“Your husband already took care of it.”
I narrow my eyes at Caz. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“We all chipped in,” he confirms, slinging his arm over my shoulders, earning a puzzled look from Rich.
They shoot the shit for a few minutes while I take the opportunity to text Diesel. Mom just arrived safely at the house in Europe, and it’s a load off my mind. I thank Diesel, telling him we’re still waiting for Bry to confirm details of the meeting time with his DEA agent brother. Diesel insists on being there. He thinks the guy is unhinged, and he doesn’t want me near him unless he’s there too, so he’s already on a plane on his way back to the US.
_______________
“Can’t you hack into the school system and fix it so we can all graduate already?” I grumble to Theo the next morning as we get ready to leave.
“You think we haven’t tried that before?” Galen says, stuffing his feet into his boots and lacing them up.
“Theo’s too honorable to do anything so underhanded,” Caz says.
“Ask him to blow up our enemy? No problem,” Saint adds. “Ask him to doctor our grades, and it’s like we’ve asked him to assassinate the president of every country in the world.”
Theo flips Saint the bird. “We attend to our responsibilities seriously, and that includes school. You’ll thank me one day.”
I push my body against his. “Just think, if we didn’t have to go to school, we could still be in bed.” I lick a line up the side of his neck. “Think of how much more enjoyable that would be.” I press my mouth to his ear. “You could tag team me and Caz,” I whisper, ensuring only he hears.
Theo’s eyes blaze with warning as he holds me at arm’s length, but I know he’s not mad. While I won’t push him, because I promised, I’ve decided to help nudge him in the right direction, because I think he needs it. And okay, I might be a little more enthusiastic today, because they kissed last night and there was no guilt, no remorse, no second-guessing.
“Your seductive tactics won’t work either,” he says, adopting an affable tone. “Now get your sexy butt in the Lexus. We don’t need any more tardy slips on our records.”
Morning classes drag, but I have one free period I use to catch up on some homework, while ignoring requests from the career guidance counselor to meet in her office. I know she wants to discuss why my attendance has taken a nosedive these past couple months, and I really don’t want to lie to her, because I’ve always respected Mrs. Horkan, and she deserves better. It’s not like I can tell her exactly what’s been going down, and I don’t want to give her vague half-truths either because that would be an insult to our relationship. So, I’ve been dodging her attempts to corner me, feeling like a coward but accepting it’s minor in the grand scheme of things.
The cafeteria buzzes with gossip as news of our wedding has reached the masses. Envious glances follow me as I walk across the room with my tray. “I hear congrats are in order,” Emmett says when I claim the seat across from him.
“I’ll accept your congratulations if you mean it,” I say, popping a piece of bread in my mouth.
“I didn’t say I understood it, but I was sincere because I can tell they make you happy.” He slurps on his Coke, slanting me a lopsided grin. “Guess there’s no accounting for taste,” he quips on purpose as Saint arrives at the table.
Saint slams his tray down, sitting beside me, drumming his fingers on the table. “Careful, ass face. Being friends with my wife doesn’t give you concessions. You’ll treat me with respect like the rest of this fucking school.”
“I see your ego is alive and well and living on its own planet,” Emmett replies, no longer scared of pushing his buttons. He knows I’d never let them do anything to jeopardize Lynn’s treatment at the hospital. “And I don’t answer to you. I’m friends with your wife. You’re nothing to me.” He jabs his fork in the air, making his point clear.
Saint’s lips tug up at the corners in begrudging admiration.
“Be nice, Emmett,” I warn, because he can’t disregard Saint in public like this. I slide my fingers between Saint’s. “Saint is my husband, and I expect you to treat him the same way I’d treat your wife or girlfriend—with respect and like an extension of you.”
“The other Saints are fair game now, right?” a feminine voice says from behind, cutting into our conversation. I twist around in my seat, watching a small dark-haired girl with big boobs and beady eyes drape herself all over Galen.
Galen meets my eyes, urging me to go for it. Saint smirks while Caz chuckles and Theo quietly observes.
