by Erin Trejo
“I’m sure there is but where?” I snap, running my hand through my hair. We’ve been here for hours in one of my dad’s offices. Not his home office because I already know that there’s nothing in there. He isn’t that stupid to leave things around where we can get our hands on them.
“I don’t know. Years ago, no one used computers to keep tabs, right? So there has to be a paper trail somewhere,” Callan adds. I sit back in the leather chair and glance around the small office. It isn’t here. Whatever it is I’m looking for is not here. I can feel it.
“We still handling that other shit tonight?” Knox asks.
“Yeah. Dad wants that shit destroyed so we destroy it.”
“Anyone else getting really tired of what dad wants?” I’m shocked when Callan is the one that says that. Both Knox and I look at him strangely. “What?” he asks bringing his water to his lips.
“Since when do you not want what Dad has?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want it. I said I’m sick of doing what he says. There’s a big difference, Steele. He’s always on our asses to do this or that for the business but we never know shit. I can’t be the only one that pisses off,” he tells us.
“Why do you think we’re here?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I get what he’s saying and I agree. It’s only a matter of time before we uncover all the secrets and then we set our plan into motion. At the end of the day, our game plan is the same as it has been for years. They, being the founding members, just don’t know it yet. Shoving to my feet, I slip the files back where they belong and motion for my brothers to follow me. We step out the door and are greeted with the last person I wanted to see.
“Ah, the Alder boys,” he says with a smile on his face. Old bastard.
“Mr. McLean. How are you today?” I ask before biting the inside of my cheek to keep myself from saying what I really feel.
“All is well. What are you boys doing here?” He looks between the three of us and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes or snapping his neck.
“We were just stopping by to see Dad when I remembered he was leaving this morning. I thought maybe he would have stopped by here before he left,” I lie. It’s so easy to lie. They have instilled that in us since we were small kids.
“I see. Is there anything you needed? Maybe I can assist?” Shaking my head, Callan chuckles behind me. The dumb, high fuck.
“No. We were just going to say goodbye. We really need to be getting to school.”
“That’s right. All the Alder boys are college men now. How’s that going? How is football? I plan on making the next game as well as the mayor,” he adds. The fucking mayor. Yeah, if you count his stupid son as the Mayor of Rolling Springs then sure. I personally hate the little fuck. He may be Mayor but that doesn’t mean shit to us. We still control him.
“How is your son, Blake?” He hates it when I call his son by his name and not Mayor. Hence the reason I do it. I see the way his eyes narrow slightly.
“He’s well. Just won the recent elections.” I nod and start to walk past him when Callan adds, “Suppose there wasn’t much competition.” The three of us laugh as we walk down the stairs and out the front door of the building.
“I can’t stand that fucker,” Knox hisses.
“No shit. I hate Blake. One day I’ll take that fucker down.” The guys all laugh as we climb into my SUV. I shove the key in the ignition and shift into drive. Watching my rearview mirrors, I see him in the door.
“We’re being watched,” I say as I keep my eyes on him.
“Seriously?” Knox snaps.
“Yeah. Fuck, this is going to get out of hand,” Callan adds.
“No, it’s not. We tell Dad that we were picking up the files on Rasper.” That will keep us off his shit list, anyway.
The drive to school doesn’t take long and I groan out loud when we get there. I don’t want to be in school. I don’t want to go to college but these are the necessary evils in our lives. At least for the moment.
We all climb out as I heft my bag onto my shoulder and turn to look at my brothers. Without the two of them, I don’t know where I’d be. We are each other’s keepers. We have each other’s backs even when we’re pissed. Nothing can pull us apart.
“I’ll talk to you guys later. Going to see Ray,” I inform them. They both nod, their eyes already drifting to some of the girls that are walking past. I shake my head and walk inside and straight through the hall when I see her. Pulling my switchblade out, I step up behind her and flick it open. The sound couldn’t be mistaken, and neither was her little jolt.
