If You Dare (Dare Series Book 3)

by Shantel Tessier

  “Go to bed,” he orders, ignoring her.

  That seems to perk her up. Her green eyes widen, and her brows lift. “Cole, what are you …?”

  “Go back to fucking bed, Austin!” he shouts.

  Even I am surprised at his tone. I haven’t seen him talk to her like that since he first met her. Back when she was just a game to him. Something to destroy.

  She storms into the kitchen and reaches for the phone in his hand, but he snatches it back before she can get her hands on it. “No!” She crosses her arms over her chest. “You’re gonna tell me exactly what the fuck is going on. Right now!”

  He shoves his hand through his disheveled hair and then storms out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

  I know exactly where he’s going. You hear the sliding back door open and slam shut a second later. She goes to follow him, but I reach out and grab her upper arm, pulling her to a stop. “Don’t.”

  Her worried green eyes meet mine. Cole has always been a hothead, but things haven’t been the same since our friend Kellan tried to kill her.

  “Something is wrong.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” I always do. Always have. Cole is my brother. He’s been through some shit, and I’m always there for him. “Just go back up to bed.”

  She looks like she wants to argue, but I turn and open the fridge. I grab a bottle of vodka that I was saving for this weekend and then a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of our junk drawer and leave her standing in the kitchen.

  I exit the house and step out onto the back patio. Cole’s shirt sits on the ground next to the pool with his sweatpants. He has “Things That Make You Scream” by Memory of a Melody playing softly from his phone through the outside speakers. And I wonder if it’s a sign from God regarding the dream I just had. Which is crazy because I’m not religious.

  I plop down in a chaise lounge chair and unscrew the cap on the bottle. Breathing in the cool night air, I take the new pack of cigarettes and slam the end into my palm. After the whole Demi and Becky thing, I could use a fucking joint, but they drug test us at the university. The only downfall of being an athlete.

  He pops his head out of the water and takes a deep breath.

  “It’s not her fault,” I tell him.

  “No. It’s mine.”

  I can’t argue that. “I can’t let you take all the blame,” I counter with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. He doesn’t return it.

  “I’m not doing this, Deke,” he growls, running his hands through his wet hair to shove it out of his eyes. “I said I was done, and I meant it.”

  I nod, lighting the cigarette. Taking a long drag, I blow out the smoke. I don’t normally smoke, but I need one right now. “I don’t think it was talking about Austin.”

  “Then who was it talking about?” he barks.

  “Maybe Becky,” I offer.

  He snorts. “Why her?”

  “It could have been the fact that she walked away from the accident.” At the mention of her, I take a swig of the bottle. I need to tell him … Maybe I’m having fucked-up dreams because I’m not being truthful to my best friend.

  “How would they know?” he demands. “I only told you and Austin.”

  Hmm. True.

  I offer. “Maybe someone else was there …?”

  “No!” He shakes his head. “There was no one for miles. And if there were, they wouldn’t wait until now.”

  True.

  I take another drag from the cigarette.

  “Well … I guess, maybe …” He trails off, rethinking that option. “But what about what happened to the baby? She had to have gone to the hospital. I’m guessing she lost it.”

  I stiffen at his words as I’m thrown back into the conversation I had with Becky three months ago at Mr. Holt’s house in her bedroom.

  The first tear runs down her face. I watch it in complete fascination, thinking it’s a good look on her. That I should have made her fear me more than try to make her love me.

  “Was it mine?”

  No one knows how far back Becky and I go. Cole believes I’m in love with her, and a part of me was, but we started fucking long before he told me she had broken up with David. I had to pretend I didn’t fucking know. That just gave us the green light to go public. And the fact that Cole went all alpha for Austin, making the entire school aware he was claiming her, took the attention off what Becky and I were doing. The few whispers I did hear were shut down quickly for her sake. But we had been fucking for months prior to that. David be damned.