I take my time getting out of my chair, my rage expanding every time the bitch paws at my man.
“Who are you?” I ask, towering over her. Menace drips from my tone, but she’s either too dumb or stupidly brave because she doesn’t even flinch, continuing to run her long nails up and down Galen’s arm. His lips twitch in amusement as he waits to see how I’ll handle it.
“I’m Josie.” She juts her chin out, as if I’ve offended her because I haven’t a clue who she is.
“Well, Josie.” I push myself right into her personal space. “It seems you’re laboring under a misconception. Allow me to set you straight.” I grab her arm, yanking her away from Galen. “What part of we’re married do you not understand?”
She attempts to wrench from my grip, and that pisses me off, so I tighten my hold on her arm and force her to the ground, pinning my boot on her calves to keep her there. She glares up at me, and her cheeks darken with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. But she gets the message, and she stops fighting. “You’re married to Saint. What’s that got to do with Galen?” she hisses.
Her belligerent tone irritates me, and I’m already getting bored. “I married all of them. Check their hands.” I project my voice across the now silent room, ensuring everyone gets the message. All four guys lift their hands, showcasing their black wedding bands. Low murmurs descend across the cafeteria.
“I…I didn’t know.”
“Clearly.” I narrow my eyes to slits, slicing her with imaginary daggers before letting her go. “Next time you touch what belongs to me, I won’t be so charitable.” She gawks at me, her expression a mix of shocked disbelief and jealous anger. “Now fuck off before I change my mind and decide to make an example of you.”
Her nostrils flare and her eyes darken with pure venom as she scrambles to her feet. She looks two seconds away from lunging at me, so I pull my Strider from its sheath, tracing my finger along the sharp blade. “This isn’t an accessory.” I pin her with a deadly look. “And if you’re still here in three seconds, I’ll happily demonstrate just how skilled I am with a knife.”
Caz howls with laughter when she hightails it out of the cafeteria like she’s got a bee up her butt. Guess she’s not so dumb after all.
“That was cruel, Lo,” Sean says, joining the conversation for the first time.
“It was,” I admit, reclaiming my seat. “But it was necessary. The guys don’t have time to fend off hordes of drooling women. I’ve just resolved the issue.”
“That shit still turns me the fuck on,” Saint admits, making no effort to lower his voice.
“Want me to suck you off in the bathroom?” I offer.
“Hell yeah,” Caz replies.
“She wasn’t offering to blow you,” Saint smugly retorts.
“And you got your rocks off in the bathroom at my house yesterday,” Galen interjects.
Emmett almost chokes on his soda. “Is that all you do?”
“Fuck?” Galen smirks, popping a brow.
“Pretty much,” I confess, grinning. “I’ve got four guys to please. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”
We all burst out laughing, and it’s a much-needed tension reliever.
“Have you heard from Bry?” I ask Saint as we exit the cafeteria later, making our way to class.
“No, and he’s starting to piss me off. How long does it take to talk to your brother?
” Saint says, sliding his hand into the back pocket of my jeans as we walk.
“You think he’s still lying?” I ask.
“I think Diesel is correct,” Theo says before Saint replies. “His brother is the issue. Not Bryant.”
“I agree,” Galen says. “Bryant appeared to be telling the truth.”
“Let me call him after school. See if he’ll meet with me. I’ll get to the bottom of it.” I have a good relationship with Bry, and if he’s going to divulge anything to anyone, it’ll be me. If there’s a problem with his brother, we need to know now. Not after he’s gone to the authorities and handed our asses to them on a platter.
“Okay,” Saint relents, kissing me when we reach my classroom. His cell pings in his pocket, and he groans. “Is Sinner still hounding you?” I inquire because he’s been blowing up his phone nonstop since Mom disappeared Saturday night.
Saint nods, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “I can’t ignore him forever. We need to discuss how we’re going to handle him.”
“Let’s deal with Bryant and then agree what to do about Sinner,” I propose.
He pecks my lips. “Okay. Later, queenie.” He smirks, and I flip him the bird behind his back. He walks off laughing.
