Done Deal (Arcadia High Anarchists Book 5)

by Max Henry

  “Seriously.” Maggie rolls her eyes. “Nothing would bother you.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” Beau argues, sticking up for Cate.

  He receives an ice-cold glare from Maggie for his efforts.

  “Now, come on. You lot aren’t going to give me any trouble, are you?” Maggie’s mum stands with hands-on-hips, studying our motley crew. “Otherwise, I’d have to rethink making a stack of farmhouse pancakes with homemade maple syrup for dinner.”

  “You can’t win them over with food, Mrs Epsom,” Cate teases.

  “Can’t she?” Beau scoffs. “I’m sold.”

  “Shut up.” Mandy smirks at the fool. “You’re an invalid, so of course you’d rather lounge around with comfort food.”

  “Tuck,” Charlotte calls. “Be a dear and grab some more firewood to last us the night, would you?”

  “Sure thing.” I take the task happily, sliding out the door as James’ ute pulls out of the driveway.

  The day has flipped itself on its goddamn head, making the strategy I had cemented in mind, redundant.

  I figured the guys would back me up at Dee’s and keep the strays off the property. Everyone would get their end of year party, the races would run, and we’d announce the winner. Above all else, I’d have my girl.

  Now, her goddamn dad takes control, and we’re left shoved in the kiddy-corner while they destroy our social circles.

  I stand before the stacks of firewood and tug my phone free. Dad left early this morning, and I haven’t heard from him since. I don’t even know where he is.

  I stab his number with my thumb and lift the device to my ear, toeing a piece of loose Macrocarpa with my boot.

  “Hey. Everything okay with you?”

  “Yeah, Dad. Where are you?”

  He exhales heavily before answering. “I’ve just finished up with Ed’s dad. Now I’m on my way to the Archerson’s to meet James.”

  “He told you that he’s ordered us all to stay put?”

  Dad sighs. “He did, yes.”

  “And you agree?” I kick the split log, breaking the bark off the underside.

  “What would you rather do?” he asks carefully, giving me all the rope that I need to hang myself.

  I could argue that I’d rather be there to deal with these jerks myself, but all that would do is admit that I’m keen for a fight. The truth is, I’m pent up and frustrated. I’ve got a barrel-full of goddamn emotions swimming around inside this hormone-ridden body, and I can’t make heads or tails of the fuckers let alone rein in one at a time.

  “It feels like a cop-out staying here,” is all I say.

  He hums as though to agree. “I understand.”

  “But?”

  “But you asked for our help. You can’t then cry foul when it doesn’t meet your expectations of what that help should be.”

  “This isn’t just help anymore, though. You take over.”

  “Perhaps that’s what’s needed.”

  “And if it isn’t?” How am I supposed to learn if I’m not allowed to see my mistakes through to the end?

  “How about you focus on your issues, boy, and leave this to us. Huh?”

  “My issues?”

  “Mm.” I catch the whine of the diesel engine in the background before it cuts out; he must be at Dee’s. “Narrow your focus to those around you, Tuck. You’ve got yourself so wrapped up in the big picture that you can’t see what’s right in front of you anymore.”

  “Such as?” If he’s the expert, perhaps he wouldn’t mind sharing what I’m apparently too blind to see.

  “Such as your best friend preparing to leave for tertiary training. Another who’s broken arm means he can’t help out around the family home as much as he needs to. And one who’s been so neglected by the lot of you that his father worries about how withdrawn he is.”

  “Ed?”

  “Did I have to say it?” Dad snaps. “You know he backed out of the next competition, don’t you?”

  Fuck. “No.”

  “Of course, you don’t.” Dad sighs heavily. “Take your rose-tinted glasses off for a moment and see to your friends, Tuck. You’ve done your best for Lacey, and she’s got her crowd looking out for her now. But who’s looking out for the rest?”

  GREER

  “It’s time to go, Greer.” Derek’s directive arrives in the room before he does, Colt in hot pursuit.

  “She isn’t going anywhere.”

