Vengeful Bastard: A Hero Club Novel

by Nicole Dykes

  I envy her.

  “Ha.” Rhys laughs at that, but it’s not a normal, happy laugh. It’s taunting, and it’s cold.

  Blair lifts her sunglasses and glares in his direction. “And what the fuck is that ‘ha.’ about?”

  He doesn’t back down. “It’s true. A simple grunt in your direction can get you into bed.”

  Logan and Quinn share a look, but apparently decide to stay out of it.

  “Well, at least I never make the same mistake twice, so you don’t need to worry about grunting or me in bed ever again.”

  Jesus Christ, Blair.

  My eyes unintentionally flick over to Sean when I hear the word “mistake.”

  This trip needs to end now.

  “What did you assholes do?” Rhys and I look at Quinn, who looks pissed. Logan just laughs as he stands by her side.

  Blair and Mel already said their good-byes and are in the backseat of the SUV.

  “We didn’t do shit.” She doesn’t believe Rhys and shouldn’t. Although, I have no idea what happened between him and Blair last night at the club.

  “Bullshit.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be on our side? You’ve known us longer,” I point out.

  Quinn shuts that right down. “Hell no. That just means I know this is your fault.” She shrugs. “And I like them better.”

  Logan laughs at that. He’s no help.

  “Pretty sure dicks just make you stupid.” She turns to Rhys. “You. If you like Blair, you need to fucking tell her and quit with the games.”

  Rhys folds his arms. No expression. He can bluff with the best poker players in the world, I’m sure of it. Unless Quinn, Logan, or I are at the table. “Like? What are we, fucking five?”

  “You might as well be, the way you’re acting. Why don’t you just pull her hair while you’re at it.”

  He leans in, with oh, so much confidence. “She’d like that too much.”

  We really are assholes.

  Quinn shakes her head, fighting a laugh as she cringes. “I don’t doubt that, and I didn’t need to know it.”

  “Fuck.” It’s another laugh from Logan.

  Quinn turns to me. “I don’t know what you did to Mel. I thought you apologized.”

  Melody told her that? “I did.”

  “Well, then you managed to fuck it all up again. What is your problem?”

  “I don’t have a problem, Quinn, other than my nosey fucking friends.”

  That makes her chuckle as she pulls me in for a hug and keeps her voice quiet in my ear. “I fucking love you. I want to see you happy.”

  I hug her close, missing my friend but so incredibly happy she got out of where we came from. Quinn is so much better than that place. “I am happy.”

  “You’re not, not really.” She looks back at the SUV. “She’s your happiness, you’re just scared.” She shoves me away playfully. “Quit being a pussy.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You are.”

  “She deserves better.”

  She rolls her eyes and leans into Logan. “Why don’t you let her decide that. If there is one thing women hate more than anything else, it’s men telling us what’s best.”

  Logan wraps his arm around her. “Best to just lean into it and let them tell us.”

  I shake my head and punch him in the arm. “You are so fucking whipped.”

  “Have been since I was kid.”

  I laugh and pull him into a quick side hug while he holds onto Quinn. “There’s never been a truer statement. See ya soon.”

  He nods, and Quinn gives Rhys a quick hug—we all know to keep physical contact with Rhys minimal—and then we climb into the SUV for another really fucking long ride.

  Only this time, we’ve made them angrier before the trip.

  It’s raining. Of course, it’s raining. It’s only fitting for this trip. And it’s not just raining, it’s pouring. The rain pelts the windshield so hard and fast, it’s nearly impossible to see.

  Rhys seems confident as he drives in this, but it’s Rhys. Who knows what he’s actually feeling?

  “Fuck, man. Maybe we should pull over.” I hear Sean’s voice. He doesn’t sound scared, maybe a little concerned.

  We’re in the middle of nowhere. There aren’t many cars on the road. “Maybe that’s a good idea.”

  I see Rhys roll his eyes, not acknowledging my comment.

  “Rhys, fuck this. Pull over.” Blair is looking out the window but also not really that concerned.

