Ever Found: Lost Boys of Neverly Prep: Academy Romance

by L. E. Bross

  “Does it matter? The guys aren’t happy I’m hanging out with Luc. Isn’t that what you wanted? To piss them off and hurt them?”

  Trey throws his head back and laughs. “You really think this is just about you being with Luc to piss them off? I thought you were smarter than that.”

  He takes a step closer and I back up. The look in his eyes makes me want to turn and get out of there as fast as I can. The halls are empty and I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t hurt me.

  “That was me fucking with you, Ever. I wanted those assholes to suffer a little, but my end game? It’s going to fucking blow all of ‘em right out of the water. And you’re going to help me. I wasn’t even sure how I was going to pull it off, but then you were there with a huge red bow, delivered like it had all been planned. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment.”

  He waves his phone in my face like I don’t know what’s on it.

  Dread sinks to the pit of my stomach. “What do you want?”

  His twisted grin grows even darker as maniacal excitement dances in his eyes. “Friday night, when they’re all at the race, you’re going to let me into the Panchard house.”

  I snort. Like hell am I letting this crazy person into their home.

  “Oh you will, Ever.” His voice goes menacingly low. “And then you’re going to break into the Panchard’s safe for me, or I’m sending these pictures to my father and you’ll be going to prison for a very long time.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s none of your business. All I care about is the fact that you’re already a little thief so you shouldn't have any trouble getting into it.” He takes a menacing step closer, looking over me. “I don’t give a shit about you or them. I’ll turn you in without a second thought, so if you think you’re gonna play me, well that would be really fucking stupid. Have a nice lunch, by the way.”

  I stare after him when he walks off, then stumble down the hall into the computer room. Baz smiles until he sees my pale face. He’s across the room in a blink.

  “The fuck happened?” He wraps an arm around me and helps me to a chair.

  “Trey. He…he wants me to break into Peter’s safe.” I clutch at his hand and try to slow my frantic heartbeat. “Baz, we have to get those pictures or I won’t have any choice.”

  ∞∞∞

  “What the fuck is he playing at?” Riot growls.

  We’re sitting around the kitchen island, full plates in front of each of us since no one but X has eaten anything. Not after I told them what Trey told me.

  “We need his phone,” Baz says. “It’s the only way to stop him from blackmailing Ever. He had a blocker installed, I couldn’t get past it remotely, so I need to connect directly to it in order to see where he sent the image files.”

  “Then I’ll grab it and you can do your thing.” Riot shoves back his chair and starts to pace. We’re running out of time, and there’s only one logical solution. There’s a game Thursday night. It’s the perfect time for Luc to get Trey’s phone for us.

  But in order to do that, we need to tell Luc what’s going on.

  “We don’t fucking need Hook,” Ry grits out like he knows what I’m thinking.

  “We kind of do,” Baz argues quietly. “He’s our best bet at getting hands on Trey’s phone.”

  “You want to trust him? What if he turns around and tells Trey what we’re doing? What if he fucks Ever over? You know what will happen, that asshole will send the pictures to his father, that’s what. I’m not letting Ever go to fucking prison for something Peter made her do.”

  Riot storms out of the kitchen, and with a sigh, X follows, but not before he grabs his plate. When it’s just Baz and I, his stare turns on me.

  “Do you really think we can trust Luc? Ry’s right, Ever, if this backfires it means you could go to prison. It’s a huge risk.”

  I know how much the guys mean to Luc and I’m almost certain he’ll be on our side. I just wish that Ry would talk to him, clear the air and hear Luc’s side of the story.

  There are always two sides.

  If William and Wendi were having an affair, then maybe William could help us find her. I haven’t brought that up to the guys yet. They won’t trust one Hook, so asking them to trust two is out of the question right now.

  I need Luc to come through, and then we can work on the rest.

  “I trust him, Baz. The other night when he was telling me about you all growing up together, he was devastated that he’s not part of your family anymore. He says he has no idea why Ry cut him out and I believe him. I think there’s more to this than what Riot thinks he knows.”