“What’s up, Luke? Find a new girl?” I ask when I see him right in front of her.
“Yeah, she’s new.” She slowly turns and looks up at me with wide eyes that quickly narrow. Anger shines in those light brown irises.
“New toys are always fun,” I say keeping my eyes on hers. She opens her mouth like she’s about to say something when I lean down close to her ear. “Switchblades are the sneakiest little knives ever, aren’t they?” She sucks in a breath before I pull back and walk away, shoving my blade back in my pocket.
“Was it you?” she yells down the hallway. I ignore her and keep walking when I hear feet hitting the floor behind me. I know it’s her following me so when I round the corner, I’m ready for her. She comes around right behind me and I grab and pull her into the first empty classroom behind me. She doesn’t have a chance to move, or scream. One hand pushes her against the door, the other over her mouth.
“You shouldn’t fuck with strangers, Whisper. It’s dangerous,” I whisper, my lips so close to her flesh. I remember the taste of her sweet pussy from the other night. The way she melted on my tongue. Fuck, I will never get that taste of out my head.
“Was it you?” she asks when I pull my hand free.
“Was what me?” I ask tilting my head to the side and studying her face.
“In the pool house, asshole. Was it you?” she asks again gritting her teeth.
“What were you doing in the pool house, Whisper? Does Mommy and Daddy know?” Her eyes catch fire as she bucks against me trying to push me away. Not a chance in hell.
“They aren’t my parents,” she hisses.
“I know they aren’t your real parents, but I want to know who is.”
“Is that why you came after me last night?”
“Aren’t you just full of questions today? Let me ask you this. If I were to say it was me, then what? What would you do?” Those eyes. Damn, I like the fire in them.
“You bastard. I will find out and when I do, I will make you pay for it.” Her anger is warranted although it means nothing to me. I don’t care what she has to say. She is our target, we’re not hers.
“I don’t know, Whisper. I think you enjoyed it,” I whisper closely to her face. Slowly, I lower my mouth to hers, letting it linger there. Her eyes never leave mine as we both breathe heavily against each other. I move first, slowly pressing my lips to hers. Kissing her is something else. She fights my lips at first before eventually giving in to me. Our tongues collide and heat races through me. My cock swells in my jeans when I jerk away from her. She’s panting and her eyes are wild. I can smell her wetness from here. She’s attracted to me, that much I’m sure of.
“You have a thing for danger?” I ask her, letting my lips curl into a smirk.
“You have a thing for unwilling girls?” she challenges with her eyebrow raised. Stepping back into her, I reach around and grab the door handle.
“I didn’t hear anyone protesting.” With that, her eyes widen, and I open the door sending her falling to her ass in the hall in front of everyone.
“Next time you may want to try kissing someone that wants it,” I announce to half the people walking past. Most just laugh and go on about their business but it’s Tricia that I saw first. Her big blue eyes widen as she storms toward Whisper. She’s climbing off the floor as I lean against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest watching the show.
“You tried to kiss him?” Tricia’s squeal sounds through the hall as she pulls her hand back and slaps Whisper across the face. It doesn’t take long for that fight to ensue. Whisper smirks and then lunges for Tricia. Just as I see Whisper’s face contort in anger, Knox and Callan are there pulling them apart. Whisper never got the chance to swing.
“What the hell?” Knox roars shoving Tricia in my direction. “You were just going to watch that shit?” he asks, directing his anger toward me. I shrug my shoulders as Tricia presses her body into mine.
“It was interesting,” I add.
“Really? We have a job to do, Steele!” Knox roars as I glance over at Callan. He has Whisper pinned against the wall, whispering words in her ear. Her eyes stay on mine the whole time but as she nods her head, something inside of me grinds and shreds. I want to snap her neck, but even more? I want to taste her on my tongue again.
