“We’re good. For now.” Saint says. “Lo will see you out.” Saint sends me a knowing look, and I rise, lifting my shoulder and gesturing at Bry to follow me.
I step out into the cool night air. “If there’s more you know, you need to spit it out,” I say as he throws his leg over his Harley.
“You still don’t trust me.” It’s a statement, not a question. He watches me carefully as he straps his helmet on.
“I get the feeling you’re not telling us everything.”
He places his hands on the handlebars, and his feet are on the ground. He looks me straight in the eye. “Let’s say I wasn’t but the reason is justified, and I believe our goals are aligned, would you still trust me?”
“It’s hard to trust someone who keeps secrets. You know how I feel about that.”
He kick-starts his bike. “I’m not the only one keeping secrets, though, am I, Lo?” he says, staring pointedly at me before taking off and disappearing down the driveway.
_______________
We stay at the house again on Wednesday after my hospital visit. Things are going to hit the fan tonight, provided Dar comes through. We want to be here to watch Sinner’s reaction when he gets the news.
“It’s good to have you all home,” Mom says, sliding the pot roast to the middle of the table. She’s cooked up a delicious feast, and there’s enough food here to feed an army. But the swelling on her cheeks, cut on her lip, bruising on her neck and arms, and the way she’s hobbling around the kitchen has vanquished my appetite. She hasn’t texted me since I’ve been staying at the barn, and I haven’t made the effort to reach out to her either, and now, I feel guilty for abandoning her to a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
Watching her play the perfect Stepford wife aggravates me, and I’m already in a pissy mood because there’s no change in Sariah’s condition, and the doctors aren’t holding out much hope. “Maybe, now we’re home, your fiancé will stop beating the shit out of you,” I snap, unable to hold the words back.
Sinner stands, lifting the carving knife and pinning me with an evil grin. He starts to cut slices of beef as he talks. “Don’t act naïve, Lo.” His eyes zoom in on my neck, landing on the faded fingermarks and bruises Galen left behind. “Is it so hard to imagine your mother enjoys rough sex too?”
“Her face is beaten to a pulp, and she’s walking with a limp!” I snap, as Giana stands, her chair scraping in the process. Her fists are clenched at her sides as she glares at me, as if I’m the one who inflicted her injuries. “My sex life is none of your business, Harlow, and I’m getting sick of telling you to butt out of things that don’t concern you.” She walks up behind Sinner, draping herself around him. “I love Neo, and I’m happy. Why can’t you be happy for me?”
I jump up, knocking my chair to the floor. “Maybe because you look fucking miserable all the time.” I swallow over the lump in my throat. “I can’t do this.” I storm off to my bedroom, stride into my closet, open my lungs, and let loose the scream that’s trapped inside me. I pound my fists into the wall as I scream, venting all the frustration that’s been building for weeks.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind a couple minutes later. “Let it out, baby,” Theo says, and I scream and scream and scream until my throat feels scraped raw.
I drop to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the floor, my shoulders slumping. Theo sits down across from me, mirroring my position. “What is she doing with him, Theo? Is she that stupid, or is she playing him?”
He runs his fingers through his gorgeous hair. He’s been wearing it down a lot more lately, because he knows how much I love threading my hands through it. “Giana is smart, Lo.”
“You think she is playing him?”
He scoots forward, taking my hands in his. “I think she’s protecting you the only way she knows how.”
“I need to talk to her.” I hop up.
Theo climbs to his feet, reeling me gently into his arms. “You need to put your emotions aside and think about this logically. If she is playing some angle, she clearly doesn’t want you involved, and we’ve got to assume that’s the safest way of handling the situation.”
“I think Theo is right,” Saint says, leaning against the door to my closet. “It’s better if you don’t know. Trust her to manage it.”
“She’s not managing it!” I cry. “He’s beating the crap out of her!” A sob escapes my throat. “I’m a shitty daughter. All this time, I’ve been hating on her and she’s been trying to protect me.”
