Rule Number Four (Rule Breakers Book 4)

by Nicky Shanks

  I force a smile on my face. “Okay, you’re right. You handled it.”

  “Thank you.” He kisses the tip of my nose and takes the bowl back into the kitchen. I don’t follow him right away because I need some clear air to think. I step back outside and turn off the light that illuminates the front of the house. The cold October air captures my body and makes me shiver.

  A dog howls in the distance and it’s not long before I hear something shuffling on the pavement of the road. I can’t see through the darkness, but as the figure passes underneath the streetlamp a few houses down…I see her.

  Veronica.

  She’s coming back for me.

  Chapter Seven

  Julie

  I’m frozen.

  I don’t know what to do. I can’t get my legs to work so I can run back into the house. I can’t speak or scream for Oliver to come and help me. All I can do is wait for her to turn into our driveway and notice me standing on the dark front porch. Her outline glows with the remainder of the streetlight and she stands in silence, waiting.

  “Oliver.” I finally force from my throat and manage to turn my neck to see that I closed the door behind me and he can’t hear me. As she stands at the end of the driveway and stares at me, the air outside gets extra icy and blasts through every inch of my skin. I’m so creeped out that the wind rustling the leaves on the oak tree in the front yard makes my insides squirm.

  Move, Julie.

  You have to move!

  Veronica takes a few steps toward me and stops again. She’s baiting me to say something—to scream and cry for Oliver so they can hurt him too. I don’t know how she got out of jail so soon, but something isn’t right here.

  Is her boyfriend with her?

  I look around and don’t see anyone else. He must be hiding somewhere, ready to pounce on Oliver when he comes to rescue me.

  Not this time.

  “What do you want?” I whisper into the breeze. “You should leave before I get Oliver.”

  I’m not sure if she hears me, but she takes a few more steps forward and stops again. “I’m not here to hurt you.” Her voice is sad but ominous. “I’m just here to pick something up and I’ll be on my way.”

  “You’re not getting a fucking thing!” My voice grows louder. “He doesn’t owe you anything!”

  “I’m not surprised that you’re angry, Julie.”

  “Don’t use my name like you know me!” A warm liquid feeling washes through my body and my legs unlock themselves from the anger de-icing them from the ground. I feel brave enough to step toward her and as I step off of the front porch, the streetlight illuminates her in my view better.

  She looks horrible.

  “What happened to you?” I tilt my head so I can see her better. “Why do you have bruises and cuts all over your face? What happened to your hair? Why aren’t you wearing a sling for your shoulder? You got shot, remember?”

  She shrugs slowly. “I was in jail, kid. That’s what happens. They ain’t rushing to give us proper medical care exactly.”

  She’s trying to make me feel sorry for her.

  Don’t fall for it, Julie!

  “Well, you belonged in there so you won’t get any pity from me.” My lips curl into a frown. “How are you even out?”

  “I got a deal for agreeing to testify against Mac.”

  Taking a deep breath, I try to calm down, but her presence isn’t allowing that to happen. “I want you to go back the way you came and never come around here again. You don’t deserve to even speak one word to Oliver.”

  “I know that.”

  “Then why are you here? He already brought you money and you got caught.”

  Her tongue peeks out from her mouth and it sounds like sandpaper when she tries to lick her lips. “I’m not here to cause trouble. Oliver told me when I got out to come to this address and he would give me some money to go away and never come back.”

  I scoff. “So, it’s always about money with you two.”

  “You don’t understand how deep greed runs in the Jackson family, kid.” She snickers. “Those who crave it, they will always want a piece of it.”

  I shake my head. “That’s disgusting. Oliver isn’t like that.”

  “Maybe not anymore. You’ve changed him.”

  “Excuse me?”

  One of the small bags she’s carrying hits the ground and makes a hard thud. “You’ve changed him, girl. I’ve watched him over the years and Colin would tell me things when he paid me off, and he’s not the same little boy I knew years ago. I guess that’s my fault, but at least you helped him get to the man he wanted to be.”

  “I did nothing.”

  She snorts. “Keep telling yourself that. No matter how much you wanna deny it, you’re just like me. Well, maybe the old me before I met Mac. I loved life and it was simple; I loved every minute of working at the Inn. Then, Colin Jackson swept me off my feet and showed me a world I never even dared to dream of. I didn’t want that life but I wanted him. It’s a horrible war between your head and your heart, dontcha think?”

  The front porch light turns on and the door opens.

  “Why are you telling me this?” I whisper so Oliver can’t hear.

  She smiles and it’s actually filled with warmth and invites me into her dull eyes. “Don’t make the same mistakes I made. You can be independent and strong with him by your side, you really can. Don’t keep secrets, let him take you as you are. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

  My eyes widen and she looks behind me. “Hello, Ollie Bear.”

  Oliver comes up behind me and slides his arm around my waist. “Veronica.”

  She winces a little and frowns. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble, I just came here because you said to and I just got out—”

  He hands her a large envelope and says nothing.

