I ended up getting a ride home with Clint, who Zoe texted to come rescue us. The heat blasting in his car felt like magic, and when I finally got home, I think I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
7
Cassian
I grabbed the orange juice from my fridge and spun off the cap. I raised the jug to chug directly from it and paused when I noticed my stepdad watching with a disturbed look on his face. He was sixty-six, which meant he had a comfortable lead of thirty years on my mom. She’d had me at eighteen, and my dad had stuck with her, even though the pregnancy wasn’t planned.
That was my dad. He was good to a fault. Always willing to help people, even if it cost him.
And in the end, it had cost him. It had cost him everything.
It hadn’t been for nothing, at least. He’d taught me a valuable lesson. No good deed goes unpunished. People who do the right thing show their neck to the world, and it’s only a matter of time before it decides to take the bait and put you down, one way or another.
I gave Walter my best smile, then tipped the jug of OJ back and took a long swig.
My stepdad was Walter Lakeland. His dad was rich, and his dad’s dad had been rich. Walter’s claim to fame was taking his hundreds of millions of dollars and using them to overfund a few businesses and real estate projects. After a few dozen years of paying smarter people to do smart things with his money, he’d become a billionaire, surprising absolutely nobody who understood how the world really works.
He was the real American dream in action. You can do anything and be anything you want, so long as your daddy’s check writing hand doesn’t cramp up. Once you make it, you also had to remember to insist you’d pulled yourself up by your bootstraps and look down on anyone without money, too.
My mom walked into the kitchen, then. She was still young at thirty-six and beautiful, even if she had started fucking up her face with plastic surgery over the last few years. Her Botox fortified forehead tried to scrunch when she sensed the obvious tension in the room.
“Cassian.” Her voice was pleading, but careful. She knew she’d been walking on thin ice with me from the moment she attached herself like a fucking leech to this prick and his money. I resented her for that, too. At least she could’ve had the backbone to defend herself. So you wanted to shit on dad’s memory for a comfortable life? So what. At least own it. But instead, she crept around like a criminal, so I’d started seeing her as one.
“Mother.”
She sighed. It looked like she was about to launch into a lecture, then Walter held up his hand. “Honey, it’s alright. He’s got a lot on his mind. Big game this week, right, sport?”
I blinked, stared at him for a few seconds, then grabbed the car keys. If I had to spend another moment in the house with them, I was probably going to break something—starting with Walter’s fake ass teeth. He didn’t even have the balls to call me on the party I’d obviously thrown last night before the two of them had come back from boating across the Red Sea. He’d just called cleaners, and they’d fixed everything up like new before I’d even woken up.
Sometimes, I think I just wanted the conflict. I wanted the explosion. Instead, the more I pushed, the more everybody backed away, too terrified to stop me or say a word. That was irony for you.
I got in the Aston Martin and turned it on. I looked at the dashboard of the car and chuckled to myself. Speaking of irony… I despised my mom for trashing the memory of my dad for a paycheck. Yet, here I was, dressed head to toe in designer clothes and driving a car that cost more than most people’s houses. But no matter how many ways I’d thought about it, I knew my dad would’ve wanted me to enjoy it.
That was always his thing. You make the best of what you’ve got. Only back then, it had meant we made do with shitty canned food that tasted like metal most days. We’d cuddled as a family on cold nights and said not having the heat just gave us an excuse to be closer.
Dad had been too nice to ask for raises. Too worried about helping people to look for a better paying job. Back then, it had made me proud. Now it just made me feel sick and confused.
But I knew he’d hate the idea of me punishing myself by pretending the money wasn’t real. He’d tell me to have fun. Spoil yourself, kid.
I gripped the steering wheel, part of me wishing I could rip it in half and drive the car off a bridge. But I had work to do, didn’t I?
I thought about last night and felt some of the bitterness start to swirl inside me and turn to red-laced excitement.
It was like the moment before a fight, except more.
Charli fucking Rhodes.
She’d emerged from the lake like some goddamn figure out of a fairy tale. Like the woman in the lake from the story of King Arthur. Except the only sword she’d managed to raise up from the depths had been mine. And that had been unexpected. All I’d thought about for ten years was making her pay for what happened. I hadn’t considered how wanting a taste of her might complicate that plan.
I could still see the way she’d looked. It wasn’t even her body that had stuck in my head, even though I’d definitely noticed everything from the way the cold had hardened her nipples enough to make them press against her soaked, red bra. Or the way the light cast glistening patterns on her panties that gave me a clear view of every enticing secret hiding behind them.
She’d bared it all.
But what stuck with me was the look in her eyes.
She’d been defiant. Furious, even.
She walked right up to me with her shoulders back and her head held high, with fire in her eyes that no cold lake could dream of putting out. And she’d told me to try her.
I laughed at the memory and ran my thumb across the stubble on my chin. Try me.
Yeah, Charli. I think I will. And breaking you into a thousand pieces won’t be the cakewalk I was expecting. It might even be a challenge. Who knows, I might even take that taste of her I’d been thinking about since last night before it was all over.