“You’re not.” Theo brushes his lips against my cheek. “You’re trying to protect her too. Taking Sinner down is the only way to save your mom at this point.”
“You’ve got to focus on the endgame,” Saint agrees. “No matter how hard that is.”
“Maybe, if I talked to her, and she knows all the stuff I know, we can work together? Surely, it makes sense to team up? Alisha confirmed she knows a lot more than either Dad or I realized.”
Saint’s expression softens as he walks toward me. “You can’t trust Galen’s mom, Lo. She’s fucked in the head from years of drug abuse. She might’ve dreamed up half of it.”
“We know she had an affair with my dad because Galen saw them together and he overheard his parents arguing about it when she got knocked up,” I say.
“But we don’t know if Giana knows, because we only have Alisha’s word for that,” Saint protests.
“And if you talk to your mom, if you tell her everything,” Theo says, “you might find out she doesn’t know the half of it.”
Saint pulls me out of Theo’s arms and into his. “If she doesn’t know about the affair and the baby, do you really want her to know? Is that the memory she should be left with of your dad?”
“No,” I quietly admit. “Because it’s shaken me to the core and has me questioning my belief in my father.” The bags under my eyes attest to that. I’ve had trouble sleeping ever since I found out the man I’ve always held on a pedestal wasn’t so perfect after all. I get he was coerced into it, but I can’t help wondering how the hell he let Sinner trap him in the first place, and now, I’ll never find out.
“If she’s working something, this could distract her and cause her to lose focus,” Theo says.
“And if she’s working this hard to protect you, we can’t undermine that in any way.” Saint wipes the moisture from my cheeks, and I hadn’t even realized I was crying. Fuck. I’m turning into a basket case, and I’ve always prided myself on my ability to shut my emotions down.
“How do I sit back and watch this happening?” I squeeze my eyes shut, leaning my head on Saint’s chest. “How do I turn my back on her?”
“You do it because it’s what she wants and you have to trust her.” Theo smooths a hand up and down my back.
“I’ve just hired a guy to do some work around the house,” Saint adds. “It’s an excuse to have someone watching over her. I’d trust this guy with my life, and while he’s around, Dad will be more careful.”
I cup his beautiful face. “I appreciate that, but let’s not pretend like he won’t just beat her behind closed doors.”
“This guy will find a way to intervene,” Saint says, and I want to believe it, but we all know no one can stop Sinner when he’s hell-bent on something.
It all kicks off a few hours later when we’re down in the basement attempting to watch a movie. We’ve been on edge all night waiting for it to go down.
Footsteps thud on the stairs and we share knowing glances.
We all swing our gaze in Sinner’s direction when he storms into the room like a raging tornado. His body is wired tight, his eyes almost demonic in their madness. His hands are in balls at his side, and he looks two seconds away from ripping someone apart. “You two!” he snaps, pointing at Galen and Saint. “You’re with me.”
“What’s going on?” Saint asks, standing.
“The Arrows are fucking dead!” Sinner shouts. “That’s what’s going on, and we’re about to s
end them that message.”
“How?” Galen asks, also standing.
“Don’t fucking question me, boy.” Sinner grabs him by the shoulders, shoving him in the direction of the stairs. “If I say I need you, that’s all you need to know.”
“We’re with you, Dad,” Saint says, his voice calm, cautioning Galen with his eyes. “Let’s go.”
“You three!” Sinner points at Caz, me, and Theo. “Protect Giana, and keep a watch outside. I can’t guarantee The Arrows haven’t planned other shit for tonight.”
“We’ve got it,” Caz says.
Saint casts a wary glance over his shoulder before they follow Sinner upstairs.
“Sweet.” Caz grins. “Dar came through.”
“Speak of the devil,” I murmur, pulling my cell out of my pocket as it vibrates with an incoming call. Dar’s name flashes on the screen. I swipe my finger to accept the call, opening my mouth to speak, but before I can utter a word, he is shouting obscenities at me, threatening to stick a gun in my mouth, a knife in my pussy, and a bat up my ass.
