Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

“Don’t worry. I’m going to need you alive for that deal.” I can picture him smirking.

“How can you be so sure you’ll win anyway?”

“Have you seen Kendrick? Go see him and you’ll understand.”

Heart squeeze.

I try to brush off the guilt, well aware that if I let it in, I’ll drown in it. Haze carries on with his “let’s see how fast we can go without dying” game for a little while. Then he finally slows down.

“They’re gone.”

The fear infiltrates my entire being. It’s just me and him now.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“Somewhere crowded.”

I sigh. “What’s with the mystery?”

“The ladies love it.”

And the best question avoider award goes to Haze Adams.

When he pulls up in front of a restaurant that looks like it came right from the ’50s, I glance up at the sign that reads Debbie’s Diner. It does look as crowded as it could possibly get. We walk into the restaurant where everything reminds me of the movie Grease. A kind-looking waitress walks up to us, and before I know it, we’re sitting in a red booth, waiting for her to return with our coffees.

“Nice place,” I begin. “You come here often?”

“I used to.” He avoids my eyes, apparently not interested in discussing this topic any further.

I don’t reply, wondering why he always does that. Any question that’s even a little bit personal turns him into this cold, unreceptive person. Then as soon as the subject changes, he’s back to his regular annoyingly charming, overconfident, and mocking self.

“You wanted to talk. Let’s talk.” He takes his jacket off, revealing a black T-shirt that makes his buff arms unmissable. The ink on his left arm captures my eyes. He has numbers tattooed on his forearm. 04/16. I wonder what it means. A date maybe?

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?” He leans back into the booth, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing up at me with a familiar grin on his face.

“You stopped the fight?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, thank you for saving my cousin.”

“I didn’t do it for him. Don’t thank me.”

“Then why?”

“The only reason Kendrick was stupid enough to attack my brother is because of what Tanner did to you. I shouldn’t have left you alone with him. It was a mistake. People may call me heartless, but I have a code, and there’s nothing I hate more than seeing a woman get hurt.”

His words catch me off guard. They bring me back to the night of the party when I heard him say to Bianca that he warned her about only wanting casual sex. Yes, it isn’t okay to keep sleeping with her even when he knows she loves him, but making sure that she knew where they stood before getting involved with her is better than telling her he wants a relationship to get into her pants. He has this sort of “honor” to him that I never would’ve suspected.

“Too bad your code missed a generation.” I can’t help but wince, my neck still sore.

“Can I see?”

His penetrating blue eyes collide with mine, and I find myself unable to move away. I nod, unsure.

He leans in over the table and gently pushes my hair off my neck with his hand. I shiver at the contact. His eyes darken when they meet the marks on my skin.