  She puts it in the bag still hanging on her shoulder and looks hopefully at him for a moment, but he doesn’t budge. His arm tenses around me and hurts a little, but I know he needs me right now. Veronica picks up the bag from the ground and tries to hand it to me, but Oliver intercepts.

  “You’re not to speak to her, and you’re sure as hell not giving her anything.”

  She puts the bag on the ground in front of me. “These are Colin’s journals from the cabin that went missing. I snuck in and took them because there’s things in those books that I didn’t want known. I trust you, Julie, so I’m giving them back to you. Take care of him.” She nods toward Oliver and turns to walk back down the driveway. She winces in pain each time she takes a step and I feel the sorrow rising in my throat, ready to call after her.

  Oliver pinches my side because he knows me too well. “She’s fine, let her go.”

  “She can barely walk!” I hiss. “This is so fucked up.”

  He knows I’m right. “I don’t know what to do here, okay? She’s a terrible fucking person, how can I just jump and help her when she’s done so fucking much to hurt me…and you? She just fucking kidnapped you, did you forget that?”

  My stomach sours and I have to close my mouth so I can breathe through my nose and calm down. He doesn’t deserve to be attacked by me and I know that; it’s hard to find the fine line between helping someone and being your own person.

  “I didn’t forget.” My gaze goes back to her as she makes her way down the street from the direction she came. She’s dragging her left foot a little and that’s the source of the scraping sound from before. “We can’t just let her wander around Rockford, Oliver.”

  “Julie, she kidnapped you.”

  “I know that! I was there!” I snap. “You keep bringing that up and we’re never going to be able to move past it. Don’t you want to make sure she’s okay? She’s still your mother.”

  “No, she’s not.” The hollowness of his voice echoes around in my mind. “She was dead to me the moment she left me. You’re not to follow her or help her, do you understand? I just handed her money to walk away and never come back, so don’
t go looking for her.”

  I open my mouth to counter his offer, but he shakes his head.

  “Don’t. Go. Looking. For. Her. Tell me you understand me. Never go looking for her. Promise me.”

  Figuring out which emotion and argument I want to go with is wearing me thin. I don’t want to upset him but I can’t let her walk the streets alone and hurt no matter what she’s done to me. I like to find the good in people and there’s more to Veronica than meets the eye.

  And I want to know more about what she knows.

  I have to respect him. I have to show him that I’m there for him.

  “I can’t let her be alone—she’s hurt, Oliver,” I plead with him. “Just let me get her into a hotel room for the night and a doctor can look at her tomorrow before she leaves town.”

  “No,” he growls, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me back into the house. “You’re not going.”

  Stop, Julie. Think about things before you say them.

  My lungs expand with a deep breath. “Okay, I won’t go after her. She’s made it this far on her own…she can handle it, right?”

  He doesn’t smile. “Right. Thank you for making the right decision and not running after her.”

  Well, you sort-of made the decision for me, didn’t you?

  His eyebrows rise. I know he can read my mind sometimes and now…I’m in trouble. “I’m also thankful that you love me enough to respect my final decisions and do as I tell you when it really matters.”

  Oh, Oliver. I thought we were going to get out of this without your foot in your mouth.

  “You don’t own me.” The surprise in my voice makes him let go of my arm and take a few steps backward. “You shouldn’t order me around like I don’t have a mind of my own.”

  “You’re killing me.” He exhales and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Baby, I love you, but you’re acting like a child. I asked you not to go and yet you kept telling me you were going.”

  “No, you told me not to go.” My eyes narrow up at him. “And I’m not a slave.”

  I want to stop this. I want to stop this now, but I don’t know how to…

  He holds up his hands and waves them around quickly. “Whoa, wait a minute here. No one said you were a slave and you have free will—don’t play that game with me. You’re doing this because you can’t help yourself. You have to fix everyone. Guess what, Julie? That wretched, twisted excuse for a mother cannot be fixed.”

  Darkness has completely consumed the light in his emerald eyes; he can barely stand to look at me because the tears forming in the corners might fall. “Not to mention all the fucked-up shit she did to me when I was a kid. She’s not a good person and she can’t be trusted. That should be enough for you, Julie. Me asking you to not do this to me should be enough for you.”

  Oh, no. He’s right.

  “Oliver, I—”

  He kisses my forehead and turns to leave the room. He leaves his pain and hurt behind to suffocate me, reminding me of what a horrible wife I’m going to be. He’s activated a headstrong quality in me and it’s such a new feeling that I haven’t mastered it yet.

  I don’t know how long I stand in the half-lit foyer in silence while I hear him shuffling around upstairs. My feet follow the outline of the carpet as I walk the stairs slowly, one at a time; the shower starts when I hit the top and a door slams, making me jump out of my skin.

  He’s never been this angry with me before.

  The bedroom feels tense even though he’s in the shower, but the anger he’s left behind isn’t pleasant to be alone with. I don’t bother knocking on the bathroom door before walking in; the steam from the shower fills the space enough that he can’t see me.

  “I feel you.” His voice is small. “I know you’re in here, baby.”

  I hoist myself onto the sink and lower my head in shame. “I shouldn’t have argued with you. You’re right, she’s not a good person. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  He sighs. “You’re not flawed, baby, your heart’s in the right place. I know the goodness inside of you wants to find the good in other people. You did that with me.”