  My heart thunders in my chest just watching the rain pummel the windows and wash down the car onto the road.

  “It’s fine.”

  That’s all we get from Rhys. I look over at my best friend, her head laying against the window, still hungover. What the hell does she see in him?

  I look up toward Sean, seeing only the back of his head and his toned bicep peeking over the side of the seat.

  At least I fell for his false, charming persona. That I get. And he is charming when he wants to be.

  But Rhys?

  He’s a total asshole who barely grunts a few insults when he can be bothered to say anything at all.

  I let out a high-pitched, embarrassing scream as a car comes out of nowhere and swerves into our lane. Rhys darts out of the way, driving straight into a muddy ditch.

  “Fuck!” he yells as the vehicle stops. I look around, seeing we’re all okay, but I’m not sure the SUV is.

  We’re stuck. The SVU isn’t going anywhere, only sinking further in the mud.

  “Why the fuck can’t people learn how to drive or stay off the fucking road?” Yeah, Rhys is showing emotion now, the only one he knows . . . anger.

  “Great job, dipshit. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.” And Blair is pretty good at matching that attitude.

  “Blair.” It’s a warning from me, but she’s not wrong. We haven’t gone through a town in at least an hour, probably closer to an hour and a half.

  “What would you have liked me to do, Blair? Let the fucker hit us head-on? I know you don’t mind the surgical table, but I’m pretty sure that’s only elective surgery. Not the emergency type.”

  He did not just make a dig at her having plastic surgery. When we were fourteen, Blair went through a rough time with a douchebag I don’t even like to think about or acknowledge. But he got in her head, and she begged her father to “fix” her nose and augment her breasts. She was gorgeous before, and she didn’t need it. But her father just wanted to stop the whining and when she turned sixteen, he did what he always did, used his bank account to make her go away and leave him alone.

  “Well, maybe it would have taken you and Sean out for me.”

  Well damn. This is going too far. “Okay, so what are we going to do?” We need to focus on getting out of here.

  Sean pulls his cellphone out of his pocket and holds it up. “I don’t have service. Do any of you?”

  We all check and no, not one bar. How is that even possible?

  The rain is still pouring down, and Rhys turns the flashers on. “Maybe someone will drive by.”

  “That’s your plan?” Blair looks up at Rhys, venom dripping from her words. “Seriously? Someone might drive by?”

  “Blair, calm down. Please.” The last thing I want right now is to play peacemaker.

  “It’ll be fine. Someone has to drive by sooner or later.” Sean shrugs it off as the rain continues. We didn’t get an early start today, and it’s already nearing evening. I really don’t want to sleep here. With them.

  An hour later with not one car driving past us, I’m at the point of panic. We’re going to die here. This is my fate—dying in a car with Blair, an asshole who has done nothing but lie to me, and his brutish best friend who wouldn’t know a real feeling if it hit him in the face.

  Just. Great.

  “Headlights.”

  The rain has died down, but it’s still drizzling when Rhys’s voice alerts us to someone behind us. Moments later, an older man in
a flannel shirt and suspenders holding his jeans over an impressively sized belly is tapping on the window. The cap on his head is weathered and worn but not covering his eyes, which seem kind.

  Rhys rolls it down, and the man looks in the SUV. “You kids need help?”

  “Yes,” I answer quickly before Rhys can, because who knows what smartass comment he’ll make. “Yes, please.”

  He nods his head, inspecting the wrecked SUV and then pointing back to his own vehicle. “No worries. I can help you out.”

  I look out the rear window and see his vehicle is a tow truck with the words “Dale’s Auto” painted in yellow letters on the old, beat-up, red truck.

  “Thank God.” I lean back into the seat, feeling relief for the first time all day.

  We climb out, and Rhys calls Phillip to let him know what’s up, using the man’s phone that miraculously has service out here. The man sorts everything out with Phillip over the phone. When the SUV is hooked up to the tow truck, Rhys asks the man, while gripping the back of his neck, “I don’t suppose there’s anywhere around here to stay . . .”