  “So, keeping us a secret had nothing to do with you and David. It had to do with you and Eli.” Until he died. I get it now. Fuck, I was stupid for her. “Was the child …?” I begin to ask again, but my voice trails off. I chuckle. This bitch! “You weren’t even pregnant.”

  “Yes …”

  “No.” I shake my head. Of course. How could I have forgotten? “You weren’t.” She swallows nervously. “I remember us hooking up the weekend before that in my parents’ pool house, and you were on your period.” Her face falls. “Don’t you remember, baby?” I ask, reaching out for her. I pull her shaking body toward me. “You told me that I couldn’t fuck you ’cause it was that time of the month”—I lower my lips to her ear—“and I told you blood didn’t bother me.” Fuck, this bitch has told so many lies. “I can’t believe you let him take the fall for you.” I understand why Cole did what he did. I would have done the same thing, but this is why she never wanted me to find out. Because she knows that I can prove she lied to him. And no one wants to be on Cole’s bad side.

  “Cole.” I sigh and take another quick drink from the bottle. He was man enough to tell me, so I need to do the same. I just hate that it’s like this. I should have done it the moment I realized she had lied to him.

  “She was bleeding. Pretty badly. She had to require medical attention,” he continues as he stares down into the water that he loves so much.

  “Becky was never pregnant,” I blurt out before I lose my nerve.

  He frowns, his eyes meeting mine. “Yes, she was.” I shake my head. “She sat there in the middle of the road, next to my car, holding her stomach, crying and told me she was pregnant.”

  My teeth grind. That fucking bitch … “She lied to you.”

  A silence falls over us, and he just stares at me. A look of nothing on his face. The old Cole would be furious. This is the new Cole. The one who is unpredictable.

  I lean forward, placing my elbows on my knees. “I went to her house after you told Austin and me that Becky was the one driving and that she was pregnant.” I start to explain. “And I demanded to know about it. I thought it could have been mine.” His eyes widen with my confession. “We were sleeping together …” I run a hand through my hair. “And had been for a while at that point. Then I remembered that I had been with her the weekend before the accident, and it was her time of the month. She couldn’t have been pregnant.” I take another drink of the vodka, but the words I just spoke burn more than the alcohol. “I’m sorry, man—”

  “None of it was your fault,” he interrupts me.

  “She lied to you,” I grind out.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  He can’t be serious. “But it does,” I argue.

  “It doesn’t change anything.”

  “I know, but …”

  “It doesn’t fucking matter, Deke!” he snaps. “I don’t give two fucks about Becky! What matters now is that we got a text that puts Austin in danger. And I’m not gonna allow that.” He climbs out of the pool, picks his shirt up off the ground, and dries off his hands before holding it out to me. “Let me see your phone.”

  I pull it out of my pocket.

  He dials a number and then places it on speakerphone before dropping it onto the round glass table next to me. I take a quick look to see who he’s calling and refrain from sighing.

  It rings once, twice, three times. After a few more times, it goes to voicemail. “You’ve reached Bennett …�
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  Cole hangs up and dials it again.

  “Heellloo?” Bennett’s groggy voice answers after the second ring this time.

  “Wake the fuck up!” Cole snaps at him.

  “I’m up … I’m up …” I hear the rustling of covers. “Everything okay?” He clears his throat. “What time is it?”

  “Late,” I answer.

  “Who is it?” a woman’s soft voice asks in the background.

  “Tell your fuck to pack her shit and get out,” Cole orders coldly. “We need to talk to you!”

  I expect Bennett to argue, but instead, he sighs heavily. “Give me a second.”

  Cole paces before me, water dripping from his boxers, his entire body rigid. I feel sorry for him. For what he has gone through with Austin. Finding the woman you love dead changes a man. I don’t care who you are. Especially when you were the one who wanted to hurt her in the first place.

  “I’ll call you later,” Bennett says after a long second. “Okay.” He returns to the line. “What is going on?”