Asshole.
I’m going to kill Caz if that nickname sticks.
The others kiss me, one at a time, and I’m conscious of eyeballs glued to my back as I saunter into the classroom and take my seat. I know the general populace has questions and that we’re feeding the gossip mill with our PDAs, but I’ve got zero fucks to give.
They are mine, and I am theirs, and everyone needs to learn that irrefutable truth.
I make an effort to focus in class, determined to find some time this week to catch up on my homework, but I lose the battle with my bladder ten minutes before the bell is due to ring, gathering up my books and standing.
“Get back in your seat, Ms. Westbrook,” Batshit Branning demands, rapping her knuckles on the top of her desk.
“It’s Mrs. Westbrook,” I correct before anyone dares to call me Mrs. Lennox. Because that shit will never happen. I’ve talked to Saint about it, and he understands. I jokily suggested he legally change his surname, shocked when he actually appeared to consider it. I think Saint Westbrook has a nice ring to it, and I wouldn’t be opposed to it at all.
“And I need the bathroom. It can’t wait.” I stroll past her, ignoring her threats of detention and write-ups, walking the eerily quiet hallway with a new spring in my step.
I am so over high school, and I can’t wait to be finished. Only six more months and we’re done. By then, the Sinner problem will be dealt with, and we’ll be free to go where we want, do what we want, and I literally cannot wait.
I attend to business, wash my hands, and grab my book bag, pushing through the doors of the bathroom, back out into the empty hallway.
He’s on me the second I step foot in the corridor, and there’s no time to react, because he’s caught me completely unaware. A large, manly hand wraps around my arm the same time a black bag is lowered over my head, and the sharp sting of a needle penetrates my skin. I sway on my feet as the enemy liquid swirls through my veins, blurring my vision and clouding my head. The world turns black, and I collapse against him, completely at his mercy.
CHAPTER 33
I COME TO, alone, in a darkened room, sometime later. Pain stabs me through the skull, and my butt is numb from the wooden chair I’m tied to. My hands are pulled behind my back, secured with layers of strong tape. Fuck. If it was rope, at least I’d stand a chance of getting free. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I scan my surroundings.
The room is on the small side with a double bed and a single cot pressed against the back wall. Dark navy curtains cover the window, blocking out any natural light. A side door is partially open, offering a glimpse of the tacky bathroom with lime-green fittings. A scuffed mahogany desk rests against the wall in front of me, weighed down by a bulky old-fashioned TV that has seen better days. Peeling paint on the walls, the threadbare patterned carpet, gaudy flower-print comforter, and the musty smell of piss mixed with weed and stale cigarettes confirms I’m in some seedy motel.
Ignoring the dry taste in my mouth and the persistent pounding in my head, I piece together what happened. Some asshole waited until my guard was lowered to snatch me. So much for the new security measures in school.
What’s the point of having guards and cameras when someone could snatch me so easily?
I’m guessing he had assistance, and whoever it was will fucking pay.
I didn’t see who took me, because it all happened so fast. All I know is, it was definitely a man, and my money’s on Sinner. He’s pissed at Mom—frustrated she got out from under his clutches—and annoyed that his son and other junior members are ghosting him. This is his way of forcing Saint to confront him.
I’m not scared though, because I’m wearing the necklace Diesel gave me, so I know the guys can track me. I also know Sinner won’t hurt me. He needs me to eliminate the commissioner, so I’m safe, at least until then. All bets are off after the assassination though, and I don’t know what he has planned after he has no more use for me. But I refuse to worry about that now. Focus on one problem at a time has always been my motto.
I cast my gaze over the entire room, checking to see if there’s anything sharp I can use to potentially cut the binds around my wrists, but there is literally nothing in this room. I hate sitting here like a damsel in distress, waiting for my guys to rescue me, but I’m low on options.
I jump as the door to the room swings open and my captor strides into the room. My eyes revolt as bright light filters into the room from outside, and I blink a few times. It’s still daylight, which means I can’t have been out cold for too long. School should be out by now, so I expect the guys to show up at any moment.
