Ride or Die: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 4)

by Sheridan Anne

  “I know,” I tell her. “I’m being careful.”

  “Good.” She pulls out of my arms and looks at me with a grim stare. “Do me a favor and don’t mention me to anyone, and certainly don’t tell Christian that we had this conversation. My father has wanted me back in the ‘family business’ for years now, and if he knew I was this close—”

  “Of course,” I tell her. “My lips are sealed.”

  “Good. Now, let me write you a note, excusing you from homeroom.”

  I grin wide. This might just be a friendship worth fighting for.

  Chapter 11

  The rest of the week drags by painfully slow, probably because I’ve spent every minute of it searching around corners and looking over my shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for Christian’s warning, but a part of me is starting to wish that he hadn’t called. That way when it finally happens, it’ll be a surprise, and it’ll be over before I know it. This way, while I can do my best to prepare, I'm also spending everyday living in fear.

  Part of me wishes that the Wolves would just get their shit together and get it over with so I can get rid of this fear that lives inside of me. Who knows, maybe because I’m a chick and knocked up they might take it easy on me, but then, these guys don’t give a shit about that.

  What the hell have I got myself into? No, scrap that. What the hell did my father get me into? I was more than happy going about my days, looking at the Wolves as the enemy. That’s what Nic had taught me to believe, and that’s the truth that I stood by, but maybe they’re not the enemy. Maybe they never have been.

  My father was a good man, at least, I believed him to be. He was honorable to our family, always brought home money to pay the bills, always looked out for us, and always showed me and my mom all the love in the world. When he was taken from us, it was a tragedy. Learning about his secret life wasn’t easy, but I like to think that even while he did these awful things, he was still a kind and loving man, and if that’s true, then maybe there’s more to being a Wolf that I’m not quite seeing.

  Thoughts of my father have my fingertips brushing over the tattoo that sits over my right shoulder. I miss him so goddamn much. I don’t think it’s ever going to get easier, but I know I can get revenge. I just hope that when it comes down to it and Nic’s eyes are staring into mine, that I have the strength to go through with it. It’s going to be the hardest thing that I’ll ever do and go against every moral that I’ve ever lived by, but I have to do this. Nic can’t keep getting away with these things.

  I guess I'm just grateful that Colton hasn’t tried to take it into his own hands yet, though, with every day that passes, I see his patience getting thinner and thinner. He wants to do it, he craves it, but he won’t, and I absolutely love him for that.

  Walking out of the school on Friday afternoon, I find myself oddly excited. I've hardly had a chance all week to see Charlie and Spencer while poor Milo has been stuck at home in bed. I saw him yesterday, and I have to admit, he’s been looking much better. He's even been walking around and ordering me to do ridiculous tasks for him, so I guess he’s feeling more like himself.

  Leaving Hendrix and Jess to argue over their Friday night plans, I slip out through the front gates and make my way down to the parking lot. Only after I have a look around and find the coast clear am I able to breathe easily.

  I unlock the Audi and slip in, tossing my things onto the passenger's side seat before that familiar feeling of being watched comes over me. My head whips around to the back seat, and I double-check that there’s no one about to jump out at me. I finally start the engine with a deep breath and back out of my spot. This paranoia is getting the best of me.

  Trying to calm my racing mind, I turn on some music and focus on the drive. It’s not that hard. All I have to do is get back home to Colton and make sure the gates lock behind me and then I’ll be safe.

  It’s only a seven-minute drive. I’ll be alright. Besides, they can’t get to me here. This Audi would whip any of their cars, but I brush a finger over the lock button anyway, just to be sure.

  Taking a shaky breath, I realize that I'm overthinking it again. It’s all going to be alright.

  I approach a red light, and just before I begin to start slowing the Audi, it turns green. I give myself a mental high-five for my perfect timing, only that high-five quickly drops from my mind when a familiar car pulls out in front of me from the side street. I have no choice but to slam on my brake to avoid smashing into the back of Sebastian’s car.