  “Deke and I just got a text. That’s what’s up!” Cole explains.

  “A text?”

  “It was actually a PM through Facebook.” I clarify for Bennett.

  “A message?”

  “Did you fucking send it?” Cole snaps at him.

  “What? Why would I send you a message?” he growls, getting defensive.

  “Because it was sent to us from Evan Scott.”

  Silence falls over us again as Bennett takes that in. Evan Scott is my spam account. I used to use it for several things. None of them were good.

  Bennett is the first one to speak clearing his throat. “What? How is that possible?”

  “I don’t know,” I answer. “But I can’t log in to that account. Someone has gone in and changed the password. I’m locked out.”

  Bennett sighs heavily. “And you think I did it?”

  I go to answer no, but Cole beats me to it. “You’re the only one I can think of who has that kind of knowledge. You crack passwords. Change emails. You knew who was behind it, and you know how to get into it.”

  “Listen, Cole, I didn’t change anything, and I sure as hell didn’t send you a message. And it doesn’t take a genius to change that shit. A Facebook page isn’t that untouchable …” His voice trails off.

  “What?” Cole demands after the silence lingers.

  “Hang on,” Bennett tells him.

  I take a hit of my cigarette, and Cole begins to pace some more.

  “I got one too,” he growls.

  I blow out the smoke and sit up straighter. “You got a message? From Evan Scott?”

  “Yeah. What the fuck is this cryptic shit?” he barks.

  “What does it say?” Cole growls.

  “I see you, but you don’t see me. I know who you are, but you’ll never know me.”

  “Hmm,” I say to myself. His is different than ours.

  “Does it have the address at the end of the message?” Ours had a time and place here in Texas for tomorrow evening.

  “Yes,” Bennett answers. “Why the fuck would I go to Texas?”

  Cole snatches the phone up off the table and places it in front of his face, keeping it on speakerphone. “Pack a bag and get your ass to the airport.”

  “What …? Cole, I can’t …”

  “I wasn’t asking you, Bennett.” He growls.

  “I have class,” Bennett argues.

  “Fuck class! Pack a bag and book the first plane to Texas.”

  Bennet sighs. “Cole.”

  “Send the info for your flight, and Deke and I will pick you up at the airport. And don’t forget your laptop.” Cole leaves no room to argue.

  “Cole …”

  He hangs up on him before Bennett can finish speaking.

  I sit back and let out a sigh as I tip the bottle back. “What do you think it means?” I ask Cole.

  He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he stands there, his scarred knuckles fisted down at his sides as he stares off into space. No doubt thinking about what all he’s been through in the past year. And all that he’s lost. What he has to lose now.

  “I think it means that once again we’re gonna have to do whatever it takes to make sure no one can touch us.” Then he looks down at me, arching his brow in question.

  Am I in? Do I agree?

  “I’ve got your back,” I say without hesitation, then bring the bottle to my lips again.

  Without saying another word, he turns and dives back into the pool.

  CHAPTER TEN

  DEMI

  MONDAY MORNING, I walk into my first period at Westlake High and plop down on my seat. This is my first year here. My third month into the first semester. My mother made me move from Oregon to Texas for my senior year, and I hate her so much for it. I had gone to Collins all my life. I had friends. I had been on the cheerleading squad since fourth grade. Then when my sister told my mother she wanted to move to Texas to be with her friend Austin, my mother told me that I no longer had a choice. That there was no one there to look after me anymore. She completely forgot the fact I have a father! He even went to bat for me. Tried to talk my mother into letting me stay there living with him.

  “Angelica.” He sighs. “She will be fine. Her junior year is almost over. She can finish off her senior year here.” He paces the living room while on his phone.

  I sit on the couch, biting my nails off one by one.

