I shook away the annoying thoughts of love. This wasn’t about love.
No.
“I did do something. Remember?”
“You did?” Pres asked.
“I was leaving, Pres. You stopped me. And then you left me. And I was attacked. Did you figure out what you needed to yet?”
He curled his lip. “If you left, they would have followed. Then what? You’d have no protection.”
“I can survive on my own, Pres. I’ve done it my whole life. You think I’m some project, don’t you? Just some poor girl that needs to be saved. But you’re wrong. I don’t need to be saved, Pres. I grew up with a junkie for a mother. I’m the one who does the protecting. That’s what I did for her. I kept her from killing herself so many times. And this time is no different. I agreed to come to BFH for her. And when she’s out of rehab, it’ll be the same thing. So you can keep your little rich boy fights and wars and pick someone else to have a bet over.”
Pres pushed from the counter and met me at the island in the middle of the floor.
He put his elbows down and bent his knees so he was eye level with me.
“That’s the point, sugar. Do something about it. For yourself. Your mother used you your entire life. Claire is only out for herself. Always. Trust me. This shit here… it’s a message to us. Not to you. Nobody was going to shoot you. Nobody was going to hurt you. It was a direct message to us. To me. And I’ll handle that myself.”
“Yeah? If there was no danger, then why have me here tonight?”
“Because I told you you were staying here. No matter what.”
“So you lied to me. Again.”
“No lies, sugar. Just protecting you.”
“Fuck off, Pres. Honestly. This isn’t a game. I’m not like you. I’m not like Gi and Iris either.”
I moved away from the island and Pres made his move again.
His hands sliding to my waist, touching the bottom of my tight tank top, his fingertips magically working their way under it. His bare hands against my bare skin. His body touching mine. I was half naked. He was fully clothed.
It was completely not fair.
It was also not fair that he scrambled my mind so instantly too. My anger mixed with confusion and then was topped with a burning need. That kind of need.
“You’re not supposed to be like anyone else, sugar,” Pres said. “That’s why you need to do something about everything.”
“I already started,” I said. “Your cheek is the proof.”
I grabbed his wrists and shoved him away.
But I didn’t break away from him.
I stood there, knowing damn well my body and eyes were inviting him for more.
He lifted his right hand to my chin and held it. Like the cocky bastard that he was. And it still turned me on.
Pres lowered his lips to mine and gently kissed me.
“You can punch me anytime you feel like it, sugar,” he whispered.
My lips fluttered.
Pres kissed again.
His left hand touched my leg. My bare leg.
I sighed.
“Anytime you need to,” he whispered.
His hand moved in… toward my inner thigh…
I lowered my gaze and watched him.
Him touching me.
The strength of his fingers pressing against my body.
I jumped up to my toes as I sighed again.
Pres was right there though. His fingertips made circles against the outside of my panties, but believe me, that was far more than enough for me to…
I broke away and ran away from him.
I waited for him to grab my waist or my hand and pull me back but he didn’t.
He let me go.
I hurried to the couch with my water and sat with the blanket up to my chin, my heart racing.
There was no more bet and yet they all still had that same look in their eyes. And they talked the same to me. And they touched me. Kissed me.
My teeth started to chatter.
I drank all the water.
My head still hurt.
I should have just kept drinking something harder.
* * *
I had to go to class.
I was tired for a hundred reasons.
And I looked like hell.
But Claire texted me to tell me Jacobson wanted me there. I was to report to his office before the first bell.
I guess my volunteered time away from BFH had been enough for him. Unless of course he was calling me into his office to personally tell me to stay away for good.
When Iris suggested we get out of Barr’s house fucking asap I had no objections.
The night had been too heavy.
And the early morning hours confrontation with Pres.
I had Iris drop me off at Claire’s so I could grab a shower and get into fresh clothes. More than anything else, I had to wash away Pres. What his touch did to me. I felt like there was evidence of him all over me. Which there was, even if it was invisible. But to me… it was clear as fucking day. And I let him touch me. I wanted him to touch me. I was secretly mad at myself for making him stop.
Just like with Kip.
Just like with my mind racing about Barr’s bed.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The shower cleaned my body and the fresh clothes made me look refreshed, but there was nothing clean and refreshed going through my mind.
I drove to BFH and like a good and innocent woman, I showed up to Jacobson’s office on time.
He was waiting for me.
“Miss Ditkiss, follow me,” he said.
He held the door open to his office and I knew the drill.
I took a seat, folded my hands, and waited for him to talk.
He slowly took his seat.
“Anything you’d like to say?”
“Me?” I asked. “No.”
“Then I guess I’ll talk. Just wanted to pass along to you in person that both Blair and Vicky have been properly dealt with. Just like you. They’re taking a break voluntarily right now themselves.”
“Which is why you wanted me back here?”
