Mayhem At Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #3)(95)

He grits his teeth and rubs his right hand over his face.

“We made a mistake in letting you marry Bernadette,” Oscar says, but not unsympathetically. “Didn't we?”

“I think so,” Victor agrees, closing his eyes for a moment. “Fuck.” He bends down into a crouch, still holding his cigarette.

It occurs to me then that the Havoc Boys are human.

Like, I knew that. I knew they were just teenagers who were forged in fire and really goddamn good at what they do. But they are not perfect. They are fallible. They make mistakes.

“That's what I should've done, married a patsy,” he murmurs quietly. “But I guess I underestimated Ophelia.”

“The mistake we made was in assuming she had no capital left,” Oscar says, exhaling sharply. “Or an easy method of obtaining more. She's essentially hired a small army to supplement the Charter Crew.”

“So what's the plan?” I ask, wishing Victor would stand up, that he'd flash a grin at me and say I got this, princess. As if he can sense my thoughts, he rises to his feet and turns around, sighing as he smokes his cigarette.

“We need to clean up the Charter Crew. I already told you, I don't like killing kids because it draws attention. But right now, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place.” Victor's face tightens up as he looks back at me. “But I won't let my love for you get you killed, Bernie.” He cracks his knuckles and clenches his jaw, glancing over at Aaron like there's something he wants to say but isn't ready to just yet. “It's time to drop some bodies. I know caution is our game, but we've gotta move on them before they move on us. On Wednesday, we're painting the streets with blood. And then, when I get the chance, I'm going to hang my mother from the rafters of Tom's fancy house.”

Victor takes off for the front door and lets himself out, slamming it behind him. I'm sure he doesn't go far; it'd be too dangerous for him to leave. But I can also tell he needs some space.

“Do you want to say it or should I?” Hael pipes up, and I glance back to see that he's looking at Aaron. Hael smiles, but it isn't his usual sex-laden smirk. Instead, he looks almost sad.

“Say what?” Aaron quips back, but he looks supremely fucking irritated. Personally, I'm still reeling from the day's events. Can't wait to see what pretty little Sara Young thinks about that awful video.

Hael stands up and makes his way over to the couch, resting his hands on the back of it as he leans over. His face is dead-serious, more so than I've ever seen before.

“That you were right.” Hael taps his palms against the couch and stands back up again. “You and Oscar. You've always been the most adamant about putting distance between us and Bernie. Well, here's your worst nightmare come true.”

“We all tried to dissuade Victor from bringing her in,” Aaron says, pushing his hair back from his forehead. He doesn't sound like he has a lot of conviction in that statement though. “We all let him have the price he wanted; we're all at fault.”

“No.” I stand up suddenly, feeling my skin prickle with annoyance. “All I've ever wanted is to be a part of Havoc. You guys know me. You know I wasn't going to stop until I met that goal. Stop blaming each other, or wishing you'd done more. At this point, it's obvious that no matter what the world—or you guys—throws at me, I'll keep coming back.” I look at Aaron then Oscar, Hael then Callum. “Stop wondering and worrying about where I could've been or what mistakes you made, and just figure this out. That's what you guys are good at, digging Havoc out of tight spots.”

I move away from the table and outside to the backyard, so I can have a moment to myself to think.

Havoc has always ruled Prescott High. Well, now that the blood is running out of the halls and into the streets, it's time to shift our attention to bigger things. At the end of this year, we'll be graduating. Then what? We can't keep our sights on the high school forever; there are bigger and better things afoot.

Surprisingly, Oscar is the one who comes to find me first, standing a careful three feet away from me and staring at Aaron's carefully tended rhododendrons in thought.

“About the other day,” he starts, and I brace myself for whatever this conversation is going to be. Either an apology or another jab. I'm not sure which would hit me harder at this moment. “I intended on coming back for you.” He turns to look at me, that steel-gray gaze of his sweeping me from head to toe. “I wasn't done with you, Bernadette.”

“No? You were just going to pop out and fuck Leigh up a bit before you came back?” I ask, but I'm not really that angry anymore. I said I was going to trust the Havoc Boys, so that's what I'm going to do. Oscar says he was coming back? So, guess what? I believe him.

“Leigh was waiting for me in a foreclosure about three blocks away. I had a crew waiting for me; it was supposed to be in and out.” Oscar moves a bit closer to me, reaching down to run a single finger along the side of my face. I close my eyes against the touch, imagining those pink silk ropes binding my arms, their knots a pattern, a work of brilliant, violent, carnal art. “Violence works me up, Bernadette. Maybe you're lucky that I wasn't able to come back for you?”

I just laugh at him and brush his hand away.

“Oscar Montauk, put your money where your mouth is then and show me. Show me what I'm supposed to be so afraid of.” I move away from him and into the grass, sitting down in the sunshine for a moment. Even more surprisingly, Oscar joins me. “I've never seen you do something so mundane as sit on a lawn before,” I say with a slight smile. “You might get grass stains on your perfect suit.”