Ever Lost: Lost Boys of Neverly Prep: Academy Romance
Page 16
“No,” I murmur around my pizza. “They must have left to go somewhere else.”
She switches the subject and before I know it the pizza is gone, teenage guys for the win, and Luc is leading us downstairs to the rec room. It’s similar to the one at Peter’s with a huge screen TV and a bunch of old school arcade games.
Meri grabs my hand and pulls me over to Ms. Pac-Man.
“They’ll be eyeballs deep in Grand Theft in about two minutes. I’m trying to beat Luc’s high score but I always miss it.” Sure enough, her name is in the second to tenth spots for high score. “I think he cheated and somehow set that score. He refuses to play it again.”
She grabs a couple quarters out of a big jar next to the games and Start blinks on the screen.
We’ve all been in the rec room for half an hour when I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. Trey and Luc are in a do or die car race, and Meri is engrossed in Ms. Pac-Man. It’s the perfect opportunity. I move up the stairs quietly and shut the door, just in case. The house is quiet as I make my way down the hall, checking door knobs until I find the one that’s locked.
It has to be the office where Peter said I’d find the safe.
With a quick glance down the dark hall, I pull out the small case from my back pocket. Nate taught me how to pick locks years ago, so I’ve got the door unlocked in no time. I quickly step in and shut the door behind me, twisting the lock just in case. I can't have anyone finding me in here.
After finding a lamp on the desk, I open two cabinets before I find what I’m looking for. The safe is the built-in kind with a keypad for a six-digit code. I reach for my phone but my pocket is empty. Shit. I know it was October and I know the year. Was it the seventeenth? I type it in but the panel flashes error.
I have no idea if this is the kind of safe that will lock me out after so many tries, so I force myself to think, to remember. The sixteenth. I try it and error flashes again.
Fuck.
I play back the text conversation with Meri. The fifteenth. I’m almost sure it’s the fifteenth.
My hands shake as I punch in the code and I hold my breath. When I hear a click and a green access flashes, I want to cry. I yank the door open and peer inside. There are several boxes that look like they'd hold jewelry, a couple of stacks of cash bound together, and a few envelopes that look like they might be from lawyers. I bypass everything and pull the boxes out. The first is a beautiful diamond wedding set, at least three carats with tiny diamonds covering the band. It has to be worth a small fortune, but I close the box and set it aside. The next has a similar band, but clearly sized for a man.
I saw the pictures hanging on the wall, but now I wonder what happened to Luc’s mother. I’m a horrible person. I never even asked. The third black box is a little bigger and I flip open the lid, hoping the third time’s the charm.
Bingo.
An intricately carved pocket watch sits on a bed of black satin. Tiny rubies indicate the hours and a diamond sits at twelve o’clock. Wendi and a date are written on the watch face and I think of Peter. If this will help him find his wife, then at least something good will come of everything. The watch is about the size of cookie and fits in my palm perfectly. I tuck it into my pants pocket, then close the box and put them all back. I move things around, trying to remember exactly where they were so nothing looks disturbed.
I don't know how often Luc’s dad looks in his safe and opens the jewelry, but I’d assume not that often.
“A slut and a thief. Why am I not surprised,” a deep voice drawls.
I whirl around and find Trey standing in the doorway, his phone pointed right at me.
“Smile for the camera, sweetheart,” he sneers.
Fuck! I frantically search for a way out of this, but I’m trapped. I hold out my hand.
“I didn’t take anything. I was just…” The timepiece is safely in my pocket but I can't have Trey search me and find it.
“Looking for something?” There’s a sharpness behind his eyes that I’ve never seen before.
I don't even know what to say. This is so bad. I glance behind him looking for Luc, but the space remains empty.
“Don’t worry, he’s still downstairs playing Grand Theft. I saw you sneak out, said I needed a drink.”
“Look, I know you don’t like me and you don’t want me around, but you don’t have to worry anymore. After tonight I won’t ever step foot in Neverly again. I didn’t take anything, I swear. I was going to, but I couldn’t do that to Luc.”
I’ve already decided that after I give Peter the timepiece, he’s going to pay for a hotel room until he gets me Belle’s information. And he also promised that he’d use his connections to get me custody. There’s no way I’m letting him out of that.
But I can't stay in the house a moment longer with the guys.
Not when I know that I shattered everything between us. I can't bear the thought of seeing them day after day, knowing they hate me.
So yeah. I’m going tonight.
Trey crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe. “Yeah, see, that’s not going to work for me now. Not anymore.”
“What the hell do you mean?”
He pushes off and steps up to the desk, bracing his hands and leaning over closer. The sadistic satisfaction dancing in his eyes makes me sit back as far as I can.
