A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

“Taryn.” He silenced me, moving towards me. “I mean it. I don’t want you there. I don’t even want Brian there.”

“You don’t?”

Jace gestured to Tray. “Drive her back.” As Tray took my arm, Jace said to me, “I’ll keep Brian away from you. I promise. Go back to Rawley.” He took both my shoulders in his hands and leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead. “Go back to that new family. You’re better off.” He squeezed my shoulders. “Make something of yourself, Taryn. A chance like this don’t come along often. Grab it while you can.”

As we left, I couldn’t get Jace’s words out of my head. A shiver went down my back, and as we left Pedlam behind us, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

*

His phone kept ringing as we drove back to Rawley.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

He kept his eyes on the road. “Because they’re drunk.”

As it began ringing again, I saw the name Adrian Do Not Answer flashing across his screen. Tray knew what I was going to do. A small grin lifted the corner of his mouth, but he kept driving. He was going to let me do whatever I wanted. At that idea, my own wicked grin formed on my face, and I hit the answer button. “Hello?”

For thirty seconds, there was silence before she said, “Who is this?”

“Tray can’t talk right now. He’s too busy with me.” Tray turned to me and my cheeks warmed, but I didn’t look at him. I moaned into the phone then. “He’s soo good, ooh my gawwd.”

Silence again. I waited. When the silence stretched, I let out another groan and then she screeched. “Who are you?”

I laughed. “The girl that took your place.” Ending the call, I handed it back to him. “I hope that was alright?”

He took it, pressed a button, and dropped it into the console between us. “I think you took care of a problem for me. I should be thanking you.”

I laughed; the idea of Tray owing me sent a host of sensations through me. Then my phone rang and all that went away. “Are you kidding me?” Expecting Brian, the small burst of anger fizzled to concern. “It’s Mandy.”

She rushed out, “Devon and I broke up. I was right. He’s been sleeping with Jennica. Jennica of all people! I caught ‘em in one of the bedrooms.” She stopped as a sob came out. “I hate that bitch!”

“Mandy, I’m so sorry.”

“I hate her, I hate her so damn much. What am I going to do? It’s going to be all over school!”

“Fuck school. You don’t let her get away with this.”

“I know, but what can I do? I’ll get caught whatever I do and then I’ll get suspended. I can’t do that. Mom and Dad would be furious with me. I might lose my scholarship to Brown next year.”

Here it was. This was when

I stepped forward and offered my criminal skills. Fuck my family. Fuck my future. My sister was hurting. I might not have been willing to throw it all down the drain for Tray, but this was different. My old protectiveness came out. Mandy was family. Enough said.

“Mandy.”

Tray frowned, hearing the sudden seriousness in my tone. He glanced at me. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do, but I was going to do something, and it wasn’t going to be legal. I wanted to give her some form of comfort, but if she knew, she’d want in and she could get in trouble with me.

“What?” She paused in between her sobs and a hiccup. “Taryn?”

“Nothing.” I forced those words down. “Where are you?”

She hiccupped again. “I’m coming back. I made one of the guys drive me back. Taryn,” she started crying again, “I couldn’t stay there. They didn’t even stop. She saw me and kept going. I couldn’t stay there. I would’ve—”

I jerked forward in my seat. She couldn’t do anything. It was better if I got in trouble, not her. Mandy was good. Mandy was normal. She had a future. Mine was still in question. I shook my head. “You didn’t do anything, did you?”

“No,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “but I wanted to. I wanted to hurt them, Taryn. What am I going to do? Oh my god.” She dissolved back into tears. “I hate Devon. I absolutely hate Devon. I’m going to…I’m going to key his car; that’s what I’m going to do.”

The car slowed as we turned into Tray’s driveway. I said to her, “Just come to Tray’s. I’m here. I’ll wait for you.”