  Derek ignores him as though he’s no more than a pesky fly. “Christian has this side of things under control. You don’t need to be here for this.”

  “I know I don’t, but I want to be.”

  He takes a deep breath. “Suit yourself.” One eyebrow hooks as he gently tips his head to the side. “But it won’t make things any easier for you.”

  Colt paces across the room to stand steadfast at my side. “One night isn’t going to change things all that much, is it?”

  “It could.”

  I shake my head. “Before dinner, or after. Whenever I get home, the outcome will be the same. I went against their wishes; I’ll be expected to pack my bags.”

  “Well,” Christian taunts. “This is interesting.”

  “Oh, shut up.” Willow silences him. “What do you mean, you should pack your bags, Greer?”

  “If I refused to stop seeing Colt, my parents said they’d send me to a boarding school overseas.” I have no idea why I’m so comfortable explaining this to her.

  Perhaps I’ve had enough time for the threat to settle in? Enough time for the shock to wear off and resolve to numb any associated feelings I have with being shipped out of the country?

  Christian gapes in my periphery. Barret has the decency to look sorry for me.

  “Like we discussed,” Derek reasons. “If you go home now, I have a better chance of making them see sense.”

  “With all due respect,” I tell Christian’s father. “They’ll do what they feel is best anyway. They always have.”

  “I can see I won’t change your mind on this.” His eyes narrow. “Regardless, my offer stands.”

  “Why do you want to get involved?” Colt quizzes, asking the same question I did. “What will you gain from manipulating her parents?”

  “I’m back to Riverbourne,” Derek informs Christian, clean ignoring the question. “But I intend to keep a close eye on proceedings. I’d advise you to do the same, but I know you won’t. So, instead, I’ll simply ask that you call me if the police become involved.”

  “Noted.” Christian watches Derek with cool, practiced disinterest.

  His father gives a curt nod before leaving the room, the front door clicking shut shortly after. Nobody moves until the deep rumble of the Bentley’s powerful engine vibrates in the air, Barrett returning to his phone, and Christian visibly drooping as the tension runs free.

  I let my gaze roam the room and frown. “Where’s Arthur?”

  Colt’s palm grazes my lower back. “I saw him leave while I was outside.”

  Christian’s phone is to his ear within a heartbeat. “Who said you could leave?”

  We wait on tenterhooks for any indication of what Arthur said. Colt’s palm continues to caress the dip of my spine. I should shift away and break the contact, but I need comfort.

  Especially from him.

  I meant what I said: after tonight I will go home. And Colt will have a choice to make.

  Perhaps I’m selfish, expecting him to put me above Lacey, but she has a whole support system around her with her best interests at heart.

  Me and Colt? Who do we have outside ourselves? Our relationship isn’t a secret anymore, but our friends appear content to watch the fire burn rather than lift a bucket to help.

  “Where is he?” Willow asks once Christian ends the call, nibbling on her fingernail.

  “He won’t say.”

  Barrett snorts.

  “What?” Christian tosses his impatient ire his way.

  “Of all the Chosen, I would have ne
ver picked Arthur as the one who’d give you the most grief.”

  “He doesn’t.” Christian’s impassive scowl returns. “Richard does.”

  “Not Libby?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “It frustrates me more that Richard knows what’s right, and yet he’s too stubborn to admit he was ever wrong.”

  “What are you saying?” Colt’s hand stalls against my back.

  “Mandy came to see him. Did you know that? After this spat started between you”—he looks to Colt—“and the morons in Arcadia. She had a pow-wow, explaining what really happened that night of the charity ride.”

  “We know that,” Colt deadpans, shifting away from me. “Did you forget what happened at your party already?”

  I don’t think anyone could forget how beaten and bruised Colt was after.

  “He didn’t set Libby straight.” Christian fingers the rim of his empty glass on the table beside him. “She believes it was non-consensual still, Colt.”

  “Again, so?” He shrugs. “That’s a minor detail now.”

  “Not particularly.” Christian meets Colt’s gaze. “If she knew it was a drunken romp between two idiots, then she would have lost interest. Richard kept her angry and vengeful for a reason.”