  My heart rate kicks up a few notches until it’s in full-on panic mode. I haven’t talked to the boys all week. None of them have answered my texts, and I fear that this time, I've gone too far to earn their forgiveness. I prepare myself for the worst, but when Sebastian keeps driving, I find myself staring at the back of his car. Perhaps he didn’t see that it was me in the Audi and was just casually running a red light. It’s not exactly something new for Sebastian. Breaking traffic laws is one of his favorite things to do.

  His taillights begin to get further and further away and I let out a shaky breath. I’m all good.

  Not wanting to hold up traffic, I hit the gas again. Just as I cross completely over the intersection, another familiar car pulls out from the side street, cutting in front of the other drivers until he’s sitting right behind me.

  What the fuck?

  I glance up into my mirror to find Kairo staring back at me with Eli in the passenger seat, and I quickly realize that Sebastian driving past wasn’t a mistake at all. He did it on purpose, even more so now that Sebastian is beginning to slow.

  Wanting to get away, I change lanes and begin to speed up, only to have Sebastian cut in front of me and force me to slow.

  Sebastian puts on his signal, and I watch him begin to make a turn, only when I go to drive straight past, Kairo is there, forcing my hand until I turn the goddamn wheels.

  They’re leading me somewhere, and I honestly don’t know if I should be okay with this. But knowing these guys more than I know myself, I stop fighting it and allow them to lead me around until we’re all coming to a stop in an empty parking lot in the next town over.

  I watch as Sebastian gets out of his car and glance in my mirrors to watch Kai and Eli do the same. They start making their way toward the Audi, and unless I want them to break the window to get me out, then I better behave and do as they want.

  After unlocking the door, I swing it open and slowly get out, unsure of what I'm about to be faced with. The door closes, and I stand right by it, not ready to move. The three of them crowd me, completely blocking any way of escape, each of them with the same look of disapproval and disappointment shining brightly in their eyes.

  I glance around at each of them, really not sure what I’m supposed to say. “I, uhh …”

  “No,” Kairo says, holding up a hand to cut me off. “We speak. You listen.”

  I clench my jaw, wanting to let him know exactly what I think of his shitty tone, but I know better than to make matters worse right now. So I nod and wait to hear what they have to say, knowing that no matter how much they must hate me right now, they’ll never hurt me.

  Each of them remains quiet, and I realize that this isn’t exactly a planned trip. None of them know what they want to say to me. All they know is that it has to be fixed.

  Kai continues staring, shooting daggers at me while Eli just looks broken and sad, so I turn my stare on Sebastian, knowing that he’ll be the first to break.

  “You fucked up, O,” he says, the betrayal thick in his tone. “You turned your back on us and went to the fucking Wolves. How could you do that? You’re like a little fucking sister to me. You’re supposed to be family.”

  I shake my head. “I am still your family,” I tell him. “Apart from Mom and Colton, you three are the only family I have, which is exactly why I had to do what I did. I didn’t fuck up. If only you knew—”

  “That Nic killed your father?” Eli questions. “Yeah, we already fuck
ing know.”

  My brows shoot up as the betrayal sinks in hard. They knew about this and didn’t tell me. How could they? “You know?”

  “Yeah,” he scoffs. “We had to find out from your little boyfriend after you disappeared and joined the fucking Wolves. I was with you all morning. You should have been the one to tell me. You should have been honest.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I scoff. “You three have done nothing but lie to me since the beginning of time. What was I supposed to do? Come and tell you that your big bad leader fucked up and killed my daddy, only to have you fuckers tell me it’s just Nic being Nic and still stand by his side? You wouldn’t have chosen my side, and you know it. You would have tried to talk me out of it, and Nic would have gotten away with it, but I can’t just stand by and let that happen. Nic is going down, and you three are going to stay out of my way. Otherwise, you'll only end up going down with him.”

  Kairo steps into me. “Is that a threat?”