  “This is going to blow up in our faces.” Baz scrubs his hand over his face. “Come on, we might as well get it over with. Text Luc and tell him to come over.”

  “You’re not going to tell Ry?”

  “Fuck no. You think he’d stick around if he knew? Nope, we’re gonna ambush him and pray like hell he doesn’t kill Hook.”

  Less than an hour later, I’m questioning if Baz and I are insane.

  “I’m going to fucking kill all of you,” Riot growls when Baz and I walk into the game room with Luc on our heels.

  “Shit. Let me guess, you didn’t pass this get together by Ry, right?”

  Baz shuts the door behind him and I swear I hear Luc swallow.

  “You got some titanium balls, sweetheart,” X says from the corner of the oversized couch. He tosses the remote onto the coffee table and pushes to his feet. His gaze flicks between me and Luc.

  “It’s the only way and you know it. All of you.” I look pointedly at Riot.

  He snarls and shoves to his feet. “I don’t need to listen to any of this. I told you no already.”

  He goes to move past us but I grab his arm. He swings around so fast I stumble, but his hand on my hip steadies me. I don’t miss the flare of heat in his eyes and I’m sure he doesn’t miss the way my breath quickens.

  We are fire and gasoline and nothing has changed that.

  I grab a fistful of his shirt and yank him down to eye level. Of course he lets me because there’s no way I could move that boy unless he wanted to be moved.

  “No, you don’t get to walk away, Riot, because this isn’t your choice. This is my fucking future at stake and I’m calling the shots. Sit your ass down so we can come up with a plan to keep me out of damned prison.”

  His pupils expand during our stare off, but I see a glimpse of fear in the depths of his eyes.

  “Fine,” he grits out. “For you.”

  He ignores Luc as he moves back to the couch and falls back into the seat next to X. X looks at me, throws his hands up and sits, too.

  “Not gonna argue with you.” He pats the seat between them and winks. “But you have to sit here.”

  I roll my eyes but move to the couch and sink down next to him. He drops his arm around my shoulder. I catch Luc’s stare as his gaze moves from X to Ry and back, eyebrows dipping down.

  Baz nudges him and they also move to sit, though Luc chooses a separate chair. Ry glares at Luc then wraps his fingers around my upper thigh. I can almost feel the testosterone flooding the room.

  “You touch her on prom night and I will kill you.”

  I elbow Riot and he grunts.

  Luc pulls from his confusion and his jaw hardens. “Aren’t you going with Aine?”

  No one misses the accusation in Luc’s voice. Ry’s fingers tighten.

  “Not the point. Ever is with us.”

  “So you brought me here to tell me that?” Luc finally says. His gaze settles on me. “You said it was important. You could have told me that yourself.”

  I scoot forward until I’m on the edge of the couch. “That’s not why I asked you to come.” I shoot Ry a glare before I face Luc again. “I…we need you to do something, but first I have to tell you something.”

  Luc scrubs his hand over his face. “Nothing good ever comes from that phrase.”

  X chuckles next to me and I glare a
t him.

  He gives me what? eyes, but I ignore him and turn back to Luc, rehearsing in my head what I need to say. Any way it comes out, it’s going to sound bad. I just hope he’ll listen to it all before making a decision.

  I open my mouth but Luc beats me to it.

  “You’re with both of them?” His eyebrows dip down and his gaze moves from where Riot is holding my leg to X’s arm over my shoulder. It felt natural when we sat down, but I never thought about what it would look like to someone outside our group.

  I swallow nervously. It’s not like it’s normal for a girl to be with three guys. Hell, I haven’t even wrapped my head around it yet, but it feels right and that’s all that matters.

  “Actually all three of us,” Baz says with a devious grin.

  Luc’s eyebrows furrow even deeper.

  I can feel the heat climbing into my cheeks.

  “And how exactly do I fit into this?”

  “You don’t,” Riot growls.

