by G N Wright
When I don’t reply, mostly because I don’t know how to, he continues, “I had a sister,” he speaks softly, and I turn my focus on him. “She was two years older than me. She went missing when I was eleven,” he pauses, looking at Lincoln and then back to me. “Greg Donovan raped and murdered her.”
I am frozen in shock, I don’t know how to respond but he pushes on, “I have been watching them for years, learning what I could, paying for information about them. You think I don’t know who this warehouse belongs to? Whose blood that was on your clothes?” He looks at me closely and continues, “You came back to this town on a mission, I saw it in your eyes that day we met on the steps and every day since. You’ve been hurt, burned, and now you want your revenge. So, who was it, princess?”
I see the darkness in his eyes that I recognized the first day we met, the darkness he hides with smiles and flirty lines. He is beautiful but damaged, he needs all the family he can get, blood or not. I reach out and squeeze his hand in mine before I close my eyes and take a deep breath “Greg. It was Greg,” I whisper in response to his earlier questions.
He just nods, having clearly already come to that conclusion, “I’m sorry I kept it from you,” I add.
“We all have secrets and reasons for keeping them, Elle.”
“Well, your secret is safe with me,” I say with a tight smile.
He just shrugs before saying, “Everyone has their own demons. It’s up to us, if we let them win,” with that he presses a button on the device in his hand and the warehouse explodes with a loud bang. The flames look as high as the sky in the darkness of the woods and the orange glow lights up all our faces.He is right, everyone has their own demons, and he shares his with me.
Another damaged soul, another dead girl at the hands of Elliot Donovan, and his fucking rapist son. They may have won so many battles, but they won’t fucking win the war.
Chapter 6
ELLE
Betrayal. It’s a bitter feeling. It grips you in the pit of your stomach and twists until you are sick with it. And that’s how I feel, sick. Sick and lost. The emptiness caused by Marcus’ absence grows every day and sharing secrets with the remaining two Rebels only increases it. I am digging myself into a complicated hole that I fear I won't be able to drag myself out of and what's worse? I'm not sure I want to.
Marcus uncovering my biggest secret has pushed him even further away yet drawn his brothers closer than ever. Having them in my secret life makes me question whether I should have told Marcus the truth when he met Cassie. Should I have just ripped off the band aid and let my secrets bleed out? The reasons for keeping him in the dark don’t even seem like reason enough anymore. Sure, Cassie is my biggest secret, my biggest weakness, but do I really believe that Marcus, my River, would do anything to put her safety in jeopardy if he knew the truth? I can’t decide on that risk though unless he comes back.
Another week passes with no word from him and I can’t help but worry. It’s Monday again which means it has been just over two weeks since he found out about Cassie. Two weeks, it’s nothing in hindsight, such a short insignificant amount of time. We went three years without seeing each other, yet somehow these two weeks seem like a lifetime. That's two weeks of him holding my life in his hands and he doesn’t even realize it.
I am riding shotgun in the passenger seat of Linc’s SUV. The three of us have taken to riding to and from school together every day. Seems they find it pretty pointless to drive separately now, I mean I never understood why they did anyway, not since I found out they fucking live together, stupid boys.
I am grumpy as shit thanks to stupid period cramps and I pray to the gods that while Jace grabs us some coffee, he also picks up snacks too. While we wait for him to get our stuff, I grill Lincoln on any update about Marcus.
“What do you mean he wasn’t there?” I say in exasperation.
“Exactly what I just said, King. He wasn’t there. That was the last safe house he could have been at and it was empty.”
“Well, did it look like anyone had been staying there?” I push him.
“No, but this is Marcus we are talking about, he knows how to cover his tracks.”
I groan, scrubbing my hand over my eyes, “That isn’t helpful, Lincoln,” but he just shrugs his shoulders.
“I’m trying everything, but he’s smart, ditching the trackers and taking a bunch of cash is just the start, he knows how to keep a low profile.”
“What if he doesn’t come back?” I ask him, voicing my true fear aloud.