  “Why?” I ask, clutching my upper arms.

  “He needs her to shake up Arcadia so he can get what he wants.”

  “Which is?” Even Willow looks as lost as I am about all of this.

  Christian sighs, running a palm up his forehead. “I may be wrong, but I think he wants control of Amber.”

  “They don’t even know each other,” Barrett points out, clearly interested now too.

  “No.” I shake my head, recollecting that night at Christian’s. “They have. He was the one who let Amber know Mandy had been in to see him.”

  “And since then the two girls haven’t been close,” Colt finishes, piecing it together as well.

  “You left Amber at my party,” Christian reminds us, filling in Willow and Barrett in the process. “Her and that brother of hers were there for quite some time.”

  “We need to let Lacey know,” Colt states, already reaching for his phone. “Maybe Tuck knows more about it?”

  “Let me get this straight,” Willow says, stepping forward. “That girl who came to Portside for an interview is Amber, right? I’ve got that correct, haven’t I?”

  Several of us nod.

  “She invited a few people out to this party tonight, and when the word got to Riverbourne, they decided to go too?”

  Christian shakes his head. “The call at Riverbourne came from Libby. She knew another way.”

  “So, now we have Portside Girls and Riverbourne Prep descending on Arcadia because Colt supposedly slept with Richard’s girlfriend at the time?”

  “It’s a bit more complex than that,” Colt offers.

  Christian nods. “Libby wants Arcadia—namely Lacey—out of Riverbourne. She has grand delusions about who she’ll be when she’s older, and that involves running the wives’ club and having a hand in everyone’s business.” He finally lifts his glass and moves toward the liquor cabinet. “Am I right, Greer?”

  I nod. “She wants to be just like her mother, or better. Her world starts and ends in Riverbourne. That’s her empire, Riverourne Prep is her castle, and right now, Lacey still holds her crown captive.”

  “But Lacey doesn’t attend Riverbourne anymore.” Willow frowns.

  “And therein lies the problem,” I say. “When she left, Libby believed that the commoners would fall in line under her again. But instead of filling the void, her dismissal of people only made it worse. Groups have already begun fracturing away from her influence.” I recall my conversation with Arthur the day after she culled me from the Chosen. “She’s terrified of losing it all.”

  “That’s both incredibly shallow and sad,” Willow notes.

  “Right?” I shrug. “The moment her parents birthed a blue-eyed, blonde girl, her future was laid out for her. She’s so much her mother’s shadow that she doesn’t know who she is.”

  “Unlike us.”

  I nod at Willow’s response. “We had enough freedom from the pressure she took at the top to find space to explore ourselves. She didn’t.”

  “It’s much the same for us,” Barrett states. “Isn’t it, Christian?”

  I cut my gaze across to our host, curious to find him poised on the arm of Barrett’s chair with a drink in hand. “I don’t know what you mean?” The quip is robotic, delivered with no heart.

  “Tell them what you really want with your life,” Barrett urges. “Nobody here would judge you.”

  Christian’s indifferent gaze lifts to the rest of us, perusing each in turn.

  “These days,” Colt reassures him, “nothing would surprise me.”

  “I already told you half of it, anyway,” Christian snaps. “I want to buy rural property with my inheritance.”

  “Cool,” Willow says with genuine interest. “Why?”

  Christian shrugs, dropping his gaze to the floor. “I get tired of how cold and bland the city is with its concrete every goddamn way you look. I mean, a person can’t take a damn walk without choking on exhaust fumes or having the smells from food outlets assaulting the senses.” He holds his drink in both hands, thumb tapping the rim of the glass. “I want space and fresh air. I want inspiration for my comics.”

  “Comics?” Colt asks, grinning like a fool.

  I elbow him sharply in the side.

  “Yes,” Christian affirms with a hard stare. “Comics. I like to draw. But darling father Derek doesn’t think it’s a worthwhile career. Which is why I started my YouTube channel: to prove him wrong.”

  “You have a channel?” I tug out my phone and navigate to the app. “What’s it called?”