“The more time and distance between you all the better. Might help you realize how foolish your actions have been.”
I figured that was a good place for me to explode on Jacobson and tell him once again I was simply just defending myself. But it wasn’t worth the time or effort. What was done was done.
So I nodded. “Agreed.”
“Agreed?” he asked. “Good. Glad we’re at least in the same book now. We may never get to the same page but I can find a way to live with that.”
“Okay,” I said. “Now what?”
Jacobson looked at his watch. “Now you need to get to your first class before you’re late.”
I stood up and walked to the door.
I paused.
I looked back.
Jacobson was turned, working at his computer.
I left the office and went to my locker.
“Hello, old friend,” I said.
A sadness crept through my chest.
Dammit, I had missed the place.
And it hadn’t even been that long.
I shut my eyes, realizing I was falling for it all. For the town. For BFH. For everyone inside of it. For the Rulz.
I opened my locker and laughed out loud at the new present waiting for me.
A boxing glove.
A pink boxing glove.
I guess some things were always going to be same.
“There you are…”
Before I could respond Beth threw her arms around me and hugged me.
“Beth… hey…”
“I thought you left or something,” she said. “Where have you been?”
I started to laugh again.
Trying to think of everything that had happened since I last stepped foot in BFH.
“What’s your opinion on skipping the first class of the day?” I asked her.
She smile
d back at me. “I think it’s healthy.”
“I’m feeling a little crampy,” I said.
Beth touched her stomach. “Oh, me too. I’m thinking some sun and the bleachers could do the trick.”
“Then I guess we better get out of here.”
Beth grabbed my hand and ran for the door.
I just kept laughing.
All bets were off.
All rules were meant to be stepped on.
And all hearts were up for grabs.
* * *
Curiosity was a shitty friend to have.
I went back to the bleachers at the end of the day. But it wasn’t with fake period cramps so I could gossip with Beth.
It was for my own personal business.
The second I saw Brando squirting a bottle of water into his mouth, I waved.
He quickly shook his head.
He tossed the water to the ground and stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled. He, Maverick, and a few others ran to the field. Brando called out a play and pointed to where he wanted everyone to set up.
The play went off flawlessly with Maverick catching a crazy high thrown ball.
I stepped onto the field and Brando ran to the sidelines to get his water again.
He tried to call everyone in but they were tired and not in a hurry at all.
It was pretty obvious Brando was doing everything possible to avoid talking to me.
When Maverick saw me, I heard him say oh shit to Cullen.
“Not now,” Brando said with his back to me.
“Yes, now,” I said.
“No,” he said.
He turned and tried to walk but I jumped in his way.
He darted to the left and I did too.
Left to right. Right to left.
I blocked his way.
He kept his hands up, not wanting to touch me.
Knowing that if he touched me - accident or not - the Rulz would beat the hell out of him.
Their power was my power.
And if I was going to stick around in BFH for a little bit longer, then I was going to use that power to my advantage.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Maverick asked with a big smile as though I were going to fall for it.
“I’m about to text Pres to come over here,” I said. “Brando has been getting a little handsy.”
“No way,” Brando said.
“My word against yours,” I said. “Who is Pres going to believe?”
“No need to do that,” Maverick said. “We’re all on the same side here.”
“And what side is that?” I asked.
Maverick swallowed hard.
He and Brando were big. Fit. Built for speed and built to get hit hard.
And they were at my mercy.
My fucking mercy.
“What do you want, Tinsley?” Brando asked.
I pointed at his face. “What happened?”
“You know what happened.”
“Why did it happen?”
“Just needed to be done,” Brando said.
“What needed to be done?” I asked.
“What do you want us to tell you?” Maverick asked. “The Rulz gave us a shout. Told us they needed us to do something. So we did. East versus West, Tinsley. It’ll never end.”
“But it had to do with me, right?”
Brando and Maverick locked eyes for a few seconds but remained silent.
“Fine,” I said. I reached for my phone. “The Rulz against you two. Wonder who will win that fight.”
“Stop,” Brando said, putting his hand over my phone screen.
But he didn’t dare touch me.
“Make me,” I said.
“We went over there and had a little fight,” Brando said. “Just to figure out what happened with you. There’s been some chatter over there. Happens all the time. Ever since shit went down with HCH, it’s been louder. Our fight with HCH and then…”
“The funeral,” I said. “Yeah. I know all about it.”
“Obviously HCH wants to point that at us,” Maverick said. “And our little internal battle only makes that worse.”
“What does that have to do with me?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Brando said. “It wasn’t them.”
“So you fought for nothing?”
“Not for nothing,” Brando said. “We got what Pres wanted.”
“You got hurt,” I said.
“The Rulz would have done worse to us,” Maverick said. “Plus, I like kicking up that fire. East versus West. Get that going again. It’s nice. It’s a distraction from everything else.”
