I Dare You (Dare 1)

Kellan, on the other hand, begged for his life. I told him outside the clubhouse that night that I found Austin’s cell in his car that I was going to kill him with my bare hands, and I did just that. I hated that he was already almost dead when we found him, but a part of me, a very big part, was proud of what Austin did. She fought. She did what I knew she was capable of.

And as for her mom and stepdad? Austin never came out and asked me, but I didn’t have to tell her—I took care of them. Deke helped me. We made it quick for her mother, but her stepdad suffered. He also cried like the little bitch he was. Their bodies will never be found. Or missed.

After I found Austin lying there in her own blood with no pulse, I just wanted to move on. Put all the dares and deaths behind me. After I killed Kellan, I no longer had a need for blood. To kill. Once again, she had changed me.

I twirl the wedding ring on my left hand as I turn back to face the grave. I look over it with a sad smile and let out a long breath. “I’ll be back to visit soon. I love and miss you,” I say and then give it my back.

I walk down the hill, passing the spot where it all began. Where I found the gorgeous brunette spying on my friends and me, and I smile. That was so long ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

I come to the bottom of the hill and see the black lifted Chevy come into view. The passenger door opens, and a little boy jumps out—my five-year-old son. “Daddy!” he says, running to me.

I open my arms and pick him up. “Hey, buddy. Ready to go home?” I ask him.

He nods. “Mommy is hungry.”

I laugh at that. “Mommy is always hungry.” Setting him back down on his feet, I look up to see my wife slowly getting out of the truck.

“We should have driven my car,” she whines, rubbing her growing belly and aching back. “You can’t expect me to get up and out of this monster at six months pregnant. She’s really active today.”

I chuckle, stepping to her. My hand sliding into her hair. “Have I told you that you look gorgeous today and that I love you?”

“I’m a whale,” she whines.

I kiss her red painted lips. “You’re a shark, sweetheart.”

She pulls away, and her green eyes search mine. “Are you okay?” she asks, and her eyes go to the top of the hill.

I nod. “I said what I needed to.”

“I wish Lilly could have made it,” she says, and tears start to form in her eyes. I still find her beautiful when she cries. And she does that a lot with this pregnancy.

“Me too. Maybe next time.”

She nods and looks over at our son who is digging in the dirt. “Come on, Eli,” she calls out, and he dusts off his hands and runs over to her.

I turn and look back over the hill where my mother was buried long ago. I used to ask myself why I survived that car crash. And then one night, I found a girl in a cemetery and all my questions were answered.

I’ve never been a religious man, but I prayed that night I found her on the kitchen floor, and for some reason, God answered them and gave her back to me. Gave me another chance at living. Because without her, I wouldn’t have survived.

It’s been two months since she was released from the hospital, and we’ve officially moved into the place we call home in Texas. She sits with Becky at our kitchen table. Her morning hair a mess and no makeup on her face. I’ve never seen her more beautiful.

Becky looks up at me, and her words trail off.

Austin looks over her shoulder at me, and a smile spreads across her face when her eyes meet mine. But it drops when I don’t return it. “You’re up to something.”

“Aren’t I always?” I ask with a straight face.

Her eyes narrow on me. “Cole …”

When I kneel on one knee, her words cut off and those dark green eyes widen in surprise. “Cole,” she whispers my name.