Page 23 of Anarchy at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys 4)
And it’s true.
I am.
“Bernadette.” I hear my name being called from the shadows of the trees and my blood runs cold. It’s fucking Kali. She must know that there’s no hope for her, not anymore. She must know that she’s going to die.
My hands tighten into fists as Hael releases his hold on my mouth. He doesn’t, however, release the arm around my neck. With good reason, too. He must feel the way I’m trembling, must sense the violence in my veins. It percolates through me, a feud in need of an abrupt ending, a destiny begging to be shrouded in blood.
Kali Rose has lost. It’s over. I just need to go in for the killing blow; I just need to finish it.
“Bernie,” she coos again, but Hael keeps me close against him. I can hear his heart thundering like crazy behind me, but as we wait there in the dark and the cold, the distant edge of metal music making its way to us, he slows his breathing until it seems like he’s holding it. But no, Hael’s just a predator lying in wait. “I gotta say, I can understand why you forgave Aaron.” A pause. She sounds a bit louder now, like she’s moving closer. “Why you took him back. That cock is legendary.” Her laugh echoes through the trees, and I decide then that she’s much worse than I even imagined.
A liar, a cheater, a thief, yes. But a sociopath? That’s a new one. Good work, Kali, you managed to surprise even me, and I’m not so easily surprised. The one female rapist in the entire county and I managed to get on her bad side.
I grit my teeth so hard that my jaw aches.
“Keep it together, Blackbird,” Hael murmurs against my ear, stoking the fire burning in my belly. The beast inside of me writhes, mixed up in a dark space between love and hate. I love Hael. I hate Kali. The intensity levels are hard to separate. I feel both violent and horny at the same time.
“He didn’t seem to mind it either, me riding him into oblivion,” she muses, and a branch snaps nearby.
Hael shoves me forward so hard that I stumble, my knees hitting the dirt. And then he’s on this guy who’s dressed in all black and wearing a mask like covid-19 is making a comeback. I manage to get my feet just as I see Kali emerge from the edge of the trees.
Our eyes meet, and we both know that it’s time.
There’s no hesitation as she raises a gun with both hands and fires at me. She’s a crappy shot though, so the bullet lodges itself into the old wood of the playground structure instead. Kali fires off a second round as I take off, using the play equipment for cover. I go for Hael first because, like I said, I’ve finally realized what’s truly important, and it isn’t vengeance. It’s motherfucking family.
But then Kali aims at Hael instead, and my vision goes red.
I fire my own weapon at her, emptying the magazine as she ducks back into the trees and I follow after. I know that I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. We need to find Aaron. This might be my one and only chance to see what Kali really knows.
Bare feet pounding across the dirt, I take off in that stupid pink dress, running full tilt into the trees. Kali is expecting me. She appears from behind a wide trunk, gun in hand, but I’m moving too fast and she just isn’t good enough with that gun to get me before I slam into her.
We tumble into the bushes together, my pink flouncy skirts catching on blackberry thorns and tearing as we hit the ground hard. Kali lets out a grunt, her clawed hands scrabbling at me as I struggle to get my gun pressed to her skull. It’s empty, but she doesn’t know that.
“Where the fuck is Aaron?” I growl, and she laughs at me, actually laughs at me when I have a gun to her head.
“Like I’d tell you shit. You’re going to kill me either way.” Kali reaches up and curls her hand around the gun, forcing my finger to pull the trigger. The empty click makes her laugh, but I just pull back and pistol-whip her for the second time that night. She takes the opportunity to pull a knife on me, shoving the blade into my side before I can react. “You think you’re such a good person, Bernadette. It’s sad. You’re just as ugly and broken as the rest of us.”
Pain washes over me in a scalding wave as I choke and drop the empty pistol to the dirt. It suddenly feels like I can’t breathe, but I force my body to do it anyway and shudder with the effort. My hand grasps for the knife, fingers turning sticky with blood.
