CHAPTER 11
Galen
SAINT IS ABOUT two seconds from full-blown detonation. Either he’ll rip Bryant Eccleston’s head off or fuck Lo senseless until she remembers who she belongs to.
“Calm down.” Theo attempts to reason with my cousin.
“She’s playing the game, dude,” Caz says. “She knows Bryant could be useful to us. Chill out.” He lights up a cigarette, leaning back against the wall in the small auditorium.
We’ve just watched Harlow Westbrook decimate the competition in the maze.
Every time I hear the word maze, it reminds me of the time I spent an afternoon chasing the pretty girl with the sad eyes and the haunted smile through the maze at the back of my grandma’s house—now our house. Although this maze is different, because it’s not outdoors and it’s composed of a series of interlocking structures of different shapes and sizes, made to resemble a war-torn town.
All ten initiates went head to head using paintball guns, and Lo was the last one standing.
I can’t deny how hard it made my cock watching her expertly maneuver the course like a pro, taking down her opponents skillfully and with military precision. We know she’s trained and skilled with a gun, but it’s clear after today she is a freaking ninja wrapped up in a tempting, beguiling, confusing package.
It only makes me feel like a bigger asshole.
I fucked up so bad, and now, I risk losing everyone, because the guys are furious with me, and I doubt Lo will ever forgive me. Maybe, it’s a blessing in disguise, because my feelings for her are a total clusterfuck.
I thought I had it all worked out, but now, I don’t know what to think.
“He’s fucking dead,” Saint snarls, watching Bryant whisper in Lo’s ear on the screen.
There are a handful of guys in the room with us, watching the action go down. Instructor Corr turns around, overhearing Saint’s outburst, and grins in a way that lets him know he’s not done messing with his girl.
“Drop it, Saint,” Theo hisses. “You’re only making things worse.”
“She doesn’t need us stepping in,” Caz agrees. “Our badass beauty has got this in the bag.”
“She’s been holding out on us,” Saint says.
“Would you blame her?” Theo sends a pointed look in my direction.
“Don’t start blaming me for everything,” I hiss. “I fucked up, and I will own that shit, but don’t pin it all on me.”
“Why not?” Saint whirls around on me, his eyes burning with anger. I can’t remember any other time he’s been this mad with me. Not even when I stuffed vegetables up the exhaust pipe of the first piece of shit truck he bought and the damn thing exploded minutes after he started the engine. Throwing himself out of the truck, he escaped relatively unscathed, but he was still pissed at me. However, he was over it the next day—even seeing the funny side.
This is different.
Because she’s different.
I thought it was the hot sex and her fiery mouth, but it’s way more than that. Whatever bond they formed at thirteen has my cousin tied into knots, and he’s only falling harder. He’s in deep with her, and he might never forgive me.
“Because I’m not responsible for everything,” I reply, wincing as I shift on the seat and it feels like someone just stuck a red-hot poker in my ribs. “You’ve made mistakes too.”
Saint punches me in the face, and my head whips back. “Fuck you,” I snap. “I let you beat me because I deserved it, but I’m done being a punching bag.”
“You’re done when I say you’re done.”
“Don’t you mean when Lo says you’re done,” I retort, reacting swiftly this time and deflecting his clenched fist with my raised palm.
“You’re an idiot.” Theo shakes his head.
“I thought we agreed on that already,” I deadpan.
“Bigger idiot,” Theo snaps, uncharacteristically. “If you think any of us will forget this in a hurry, you’re sorely mistaken.”
I know they have history, but I don’t know the specifics. The thought gives me an idea, but I park it for a more opportune time.
Caz throws his cig on the ground, putting it out with his boot. “They’re on the move. Let’s go.”
We file out of the auditorium, waiting outside the maze for Lo to emerge.
Initiates filter out, looking worse for wear, all in desperate need of showers. Lo spots us immediately, walking toward us with Bryant in tow. Saint vibrates with rage, and his level of possessiveness with this girl is off-the-charts crazy.