Walter came into the garage just as I threw the car into reverse. My window was already down, or I would’ve just pretended I didn’t hear him calling after me.
“Hey.” He put his wrinkled hands on my door and leaned down. “I know it has been an adjustment. Me and your mom. And I know where your mind probably goes with the age difference. Believe it or not, I really do love her. I’m pretty sure she loves me, too. We’re going to do our—”
I revved the engine, drowning out his voice. I stared coldly at him, waiting for him to do something about it. He pursed his lips, looking annoyed for a moment, and then plastered that infuriatingly calm look of his all over his face.
Yeah. It was probably easy to be calm when your entire life had been a series of fortunate events. Just one jackpot after another. Me being a pain in his ass was probably a novelty he enjoyed like a tourist might enjoy touring a poor neighborhood. So this is how they live? So strange!
I locked eyes with him, taking my foot off the gas so the sound of the engine died down enough to be sure he’d hear me. “Fuck you, Walter.” I gunned the car into reverse then, hoping I might catch his toes under the wheel as I backed out. From the calm look on his face, I’d missed.
I shot him a middle finger for good measure, then headed to school.
8
Cassian
I sank into the stretch until I felt a tug in my hamstring, then relaxed. Usually, I was laser focused once my pads were on. All I could think about was hitting someone.
Imposing my will.
It was one of the few things in my life that still felt good. But I found myself distracted while I stretched. I barely even heard the chatter of my teammates as they rated which members of the cheerleading squad gave the best blowjobs.
My eyes were past the fence that circled the field and separated us from the track and the stretch of grass beyond. About thirty girls in skimpy, tight-fitting spandex style shorts and tank tops were stretching for track practice. Leave it to the track g
irls to find ways to show off their asses even when the weather was just above freezing.
Granted, I wasn’t complaining. I just admired their dedication.
But a few asses waving in my direction wouldn’t normally distract me from football. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them because Charli was with them, today.
She was out there, clad in tight shorts that reminded me of the tantalizing glimpse I’d had of her getting out of the lake a few weeks ago. I still hadn’t decided if fooling around with her was going to be on the menu of my revenge plan, but I was keeping an open mind.
Especially with the way she wore that outfit.
Gage roughly slid my helmet on my head, then drummed on it. “You ready to go, bitch?”
I tore my eyes from Charli to glare at him. Gage was our star defensive player, and most practices involved at least a handful of high-speed collisions between the two of us. I shoved him in the chest so he stumbled backwards a few steps. “Watch yourself out there, Winters.”
He hopped a few times, slapping his helmet as his eyes glazed over with the kind of battle lust only the football field seemed to bring out in him. I respected that about Gage. He might not take much seriously, but when he was on the field, he came to kick ass and do his job.
Two hours later, my body tingled with soreness and exhilaration. It had been a good practice, namely because some hotshot junior who transferred from Calvary High last week tried an open field tackle on me. I’d lowered my shoulder and he spent a solid minute on the ground before they could wake him up.
I was a firm believer in the idea that pain and suffering molded us into better people. So, in a lot of ways, I was fighting the good fight by being such an asshole.
I trailed behind the guys as they headed to the locker room to shower off. Most of the track kids had wrapped up practice, but I saw Charli and Zoe still out there. It looked like Zoe was trying to help Charli with her sprinting technique, but Charli still ran like a newborn giraffe.
I caught myself grinning, then decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
I jumped the fence and left my helmet on the field. I’d stripped out of my pads and shirt as well, which had been soaked through with sweat.
Both girls looked up sharply when they noticed me. Charli had been about to push off for another sprint, but she straightened self-consciously.
Zoe stepped in front of Charli. “Whatever you’re here to say, why don’t you save it.”
Charli put her hand on Zoe’s shoulder and moved toward me. “It’s okay. I can handle him.”
I laughed at that. “Can you?”
“You grew up and became a spoiled rich kid. You’re popular and you get off on making people feel bad about themselves. And you pathetically took off your shirt before you came over here to show off. Am I missing anything?”
I wanted to grin at that, but I carefully kept my expression neutral. “It sounds like you don’t know shit about me. But that’s fine, because I’m not interested in becoming buds. I just wanted to make sure you understand how this is going to work.”
Charli crossed her arms, clearly not wanting to indulge me by asking questions. But she also wasn’t walking away or changing the subject.
“Little by little,” I said. “You’ll realize coming back to Silver Falls was a mistake. You’re scorched earth. Untouchable. And every moment you think things are starting to go your way, I’ll be there to fuck it up. Understand?”
“What the hell is your problem?” Zoe actually gave me a little shove. She was surprisingly strong, but I held my ground.
“My problem? Why don’t you ask your new friend the full story behind her scar?” I took a few steps backward before turning to head back to grab my stuff. “I’ll be seeing you around, Charli.”
She flipped me the middle finger, but she wore a satisfyingly unsettled look on her face all the same.
9
Charli
I was sitting with Zoe and Marne—a girl from my physics class—at a table in the courtyard. The school was shaped like a big doughnut, with the buildings making up the outer ring and the inside being the courtyard. There were a few tables and benches spread outside that students could use if they wanted.
