Page 58 of Havoc at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys 1)
“How would I know that? He dumped me to join Havoc. He tortured me for half a year.”
“I barely managed to keep the girls from ending up in foster care.”
I bite my lower lip to hold back a sound of frustration. Today has been … less than stellar, my arm still hurts like a bitch, my body still remembers the feel of Vic, and now I’ve added worry about Aaron on top of it all.
Besides, if my mom actually checks her phone messages and finds out that I’ve been suspended, who knows what kind of shit will go down?
“Mm.” Hael doesn’t bother to respond. Instead, he turns the engine off and lets the rain pound the windshield. “You finally got Vic to crack, huh?”
“Excuse me?” I pause with one hand on the door handle, my gaze landing on the ridiculously smug expression on Hael Harbin’s face. “What makes you say that?”
He reaches out and grabs the edge of my shorts, giving them a little tug.
“How was it then?” he asks, and then quirks up one corner of his mouth in a cocksure sort of smile, like he already knows the answer to that question. “The sex, I mean. Did you like what he did to you, Blackbird?”
“Fuck you, Hael,” I snap, climbing out into the rain and taking off for the doors of the library. They’re locked, so I knock and wait patiently for one of the staff members to open them. I’ve been authorized as Heather’s emergency contact since I was sixteen years old, a blessing I don’t dare risk. If Mom or the Thing wanted, they could take away my authority to pick up my sister. It’s a threat and a punishment I don’t think they’ve thought of, a secret that I keep carefully guarded.
“We’re working on creative writing,” Heather tells me excitedly as I smooth her hair back and adjust her ponytail, thanking the teacher and apologizing for barging in before the end of class.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, my mind a million miles away. Why did Aaron risk everything to stand up for me today? Because he’s in love with me? Hael is full of shit. There’s just no way. Sacrificing me for the sake of his sister and cousin, that’s what makes sense. No wonder Kali was able to hire Havoc …
“My story’s about a YouTube star who videos unicorns and nobody believes they’re real,” she continues as we near Hael’s Camaro. “Whose car is this?” she asks me, standing back as I open the door and pull the front seat forward. When she spots the red-haired asshole behind the wheel, her suspicion rachets up another notch. “I’m not supposed to get in cars with strangers.”
“Heather, please, not today,” I say with a tired sigh, but she still doesn’t look like she’s about to budge. “You’re having a playdate with Kara and her cousin, Ashley. You remember Kara, don’t you?” After a moment, Heather nods and finally moves forward, handing me her backpack. I toss it on the floor as she climbs into the back and fastens her seatbelt. “Heather, this is Hael.”
“Hi Hael,” she says suspiciously, and he quirks a dark smile.
“Hey cutie.” He turns on the car and revs the engine, making Heather grin. “You like sportscars?”
Heather nods, pretending to examine the interior of the Camaro.
“This one seems pretty nice,” she admits reluctantly, and Hael laughs, hitting the gas and sending us flying down the wet road through massive puddles, spraying water in waves across the empty sidewalks. Heather laughs, but I frown. I’m not about to believe that these boys, who made me fear for my safety on a daily basis, are suddenly angels with kids.
Hael takes us the back way toward Aaron’s, splattering mud across the shiny surface of his car and making Heather giggle uncontrollably. When we get there, Vic’s waiting with the girls in the living room, and every warning bell I have goes off when his dark eyes land on my sister.
He’s the biggest monster of them all, the leader of the monsters, the one who paints nightmares in the dark with a brush of shadows.
My hand tightens on Heather’s shoulder, and she lets out a small sound of pain.
“Relax, Bernadette,” Vic says, rising to his feet, his full mouth etched into a tight frown. He comes up to stand beside me, and growls into my ear. “Don’t worry: I’m leaving.” Snatching one of Aaron’s leather jackets off the hook, Vic opens the front door and glances over his shoulder at Hael. “Stay here until I say otherwise, and don’t worry about your mom. I’ll handle her.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” Hael grinds out, but Vic just slips out the door and slams it behind him.
Only then do I release Heather’s shoulder. She rushes forward to join Kara and Ashley at the table where, apparently, Vic had started them on an art project of some sort. There are bits of colored paper everywhere, bottles of sparkly glue, and sequins galore. Also, they’re filming the whole thing with Vic’s phone, intent on making a YouTube video.