  “Just stop.” I let out another sigh. “There are some things you need to know about Trey, but first I have to tell you something. I ahh…” God, this is harder than I thought it would be. Riot’s thumb strokes back and forth, calming my nerves. “I broke into your father’s safe the other night.”

  Luc’s mouth pops open. “What?”

  “There was something I needed to get…”

  “You broke into my father's safe?” Luc jumps to his feet and his cheeks turn a mottled red. “What the fuck, Ever?”

  “Sit down,” Riot grits out. “You wanted to help, then start by fucking listening to her. I didn’t want you here, for the record, but Ever trusts you. They think we need your help.”

  Luc sucks in a harsh breath and starts to pace. At least he didn’t leave. I glance at Baz. We talked about how much I should reveal to Luc and decided if he was in, then he was all the way in. Ry wasn’t going to like it but judging by Luc’s initial reaction, it was the right call.

  “Peter found me after I was arrested for breaking into Panchard Enterprises. He offered me a deal. If I stole a timepiece out of your father’s safe, he’d find my little sister.”

  Luc stops walking and laces his fingers behind his neck, dropping his head. When he looks up from under a fringe of blond hair, I hold my breath.

  “Peter asked you to steal something from my dad?”

  “Wendi’s watch,” Ry says in a low voice. “The one she never took off.”

  Sadness flashes over Luc’s face. “I remember it." Confusion covers his face again. “Why did my dad have it in his safe?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Baz offers. “There was a chip in it.”

  “Panchard tech, I assume.” Baz nods at Luc. “Have you decrypted it yet?”

  “Not yet. It looks like something I had in development but it’s been altered.”

  “And it was in the watch, in the safe?”

  He’s looking at me again and I nod. “So here’s where things get a little complicated.”

  Luc lifts an eyebrow. “Breaking into a safe in a locked office isn’t complicated?”

  I shake my head. “Trey caught me that night. He has pictures. He threatened to give them to his father if I didn’t do what he said. Said I’d go to prison for a long time.”

  “What did he tell you to do?” His words come out slower, like he’s trying to figure out the joke before I get to the punchline.

  I can’t look at him and even the guys duck their heads. I don’t want to hurt him, but there’s no way around what I have to say.

  “Date you.”

  The only sound in the room is a harsh intake of breath, followed by a growl.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Luc’s face goes beet red and he fists his hands at his side. Both Riot and X shift on the couch, tucking me just a little bit more behind them. Luc turns his murderous gaze on me. “Why the fuck would he do that?”

  He’s pacing again, but stops every few steps to throw a glare at me. I don’t know why and that’s just one more mystery added onto the pile.

  “I know why. Because he’s a fucking asshole. Always has been.”

  X and Riot relax a little but I sit up straighter. “You’re not mad at me? I really am sorry…”

  “I told you the other night, Ever, I could see Ry was into you and I wasn’t going to hurt him like that.” I feel Ry tense behind me and his hand stops rubbing along my leg. “So what do you need me to do? I’d really love to pay that bastard back.”

  “First, he can’t know anything’s up. Nothing can be different. Until Thursday anyway. You guys have a home game and I need Trey’s phone. We need you to get it for us. You’re the only one who can get close.”

  “Done.” Luc doesn’t even ask any more questions, he just agrees.

  I can see the longing in his eyes when he looks at the guys. At the room. They must have spent a lot of time down here together. I didn’t notice it at the time, but Luc’s game room looks a lot like this one. I bet he did it on purpose.

  “We should tell my dad. He might be able to help. He’d know why the watch was in his safe.”

  “We’re done here,” Riot growls, pushing to his feet.

  “Ry.” I grab his hand to keep him from storming out.

  Luc gets to his feet, too. “What the hell is your problem, man?”

  “You and your father are the problem,” he grits out.

  Luc’s face turns red. “What the fuck did my dad ever do to you? He loves you all like his own kids, for Christ’s sake.”

