Deacon (Unfinished Hero #4)(20)

At this, I decided to let Priest do his thing, however scary that might be, but I had to prioritize. So I rushed to the girl on the couch, pulled her sweater down, and grabbed the throw I left for customers to cuddle up with in front of their TVs or out on their porches and threw it over her.

She moaned and shifted and then went slack.

She was fully clothed, even had her shoes on, which I took as a good sign.

“You leave this cabin, I break your legs before I break your neck.”

That came from Priest and my eyes shot to him to see he was still nose to nose with the kid so he wasn’t talking to him. Therefore I looked to the door to see the kid who’d been on top of the girl on the couch was trying to make his escape.

At Priest’s words, the kid stopped and stood completely still, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his gaze glued to Priest’s back.

And this was indication badasses had eyes in the back of their heads and high school punks weren’t completely stupid because I couldn’t be sure, but I had an inkling Priest’s threat wasn’t entirely empty.

“Do you want cops?”

This also came from Priest and no one answered, primarily because the boys obviously didn’t want cops and I didn’t know why he was giving them the choice.

His head turned and he pinned me with a scowl.

“Cassidy,” he prompted on an infuriated rumble.

I opened my mouth but didn’t get a word out before a girl’s broken voice cried, “We’ll get in trouble! We’ll get in trouble! You can’t phone the cops! I’ll lose my scholarship and Peyton’s parents will totally freak!”

I was looking at her so when she stopped, I called gently, “Did they hurt you, honey?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No. No. We were just partying.”

“Did they hurt Peyton?” I asked, waving my hand to indicate the girl on the couch.

She shook her head. “No. I was…was…before you got here, I was getting him off her. He didn’t get very far.”

“You sure?” I asked.

She nodded her head, bobbing it up and down quickly.

I moved to her and crouched close, her eyes following me the whole way.

I kept hold of them as I said quietly, “You do her no favors, not telling me the truth right now.”

She shook her head again. “I was gonna get us out of here. I was. I promise. Swear. I wouldn’t let that happen. The…the…the stuff I smoked was wearing off. And Peyton has a boyfriend back at home. Something happened, he’d lose it and break up with her and she’d never get over it.”

“Promise me,” I whispered.

“He was…he was…he’s a jerk,” she whispered back, her eyes darting beyond me to where the boy who was on Peyton was standing. “But he didn’t get very far.”

“You weren’t helping her when we came in.”

“’Cause you weren’t letting him close the door on you and I knew they were caught. You’d get in. You’d help her and then the door flew open and I got out of the way.”

I searched the features of a young, high, drunk, terrified girl I did not know to try to ascertain if the worst that could happen happened in my cabin.

She stared up at me, holding my gaze, hers wet and scared, but unwavering.

“I wanna get outta here,” she whispered.

“You got a car?” I asked.

She shook her head again. “We came with them. I was gonna walk Peyton up to the road then call a taxi.”

“Where are you staying?’

“Vista Real Condos, by the slopes.”

I nodded that I knew it, straightened, and turned to Priest. “I’m taking the girls home.”

Priest glowered at me but jerked up his chin. “You deal with them, I’ll deal with this,” he stated.

I didn’t know what “this” was or how he intended to deal with it and I didn’t care.

I only cared about one thing.

So I walked across the cabin and got close to him.

“I want this place cleaned up and I want their asses out of here, Priest. Spic and freaking span and them gone,” I hissed.

“It’ll be done,” he replied tersely.

I looked into his eyes, nodded, and turned.

“I’m gonna get my car. You rouse Peyton. Yeah?” I said to the girl.

She was pushing herself to her feet and wiping her face but she still managed to say, “Yeah.”

I moved to the door, stopped in it, and forced my eyes to the boy standing there.

“One day,” I said, my voice soft, my tone ugly. “You’re gonna have baby girls. One day, you’re gonna have daughters you’ll love more than anything in the world. And then there’ll come the day, the weeks, the months, the f*cking years,” I leaned in to him, my voice degenerating, “you’ll lie awake, remembering this night. Remembering what you did to that girl. Scared out of your damned mind that some f*cking * is doing that to one of your girls. Knowing it could happen because you know, being that kind of *, there are tons of *s out there just like you.”

His face paled and his throat convulsed.

“I pray to God what you did tonight never happens to the babies you’re gonna make,” I stated quietly. “But I’m f*cking thrilled you’ll live in terror of it.”