at all.

That’s not the first or only scream we hear that night.

But it’s certainly the least violent.





“What’s the plan?” I ask as Callum hands me a brand-new skeleton mask and a pair of black latex gloves. The mask is much nicer than the one I wore when I stood over Neil’s open grave. It’s made of wood, and very pretty. It reminds me of the face paint the boys wore on Halloween.

Cal holds his over his face, blue eyes watching me from the eyeholes. I shiver and he drops it back to his lap with a laugh.

“Time to find out if Mitch is serious about all this,” Vic murmurs from the front seat, rubbing his chin the way he always does when he’s thinking.

“As if killing one of our crew isn’t serious?” I ask, and Victor looks back over his shoulder at me. He gives one of his signature anti-smiles.