“Is this until graduation or after?” I asked. “Because I can see that look on all of your faces. Emily isn’t a quick fuck. She’s not a piece of weekend fun. We do this, it has to be for life. We know our parents won’t agree to this. She will only ever be able to have kids one at a time.”
“Unless we are fucking lucky, and she gives us all twins,” Gael said. “I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, and that’s not about to change now.”
I shook my head. “So let’s call this to graduation. None of us make plans until after then.”
“What about her proposed?” Vadik asked. “According to my dad, they didn’t resolve that issue.”
“But they’re looking into it,” Caleb said. “There’s no way they’re going to allow this to go ahead, not this year. I doubt it.”
“Just because we don’t think it will happen doesn’t mean it won’t,” I said. They had to keep their heads on straight, otherwise, they were in for a shock.
Gael pulled his sleeve up. “It’s time we got the hell out of here. I don’t want to be late for class. I hear it’s going to be exciting.”
“Do we have any ground rules?” I asked.
They all stopped walking to their respective cars. I drove in with Caleb.
“What do you mean rules?”
“If one of us fucks her? None of us. Can we kiss her? Can we treat her like our own or do we have to wait until each other shows up?” I wanted to make sure we remain friends. They seemed oblivious to the possible repercussions of falling for the same girl. My dad had warned me last night how vital it was for me to keep my head on straight.
“We don’t have to be in a group. That’s not going to win her over,” Caleb said. “And I’m not waiting around for you fuckers. You have a chance with her, you take it. End of.”
That was all I needed to hear.
Moving toward the car, I climbed into the passenger side just as Caleb fired up the car.
“What was with all your questions this morning?” Caleb asked.
“I want to make sure I’m clear on all the fine points. Our friendship comes first. It always will.”
Caleb sighed. “You think she’s a problem? If you don’t want her…”
“You don’t have a clue right now. Just drive.”
“You think you can get away with telling me what to do?”
“I just did.” I smiled as I turn toward him. “And you’re doing it.”
“Asshole.”
I was just having a joke. I rarely did it anymore. Since my kidnapping, I’d become the more serious one of the group. Seeing as Caleb was our leader, that had to say something. I remember pissing him off because I didn’t take anything too seriously I’d joke with Gael, constantly pulling pranks. It pissed Caleb and Vadik off all the time.
We were all the best of friends, but that didn’t mean either of us had our true soul mate as a friend. Mine used to be Gael.
Now, I didn’t know who it was.
Vadik and Caleb were their own little unit at one point. Both of them serious. Both of them ready to take on the world, but then they were older than us by a couple of days.
“You do want her?”
“Caleb, I’ve wanted her for a lot longer than the past few weeks.” I rolled my head to look at him. “I just don’t talk about it as she was off-limits.”
“She is off-limits. My dad said. Not until he’s figured out this deal.”
“Let’s talk business.” I’d rather talk shop than my feelings when it came to Emily. We were the best of friends, but some shit wasn’t up for sharing. “Bernard Crane isn’t a Monster. He’s not even high up in the food chain, yet, if you looked at that house last night.”
“He’s not hurting for cash,” Caleb said. “I did notice that.”
“He runs a couple of gambling joints, deals with a few MCs.” I stopped.
“You have a feeling he’s the one who sent the bikers?” Caleb asked.
“I have no idea. You think he would?”
“I don’t know. Yesterday I’d have said not a chance, but after last night, I’ve got a feeling there’s more to Bernard Crane than we want to know.”
I didn’t like where my thoughts were going.
“If he turns out to be a traitor, Caleb… You know what this means?”
“Yes.”
Emily would be the one to pay the price along with her father, brother, and mother. Even the damn family pets, but it didn’t appear as if he owned any dogs or cats.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“We wait. We keep a close eye on Emily, and an even closer one on our dads. We stay by their side. We stay in the loop. No slacking off. We need to give Gael and Vadik the update.” Caleb slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “I knew he was a piece of shit. Fucking knew it.”