Theo stiffens and Caz snarls as they hear him shouting his threats through the phone even before I’ve put it on speaker.
I wait for Darrow to exhaust himself, and when he’s finally stopped spewing venom, I clear my throat. “Are you done?”
“I’m fucking done, all right!” he yells. “You fucking screwed me over big time.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m confused because Sinner just hightailed it out of here in a murderous rage. What happened? Where is the shipment?”
“Spilling out of the back of the semi as we speak,” Dar says. “Fucking hell!” he shouts. “Archer will cut my fucking balls off for this!”
“Calm your shit, and tell me what went down.” I am quickly losing patience with the dick.
“The truck was exactly where you said it would be, and it took little effort to ambush it because they were not expecting us, but they weren’t the only ones surprised. Are you saying you didn’t know?”
“Know what, Dar?” I bark. “You’re not making sense.” I exchange a concerned look with Theo and Caz.
“The shipment wasn’t drugs, Lo. It was fucking girls. What the fuck are we supposed to do with that?”
CHAPTER 33
Harlow
“THIS MEANS ALL-out war,” Sinner seethes the following morning at breakfast, pacing the kitchen like the batshit crazy psycho he is.
We stayed up half the night waiting for the guys to return, and then, we had a hushed, shocked conversation at four a.m. before crawling into bed for a few hours’ sleep.
Judging from Sinner’s whiskey breath and bloodshot eyes, I’d say he didn’t get to bed at all. “I’m putting a man on you,” he tells Mom the second she steps into the kitchen in a fitted skirt suit. “Things are going to get ugly now.”
I’ll say. After they failed to retrieve the “shipment,” they attacked three of The Arrows’ warehouses, burning them to the ground. War has most definitely arrived in Lowell now.
“Is it really necessary?” Mom asks, pouring a cup of coffee.
Sinner flies across the kitchen, grabbing her by the throat.
I move to stand, but Saint yanks me back down, warning me with his eyes. I dig my nails into my thighs as Saint wraps his arm around my waist, keeping me in place. I don’t know how much longer I can stay in this house and not do something. Mom yelps as hot coffee spills down the front of her blouse, and a sickening feeling swirls in my gut. “It’s necessary if I say it’s necessary,” Sinner hisses, his spittle landing on her face.
“Okay.” She gulps. “Fine.”
He pins manic eyes on her, and I seriously consider embedding my knife in his back. I’m a good shot. I could easily do it from here.
As if he’s heard my thoughts, Galen shakes his head at me from across the table. I’m reminded of our conversation when we were in his house, and I know this is as hard for him as it is for me, yet he’s keeping it together.
I nod, forcing myself to think about the endgame.
“I need to get changed,” Mom says when Sinner eventually backs away. She leans in, kissing his cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, darling.” If she’s acting, she deserves a fucking Oscar for her stellar performance.
“Chapter meeting tonight at HQ. Everyone is to be there,” Sinner barks, his lips pulling into a sly sneer when he looks at me. “You too, princess. We might find some of those tasks for you after everyone has gone.”
Blood turns to ice in my veins, but I school my features into a neutral mask.
“When were you going to tell us?” Saint clips out, removing his arm from my waist and glaring at his father.
“When we’d successfully trafficked our first shipment.” Sinner dumps a load of whiskey in his cup.
“Now that the authorities have the girls, what will you do?” Saint inquires, and I can tell how hard it is for him to keep his voice calm. Every muscle and sinew in his body is locked tight, and I’m guessing he’s having similar murderous thoughts about his father.
After I ended my call with Dar, I contacted Saint, and he agreed to organize an anonymous tip to be sent to the cops. They showed up minutes before Sinner and his crew, and, according to the guys, Sinner went apeshit that they missed out on reclaiming the girls he’s already paid for.
The Arrows had fled the scene by then, narrowly avoiding arrest. From what Darrow said, Archer Quinn, The Arrows president, wants nothing to do with sex trafficking and he’s out for my blood, because he thinks I set them up.