Cassian and the rest of the stupid “Greeks” all preferred to sit in the back corner of the cafeteria, and everyone else seemed too scared to even sit within a few tables of them.
From where we sat outside, I could see them through the windows that led to the lunchroom. Cassian’s broad back was to me, and he sat across from Logan and Gage. Today, Kennedy and Tristan had pulled up chairs and were sitting at the end of the table, too. Tristan seemed like the only one of the group who sometimes split off to be alone with Kennedy. The rest talked to girls at times, but it was always as a group. Like they were some kind of wolf pack.
“Only Tristan has a girlfriend?” My question came out of nowhere, and it drew curious looks from both Zoe and Marne.
Marne was wearing a thick camouflage jacket. She always looked like she was allergic to a hairbrush and couldn’t be bothered with makeup, but there was a kind of charm to it, all the same. Her mouth curved up in a smile. “Before Kennedy, no girl ever lasted more than a week or two with them. And even when they did date, they wouldn’t let them come to the table.”
Zoe nodded wisely. She was eating something that looked depressingly healthy and drinking a protein shake.
I popped a French fry in my mouth. I liked how grease tasted… Sue me. “So, what’s different about Kennedy?”
Marne waved a dismissive hand. “Long story short? Tristan has a wheelchair fetish.”
I squinted. “What? But Kennedy doesn’t even—”
“The real question,” Marne said, cutting me off. “Is why are you so interested? You know, I pretty much personally set up Kennedy with Tristan not so long ago. If you want an in, I’m basically the school’s most talented matchmaker.”
I looked to Zoe. “I can’t tell if she’s being serious.”
“She’s exaggerating. Heavily.”
“Look.” Marne leaned in. “Just tell me which one you’ve got eyes for. Logan, right? You want some of that easy charm? Or maybe you’re into Gage and his wits?”
“None of the above. I don’t—”
Marne sat back, eyes widening. “Cassian? Oh, my. You’re the kind of girl who would try to survive a bear attack by punching it instead of running, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t be attacked by a bear because I wouldn’t go into the woods in the first place.”
Marne laughed like I’d just said something ridiculous. “Nope. You know how many people die every year in their own driveways from bear attacks?”
“No?”
“I’m not sure, either,” Marne admitted. “I couldn’t figure out how to Google the question. But I’m betting it’s more than you’d think.”
I tried to hold back a smile. “Are we still talking about Cassian?”
“Cassian is the bear. And you can’t climb a tree to get away from a bear, because they’re faster climbers than you. You can’t run, because they can run close to thirty miles an hour. You can’t hide, because they can follow your scent. And fighting back? At least you get to die with dignity, but make no mistake, you’re going to die all the same.”
Zoe snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think Cassian Stone is going to go sniffing around the school until he finds Charli. She’s sitting right here, anyway. It wouldn’t be much of a hunt.”
“Just saying,” Marne said. “You poke the bear, and the bear’s going to get you. If you’re lucky, it’ll be a mama bear and she’ll think you’re some kind of deformed, diseased cub. Maybe she’ll take you back to her den and you could survive if you put on the acting performance of the century, but that’s like best case scenario.”
“I’m going to go tell him he’s an asshole.” My voice was quiet, and my eyes were locked on Cassian’s back.
Zoe and Marne didn’t say anything for a second, but they sh
ared a look, like they were making sure they heard me right.
“Charli,” Zoe said carefully. “I’m not sure that would be a great idea.”
“Poking the bear,” agreed Marne. “Besides, didn’t you just say you wouldn’t even go in the woods to begin with? That corner of the cafeteria is the woods.”
“He’s not a bear. He’s just a high school guy, and maybe his real problem is that everyone around here thinks he’s some kind of god. They’re too scared to call him on his bullshit. Not me. I’m not going to put up with it.”
I ignored Zoe and Marne’s attempts to talk me out of it. I got up and walked across the courtyard, never taking my eyes from him.
I was chronically introverted, but I also had a temper. The world had dealt me more than one shitty hand, and Cassian seemed to think he could shove a few more shitty cards in for his own amusement. He’d told Zoe to ask me about my scar yesterday after track practice. And once he’d turned to walk away, I’d been puzzled to see a gnarled, diagonal strip of his back was laced with scar tissue. It ran all the way from his shoulder blade to the middle of his back and was a few inches thick.
I’d recognized it as a burn scar immediately, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around how he could’ve wound up with an injury like that. Eventually, I’d convinced myself it was my imagination.
I still couldn’t believe him. What the hell had happened to make him so cruel? He knew I got that scar the same day I lost my mom, and he had to know how much it hurt to think about.
Of all people, I would’ve thought Cassian would be the last one to tease me about my scar, even if he had turned into a raging dickhead.
Well, I’d been too stunned to say what was on my mind yesterday. I had a full day to stew on it and get more pissed, though.
I yanked open the doors to the cafeteria and headed straight for his table—straight for the four guys who looked like they belonged on Mount Olympus with thunderbolts and tridents in their hands.
Savage Love Page 4