Linc looks over and sees the emotions that I know are showing on my face, he reaches out to squeeze my hand, “Then he’s a fucking idiot.”
I offer him a small smile and gently squeeze his hand back as Jace climbs back into the car, “Fuck, it was busy in there,” he complains as he struggles inside with a bag and tray of drinks. He shuts the door and shuffles over to the middle seat in the back and pops his head between us.
He hands Lincoln something white and red that definitely doesn’t look like a black coffee and then I know what's coming.
“For you, princess,” he says, with a smile as he hands me an iced drink.
“Pretty boy, what the fuck is this?” I say snatching it from his hand.
He gleams with mock innocence, “It’s an iced white mocha with toffee nut and almond milk.”
“In what world did you think I would want this and not my Americano?'' I fume at him but take a sip anyway and groan. Fuck that’s good.
“Good right?” he preens at me with glee and I curse in my head.
“Fine yes, it’s fucking delicious,” I say in exasperation, “But I am holding you responsible when I fall asleep during Mr. Keating’s class later.”
He just laughs and thrusts a little bag at me and when I look inside, I find muffins and cookies which I immediately reach for.
“Forgiven?” he says, wiggling his brows.
“Always, pretty boy,” I say, around a mouthful of a blueberry muffin.
“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at this face,” he says, picking up his own cup housing lord knows what.
“Do I even wanna know what yours is?” I ask him.
“Mines a double chocolaty chip Frappuccino, you know for my sweet tooth.” He flashes a flirty smile at me, and I reach out and turn his cup towards him, showcasing the phone number of the side.
“Is that the smile you gave to get this?” I roll my eyes.
He looks down noticing what I am referring to and smiles. “What can I say, the ladies go wild for me,” he replies, and I scoff in fake disgust.
We continue back and forth, laughing and joking, and it feels good to have this sort of friendship again. The kind I had with Asher and Marcus before that fateful night. It feels nice, normal, and completely comforting. We pull into the parking lot at the school and Lincoln finds his usual space. I’m still teasing Jace about his coffee girl, when we hit the parking spot and out of nowhere. He chokes on his drink, spits some out, and some lands on my pants.
“Jesus, pretty boy,” I hiss, “These are my favorite jeans.” I scold him, until I see he is paying me zero attention. I follow his gaze to see what's distracted him, only to be met with the last sight I expected.
There, in all his South Side glory, is Marcus Riviera waiting on the front steps. The King overlooking his court, awaiting his knights. Except the spot usually saved for a Queen is currently occupied. WHAT THE FUCK?
I can feel Lincoln's eyes on me, but I ignore him in favor of Marcus who is looking right at me, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. That insufferable tug of a smirk pulling at his stupid kissable lips.
“Has he lost his fucking mind?” Jace voices my thoughts. “What the fuck is he doing?” He adds.
I unclick my seatbelt and reach to open the door, “Let's go find out,” I say through gritted teeth, trying hard to keep my smile in place.
I climb out of the car without waiting for their response, slamming my door and theirs soon follow
suit. I have no idea where Marcus has been or what he is playing at, coming back unannounced, and not alone but I’m about to find out.
With Jace and Linc flanking me on either side, we walk over to him together.
“River,” I nod at him, as the guys reach out their fists and Marcus hits them both, like he hasn’t been AWOL for two fucking weeks, and this is just a normal Monday. There may be cracks in their relationship right now, but they are smart enough to know to leave that behind closed doors. When they are in the public eye, they show a united front, it’s admirable.
I ignore the girl pawing at his chest and keep my stare on his eyes, trying to decipher the look I see there. I look for any indication to how he might be feeling towards me, but it’s like I am no one to him.
“Ells,” he nods back casually, like this is our normal everyday greeting.
“Where have you been, brother?” Lincoln questions, but Marcus doesn’t break my stare, when he responds, “Just around.”
“But you’re back now?” Jace asks looking between the two of us, all of us actively ignoring the girl he's got his arm slung around.