Nice of Dar to throw me to the wolves, and isn’t it just my luck to take care of one enemy and gain a new one at the same time.
“Wait until the heat cools down, and then, try again,” Sinner says.
“We don’t traffic women,” Galen supplies, his voice strained. “You honestly think members will vote this in?”
Sinner snorts. “They’ll fucking do what I say, and the profits speak for themselves. With Luke McKenzie out of the way, that business is wide-open for the taking. It’s worth millions, billions.” His eyes glint greedily, and my stomach churns.
“What’s McKenzie got to do with it?” Theo asks.
“He was The Bulls liaison with the supplier in Mexico. Dude doesn’t trust Ruben, thanks to some past history and bad blood. He didn’t realize he was supplying The Bulls until I informed him. We have a way in now, provided I can spin last night and not fucking ruin everything before it’s begun.” His nostrils flare as he slams his hands on the table.
“This should help,” Caz says, turning on the TV and tilting his head to the side.
Sinner’s eyes pop wide, and his fury turns to quick delight as we watch the news report confirming a large shipment of drugs and weapons were seized in an early morning raid on the docks in Fenton. Pictures show Ruben and a line of guys in cuts being frog-marched into police vans.
Saint has already sent spies out onto the streets to start taking control of the Fenton supply, because we don’t know if the cops will arrest everyone. In the event they don’t, the remaining members should be too busy trying to hold on to their turf to bother about me.
Sinner grins, rubbing his hands together. “At least, something good has come from this shitshow.” He jabs his finger at Saint. “Get guys on the street. I want that supply locked up tight before other greedy assholes try to take the territory.”
“I’m on it,” Saint says, his fingers flying over his phone.
Sinner slaps him on the back. “That’s my boy.” He leers at me, peering down the front of my shirt, and nausea swims up my throat. “I just might be in the mood for celebrating tonight after all.”
“Knock it off, Dad.” Saint slings his arm around my shoulders, glaring at his dad. “Lo is ours.”
“Sharing is caring, son.” Sinner smirks, slapping him extra hard on the back. “And I don’t take orders from you.” He swats the back of his head, and the urge to stab him is riding me hard again. “Have a good day
at school.” He laughs, walking off with a half-empty whiskey bottle clutched in one hand.
“I say we implement a new plan,” Galen growls. Our gazes swing to his. “Let’s kill the asshole. I don’t know how much more of his shit I can stomach.”
“I’m down with that plan.” I remove my knife, running my finger along the tip.
“We stick to the original plan,” Saint says. He looks down at me. “Put that away.”
“You’re no fun.” I pout, tucking my knife away.
“And there’s no fucking way you’re coming to the meeting tonight.”
“I can’t just not show up.” I crick my head from side to side, loosening my tense shoulder muscles.
“You fucking can, and you will. I’ll think of some excuse,” Saint promises.
“Can you think of it later,” Theo says, standing and knocking back the last of his orange juice. “We need to get to school.”
_______________
It’s the second-to-last class of the day, and I’m staring out the window, yawning and trying to keep my eyes open. I’m not listening to a word Batshit Branning is saying because I’m too fucking tired to concentrate.
“Ms. Westbrook!” she screeches in my ear. I turn my head, surprised to find the teacher standing at my desk. “The vice principal has requested your attendance in her office immediately.”
“What’s this about?” I ask, gathering my books.
“You’ll find out when you get there,” she retorts before returning to the front of the class. None of the guys are in this class, so I pop off a quick group text as I follow the secretary to Vice Principal Pierson’s office.
“Harlow.” The small, curvy woman pins me with a soft smile. “Have a seat, dear.”
“What’s going on? Am I in trouble?” I thought the guys fixed it so the week I was absent was not an issue, but maybe, they didn’t. I plop into the seat across from her, dropping my bag on the ground by my feet.
“No.” She shakes her head, reaching across the desk to pat my hand. “There’s no easy way to say this. I just received a call from the hospital.”
The Sainthood : A Dark High School Romance (The Complete Series) Page 55
