Kess was there, a bed sheet wrapped around her.
The moonlight was lit over her, casting half her body in shadows. I couldn’t see her face or her eyes. I needed to see her eyes.
I began to move toward her, but she tightened her grip on the sheet in front of her and stepped forward. I saw her eyes.
I wished I almost hadn’t.
Those eyes were fierce.
“You protected me for nine months?!”
Yeah. She really wasn’t happy.
9
Kess
Nine months!
I’d been under threat for nine months, and from the little Chris said, I knew there was a whole ton more he wasn’t saying.
There was a threat. He was young, so he’d been assigned to me. He watched me, and that was the gist of it. That was all he could tell me.
I wanted to rip him a new one, but I didn’t want to harm him. Fillet him with my words, maybe, but not real filleting.
Nine months and I had no idea.
Its why Heckler came in the first place, and he’d been so vague when I asked why he was here.
“Just tell me who it was from?”
We were sitting in his living room. He was standing, leaning against the wall. I was on the edge of the couch, my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.
“I can’t. The rumors were higher up so we couldn’t risk it. That’s seriously all I can say.”
I knew he couldn’t, but it was driving me crazy.
In danger. Nine months. My mind couldn’t wrap around that.
“That’s why you moved next door.”
He hesitated but nodded. “I installed a security system in your house. I could monitor you if something happened.”
“And school?”
“Your crew wasn’t in your first and seventh periods.” He shrugged. “So I was.”
He was right. They were in all my others. They were with me every other moment of the day, too. Lunch. After school. Except when I was home, and he was ‘monitoring’ me.
“How?”
He flinched at my tone. It was dull, grating.
He smoothed his hand through his hair. “I’d rather not tell you.”
“Christopher!”
He flinched a second time.
Wait. I narrowed my eyes. “What’s your club name?”
His jaw clenched. “Wraith.”
Wraith.
I screwed a Wraith.
I didn’t even want to know why he got that name.
“Oh my God!” I shoved to my feet, starting to pace. I slept with him, and I wanted to do it again. Who was I? I didn’t even recognize myself with him. One meeting, our food unfinished, and we’d gone at it four times. Four. Times.
I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.
This was…this was ridiculous!
Heckler. My own uncle. I growled, “I’m going to murder my uncle.”
Christopher or Wraith jumped in front of me, his hands up. “You can’t. They can’t know I told you. I don’t—I might’ve gotten more time. I don’t know, but if you call him, then that’s all done for and I don’t know what they’ll want me to do next.”
“Are you kidding me? You want more time?” I hissed.
“Well.” He dropped his hands, frowning. “Yeah.”
“Agh!” I screamed and shoved past him, going to his room and starting to dress.
“Babe.”
“Don’t!” I whipped back to him, one hand in the air and the other holding the sheet in front of me. “You are not my man or my boyfriend. You don’t get to ‘babe’ me.”
I dropped the sheet.
He groaned, raking his hand over his hair. “Fuck.”
I grabbed my clothes, shoving my arms into my top and my legs into my jeans.
I didn’t even remember where any of my stuff went
My phone.
My purse.
I stomped back to the front door,;there were my sandals. I didn’t remember toeing them off, but I must’ve.
“Come on, Kess. Please.”
I was so not listening to him.
Even if he was gorgeous…
And had protected me all year long…
Not happening.
Hell to the no.
But, oh man. How he felt in bed.
How he kissed me.
Slid inside of me.
He’d made me shatter in his arms, and not once or twice. Four times.
That was so not the norm.
I wrenched open the door—
His phone rang, peeling through the air.
I hesitated.
I hated that I hesitated.
He glanced down, then hit accept. “Max.”
I froze.
On the other end of the phone was someone seriously powerful. It shouldn’t have the power to impress me, but I couldn’t help it. I was impressed, and I found myself waiting. I didn’t know why. So yeah, I should go.
I was going.
Now.
Right now.
I was so going.
Damn. I was still here.
And I heard Chris saying, “I might have a situation here.” A pause. “Okay. I’ll take her.”
He hung up, and now I really needed to go.
This time, I was going to do it. Go. Move forward.
Then he said, “Your friend Johnny…”
I frowned. “Yeah?”
He finished, “He’s in trouble.”
10
Wraith
We went on my bike, heading out of Roussou toward Callyspo.
I didn’t really know these guys well. They were a local charter in Frisco, but they asked to meet in Callyspo. There’d been a new setup put in charge. Things got messy a bit ago, so some restructuring was needed. That was before my uncle began to move south. When we rode in, I didn’t stop and plan for Kess. Or for her reaction.