He pulls away from me. “They’ve been on a break.”
“Is that what she told you?” I snap. What the fuck? I’m so glad Deke didn’t make it out with us tonight. I wouldn’t even be having this conversation with Eli right now. He’d be passed out cold with Deke’s fist print in the side of his face. “You know she’s off-limits.”
He places his hands on my shoulders. I don’t know if it’s to help stabilize his drunk ass or mine. “Listen, Cole.” His heavy eyes close and then open again. “If Deke wanted her, all he had to do was make his move.” He goes to walk back over to her, but I yank him back.
“End it now!” I’m about to punch him myself.
“No!” He pulls away from me.
“End it right fucking now, Eli!”
We have a code.
We don’t fuck or date the girls who one of us likes. I mean, sure we’ve shared girls, but they didn’t mean anything. Off-limits means you don’t even fucking look at them.
He ignores me as he walks over to her and kisses her again. Landen and Maddox look at me like I’m supposed to do something about it, but what the fuck can I do?
“Let’s go!” I snap and walk over to the car.
“Let Becky drive,” Eli offers.
“Fuck that!” She’s not even getting in my car!
I go to open the driver’s door, and he comes to stand between the door and me. “Let Becky drive,” he repeats. “She’s the only one sober.”
I look over at her. I wouldn’t say Becky Holt is a slut, but she is quickly making the cut. She wears a white crop top with sparkly pink writing on it and a pair of short shorts that shows off her ass. “How did you get here?” I demand.
“A friend dropped me off.”
My phone beeps, and I pull it out of my back pocket to see a text from the girl I plan on hooking up with tonight.
Where are you?
I run a hand through my hair but don’t respond and narrow my eyes on Eli. “Tomorrow, you are telling him.” I will not be in the middle of this shit! If he doesn’t tell him, then I will. This is his only chance to make it right.
“Tell who what?” Becky asks, flipping her hair to her side.
“Eli?” I growl when he ignores me.
He nods. “Tomorrow.”
I toss Becky the keys. “All of you fuckers are riding in the back.” Then I walk around the car and climb into the passenger seat and put on my seat belt, cussing them all.
She gets in, hands the guys the thirty pack she brought them, and starts the car up. “Riot” by Hollywood Undead blares through my speakers. The guys climb into the back, laughing and shoving each other around. I pull out my cell to text the girl back that I’ll be at her place soon.
“He was going to tell you the next day,” I say, my chest tightening at that memory. Minutes later, my best friends were gone, and everything changed. Who and what Eli was doing no longer mattered because he was dead. And after all we had been through as brothers, I didn’t want Deke to remember Eli as the friend who betrayed and fucked the girl he loved.
Deke begins to pace the clubhouse.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Austin says. “Why wouldn’t she take the blame? You said she was sober, so why run?”
“It was … complicated.” I sigh. My eyes go to Deke really quick, and he’s still pacing. His shoulders pulled back, and his entire body rigid. He’s gonna snap any second.
“Why?” she urges.
I look back at her and run a hand through my hair. Why? “Because I told her to.”
I blink, trying to see, but a cloud of dust covers the car. My ears ring, and I’m upside down. My head pounds from all the blood rushing to it. “Eli?” Cough. “Mad … dox?” Glass covers the inside of the car along with beer cans. Some full. Others empty. My skin stings from the impact of the airbag. The front windshield is completely missing, and I smell blood.
I hear someone cry out in pain, and I look around to see Becky beside me. She too is upside down ’cause she was wearing her seat belt. “You okay?” I ask, coughing again. It makes me flinch.
Her blond hair touches the roof of the car, and her nose is bleeding. Her crop top is ripped and also has blood on it. “I don’t know … what happened,” she cries.
“We gotta get out of the car,” I say as my bearings begin to come back. “Eli? Landen?” I scream. My throat burns, and I try to swallow, but it’s painful.
She sobs.
I place my right hand on the roof and hiss in a breath when a pain shoots down my side and upper chest. So I place my left hand on the ceiling while I undo my seat belt. I try to hold myself up, but I fall flat on my face. Right into the broken glass. “FFFUUCCCKKK!” I growl between clenched teeth. I manage to get my body out of my broken passenger side window and stumble over to the driver’s side of the car. I get down on my knees and see her window is also missing, but pieces of shattered glass are still in around the edges. “Cover your face,” I order and kick the big shards out of the way. “I’m gonna have to undo your seat belt,” I tell her. “Put your hands on the ceiling.”