  “Is that why he was fucking Wendi?” Riot explodes.

  Three shocked gazes swing to him and I push to my feet, wrapping my arm around Riot’s arm. His entire body is shaking with a combination of rage and hurt.

  Luc takes a step toward Ry but X swings around first.

  “The fuck did you just say?”

  When Riot remains silently fuming, I nudge him. “It’s time to talk about it.”

  His tortured gaze meets mine and I turn so that I can wrap my arms around him. He has to stop blaming himself and this is where it needs to start.

  “Ry, you can’t keep carrying this all alone. They’re your brothers. You need to talk to them. The time for secrets is over. If we’re going to get through all this, we need to trust each other.”

  Baz looks at me, concern on his face, but I can’t do this for Ry. He needs to do it for himself. Ry tightens his arms around me and buries his face in my neck and I can feel his ragged breaths.

  “They’ll hate me,” he says hoarsely.

  I pull back so that I can look into his eyes.

  “They love you.”

  “Peter…”

  I growl. “Peter did what he did all on his own. It had nothing to do with you. He’s at fault. You can do this. You’re fearless, remember?”

  I step back and take his hand, leading him back to the couch. When he sits, he pulls me with him so that I’m half on his lap, his arm wound around my waist.

  “I caught Hook and Wendi kissing. Heard them talking about how she was going to leave Peter.”

  Luc’s face pales and he sinks down onto the chair. X starts to pace, but Baz doesn’t look surprised. When I look at him he shrugs.

  “Peter was never around. After they adopted us, he just sort of stopped trying. Spent all his time at the office. I heard them arguing one night. They came back to Mt. Pleasant because it’s what Wendi wanted. Peter never wanted to be here.”

  “Yeah, well, she never wanted us. She planned to leave Peter and move in with William and Luc. She didn’t care what happened to us.” Bitterness coats Riot’s tongue. “Guess it doesn’t really matter much now, we’re all eighteen. Adults. Can do whatever the fuck we want.”

  “That can’t be right.” We all turn to Luc who looks like he’s going to be sick. “Is this why you stopped talking to me?”

  “You can’t tell me you didn’t know your father and Wendi were fucking.”

  Luc jumps to his feet. “They weren’
t fucking. There’s another explanation for what you thought you saw.” He drags his fingers through his hair and looks around with wild eyes. “Is this why Wendi ran? Because Peter thought she was having an affair?”

  “She didn’t run,” Baz says, dropping onto the couch and sinking his hands between his knees. He drops his head with a long exhale. We said no more secrets. “We have some pretty damning evidence that Peter had Wendi committed. That he’s kept her sedated this whole time and that the reason is on the chip that was in your father’s safe.”

  “We have to tell him,” Luc says hoarsely. “He’s been out of his mind, he’s paid three different private detectives a fortune to find her. He needs to know what Peter did so he can bring Wendi home.”

  I glance over and see X sitting on the floor, his arms around his knees. He hasn't said a word. Disentangling from Riot, I move over to him and sink down next to him.

  “X?” He lifts his head and his eyes are glassy, but hard.

  “She was going to fucking leave us,” he grits out. “Everything was a fucking lie so why are we even bothering now?”

  He pushes to his feet and storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “Well that went fucking well,” Riot grunts.

  I watch him follow after X and drop my head.

  Maybe all of this was a mistake after all.

  Chapter Twelve

  When I wake up on Thursday morning, there’s a large manila envelope on the floor by my door. Someone must have slipped it under when I was sleeping.

  I swear I can't take any more drama.

  My name is written on the outside so I grab it and climb back into bed, then slide my finger along the seam to open it. Inside is a sheaf of papers in a binder clip and a note.

  Ms. Darlington,

  This is the petition for custody of your sister. Everything has been filed and the court is only waiting for your signature for it to be finalized. Attached is a check to get you settled and there is enough for college, as per our agreement. The title to the convertible is also included and it is yours, as are any clothing and personal items you may have purchased.