Vaughn rested his hands on his knees, leaning forward, hunching over his back as he muttered, “Everyone involved with my family is…cool.” It was clear he did not like saying that last word, for I heard traces of bitterness in his tone.
“Ah, cool.” I got comfortable, spreading my knees apart as I looked all throughout the limo. “Got any snacks in here? Any drinks?”
“I didn’t bring you in here for snacks and drinks.”
I slowly moved my blue gaze back to him, asking, “Then why did you bring me here? We going to come up with a plan to take those motherfuckers down, or is this where you try to tell me to back off Jaz?” If it was the former, I was all in. I would gladly team up with Vaughn and make those fuckers pay for what they nearly did to my girl.
Now, if it was the latter? If this was Vaughn’s not-so-subtle way of trying to get me out of the picture…he would have another thing coming. Jaz wasn’t meant to be here in Midpark. She was meant to be with me, back home.
If only Skull would’ve let me bring her back, I could’ve avoided all of this. But no, I had to get in trouble with the big man, exiled from the group for a little bit. Hopefully my exile would not last too long, because I didn’t know how much longer I could stand to walk those shiny, new halls and deal with its preppy, rich, holier-than-thou students.
“You’re stubborn,” Vaughn spoke, eyeing me up with a stare that was near black. Hate and pain sat on his knuckles, two tattoos that looked newer than mine. I got mine when I turned eighteen, a few years ago. Bet he got those just this year. “I know if I try to tell you to stay away from her, you won’t, so I’m not going to waste my breath.”
I gave him a smile. “Good. Maybe you and I can get along after all.” I really did have to get out of this limo soon; this fancy vehicle was making me itch. I kind of wanted to take a sledgehammer to it and make it less pretty.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he muttered, and I laughed. “You’re new here. She said she never met you before last week.”
“That is technically true, but her and I were destined from the start,” I said, shrugging, as if talking about being promised to someone was something I did every day. “You were never really in the race.”
“Seems to me, she likes me more than she likes you,” he quipped, “but I suppose that’s none of my business.” I opened my mouth to retort, to tell him that there was no way she liked him more than me, but he continued, “I want to talk about what happened. I would never get my family’s permission to enact the type of vengeance I’d like on Ryan and his friends, but you…”
But I had no such family to stop me. No ties to this place, other than Jaz. I could be the free agent where Vaughn could not.
“Go on,” I spoke, waving a hand through the air, inviting him to continue.
A muscle in his jaw tensed, and he gave me a dark look with those black eyes, like two daggers, ready to kill. “I assume you would help for Jaz.”
“I would,” I said, knowing I’d do anything to help her, to protect her, to save her from any future attacks like that. Those fuckers would get what was coming to them, but not quite yet. There was something else I figured Vaughn could help me with.
You see, I’d exhausted that old investigator. He had nothing else for me; I knew that without bugging him more. Vaughn? He came from a family of money. He probably slept with blankets made of cash. He could help me where Jacob Hall could not.
“I need something from you, first,” I said, earning myself yet another scowl from Vaughn. Did he make any other facial expressions, or was that it? Honestly, what could Jaz possibly see in him that she couldn’t see in me? I was so much better than this freak.
“Of course,” Vaughn frowned out, “nothing comes without a price. Name it.”
“I need money,” I told him. My official address with the school was Jacob’s apartment, but that wasn’t where I was staying. Still in the motel a good ways away, and it was where I wanted to remain. Alas, my funds had run out, and I had no credit cards to my name. I needed more money, and I needed it fast…otherwise I’d be sleeping on my bike in the cold for the foreseeable future.
Yeah. That didn’t sound like a fun night, let alone multiple nights.
“I can get you money.” Vaughn spoke without batting an eye, “How much do you need?”
Uh, math wasn’t my strong suit. Mentally adding up how much I’d need to pay the motel, while also wondering how long I’d have to stay here, made me sit there quietly for far too long.