  “No,” I snap back at him. “I’m just telling you like it is, and you know that. It’s a fact. The Wolves are going after Nic, and if you get in the way, they won’t hesitate to take you out. Don’t act so surprised. You know that’s how it works. I would never threaten you guys. I told them to keep you all out of it, but they don’t play by my rules.” I let out a sigh and push off the side of the car, stepping in closer to my boys. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you really are family to me, and I really hate the disgusted way you’re all looking at me.”

  Sebastian shakes his head. “Can you blame us? You went to the Wolves. We would have handled it. We saw how hurt you were after your dad died.”

  “Really?” I scoff. “You would have helped me even though my father was a Wolf? You would have gone against Nic?” All three of them give me guilty expressions, and just like that, I know the truth. “And that right there,” I tell them. “Is why I had to go to the Wolves. You’re all stuck so far up Nic’s ass that you can’t even see what’s right in front of you.”

  “O…”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head at Sebastian. “You know it’s true, and you know how much it kills me to go against Nic. I loved him so fucking much, and for him to do this to me … I just … I can’t forgive him this time. It hurts too bad. This is my father we’re talking about. My father. My blood. Surely that has to mean something to you guys.”

  Kairo sighs, taking on the role of the softie when we all know he’s anything but. “Ocean,” he murmurs cautiously. “Your father was a Wolf,” he says cautiously, as though that’s supposed to make a difference, as though that fact alone means he’s not worthy of fighting for. “Even if we could have done something to help … it’s not our place. We’re only going to make things worse if we try to step in. All we can do is try to deal with Nic on our own terms. Let us do that.”

  I shake my head. “That’s not good enough. What if this was your mothers, your little sisters, brothers? Would it be something you just shrug off then? You’d go to fucking war if he even thought about touching any of them.”

  Eli takes a hesitant step toward me. “They’re our family. Nic would never …”

  “Yeah,” I scoff, feeling the hysteria beginning to rise. “Just like my father was my family. There was once a time that I thought Nic would never either. I know that I was never officially a Widow, but I thought that I had your protection. I thought I was safe.”

  With that, I turn and step back toward the Audi, only Kairo reaches out and grabs my wrist, spinning me back to face them. “Woah, Ocean. We’re not nearly done with you yet. You turned your back on us. You betrayed our trust.”

  I tear my arm free of his grip and glare up at him as the anger begins pulsing through my veins. “You betrayed my trust first. You all did, yet I've stood by you and forgave you time and time again, making excuses for the bullshit you put me through when none of you deserved it, but it ends here. The cycle has been broken. From where I’m standing now, you’re either with me or against me, but you’re making your side pretty damn clear. Now, unless the only reason that you came all the way out here was to just run me off the road and make some kind of show about how you can still force me to do what you want, then I’m out. I’m not going to stand here and let you three try to make me hurt and regret my decision just because you all have bruised egos.”

  “Don’t do this, Ocean,” Sebastian begs. “It’s not a war you can win.”

  “I’m not asking for a war,” I tell him. “There’s no reason for you all to get involved. Just hand over Nic, and I’ll handle it quietly.”

  Eli scoffs. “You know that’s never going to happen. You’ve already got the Wolves involved, and they won’t stop until every last one of us are buried in the ground. It doesn’t even matter how many of their own men have to die to make it happen. You’re going to be responsible for a mass murder.”

  “Don’t you dare try to put that on my shoulders,” I demand. “I don’t pull the strings, and you damn well know that. Russo is responsible for what happens now. All I did was give them the name of the man who killed my father. The rest is up to them. So, like I said, either hand over Nic or start preparing yourselves. Don’t be stupid. I don’t want to see any of you get hurt.”

  Kairo clenches his jaw, and I see his options swirling through his mind. Regret, hesitation, and indecision flashes across his face. I don’t doubt that he’s thinking about just taking me now and using me as a tool against the Wolves, but he wouldn’t dare. His moral compass is too high for that, at least, there was a time that I thought it was. Who knows where we stand now?