  “So what if Becky isn’t here? I’m am.” He comes to a stop and squares his shoulders. “I’m her father!” he snaps. “Listen …” he trails off, and I can hear my mother raise her voice, and I know she’s won. She’s been trying to get me to come to Texas ever since their divorce five years ago. My only leverage was that Becky was here. I hate her, but my mother felt she was responsible enough to help my father raise me. Even though the truth is I’ve pretty much raised myself.

  Our father isn’t a bad guy. He’s not an alcoholic, and he doesn’t bring strange women in and out all hours of the night. In fact, he hardly ever dates at all. He’s married to his work. That has always been his mistress. And that’s what drove my mother to have an affair with her now husband. She left him, and he just buried himself deeper. But he’s always been there for me when I needed him. Even if it was through a phone call.

  He hangs up, and I look up at him, already feeling the tears threaten my eyes. He turns to face me and lets out a long breath.

  “Please don’t make me go,” I beg. “I want to finish school here. With you. My friends.”

  He kneels in front of me and takes my hand. “Pumpkin …”

  “Don’t,” I shout, yanking it from his. “You always take her side. What about what I want?”

  He stands, pocketing his cell phone. Any sympathy he showed me moments ago is now gone. She’s made up her mind, and he’s decided as well. He’s not going to fight to keep me. And she just wants me there because of Becky. “I’m sorry, Demi, but your mom wants …”

  “Fine!” I run out of the living room and up the stairs to my room. As I pass Becky’s room, her door swings open, and she steps out, blocking my way.

  “Why are you crying?” she asks, looking me up and down.

  “I hate you,” I say, wanting to punch her in the face. She is a waste of air. All she does is take and take from me. And she does it just because. I’ve never done anything to her.

  “And I hate you too.” She shrugs. “Mom called me. Asked if you’ve been good.” She looks down at her nails and smiles. “I told her that I’ve seen you with a boy.” Her eyes meet mine. “An older one …”

  “You fucking bitch!” I scream and shove her into her room. She trips over a jacket lying on her messy floor, and I go down with her.

  “He never wanted you!” she shouts, yanking on my hair.

  “You took him from me!” I fist my shaking hands and hit her in the face. She killed him!

  “I’ll take them all from you.” She growls.

 
I go to hit her in the jaw, but I’m yanked back by my shirt. “What the hell are you two doing?” our father shouts.

  “She attacked me.” Becky begins to sob, placing her hands over her face.

  Fucking fake bitch!

  I try to kick her, but my father shoves me out of her room. “She …” He slams the door in my face, closing himself in there with her to hear her side of the story and calm her down.

  My world just got ripped out from underneath me. I have to move right before my senior year. I’ve got less than a month left of my junior year, and in just a few months, I’ll be packed up and moved to Texas to live with my mother. The only thing I can hope for at this point is that Becky moves in with Deke because that’s the only reason she plans on going there. For him and for her best friend, Austin. I overheard her saying that Austin is following Cole and his little sister, Lilly, to Texas. And I plan on making my sister’s life a living hell just as she has done to mine.

  “How was your weekend?” my friend Lauren asks as she enters the classroom and sits down next to me. We’re not close like I was with my friends back in Collins. But I don’t have to have friends. I’m just fine being alone.

  I groan. “Shitty. Yours?” I ask.

  She gives me a big smile. “Perfect. I got to see Billy.”

  “And how did that go?”

  “Amazing.” She sighs heavily. I want to puke. “He’s having a bonfire party this weekend out on his parents’ property. Wanna go with me?”

  I stiffen. The last time I went to a bonfire was my sophomore year while I was still living in Collins. Back when things were somewhat normal.

  I sit on my bed, flipping through the channels and looking for something to watch on TV. As usual, there’s nothing. A knock on my door has me shutting it off. “What?” I ask.

  My sister pops her head in. “Wanna go out tonight?”

  I eye her skeptically. She wears a crimson long-sleeve shirt with black lips on it and matching black skinny jeans with a pair of black boots, and her blond hair hangs straight down her back. “No.” She never asks me to hang out with her, so for her to do it now is sketchy as fuck.