  Oh God. It’s nearly dark out, and we have no vehicle. This is as bad as it gets.

  The man takes his ball cap off and scratches his bald head. “Well . . . the nearest hotel is about two hours away.” This is not good. He shrugs his shoulders and looks us all over. “But the wife and I have a cabin about a mile down that road.” He points down a gravel road off the highway. “You guys can stay there tonight, and we should have you fixed up tomorrow.”

  “Oh fuck, we’re in a horror movie, aren’t we?”

  I nudge Blair quickly and hope the nice man didn’t hear her. “That is very nice of you. Thank you.”

  He eyes Blair suspiciously, who has zero shame, and he then nods his head tentatively. “Okay well, hop in. I’ll take you there.”

  All four of us look at the cab of the truck and then back at the man. I’m pretty sure it only fits three, and have to ask, “How?”

  He looks at us, shaking his head. “City folks.” He looks at Blair and me. “It’s a mile down a country road, and you two are little things. Surely these boys don’t mind ya sitting on their laps for a quick ride.”

  Did he really just say that? “Kill me now.” I see Blair is just as happy about this as I am.

  Rhys and Sean don’t look thrilled, but they follow the man to the truck. He opens the driver’s door and looks back at us. “Come on now, girls. The sun is going down, and you don’t want to be out here at night. Rain’s starting up again.”

  I look up at the darkening sky in time for a drop of water to hit the tip of my nose.

  Blair grabs my hand and pulls me toward the truck with her. “Let’s just get this over with.”

  The man gets in behind the steering wheel and closes the creaky, old door. Sean’s eyes meet mine briefly before he scoots into the middle seat. Blair and Rhys look at me as if I’m next.

  I suppose, in this situation, Sean is the lesser of two evils. He holds his hand out for me and I take it, trying to ignore the feeling of my hand in his much larger one as he pulls me onto his lap. I reluctantly sit on his right thigh, trying my best to touch him as little as possible.

  The cab is already crowded when Rhys climbs in, sitting next to us. Blair stands outside the truck and stares at him. He doesn’t offer his hand. It seems like he doesn’t want to touch her at all.

  And yet, he can have sex with her whenever he feels like it?

  “You coming or not?”

  “You are such a dickhead.” The older man seems uncomfortable with Blair’s colorful language, but it doesn’t bother Rhys. Blair hops up and sits down way too hard right in the middle of Rhys’s lap, making him groan in pain.

  “Jesus, Blair. Your ass is so fucking bony. He yanks their door shut. We’re all far too close to each other.

  I feel slightly lightheaded when the truck starts down the road and Sean’s large hands move to my hips, holding me in place as we go down the bumpy gravel road.

  I hold onto dash and try to ride it out without thinking about his hands on me. Then, we hit a large pothole, and I shift further into Sean’s lap.

  This is so wrong. Don’t think about it.

  Don’t think about his strong hands gripping my sides. Don’t think about how good he smells despite the smell of dirt and oil that fills the cab. Don’t think about our lips touching together last night only to be quickly separated by him.

  “How much further?”

  The man shrugs his shoulders and uses one hand to point over the hill in front of us. “Just over that hilltop. We’re almost there.”

  I turn and look at Blair, Rhys is not holding onto her, he’s looking out the window and his expression looks almost pained.

  Maybe she hurt his balls more than I realized when she landed on him in her fit.

  Finally, the truck stops in front of a small, wooden cabin in an even more secluded area than we were before. There are no other cabins around it, and several trees surround it.

  “Holy. Shit. We really are in a horror movie.” I nudge Blair again. She just stares at the small cabin in front of us, shaking her head.

  The man climbs out, and Rhys follows quickly, knocking Blair off his lap as she lands on the seat next to us, lifting her middle finger and flipping him off angrily.

  When we all climb out, we grab our bags and the man hands Rhys a key. “I’ll be back tomorrow with your vehicle. Your father is handling everything from there, he assured me.”

  Rhys doesn’t bother correcting him about Phillip not being his father and grunts a quick “thank you.”