  “Your mot—Veronica.” I blush even though he can’t see me through the shower door. “She said that I changed you, that you aren’t the little boy she knew.”

  Oliver scoffs and sticks his head out of the shower door. His chocolate brown hair is matted around his forehead and his bright green eyes shine like gemstones. “Of course I’m not, I haven’t really seen her for twenty years. She’s right about one thing: you did change me. It’s a change I needed and I’m glad to have.”

  “How can I make it up to you?” I bite at my fingernails. “What can I do?”

  An ornery grin lifts the corners of his mouth. “You can join me, for starters. The water is nice and warm, ready for you.”

  Oliver wants to put away the pain I caused him and focus on something else. Usually, and this time is no different, that something else is sex. Not that I blame him, since the sight of his naked god-like body melts whatever defense I have left against him.

  “Are you sure that shower is big enough for both of us?” I joke.

  He opens the door wider so I can step inside. “Get undressed. One of the main reasons I bought this house was the size of this shower. You know I like seeing you naked and wet, sunshine.”

  I chuckle as I undress and don’t even think twice about standing in front of him naked. I got over that weeks ago, even though the feeling of his body pressing against mine makes me feel a hundred pounds heavier than I am.

  His eyes never leave my body as I undress and saunter toward him; I slip past his body and make sure every part of me that can rub against him touches him in some way. He barely gets the door closed again before his hands are cupped around my neck gently, pushing me against the wall and devouring my lips with his.

  “Oliver,” my voice is scratchy from the steam, “is your knee strong enough? I noticed you were rubbing it earlier—”

  His warm syrup laugh makes my body shiver. “Again, don’t worry about me. I’ve been doing my own rehab work and that’s why I’m stronger than I should be.”

  “But—”

  “You frustrate me more than anyone I’ve ever known.” He smiles into my skin when his lips reach my collarbone. “Sometimes it’s hard to control my hunger for you.”

  I snicker. “You mean you’ve been holding back?”

  The soft nips that his teeth make at my wet skin ignite the flame in my stomach. “Oh, there’s plenty more than what we’ve been doing, don’t you worry about that. There’s things I want to do to you that would make you blush to hear me say out loud.” I blush and he laughs. “See?”

  Confidence, Julie. Find it and own it. You can do this. Be the woman you know you want to be.

  “I already blush. Why don’t you show me what you mean?”

  Yes! There you go!

  He growls and sucks on my shoulder; his tongue flicks across my skin in a circular motion. “Don’t tease me; I have a rough side that you don’t want to see.”

  My mouth finds his and I make a point to bite his thick bottom lip just enough to tantalize him. “Who’s the one teasing now? Show me, Oliver.”

  The slow hiss that escapes his lips as he picks me up and wraps my legs around his waist echoes between the glass walls of the shower. He groans as his thick, hard flesh enters the space it owns inside of me, and he doesn’t waste any time ripping through the barrier to get where he wants to be. His body pounds into me and I have to hook my nails into his back to keep from bouncing away. He snarls when my nails pierce his flesh and catches my lips with his and kisses me so hard that I lose all the breath I have left. The world goes fuzzy for a few seconds as he pulls out of me and slams back into my flesh so hard that I feel disconnected from my body.

  It feels amazing.

  Somehow, I manage to scream his name and he clutches onto me, pumping harder with each second that passes. He’s holding me against the wall so he can do wh
at he wants, and I’m so helpless to his touch that I don’t even care.

  “I told you…” He tries to catch his breath and runs his tongue along the outer rim of my breast. “…and this is just the beginning.”

  I lick my lips and the world is full of bright colors dancing around the walls of the shower. “More,” I breathe, and his wicked laugh snakes into my ears. “I want everything.”

  He moans as he pushes back inside of me. “What’s mine is yours, Mrs. Jackson.”

  I don’t remember much after that as he takes my body to another plane, through space and time.

  There we are.

  Pushing aside our problems to get to what we truly want.

  Oliver and Julie.

  The Rulebreakers.

  Chapter Eight

  Heather

  I make it home before Brandon does and I know I don’t have much time to spare to get ready for dinner. After I shove the last of the groceries in their places, I quickly wipe down the counters and tidy up around the house before changing out of my sweaty clothes. I don’t have time for a full shower, so I freshen up in other ways and open the closet to try and find something to wear. Since Brandon and I are sleeping in the same room, we don’t have much closet space for both of us to share. I took the closet in the purple room because of the full-length mirror behind the door for convenience.

  The front door opens and adrenaline rushes through my veins. I manage to bend over and feel my legs for stubble before he leans in the doorframe with his tired eyes fixed on my half-naked body. “Is it okay if I change my mind again?” He yawns and I drink him in during his vulnerable state because I don’t get to see this side of him too often.

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s totally okay.”

  He playfully smiles. “I don’t know about you sometimes, babe. I mean, I think about you all day long and I dream about you and you’re doing…what? Planning meals and running errands? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were reaching some sort of normalcy.”