  He raises a dismissive hand. “Plenty of time for that later.” Within seconds, his glass is empty, and he rises to his feet. “Right now, we need to shift location.”

  “To where?” Colt’s eye twitches.

  Christian runs his teeth over his bottom lip, releasing it to spread a wicked grin. “Arcadia. We’ve got a few secrets to unveil and the perfect time and place to do it, don’t you think?”

  Barrett rises from the seat behind him; arms stretched over his head. “I’m game.”

  “Count me in.” Willow shrugs.

  Colt turns to face me, eyes alive with mischief as he asks, “What do you think, babe? One last night of fun before you head overseas?”

  I cast my eye over the group before me, feeling more at home than I ever have. “Fine.” I snort a laugh. “Why the hell not?”

  LACEY

  Legs folded before me, I allow the fire to warm my back while I watch Tuck. He sits with his legs slung wide in my dad’s armchair, slumped low in the seat. But it isn’t the arrogant stance that has my interest—it’s the way he continually checks his phone.

  “They’ll get here when they’re ready,” I reassure him.

  I know he’s frustrated that Johnson and Ed are still M.I.A., but since he came back inside with the firewood, something has been on his mind.

  If the permanent frown etched in his brow wasn’t sign enough, the fact he’s barely touched me or spoken a word to anyone is a dead giveaway.

  “I want to know where they are.” Tuck’s lips twist, and he sighs out his nose.

  He looks like a petulant toddler. It’s cute as hell.

  “Why?” Maggie asks from her spot on the sofa with Beau. “What would it matter?” She runs her fingers through Beau’s hair; his head rested on her lap as he stretches out over the rest of the cushions.

  It seems that not only has she lost the ability to give a shit what her mum thinks, she’s also unafraid of the curious glances Mandy and Cate toss their way every so often.

  I wish I could be that unaffected, sometimes.

  “I don’t trust Johnson right now,” Tuck grumbles.

  I scoot across the floor until I kneel between his feet. His dark gaze
drops to me; jaw steeled with his lips in a firm line.

  “Trust your dad. And mine.” I set my hands on his knees and rise off my haunches. “They’re doing the work that matters.”

  “Have you heard from your dad?” Mandy gripes.

  I know she’s still pissed at him for demanding she stay here; she’s told me so at least a half dozen times already.

  “Not yet.”

  “Why don’t you lot pick a movie to put on?” Maggie’s mum interjects from her spot in the corner, tucked with a bag of crochet in the only other armchair. “Sitting here and ruminating over what might or might not be happening isn’t healthy.”

  “In all fairness, Mum,” Maggie says dryly. “I don’t think anyone wants a movie.”

  “I don’t know,” Beau says lazily, eyes closed like a pampered cat. “I could go an action flick or something.”

  “Shut up,” she teases with a tug of his hair. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  Her mum chuckles. “I like this one.”

  Mandy ruins the moment by rising to her feet with a forced huff. “I’m not doing this.”

  “Doing what?” Charlotte sets her crochet down.

  “Sitting idle.” She starts for the door before hesitating as though forgetting Cate was her ride here. “Are you coming?”

  Cate’s shoulders drop. “I guess.”

  “Nobody says you have to,” I tell her.

  She shrugs, legs unfolding beneath her as she follows Mandy’s lead. “I’m honestly not bothered either way.”

  “Where are your parents in all of this?” Beau asks, opening his eyes. “Why has nobody mentioned them being there to help tonight?”

  “Because they’re not,” she replies flatly. “They’d rather stay away from trouble like that.”

  I haven’t heard a lot about Cate’s parents, but I get the impression they’re firmly in the lovers, not haters camp. They’d rather be around to clean up the aftermath with some community spirit and teambuilding than be a party to the mess, to begin with.

  “Everyone is entitled to do what they feel fits them best.” Maggie’s mum picks her crochet up, finger looping around the yarn. “I won’t try to physically stop you, Mandy. But I will have to, in good conscience, let your parents know what you’ve chosen to do.”