When I said nothing, Vaughn added, “Tomorrow—”
“No,” I said. “Tonight. Meet me at that old diner tonight at seven. Bring a few g’s, will you?” I gave him a good slap on the chest before moving to get out, crawling over him to reach the door, since the limo only had a back door on a single side.
He didn’t stop me, not like I thought he would. Tonight at seven, then. It was a date.
Not a fun date. Not a date with Jaz, which would surely end in me bringing her home, throwing her on my bed, and getting to know every inch of that smooth, tan skin. God, I truly couldn’t wait for that day.
Mark my words, it would happen.
I tossed Vaughn a quick look as I got out, giving him a grin as I shut the door. The limo drove away, and I watched it as it went. By now, Midpark High’s parking lot was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers. I had my hands in my jacket pockets, wishing I had my knife to fiddle with. This school had state of the art shit—metal detectors, cameras everywhere, all that good stuff and more. I’d left it back with my other things, in the motel room. I hardly felt like myself without its weight on my body.
Heading to my bike, I heaved a leg over it, kicking up the stand. I was about to get the key out and start her up, but my phone rang. That was odd. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, finding a name I wasn’t expecting.
Jacob.
Why in the fuck would Jacob be calling me?
I debated on not answering it, but after recent events, I figured I’d better be safe and answer just in case. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Jacob Hall. To what do I owe this displeasure?” I leaned on my bike’s handlebars, listening to what he said.
“What the fuck happened?” To say he sounded angry would be an understatement, actually. He sounded pissed, a lot more pissed than I’d ever heard him before—and I blackmailed him into getting me into Midpark. “One fucking day at the school, and things explode.”
Wait. Was he talking about what happened to Jaz? Did she talk to him already? Shit. I didn’t realize they were that close…
“I should’ve never helped you get into Midpark,” Jacob was busy saying. “I should’ve just let you do whatever it was you were threatening to do. I knew you were nothing but bad news the moment you—”
“What are you talking about?” I cut in, feeling the need to stab someone. Or multiple people. Maybe everyone.
“Jaz just called me, asked if I could teach her self-defense. What the fuck did you do?”
I breathed out, smiling in spite of what this afternoon had brought. So, Jaz had called Jacob, wanting self-defense. He seemed to be a muscular guy, and I didn’t doubt that he could indeed teach her a few things. Hell, I could, too—but she didn’t come to me. She went to him.
Jealousy aside, it was probably a good idea for her to learn to defend herself.
I really hated to think what would’ve happened to her if that fucker Archer hadn’t interrupted Ryan and his friends from going at her like thugs.
It took me a moment to say, “I didn’t do anything, actually.”
Jacob wasn’t having any of it. “Bullshit.”
“Not bullshit,” I hissed. “She was almost raped this afternoon, by a group of guys in the school. Not me, obviously. I’d never hurt her.” Well, not unless she wanted me to, and then, if it was consensual, what did it matter?
“She…she what? She didn’t tell me that.” He sounded confused, flabbergasted and bewildered. Then, suddenly so very irate. “Why the fuck
wouldn’t she tell me?”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to know. It’s not exactly something you’d wear as a badge of honor on your chest.” My mind raced. “You teach her whatever you can. Me and her lover boy are working on dealing with the scum.”
Jacob was quiet for a few moments. “Do I want to know what you mean by that?”
I smirked to myself. “No, you probably don’t.” I said nothing else as I hung up the phone, knowing he’d only be fuming at the truth, anyways. Didn’t want to sit here and listen to that.
Within a moment, I had my bike on and was out of the parking lot, heading in the opposite direction of the motel. I’d probably hang around Midpark until I met with Vaughn, anyways. No, there was only one place I could go, one person I wanted to see.
And I found that person storming along the sidewalk about halfway between the school and her fancy new house.
I pulled my bike onto the sidewalk in front of her, stopping her from further walking. Jaz did not look happy to see me; she gave me a frown with those full, luscious lips, her eyes narrowed. The cool wind whipped between us, the sky above a cloudy grey. It wasn’t supposed to rain today, so I wasn’t too worried about being caught outside.
