Relief washes over me, and I press my face against his chest, breathing in his cologne. The scent of him calms me with ease, like magic. I’d stay here forever if it was an option.
“You’re not mad at me for taking his money?”
I snort and shake my head. “I’m mad at you for not taking more.”
Knox’s phone rings in his pocket, and I pull away as he takes it out. I watch the way his demeanor changes when he sees who it is, but before I can look, he hits ignore and puts it away.
“Is everything all right?”
He shakes whatever thoughts he was having from his mind and nods. “Yeah. Let’s go back out there, before they leave me with no weed.”
The two of us make our way back to the living room and retake our places on the couch. As Knox settles his head back in my lap, Gage hands him the blunt. I never thought I’d enjoy watching someone smoke, but the way he does it looks so fucking hot.
“Do you trust me?” he asks, a question I’ve heard a few times now.
I scrunch my nose up teasingly. “Maybe a bit.”
Hitting the blunt once more, he inhales deeply. Then, he uses his free hand to pull me down by the back of my neck, bringing my lips to his and releasing all the smoke into my mouth. I breathe it in as his tongue tangles with my own. It’s erotic, and sensual, and sexy as hell.
Everyone may have been right—Knox Vaughn is dangerous. A giant red flag, warning others to stay away, but red always has been my favorite color.
17
Knox
I pull my hood up, walking to the more hidden side of the school. Rain pours down harshly as the thunder rumbles. The shitty weather matches my mood.
Grayson looks up at me as I approach, concern etched across his face. “Dude, what the fuck? You missed the fight on Saturday, and Cal is fucking pissed. Apparently, he lost a hundred grand because you were considered a forfeit.”
My eyes roll. “Like he doesn’t have plenty more where that came from.”
Grabbing me by my sweatshirt, Gray catches me off guard and pins me up against the brick wall. “What the hell is wrong with you? Weren’t you the one who said these guys aren’t the people to mess with?”
I shove him off me. “I fucking killed someone, shithead! A kid with his whole damn life ahead of him! I took that away!”
“He knew what he was risking when he got into the ring.”
A humorless laugh emits from my mouth. “Knew what he was risking,” I mumble. “That doesn’t fucking make it okay! You may be all right with having a body count on your hands. You may have yourself convinced you did the right thing, but not me.” Taking a step away, I shake my head. “Worry about yourself, Pretty Boy. Don’t worry about me.”
He doesn’t try to stop me as I leave him standing there. Since the last fight I was in, where I took someone out of this world, I haven’t been back. Hell, I haven’t even gone to training. It’s a risky move, but I can’t find it in me to care.
Tyler Cayman. That’s the name of the kid who lost his life because of me. He was twenty and a student at North Haven University. According to what I could find on social media, he was trying to make enough money to buy his girlfriend an engagement ring. He had been taking MMA classes for a few years and must have thought that was the best way to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, the fight was rigged against him from the get-go.
After Delaney’s dad handed me twenty-five thousand dollars in cash, the first thing I did was anonymously donate half of it to provide Tyler’s family with enough money to give him a proper funeral. Cal, as usual, covered it up—put his body in an alley somewhere and made it look like he was jumped and got killed when he fought back, but I know the truth. The truth is, his death is on my hands, and that will never go away.
I PULL UP TO Delaney’s house on my motorcycle and make sure to rev the engine a bit. It may be a little too cold to ride comfortably, but I want as much noise as possible. I climb off and rest my helmet on the seat.
As I walk in the door of the oversized house, there doesn’t seem to be a person in sight. However, I know from the car parked outside, her father is in here somewhere. I play with the lighter in my hand before resting it on the banister and making my way upstairs.
The second I step into Delaney’s room, her eyes widen.
“What are you doing?”
I walk up and pull her into my arms, kissing her immediately. “I missed you.”
She gives me a knowing look. “If my dad finds you here, he’ll probably kill you.”
“Please. There’s only one Callahan that scares me, and it isn’t your dad.”