“If it wasn’t them, then who…”
Brando shook his head. “Not my business.”
“Maybe you should go up to the ditch,” Maverick said. “They’re fighting tonight.”
“What?” I yelled.
“Bro, shut the fuck up,” Brando said to Maverick. He showed his hands again. “I’m done. Don’t ever talk to me again, Tinsley. I’m not going to end up swallowing my own teeth because of you. Fuck this.”
I could have kept them there but I didn’t.
I walked away not feeling much better at all.
The whole idea of someone trying to keep me in BFH seemed way too convenient for Pres, Barr, and Kip. They were the ones benefiting from it. I was too, but I wanted it to be my own decision.
And it would be.
I’d make the final decision on staying or going.
Just like I was going to make the decision to crash their fight at the ditch tonight.
eight
eight
I offered Beth a chance at a ride to the ditch.
She declined, saying she had to study. That meant she was with Denny. I was so far over even offering my advice to her on that situation. It was what it was. That was that. He’d swoon her, sleep with her, hurt her, leave her, and then it would be rinse and repeat until she finally learned her lesson.
At the same time, who was I to give advice to Beth? I was stuck between three of the hottest guys I had ever met in my life and couldn’t figure a real way out. Even after what they did to me. I was still there. Still hooked. Still wanting more.
Like a fool.
But whatever.
I kept a straight face and tough look on my straight face as I was the one now driving Gi and Iris.
Gi didn’t want to go but Iris convinced her.
That meant they argued for three minutes while I threatened to just leave.
Iris got into my SUV and Gi followed a second later.
And we were off.
It was almost funny to me the way I had BFH memorized already. How to get around. Where to go. Who to talk to. How to talk to them. It was like I had lived here my entire life. The place settled into me the same as I settled into it. The expensive coffee in the morning. The fresh fruit bowls. Whatever I wanted to eat, made fresh by a chef. Not a care about anything that resembled a chore because Claire’s money dictated that we were above chores.
It was sort of pathetic but as long as I reminded myself of it, I felt okay about it all.
Maybe.
I parked near the ditch and we walked side by side by side in silence to the large circle.
There were people there but not as many as other times.
Two guys were in the middle throwing punches at each other.
It was a sight of raw violence and it did nothing to upset me. Instead, my eyes looked around for the Rulz. So I could find out who was fighting and why.
“Oh, damn,” Iris said.
I looked to the ditch and one of the guys were on their hands and knees.
“That’s some low life BC wannabe,” Gi whispered to me. “We’ll get him. Watch.”
The other guy - someone from BFH - kicked the BC guy in the ribs and stomach.
That’s when the fight was called.
A few people clapped and cheered and the BFH guy walked out of the ditch with his arms in the air.
Before I could ask
anything about what I was watching and thinking, I felt someone brush up behind me.
I turned and saw someone I didn’t know.
He was tall with short hair with big eyes that were too dark for his own good and a jaw that looked cut from stone. There were rugged scars on his left cheek and jaw though, giving him the sense of danger and adventure. Wearing a white shirt with a sleeveless all black leather jacket over it.
“Can I help you?” I asked him.
He smirked.
Gi looked back too and quickly grabbed for my hand.
“Just admiring,” the guy said.
“Yeah?” I asked. “Go admire with your hand. Plenty of trees you could rub up against.”
“Ti, stop,” Gi whispered to me.
The guy smirked bigger. He stepped forward and broke between me and Gi.
“Not a chance,” I said. “Walk away or else.”
He looked down at me. “Anyone ever tell you you have a nice ass?”
The color drained from my face. “What?”
“Such a nice ass,” he said, but only in a different voice.
A voice that hit home hard.
The voice of the guy that stood behind me with a gun (or something) to my back.
“You…”
He winked and walked away.
I stepped forward and Gi grabbed me. “Don’t.”
“Gi… that was…”
“Look,” she said.
The guy kept walking and went right down into the ditch.
He opened his arms and slowly turned for everyone to see.
Then he took off the leather jacket and tossed it to someone on the side.
“Who…”
“That’s Cole,” Iris said. “Don’t ask who he is or what he’s capable of. Just be ready to run.”
“Who is he-” Gi started to ask but stopped.
That’s when Pres stepped into the ditch.
Shirtless.
Muscle climbing over muscle, cut and tone, built for danger, leaving my jaw slowly dropping to the ground.
Pres walked right up to Cole and they went nose to nose.
Oh. Fucking. Hell.
* * *
This was probably why the Rulz didn’t tell me about the fight.
This wasn’t the kind of fight that was bet on. That’s why there were less people here too. This was about revenge. For me. About me. Because of me. Whatever… me…
UNTamed: a bay falls high novel Page 7