7
Whisper
This day was interesting. Surprisingly, no one called me to the office over the little altercation in the hallway. If Callan hadn’t pulled me back, I would have torn her face off. Now I’m in the dance room doing my own thing. Words float from my lips as I sing at the top of my lungs. I made sure to check that no one was around first. The music thumps through the speakers and I let myself go. If anything can calm me, it’s singing and dancing. Those are the two things that I’ve always used to keep my head straight. I started dancing when I was just three. I remember hearing hip-hop music outside and when I went to look, there were a ton of people dancing around a radio. One of the older girls smiled and motioned for me to join them. I did and I’ve been dancing ever since.
“You sure can move your ass.” I jerk, ready to move when hands wrap around my waist. Looking over my shoulder, I see it’s Callan and let out a breath.
“Are you stalking me?” I ask raising an eyebrow.
“Nah. I was walking past and looked in and saw you. Where’d you learn to dance and sing like that?” He releases my hips as I turn to face him.
“On the streets.” I shrug.
“You learned to sing on the streets? I highly doubt that,” he muses.
“I did. I was never in one place long enough to go to classes,” I tell him. Why am I admitting this to him? He’s one of them. He has to be one of the ones that were in the pool house with me. Yet, there is something so calm and caring in his eyes that I feel like I could trust him with anything.
“Foster kid?” he asks cocking his head and waiting.
“Yeah. All my life.”
“What? You were never adopted?” he asks in disbelief. I shake my head but keep quiet. “That’s… wow. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.”
“You never wondered?”
“Why I wasn’t adopted?” I ask. Callan nods. “Yeah. Wouldn’t you? There is nothing, well there was nothing wrong with me back then. I would watch all the other kids being adopted but no one ever came to see me.”
“Ever?”
“Nope. I just learned to move from place to place and not ask questions,” I tell him.
“That had to be hard. Knowing no one wanted you.” The way he says it… it’s different. It’s not an I’m sorry type of response and it’s not quite a jab at me either. Either way, I take a step back when he counters it. His hands find my hips once more and his fingers dig into my flesh. I gasp as his eyes meet mine. The music on my phone changes and Callan begins to move with me. I knew Knox could dance since he’s in my class, but Callan moves just as perfectly as his brother. The beat starts to hit and we both break apart. Callan follows my lead, popping and swaying. I watch him in the mirrors in front of us, entranced by his movements. He reaches over his shoulder and pulls his shirt off in one move, tossing it to the side as he keeps going. I gasp, watching the tan muscles as they work. Callan is well built, looking like a damn god and I assume his brothers aren’t far behind. Our eyes stay locked as we both dance freely when I hear the door slam. I jolt and spin around coming face to face with Steele and Knox.
“What is this? A little private lesson?” Steele asks moving toward us. Callan laughs, reaches down and grabs his shirt, tossing it over his shoulder as he moves.
“Just having some fun before practice,” Callan says, pushing through the door and disappearing while the other two come closer. I turn, ready to grab my stuff when I’m pushed against the mirror. My eyes lock with Steele’s and the air escapes my lungs. Knox moves in next to him, just as imposing as his brother.
“Having a little fun?” Steele asks, pressing his cock into my ass. My breathing is still coming in heaves from my dance.
“Not with you I’m not.” Steele chuckles darkly as Knox smirks.
“We’re a fun group, me and my brothers. We like playing together with our toys, if you know what I mean.” That came from Knox. I nearly roll my eyes because I’m almost one hundred percent sure that they were the ones in the pool house that night, but I can’t say that for sure.
“Well, I guess that’s too bad, I’m not interested.” Knox’s eyes light up but he doesn’t say anymore. When I drag my gaze back to Steele’s there’s something darker in them. A challenge of sorts.
“What were you doing with my brother?” he asks pressing into me harder.
“We were dancing.”
“So I see. You think you can just walk in here and get in my brother’s good graces?” I shake my head before it’s slammed into the glass mirror. I wince but I don’t let him see how much it hurt me.
