Renegade Hearts (Rebels of Sandland 1)

“Careful you don’t choke on all that shit you talk.”

“What makes you think it’s all talk?”

In that instance, I couldn’t hold back, and I turned around to face him, ready to go toe-to-toe with Ryan bloody Hardy, but when I did, he’d disappeared into the crowd. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to see around the people behind me, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I shook my head at his cowardice and turned back around, but Brandon Mathers had gone too, and I was left standing in a room that felt like a pressure cooker and I was the one about to explode.

Ryan Hardy had made my blood boil and turned my body inside out and I hadn’t even looked at him. Brandon Mathers had psyched me out with nothing but the evil behind his eyes. And now, I needed to get out of that room, away from these boys, and digest whatever had gone down here tonight. To them, me and my father were one and the same, and they hated my father with a passion.

I shoved my way past the people in that room, elbowing and shouldering my way towards the door, but when I got there I couldn’t get down the corridor to go back the way I came. Crowds of people were blocking my way and I suddenly felt vulnerable and alone. A perfect target. A sitting duck.

I turned and headed in the opposite direction. The passageway was quieter, and I didn’t stop to think about where it would lead. More concerned about getting myself as far away from the boys as I could. I say boys, but they were three years older than me. The same age as Danny, who would’ve been twenty-one next month. I started off speed-walking, but as I wound my way through the corridors underneath this forgotten, shithole dump of a warehouse, I started to feel the nerves and fear settle in. So I picked up the pace, jogging through the maze of identical corridors and getting nowhere. I could hear the thumping bass above me, but why wasn’t I getting any nearer to the exit? Where were the damn stairs?

I heard a bang in the distance that made me jump. It sounded like a door crashing against a wall, and on instinct I turned my head, but no one was there. Then I heard another louder bang, like someone was hitting something off the walls. Maybe a bat slamming over and over again, only this sound was getting closer and closer. Another bang and then another. Jesus, I was stuck in a bad nineties’ horror movie, just like I’d joked about earlier. Only, I wasn’t laughing this time. This felt all too real. The banging got louder, a regular beat, like someone was heading towards me, stalking me. Then I heard a man’s laughter. Low, wicked cackles reverberating off the walls and into my very soul. I wasn’t sticking around to see how this movie ended. I ran like my life depended on it, heading towards a set of doors at the end of the corridor. When I reached them, I threw the doors open to escape. All the time, I could feel the weight of someone following me. Chasing me down like a hunter toying with it’s prey. But I wasn’t anyone’s prey. Not today. Not ever.

I fell out into the night air and panted as I ran across the grass towards the metal fence. I stopped and turned around, expecting to see someone, anyone come out after me, but I didn’t. It was just me, back outside. Alone. I bent forward, trying to catch my breath, gasping like I’d run a marathon.

“Are you okay?”

I jumped up at the sound of a voice. It was Finn Knowles, walking hesitantly towards me with his hands outstretched like that’d show me how friendly and non-threatening he was.

“I’m fine,” I panted back. “No thanks to your loser asshole friends.”

“I’ve no idea what’s gone on, but you shouldn’t be on your own out here.”

No shit, Sherlock.

“Do you want me to go inside and get your friends?” What was this guy’s deal? He actually seemed human compared to the other two I’d encountered tonight.

“I’ll be fine.” I shrugged, feeling anything but.

“No, you’re not.” He took a tentative step towards me. “You’re Danny’s sister, aren’t you? Emily? I saw you came here with Effy. I’ll go and get her.” He didn’t wait for my response, just stalked off and left me, mouth wide open, wondering what the fuck the deal was with these guys.

Ryan and Brandon had tried to floor me with their fucked-up games, and yet it was the kindness of Finn Knowles that totally knocked me off my feet. I didn’t know which way was up and which was down, but I was sure of one thing, I was relieved that he was going to get Effy and Liv for me. I didn’t want to stay here a minute longer than I had to. The Renaissance assholes had played with me enough for one night.

Their time would come though.

I hadn’t finished with them either.

“What the fuck was that?” Brandon said, wiping his sweaty blood-soaked towel over his face and grimacing at me. It wasn’t the pain of the punches he’d received tonight that’d made him wince. No, that was all my doing. He wasn’t happy, and he was about to make damn sure I knew about it. I couldn’t give a fuck. He didn’t run this show.

“Fuck you. I don’t know what you think you saw, but you know fuck all,” I spat back. I wasn’t about to take shit from anyone, least of all my best mate who knew how to piss me off better than anyone.

“You and her. The little whispers,” he said, screwing his face up. “You had your face buried so far into her neck you looked like you were on a fucking date, making out.”

“Jealous?” I grinned back at him.

He threw his towel down onto a plastic chair in the corner and folded his arms over his chest.

“Maybe. Maybe I don’t want to miss out on all the fun. If we’re gonna fuck with her, I’d like to do some of the fucking too.”

The minute he said that my blood started to boil and my muscles clenched in anger. I wanted to knock him the fuck out. She wasn’t his to play around with. She wasn’t his to even talk about or think about.

“No one is going to fuck with that girl… Except me. I swear to God, Brandon, stay the fuck away.” I pointed at him, my teeth gritted so tightly I felt like I could’ve broken my jaw. He held his hands up and laughed like what I’d said was fucking funny. It wasn’t. He knew the score. The Winters were fair game. But Emily? She was mine.

“Dude, you need to chill the fuck out.” He flicked his towel off the chair and onto the floor then sat down. “It’s one thing to chase her down a corridor and scare the shit out of her, but that’s high school crap, man. We need to step it up. If you want to fuck with Daddy Winters, really fuck him over, she’s your best bet. She is the key to all this. And he owes us big time.”

Zak chose that exact moment to walk in. I could still hear the music playing above us and I glanced up and over to where he stood by the door.

“Did you stick a mixtape on?” I joked.