“Get out of my way,” Jaz muttered, clutching the strap to her backpack as if she was debating on swinging it at me and knocking me off my bike with it.
“No.”
“I don’t want to talk right now.” She tried to go around me, but I only inched my bike along. Jaz quickly stopped, letting out a groan. “Why won’t you just leave me alone, Dante?” A bitter smile spread on her face, an expression I hated seeing on her. “Why won’t anyone here leave me alone? I’m really not that special—”
I shook my head, stopping her. I knew I couldn’t linger here; if a cop drove by, he’d definitely give me a ticket. “That’s where you’re wrong,” I told her, meaning it. “You are special, even if you don’t see it.” And I didn’t mean it just because of whose blood ran through her veins; I meant it because it was true.
Jaz was special. She was so special it hurt, and that’s why I would do everything in my power to make sure she realized it. To make her happy. To make those who would dare to hurt her pay with everything they had. If that meant working with Vaughn, if that meant making nice with him and watching them together…
Well, the jury was out on that one, but I supposed I’d try. That said something, didn’t it?
She stared at me, a frown on her face, her warm, amber eyes looking tired, even though it was only the early afternoon. She did not wear the face of a typical high schooler; she wore the face of a woman who’d seen a lot of shit and barely scraped by. Midpark had come to bite her in the ass, but even before she’d moved here, her life was never easy.
Trust me, I would know; I watched her for years because Skull told me to.
Why wouldn’t he let me bring her back, where she belonged? I understood that she couldn’t be taken from her mother, but now she was eighteen. She could leave. She could leave with me and never look back.
But that was the problem, I guess. Jaz would never leave willingly, not right now. Not with all this unfinished business, not while she was still a senior in high school. Maybe, once she graduated, I’d finally be able to take her out of here and bring her where she’d belonged from the start.
I gestured to my bike. “Get on. Let me drive you home.”
She gave me a look like I was crazy, but it didn’t take too long for her expression to soften. Jaz heaved a silent sigh as she nodded once, and after she got on, after those small arms wrapped around my abdomen, I looked both ways on the street before driving my bike off the sidewalk.
Having her arms wrapped around me, feeling her lean her cheek against my back…I liked it a lot. She wasn’t the first girl to get a ride on my bike, but she was the only one I wanted. I’d known it for a while.
Hopefully, someday soon, it wouldn’t just be my bike she’d ride.
Chapter Sixteen – Jaz
I went through the days as normally as I could, though I was quieter than usual at the dinners I shared with my mom. She didn’t seem to notice though, too busy jabbering on and on about whatever topic she wanted. Mom was in a good mood lately; her car would be fixed by the end of the week, which meant life could return to some degree of normalcy.
Me? Yeah, I tried to get back into the groove after what happened. I told no one else, besides Vaughn and Dante. When I was with Bobbi, we simply practiced the songs—I was getting better. I might actually not mess it all up by the time the concert rolled around. Bobbi and I were also going out dress shopping this weekend.
Call me silly, but I actually looked forward to it. I wanted…no, I needed to take a step back from everything and just live. Focus on doing something relatively normal instead of ruminating in my head how I could make Brittany’s life miserable—and how I could get back at that douchebag and his friends for nearly raping me.
Shit. I told myself I wasn’t going to think about that, not right now.
Ryan and his friends steered clear of me the rest of the week, I think because they didn’t know whether or not I’d try to tell on them. I could, and I probably should, but I knew nothing would come of it if I did. No, getting back at them for what they did would require some patience, time, and me keeping our encounter to myself.
Soon. Soon they’d get theirs.
Dante and Vaughn seemed to be getting along better than they did that first day, which was a relief. Maybe they’d bonded over what happened to me. Whatever. It was nice not to have to play the mediator during lunch.