“Fuck you,” I taunt, knowing that it’s going to piss him off a little more. His hand slips around my stomach, easing into the front of my yoga pants as he hums.
“You want me to fuck you, Whisper?” Knox chuckles again but I can’t take my eyes off Steele. He’s messing with my head, getting inside and I can’t let that happen.
“Not if you were the last dick on earth.”
“Is that why you’re so wet?” he huffs in my ear. His eyes dance in the mirror, a silent song that I’d love to sing but know that I can’t hit the keys.
“I’ll scream,” I warn him.
“Go ahead. We like screamers,” Knox sneers as I open my mouth. Just before anything comes out, Steele’s hand is gone and he’s turned heading for the door. I spin around and watch both of them as they leave the way they came when another girl walks in.
“Hey.” I don’t smile or acknowledge her because frankly, I’ve had my fair share of Alder Academy assholes for the day. Spinning around, I grab my bag and start to walk away when she speaks again, “I saw what they did.”
“And?” Now I do turn to face her.
“They’re like that with everyone. They think they own the world,” she says rolling her eyes.
“Don’t they?” I ask raising my eyebrow.
“Not if you don’t let them. You have to fight back.”
“And you know this from experience?” She giggles and shakes her head.
“Hell no! My family is a transplant to the area. I made it through the asshole stage a few years ago. I was in senior year of high school with Callan.” Now that has piqued my interests. Maybe she will be a valuable ally to me.
“So, where do I start? How do I get them to back off?” I ask curiously. I want to know what she has to say and any insight into the three assholes.
“First, you show up everywhere they are. That really bugs them,” she says with a smile.
“How exactly does that work?” She laughs and walks toward me, resting her hand on my shoulder. I look from her hand to her face wondering what the hell she’s doing.
“They see you. That drives them insane. The whole point of fucking with you is to make you invisible. What a better way to not let them do that.” She has a point. A very good one at that.
“What’s your name?” I ask curious now.
“Shane. I know, boy’s name, girl body.”
“I actually like it, Shane. I’m Whisper.”
“I know who you are. We all know who you are. N
ew girl on campus. Word flies around here like flies on shit.”
“So, when do we start?”
“Start?” she asks, cocking her head to the side.
“Yeah, being seen.” A smile crosses my face for the first time since I’ve been here. I like the sound of pushing back.
“Oh, we can do that right now. Football practice.” Linking her arm with mine, she leads me out of the dance room and into the hall.
“Football, huh?”
“Yep. All three of them. I don’t really like them due to their smug-ass attitudes, but I will say they are some damn good players. Even Callan and he’s a freshman,” Shane tells me. I’m not so shocked that they play football. They are well built and solid. At least what I’ve felt of them.
I follow Shane outside and around the walkway before we’re headed down toward the field. She pulls a badge free and flashes it at the man standing near the gates. He nods and allows us through.
“What was that?”
“Practices are closed unless you’re certain people. The paper being one.” She smirks and wiggles her eyebrows.
“And you just happen to be on the paper, right?” I laugh a little.
“Yeah, you can say a certain Alder and I were kinda together for half a minute years ago.” Holy shit!
“Which one?” Her cheeks blush as she guides me to the stands and sits. I follow next to her but I don’t let her off that easily. This I need to know.
“Callan. He blew me off once college started. Acts like he doesn’t even know who the hell I am anymore,” she adds a little sadly. Shane is pretty. Not who you’d picture on the school paper or anything because to me that’s always the dorky kids that have no social lives, but maybe I’m wrong. Shane has long blonde hair that has light curls hanging down her back and big blue eyes that gleam when she smiles. Now that I think about it, she doesn’t look like anyone that would be caught dead hanging out with me either. It makes me a little nervous until I follow her stare. That’s when I see it. The three Alder boys staring dead at us.
“Holy shit,” I whisper under my breath. Shane laughs.