“You didn’t have any value before, but now, you’re exactly what I need.”
Dread slithers through my veins. If he propositions me, I’d rather go to jail.
“You’re with Meri. She’s…”
He snorts and his lip curls into a sneer.
“Like I’d ever fucking touch a slut like you. You’ve been in the system since you were born. Used more times than the dirt track, I’m sure. No, I don’t want to fuck you, Ever, I want to use you to fuck with them.”
This time I laugh out loud.
“You’re too late. In case you haven’t noticed, they hate me now. They won’t care about anything you do to me. I’ve already burned that bridge.”
He shakes his head at me. “God, you’re fucking thick. They care. Trust me, they care a whole hell of a lot. Because what they’re doing to you? It’s sending a loud fucking message. And I’m going to use it to teach those entitled assholes a lesson.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
His smile turns wicked and he pulls my phone from his back pocket. “That’s for me to know. I’ve gone ahead and put my number in. I’ll let you know what I want, when I want it. Oh and Ever, you really should passcode your phone, you never know who might see your texts.”
He tosses it at me and it lands on the desk with a thud.
“See you in school tomorrow, Ever. Really looking forward to what comes next.”
I stare at the door for several minutes, replaying the entire conversation over and over. The timepiece feels like the tell-tale heart pounding in my pocket, and I reach in and close my finger around it.
The reason for everything.
The price I paid to find my sister, only it’s gotten so much more complicated than that. I should have admitted everything to the guys and let things play out how they might. Instead, I’m indebted to a madman. He has proof of what he claims I did. He’s right, no one would believe me over him. Not with my past.
And now my entire future is in his hands.
I should have told the truth, consequences be damned.
I glance at my phone and see there’s one missed text.
Just thought you should know, I think I found your sister.
To be continued with Ever Found…..
Acknowledgements:
I really hope that you loved Ever and her boys as much as I did writing them. There is so much more in store for them, and there’s going to be more pain before they can find their way to their happy ever after, (hence why book 3 is titled Ever After just fyi) heh, but they will get there! Now you’ll just have to wait and see who that ever after includes. ;P
T
his is always the hardest part because so many people play a part in getting a book from an idea into reader’s hands. I love being able to tell stories and it still amazes me that people read MY words. Just wow! So first and foremost, thank you to the readers whose support and enthusiasm fuel the drive to keep putting it all out there. It makes all the sweat and tears worth it!
Second, I need to thank Brandy Reese of Precision Red Pen who helped me develop this story from “yeah it’s good” to “oh my god yes!” Brainstorming is so much fun and when you find someone as excited as you are? Amazing and unexpected things happen! (So that ending? Blame her!) LOL
Hiring an editor is such a crap shoot in this business, but I lucked into a great one when I found Ink it Out Editing Services (And I’m never letting go Chelly Peeler, just so you know!) You never know just how bad you are at correct comma usage until a professional has at it!
My alpha readers, Brandy Reese and Brooke Warren, who were the first ones to see this book in all it’s unedited glory, and yet still loved it despite my terrible grammar. #TeamBaz right girls?
The girls that make up BBB PA Services! Sosha Ann is the most amazing PA and if it weren’t for her, I’d be an unorganized mess without a clue! The beautiful formatting for this book? That’s all Nicole Smith! I am in love with how amazing the chapter headings turned out. So true story time; About a week before release, I asked Sosha if she could find maybe ten people willing to read an ARC of my book. She created an ARC group and before I knew it, there were dozens of readers waiting. Those readers, my ARC team, well I wish I could gather them all up for a group hug. The enthusiasm I got was beyond any expectations I had. A truly amazing and thorough group of readers that I hope will stick around to see what happens next! (I seriously appreciate you guys so much!)
I got lucky with my family. We are all creative types so my husband and boys understand the process. They get when I run off into my office because the perfect line of dialog came to me, or why they are having pasta for the third night in a row because mom has a word count to hit. (Thankfully my boys are teens and pretty damned self-sufficient. They oftentimes make dinner for me!) And kudos to the hubs for dragging me out of the house occasionally to decompress! Coffee and conversation are a great way to reset.
I love writing and as long as you all continue to read, I promise to keep at it for as long as you let me!! Happy reading!
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More books by L.E. Bross
Lost Boys of Neverly Prep
Goodread links:
Ever Lost
Ever Found
Ever After
Second Chance series: Contemporary romance
Right Where You Are
Whatever It Takes
Contemporary romance stand alone:
The Do Over
Fractured World/PNR series
Dawn’s Wicked Light
When Dusk Falls - TBD
Stroke of Midnight - TBD