Stepping into the room, he slams the door shut with his boot, depositing a paper bag on top of the desk, before switching the main light on.
“You?” My brows knit together. “What the hell is this?”
“Hello, Harlow.” Bry’s DEA agent brother shucks off his jacket, throwing it on the end of the bed. “Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Howie Young. Bryant’s brother.”
“I know who you are, asshole. Was Bry involved in this?” I grit my teeth, anger rippling through my aching limbs.
“My brother wanted a little meet and greet, and he got one.”
His flippant tone grates on what little patience I have left, and I snarl, gnashing my teeth. “I doubt he requested for you to hurt me.”
“Oh, come now, Harlow.” He removes some paper boxes from the bag. “Let’s cut the dramatics. You’re not hurt, and as soon as I get what I want, I’ll let you go.”
I tilt my head to the side, putting a leash on my anger. “What is it you want?”
“You really don’t know?” he asks, stepping toward me with a bottle of water.
“I wouldn’t ask a question if I already knew the answer to it.”
“Open wide.” He uncaps the water, holding the bottle to my lips. I clamp my lips shut, glaring at him defiantly, because who the fuck knows what he’s put in the water. “You just watched me open the bottle,” he says. “I haven’t tampered with it.”
I continue glaring at him, and he sighs before slanting the bottle to his lips, taking a healthy mouthful of the clear liquid. “See? It’s safe. I’d hardly drink it if it was poisoned.”
“Why should I trust anything you say? You already drugged me once.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He almost looks sincere. “I don’t like hurting women.” His jaw tightens, and pain glimmers across his eyes. “But it was necessary.”
“Why?”
“Just drink, and we’ll talk then.”
I let him tip water into my mouth this time, because my throat’s as dry as the Gobi Desert, and he hasn’t keeled over yet. However, I shut my lips after a couple of mouthfuls, just in case.
/> “Why am I here?” I ask again.
He sits on the edge of the bed, opening a couple of paper cartons. Delicious, aromatic scents waft around the room, and my tummy rumbles appreciatively, reminding me I barely ate anything at lunch.
“I’ll make you a deal. You eat and I’ll answer one question at a time.” Like with the water, he eats first, and then he lifts a second, clean fork to my mouth, shoveling spicy chicken rice into my mouth. “I know Saint Lennox wants to meet. That he sent Bryant as his little messenger boy. Well, I don’t answer to anyone. Least of all that asshole’s offspring.”
“So, this is a powerplay?” My face pulls into a grimace. “That’s pathetic,” I scoff.
“I don’t expect you to understand,” he hisses, pushing another mouthful of food into my mouth. “But Saint Lennox needs to learn up front that he has no control in this,” he seethes.
“In what?” I ask, watching him chew slowly as anger literally vibrates from every taut muscle in his body.
“It will make sense when they arrive. I expect they won’t be much longer.”
“You’ll be lucky to make it out of this room alive,” I say, speaking nothing but the truth. “It seems rather foolish to have pulled a stunt like this. If you wanted a meeting on your terms, you just had to tell Bry that, and we could’ve worked something out.”
“You say that like he’s reasonable.”
“Saint’s…not unreasonable, some of the time,” I admit. “And you talk like you think you know him. Why is that?”
“I know his prick of a father, and he’s grown up in his shadow.”
“Saint is nothing like that bastard! Nothing!” I yell. “You don’t know a damn thing about him!”
The door crashes inward, and Howie dumps the takeout on the floor, standing behind me and pressing a gun into my head.
Saint barrels into the room like a raging bull, brandishing guns in both hands, wearing a ferocious expression that would terrify most normal men. But the guy keeping me captive is definitely unhinged and not normal.
The rest of my guys race into the room, followed by Bry at the rear. Bry has a large gash in his forehead, and fresh bruises linger under the skin on his cheeks, courtesy of my guys, I’m guessing.
The Sainthood : A Dark High School Romance (The Complete Series) Page 80