“Top marks, baby,” Caz says, stepping forward and pulling her into his arms. “I worship at the altar of Queen Harlow.”
I roll my eyes. Gag. Someone, pass the puke bucket.
“You were amazing, Lo.” Theo kisses her cheek, pride evident in his smile.
Saint and Bryant are in an epic stare down. One Saint doesn’t break as he reaches out, hauling Lo into his chest. He holds her close, and tightness spreads across my chest. I lean back against the wooden railing, holding my arm around my ribs as if that will heal my broken limbs and aching heart.
Saint finally pulls his eyes from our enemy, leaning down and kissing Lo with a tenderness I didn’t think he was capable of. He whispers in her ear as I watch Bryant seethe. He balls his hands into fists at his sides, and his eyes burn with envy.
I’m not surprised he’s into her.
Lo has this way about her that sucks all the red-blooded males in. And it’s not because she’s hot or smart or mouthy, which she is, but it goes deeper. She’s like a magnetic force-field, drawing people to her with ease.
It’s one reason I’ve been fighting her so hard.
The other is the past and a multitude of pent-up emotions where she’s concerned.
“I don’t have all fucking day,” Bryant barks. “Say what you need to say, Lennox.”
Lo slips out from under Saint’s arm, cricking her neck from side to side. She’s covered in mud, dirt, and sweat, and strands of hair are stuck to her brow, but she’s still beautiful as fuck.
Girl is in a league of her own.
“How the fuck did my father win you to our side?” Saint demands to know.
“Wait!” Lo straightens up, planting her hands on her hips and leveling Saint with an evil eye. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
“Keep your panties on.” Saint ruffles her hair, knowing how much it pisses her off. He leans in, whispering in her ear. I’m guessing he doesn’t want Bryant to know Sinner neglected to tell any of us about his new spy-slash-recruit.
Lo calms down as Saint fills her in. “Why are you doing this?” she bluntly asks Bryant.
“Because I’m sick of Darrow and his bullshit. And everyone knows The Arrows will lose this war. I prefer to be on the winning side.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” Saint says, folding his arms across his chest.
“How does Sinner win anyone to his side?” Bryant challenges, smoothing a hand over his hair.
“He has leverage on you,” I say.
Bryant nods, his eyes narrowing at me. “I hope you’re hurting, Lennox, because it’s the least you deserve.”
“What have you offered in return?” Saint asks, ignoring his comment.
“Ask your dad.”
Saint glowers. “I’m asking you.”
Lo steps between them before they throw punches. “Bry, cut the crap. You’re one of us now, and that means we all need to work as a team.” She levels both guys with a warning look.
A devilish glint appears in Bryant’s eye. “If it means I finally get that sexy body underneath me, consider it done.”
Saint swings for him, but Caz anticipates the move, pulling him back. “Dude. Chill.” Caz points at Bryant. “Quit that shit. Lo is ours, and only ours.”
“We’ve got serious issues to deal with.” Lo jabs her finger in Saint’s chest. “Like The Bulls wanting to nuke my ass and an impending bloody war. We cannot fight among ourselves.
This bullshit ends now.” She turns to Bryant. “I wasn’t interested before, and that hasn’t changed, but I respect you, and we’ll be working together from now on. I’d prefer to do that as friends.”
“I don’t like you,” Saint says.
“The feeling is mutual,” Bryant agrees.
“But Lo is right,” Saint adds, and I almost fall over in shock. “You must earn our trust,” he continues.
“You can start by keeping our girl safe,” Caz says, as Lo rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath.
Bryant scrubs a hand over his jaw, eyeballing each of us. He nods, wetting his lips before he speaks. “Sinner wants me to identify the rat,” he admits.
“Can you?” Lo asks.
“I’ve heard nothing, but that’s not unusual. We’re only junior chapter and not privy to a lot of stuff. But I can press Darrow. He has an in with the president. He might find out.” Pressing Darrow is also our plan—an excuse for the lack of retaliation. But he won’t know it’s also Bryant’s endgame because he doesn’t know his number two is now a Sainthood spy, so our angle isn’t compromised.