  “Not a problem. You kids have fun.”

  Sean stops him before he climbs back in the truck. “I don’t suppose there’s any food around here?”

  Again, the man takes his hat off and scratches the top of his head. “No, not out here. But I was planning a fishing weekend, so the fridge is full. You’re welcome to it.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  He gives Sean a quick smile and nod before climbing into his truck and driving away.

  We all stare at the rundown cabin as Blair stands with folded arms. “This is a fucking nightmare.”

  Yeah, I don’t think all of us are going to make it through the night.

  Blair isn’t wrong. This is a fucking nightmare. And she could be right, this very well may be a horror movie. I mean all the ones I’ve seen start out a lot like this.

  “Okay, let’s go.” I doubt that ride was easy on Rhys. He’s more tense than usual as he picks up his bag and unlocks the door. Rhys can’t stand physical contact and is claustrophobic as all hell. Being stuck in the small cab of the truck with someone sitting on top of him while being scrunched up next to Melody and me had to be his fucking nightmare come alive.

  I follow with my bag and one of Melody’s. We allowed them to grab two each. It’s just one night, no need for the pile of luggage.

  I’m not sure what happened between Blair and Rhys, but he doesn’t help her with her luggage, so she grabs both of hers, clearly pissed about it.

  Rhys opens the door, and we walk in. It’s worse than we thought.

  “What. The. Fuck?” I turn to look at Blair, who’s horrified.

  The cabin is a one-room cabin. The only piece of furniture is a dusty, brown couch. There’s a small kitchen area with a dirty, white fridge and a microwave that looks like it’s from the seventies. It has only the bare essentials and is the opposite of what these girls are used to.

  “Fuuuck.” I turn to Rhys as he looks around. We’re fairly used to shitty surroundings, but I think Rhys realizes the amount of whining we’re going to have to endure tonight from Blair.

  I shrug. “We’ve stayed in worse.”

  “That’s true.” Shit, there were nights growing up when we chose to sleep outside, literally in an alley in the city streets, rather than go back to our foster homes. Logan, Quinn, Rhys, and me would huddle together with a blanket and couple of pillows while Quinn lulled
us to sleep with her guitar.

  Blair’s nose crinkles. “I don’t doubt it.” She turns to what is apparently the bathroom, which is a sink, toilet, and a curtain for a door. “Oh my God.”

  Melody’s wide eyes scan the room. She’s just as horrified but, as always, way less bitchy than Blair. “Where are we going to sleep?”

  This is the worst situation I can imagine being in, especially after our fight last night. All I wanted was for this trip to be over, to be far away from Melody, and to hopefully drown out all thoughts of her.

  But nah, life has been fucking with me since birth. So, thanks a lot, universe, for continuing the streak. Because today, Melody’s perfect ass was sitting directly on my crotch and now, we’ll be sleeping in the same room. She makes me weak, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

  Rhys walks to the couch and, picking up the middle cushion, points down, confirming what I know he already suspected. “Sofa bed.”

  “What the hell is a sofa bed?”

  I turn to Blair, who looks totally appalled. Jesus Christ, these girls have lived sheltered lives. “It’s literally what it’s named. A bed in the sofa.”

  Rhys removes the other two cushions, pulls the metal bar in the middle, and folds the mattress out of the couch.

  Blair is horrified, and I try not to laugh at her. I don’t need her wrath.

  “I am not fucking sleeping on that.”

  Rhys doesn’t give a shit and points at the wooden floor. “It’s that or the floor.”

  “Can we please wake up from this nightmare now?”

  Melody hugs her from the side as they look at the sofa bed like it’s a monster about to bite them. “It’s one night.”

  “I officially fucking hate you, Melody.” But she doesn’t mean it, Blair leans her head on Melody, looking slightly more human.

  Rhys ignores them, walking to the fridge and opening it. I stand next to him as we look inside. It’s full of beer cans and lunch meat. I look at the counter. Bread and chips.

  I nod to where the girls are standing, still staring at the bed. “They won’t be happy about this.”