When school let out, I’d told my mom I was going over Bobbi’s house to practice choir, and she’d been so thrilled about it. It didn’t even cross her mind that I might be lying, that I might not be telling her the whole truth. I didn’t want to break her good mood.
I was lying, of course. I wasn’t going over Bobbi’s house. The topic had crossed our paths of conversation this week, but from what it sounded like, Bobbi didn’t want me to come over. Her mom had left her dad, and I think she was embarrassed or something. I could understand where she was coming from; most everyone in Midpark seemed to come from unbroken families.
They might be unbroken, but that didn’t mean they were whole. Brittany, Ryan, the rest of them; they were proof enough that just because you came from a good family didn’t mean shit. You could still be a terrible person.
When school let out, I headed to the back of the lot, near Dante’s bike. My destination was the car parked beside it, but as I walked closer, I found that Dante was actually leaning on the driver’s door, talking to the driver.
To Jacob.
Dante was talking to Jacob.
Did Jacob know Dante knew who he was, or was Dante just being weird?
And don’t get me wrong, Dante was weird. I’d realized this after spending so much time with him this past week during school. He seemed to genuinely care about me, for whatever reason, even if he had tried to kidnap me the first time we’d met.
He was going to flip shit when I got in Jacob’s car, wasn’t he? He was the jealous sort, to put it lightly.
Took a while to get Jacob to agree to pick me up at the school, too. He didn’t like stepping foot on any school grounds, not after what happened three years ago. And after what happened the last time he and I had been alone together…
If Dante made a huge deal about this, he’d probably not want to repeat this, which was the last thing I wanted.
This whole week, I’d actually missed Jacob. Of course, what happened the last time we were together was rife in my brain, but that wasn’t the only reason why I missed him. I just…he wasn’t a Midpark High student. He wasn’t involved in any of the drama. I could trust him, and I couldn’t say that about most people.
Vaughn and Dante? I’d learned my lesson when it came to trusting rich boys, and Dante was a wildcard. You never really knew what that one was thinking about.
I didn’t walk to the passenger
’s side door; I headed right to Dante and Jacob. The driver’s window was rolled down, Dante leaning on it, practically inside the car. He looked completely at ease, while Jacob just looked pissed off, like Dante was bugging the shit out of him.
That I could believe.
“What’s this?” I asked, both guys turning their stares to me.
“I was just asking what this old man was doing here,” Dante said, flicking a thumb at Jacob, who scowled. “He doesn’t look old enough to be a father, so is he a brother? A cousin? Or an older boyfriend picking up his high school squeeze?”
Oh, my God. Who the hell talked like that? Where did Dante come from? I seriously wanted to know.
“Surely he’s not picking you up,” Dante added, appraising me as if I was the most beautiful girl who had ever walked in front of him, checking me out from head to toe. Normally something like that would cause all these warm, fluttery feelings to erupt inside me, but I was not feeling it lately. Not after what happened with Ryan and his friends.
I hadn’t spoken to Archer all week after. I didn’t want to. He actually tried to talk to me during homeroom and first period, but I made it a point to ignore him. Anything he’d say would only upset me further, and I couldn’t deal with it right now. I was barely holding myself together.
Dante knew Jacob had picked me up from that party, but he didn’t know the extent of our relationship—and right now, I wasn’t in the mood to explain it to him. All I did was say, “He is, actually. Do you have a problem with that?”
He turned, leaning only one arm on the car as he gave me his full attention. “Come on, Jaz. Look at him. He’s too old for you. Me? I’m perfect for you. A few years older, but not much. Not like this dinosaur.”
“I’m not that fucking old,” Jacob growled out, shooting an icy stare Dante’s way.
Dante let out an unsure sound. “Hmm. That sounds exactly like what an old person would say when he’s trying to pick up the prettiest high schooler in town.” To me, he added, “That’s you, by the way.” A smirk matched his words, and I could not believe what he was saying.
Defiant: A High School Bully Romance (Midpark High Book 2) Page 19