“Obviously,” Marcus drawls out.
I need to cut the shit, “Marcus can we talk a sec?” I ask, then look pointedly at his guest before adding, “Alone.”
“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Cherry,” he says with a preening grin like he is enjoying having the upper hand.
Cherry. Did he just say fucking Cherry? Is he shitting me right now? He really wants to play these games with a girl who has a fucking pornstar name.
I scoff in a way which I am sure highlights my distaste perfectly, “I highly doubt she could keep up,” I say, putting emphasis on the word highly and both Lincoln and Jace grunt a laugh.
But Marcus isn’t fazed, “Oh, you have no idea how good her stamina is, little traitor,” he smirks with a wink and she giggles.
Gag. I don’t know what’s worse, the fact he is doing this, or the fact I am actually fucking jealous of the stupid bitch. Fucking Cherry. Wonder if her blood is as red as I’m imagining. Maybe I’ll make her bleed and find out. I imagine four different ways to gut her insides before I do what I do best and slam it down deep inside me and smile.
“Oh, I’m sure I can imagine,” I say, with as much friendliness as I can muster.
I turn my attention to her for the first time. She is quite pretty. I'll give her that, I mean, of course she is to land a place on Marcus’ arm, but she is ruining it with the caked makeup piled on her face. She's got blonde hair with a yellow tint that only comes from cheap hair dye and is wearing a skin-tight dress like this isn’t fucking October.
“Do you charge by the hour, Cherry? If so, how much for some privacy?” I ask sweetly.
She giggles and it’s the most irritating sound in the world, “I don’t get it,” she says, like being dumb is sexy.
I huff, “No, you really don’t,” I huff with a humorless laugh before concentrating back on Marcus “So, this is how it’s gonna be then?” I ask him.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he says with a smug smile like he knows how much this is getting to me. Curse this prick to the fiery pits of hell and his fucking bimbo too.
“This is how you’re playing things,” I confirm.
“You’d know all about games wouldn’t you, Elle?” He snaps back, losing a bit of his cool and I smile my first genuine smile. Oh, he wants to fucking play.
“Game on, River,” I give him my best game face and push past them both and enter the school.
Lincoln is the first to catch up with me and I don’t even let him speak before I whip round and get in his face, “I want everything on her, Superman, fucking everything. I wanna know where she eats, where she sleeps, where she fucking works, everything.”
He just nods, accepting my crazy, and already tapping away on his tablet. I know I’m being irrational but fuck it I don’t care. How dare he! How dare he fucking disappear after finding out my biggest secret and then have the audacity to rock back up to school like it’s just a regular Monday, with a slut by his side no less. I mean she could be Virgin fucking Mary for all I know but my irrational period brain has taken over and she gives zero fucks.
Marcus Riviera is a fucking asshole. A stupid, sexy, dumb as fuck, fucking asshole!
Well, if this is how he wants to play it then so be it, as long as he keeps what he knows to himself then he can do whatever the fuck he wants. I mean, this is what I always wanted, right? To push him far enough away that he finds happiness with someone who isn’t me. So why don’t I feel happy right now?
Chapter 7
ELLE
Isuffer through the rest of the morning watching her paw at him during all the classes we share, and I swear to all the gods, I deserve a fucking medal for not spilling blood. That doesn’t mean I didn’t conjure up several creative ways I could gut them both and make their bodies disappear. Fuck, I have never felt so stabby! I don’t do this. This stupid high school bullshit of being jealous of a girl who is with the guy I like, is fucked up, so why the fuck can’t I stop?
I think I am doing well until lunchtime arrives and I make my way to the cafeteria and find her perched on his lap at the Rebels’ usual table. I grind my teeth so hard; I don’t know how they haven’t cracked in my mouth. Oh, I really want to make someone hurt right now. Surely if I've got to bleed today it's only fair that someone else should too. Is it rational to kill someone for touching the boy you love, even though he hates you? Would I get away with it with so many witnesses? Can homicide by hormones be my plea?