“You get a name, you tell us first,” Saint says.
“Why?”
“The why isn’t important right now.”
Bryant looks to Lo, and she nods. Saint stiffens.
“Okay.” Bryant looks over his shoulder to where the truck is getting ready to leave. “We need to go.”
Caz grabs Lo to him, enveloping her in a bear hug. “Stay safe, badass.”
She grins. “You betcha, sexy.” She plants a kiss on him.
“If anything happens to Lo, I’m holding you accountable,” Saint says to Bryant because he just can’t resist going there.
Lo slaps his chest. “Just stop. I’m tiring of this.” She pecks his lips. “I can take care of myself. You stick to your end of the bargain.”
He swats her ass. “See you this weekend, princess.”
Lo turns to Theo, looking unsure. They stare at one another, and Theo looks equally unsure. Tentatively, they step toward each other, and he kisses her on the cheek. “Mind yourself, Lo.”
She nods, smiling, but it doesn’t meet her eyes. Her gaze whips around to me, and I straighten up, grimacing as red-hot pain whittles through me. “Meet me in the lobby,” she says, after a few beats of awkward silence, surprising me.
I open my mouth to ask why, but she’s already leaving, running alongside Bryant in the truck’s direction.
_______________
I’m sitting on a small black leather couch in the lobby area when Lo arrives. The guys are here too. She sets a white box down on the coffee table. “Take your shirt off,” she commands, not looking at me as she removes a few things from the box.
“What?” I splutter.
She bores a hole in my head. “Do it before I change my mind.”
With great difficulty, I remove my shirt, sweating with the exertion as splintering pain assaults my upper body. Cool fingers brush against mine as she helps lift it over my head.
Our eyes meet, and I drop my usual barrier, hoping she can see how sorry I am. I’m still confused over the past, and the lingering resentment I harbor toward her for the part she played, but I’m so fucking sorry for handing her to Darrow. It was a temporary lapse in judgment. I let that bastard manipulate me in a moment of weakness, and I’m better than that.
She deserves better than that.
And I don’t deserve any show of kindness.
Hurt and anger and uncertainty are etched upon her face.
“Lo, I—”
“Don’t speak!” Her harsh tone reminds me where we’re at, and I swallow my apology.
It’s not enough to say I’m sorry. I know words are cheap. And the only way I’ll redeem myself in her eyes is through my actions.
I stay quiet and hold still as she applies arnica cream to my broken ribs before wrapping a bandage around them. Her touch is gentle, and she’s careful not to hurt me, and I’m awash with confusing emotions. Despite the pain I’m in, her touch and her presence are doing funny things to me. My stomach flips, my skin heats, and I conduct a stern inner talk with my dick, urging him to stay the fuck down.
The guys watch her every move, looking as entranced as I feel, and it’s obvious we’re all under her spell.
Lo unwraps a couple of ice packs, holding them to my burning ribs. She takes my hand, keeping it pressed on top of the packs. “Keep them iced for a few days, and take regular pain meds.” She looks over her shoulder at Caz. “Can you get me a cup of water from the cooler?”
He ambles off, returning a minute later.
“Open your mouth,” she says, and I comply without protest, staring at her plump lips and the high angles of her cheekbones as she drops a couple tablets in my mouth before holding the cup to my lips. I drink, swallowing the tablets as I stare into her beautiful green eyes. She hands a box of pills to Theo. “Make sure he takes those.”
Saint is watching with a frown, rubbing his hand back and forth across his chest. And I get it. I’m confused too. Growing up, both of us sustained more than our fair share of injuries and we got used to living with the pain, because neither of us had anyone, other than each other, to care.
Emotion bubbles up my throat, and tears sting the back of my eyes. I drop my mask, offering her a glimpse of the real me. “Thank you.”
“I still hate you,” she says, as if on autopilot, her voice devoid of feeling.
“I know.”
“That’s not changing anytime soon.”
“I know that too.”