  I meet his eyes and gently shake my head, silently telling him that I know exactly what he’s thinking. Guilt instantly floods his eyes, and for a brief moment, he looks sick with himself. That is until two cars pull into the empty parking lot and race toward us.

  The three boys turn and step in front of me, proving that when it really comes down to it, they’ll protect me with their life. The two cars come to a screeching halt, and within a second, four Wolves dressed completely in gang colors are standing in front of us, staring at the Widows.

  There’s silence as they all glare, waiting for someone to make a move. I’ve never felt tension like it.

  How did they know I was here? Were the Wolves following me too? I shake the thought from my head instantly. Of course they were following me, Russo said as much.

  Knowing how this is going to end, I try to step around Kai, but he throws his arm out like some kind of steel pole, blocking my advance.

  The four Wolves seem to be shaking with anger, or maybe it’s fear. After all, Kai, Sebastian, and Eli have a bit of a reputation for being some of the most lethal guys in the game. “She’s ours now,” one of the Wolves spit, his hand flinching by his side for his gun, but he shouldn’t bother. No one pulls a gun or shoots faster than Sebastian. They’ll all be dead before they’ve even got their gun out of their pants.

  Eli scoffs. “She’ll never be yours.”

  The Wolf who had spoken scans his dark gaze over the boys and then finally rests his glare on me. “Too late for that now, isn’t it, princess?” he says with a sick smirk. “Call off your dogs. It’s time for them to go.”

  Kairo steps forward, taking point. “The fuck did you say?”

  No, no, no, no, no.

  I race around Kairo and put myself between the two gangs. I meet the eye of the Wolf before looking at Kai and the boys. “He’s right,” I tell him, feeling the knife slice right through me. “It’s time for you three to go. You’ve said what you came to say, and nothing has changed. Leave.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sebastian says, looking as though I just stabbed him in the back, which in all honesty, I think I did.

  “Please,” I say, desperate to keep the peace here. “Unless you’ve changed your mind, then there’s nothing else that needs to be said. Just go before something happens.”

  Sebastian meets my eyes before shaking his head in disappointment. Without
another word, he stalks back to his car, absolutely gutting me. I've never seen him look so broken and hurt in my life.

  Eli is next. He looks at me just like Sebastian had, but he’s more aware of the threat standing in front of him. “This ain’t going to end pretty,” he warns me.

  “I know,” I tell him before watching as he slinks away, leaving Kai staring straight ahead, more than capable of handling the three Wolves on his own.

  “I know what you’re fucking planning,” he tells them, not bothering to look down at me. “Let this be your warning, if you touch even one hair on her body, I will personally end you.”

  The three Wolves swallow back fear and do their best to look confident, but they’re fucking shaking at the thought of having to face down Nic’s second in command. Not another word gets said, they just stare, the hatred between them thicker than anything I’ve ever felt.

  I take a hesitant step toward the Wolves and turn to face Kai straight on, showing where I stand, and with that, he shakes his head and walks away.

  I watch as the two cars pull away and drive out of the empty parking lot, but the second the Wolves step toward me, I retreat faster than my feet can take me. I race toward the Audi, terrified of being alone with these guys. After all, I am meant to be jumped at some point and after all that bullshit, I’m kinda hoping today isn’t the day.

  I dive back into the Audi and get my ass out of there, ignoring the twelve missed calls from Colton and the thirteenth that currently has my phone screeching through the car. All that matters is getting home.

  Chapter 12

  “Come on,” Colton says, hooking his arm over my shoulders as we walk out of the shitty restaurant that just held the world’s worst business dinner. I mean, there is no way that Colton is going to allow those douche canoes to get in bed with him. They were the dodgiest guys I have ever met, and that’s saying a lot coming from me. “Let’s get out of here before they come at me with more ‘paperwork’ to back up their ridiculous claims.”