No, now I am definitely being irrational. I can’t kill her. Yet.
I feel the presence of the two Rebels, who aren’t pissing me off, by my side and suddenly feel a little more ready to sit at the table with him. It’s funny how the two Rebels I didn’t know before coming back here are the ones giving me strength now. It hits me then how much I care about them already. Fuck. I have spent so much time concentrating on keeping Marcus in the dark that I didn’t stop them from sneaking through my defense until I knew I would bleed for them too.
“I have what you asked for,” Linc says, cutting into my thoughts.
“And?” I reply, desperate for him to tell me anything that would make killing her acceptable. Just any fucking dark mark against her and I won’t hesitate.
“Cherry Daniels, seventeen, lives with her Mom in a trailer, barely scraping by in all her classes, works nights at the gas station over on Evergreen, has a younger sister named Daisy.”
“Any red flags,” I plead with hope, but he shakes his head. Fuck, nothing warranting her death apart from the fact her hands haven’t left Marcus’ body all morning. Which, if you ask me, is a valid fucking reason all on it’s own.
“This is bullshit,” Jace cuts in.
“How so?” I wonder out loud, as Marcus glowers at me with a fucking smirk on his arrogant perfect face.
“Come on, princess, use your eyes,” he says, leaning in close to me. “See, how he isn’t touching her?”
“She’s sitting in his fucking lap, Jace,” I snap back angrily, struggling to hold onto my temper.
“Yeah, she is, but look at his hands, they’re nowhere near her. He isn’t burning a stare into her head right now,” he says, as he comes in closer to my side putting his hand on my shoulder.
He’s right. Marcus isn’t touching her. She’s in his lap, stroking her hand up and down his chest but his hands aren’t on her. One hangs down by his side and the other grips the table and his eyes are solely focused on me.
“That could mean anything,” I say weakly.
“Care to test that theory, princess?” Jace replies with a gleeful tone.
“What do you mean?” I ask, turning to focus on him and without warning he pulls me close and tucks my hair behind my ear. My eyes shoot wide in panic until Marcus’ voice booms across the cafeteria before I can even take another breath.
“Hurry up and sit down,” he shouts, soun
ding pissed.
Jace smirks at me and I can’t help but return it.
“Hear that tone, princess? I can feel his jaw tensing from all the way over here and all I did was touch your hair,” he laughs, as he puts his arm fully around my shoulders and starts towards the table, “Come on, this is gonna be fun.”
We approach the table slowly; I feel every eye on us as we take our seats. I choose the seat directly across from Marcus and both Jace and Lincoln forego the chairs next to him and sit on either side of me instead. It feels like a bold statement.
Marcus snorts a laugh, “Asher not enough for you, you had to take Jace too? You already got your claws into one of my brothers, now, you’ve got both I see,” he says, cocking his head to the side like he is trying to assess the new dynamic here. Good fucking luck with that, I have barely worked it out myself.
“You’re the one who left us without a word, Marcus,” I say trying to stay calm while also imagining breaking every one of Cherry’s fingers. She is still lazily dragging her fingertips up and down his torso and I squash down the feeling of snapping each one.
“Oh, and you’d know all about leaving, wouldn’t you?” he replies with a smirk “I just took a page from the Elle King playbook.”
“You're being ridiculous,” I say in exasperation, as I rub circles on the ever-increasing pounding in my temples.
“You three are the ones acting all cosy,” he snaps, finally losing a bit of his cool.
“Because we are friends,” I sound out the words slowly to insinuate how dumb he is being before adding, “And that's really rich considering you are practically getting a fucking lap dance from little miss porno here,” I grit back.
“It’s Cherry,” the girl in question pipes up, like the worst thing I just did was not get her name right. I am not usually one for tearing into other girls but right now I am too mad to care about female solidarity.
“I literally couldn't care less,” I snap back at her.
But before she can even defend herself Marcus cuts in, “She’s hardly a pornstar, just because you opened your legs at fourteen doesn’t mean everyone else does!”