“Good.” She tips her chin up, adopting a determined look. “You’d do well to remember that and stay out of my way.”
CHAPTER 12
Galen
“WHY’D SHE DO that?” Saint asks from the driver’s seat a half hour later, as we are on our way home. He insisted I ride with him though this is the first time he’s spoken to me or even acknowledged my presence.
“Because she’s a bigger person than me, and she has a good heart.” I shift on my side, pressing the ice pack to my ribs as I stretch my legs out on the back seat. I prop my head against the door, because it’s too painful to lie down flat.
He looks at me through the mirror. “Why’d you do it?”
“You know why.”
“It’s more than that.”
I sigh. “Everything is changing, and that scares me.”
His chest heaves. “I know, but it feels right. She feels right.” His eyes meet mine in the mirror.
“You love her.”
“Maybe.”
“What about the others?”
“She’s made her feelings clear.” He barks out a laugh. “It serves me right for putting the sharing rule in place.”
“You implemented that with good reason, and it’s been for the best. Caz is tits over ass crazy for her, and her past with Theo sure seems complicated. She would’ve torn us apart if that rule wasn’t there.”
“Hasn’t she done that already?” He stares me straight in the eye. “Isn’t that what you were afraid of?”
“Yes, but I was wrong. I think—” I pause, because if I say this, there is no taking it back.
“What?” Saint prompts me to continue.
“I think she has the power to make us stronger, and she loves you too. I see it when she looks at you.”
“And when she looks at you?”
I send him a scathing look. “She hates me.”
Silence ensues for a few minutes. “You need to fix things with her.”
“How? I want to, but I’ve no clue how to go about it.”
He purses his lips, signaling as he takes the exit to the highway. “I don’t know,” he admits.
“Will it work?” I ask. “Because we’re the product of our upbringing. How will we ever know?”
“She’s easy to love,” he replies, his tone low, his face soft.
“She’s broken too.”
“Because of us.” The soft look vanishes from
his face, replaced with a familiar cold expression that’s in part directed at me. I don’t need a look inside my cousin’s head to know he reserves the other part for Sinner, because he was the one who broke her first. And he seems hell-bent on breaking her further.
“Because of me.” I say what he’s thinking, closing my eyes, wishing I could rewind time.
When I wake, we’re back at the house—at Lo’s house. Saint helps me from the car and into the house via the garage, and I know he’s thawing, thanks to Lo. Her kindness and generosity have taken the edge off his anger. A layer of stress leaves my shoulders, but the knot of guilt inside me churns faster.
“Oh my God.” Giana, Lo’s mom, rushes across the kitchen toward me. “Galen, what happened?”
“I ran into an ambush Saturday night,” I lie. “It’s why we were lying low.”
She bends down, checking my bandaged ribs, and it’s only now I remember I’m shirtless. “Have you been taking meds?” she asks. “And icing it?”
“Lo gave me some stuff before we left.” At the mention of her daughter, her eyes well up.
She glances over her shoulder before fixing her gaze on Saint. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” None of us know what bullshit Sinner has fed his fiancée, so we’re treading on eggshells here.
“I still can’t believe she begged Sinner to join the ranks or that he agreed.” Her eyes plead with Saint. “She’s doing this for you, right?”
Saint shuffles awkwardly on his feet while I drag my aching body in the direction of the refrigerator. “She’s not with me,” Saint says.
Giana looks confused. “She isn’t? I thought—”
“She’s with all of us,” Caz says, walking into the kitchen with Theo.
Wow, way to just drop it on her. And it’s not even the truth. She’s really only invested in Caz and my cousin.
Giana’s cheeks flush. “You don’t mean—”
“She’s our girl, and we’ll take care of her. You have our word, so you don’t need to worry about anything,” Saint adds.
“I… I… I don’t know what to say,” she blurts, as Sinner walks into the kitchen from the direction of the living room.
I grab cold water from the refrigerator and close the door.
The Sainthood : A Dark High School Romance (The Complete Series) Page 38
