“Why the fuck would you want to have sex with Devlin Darling?” King asks, his voice hard. I’ve heard him use that voice before, but not with me. Never with me.
“I’m sorry I’m not your perfect little angel,” I say. “I’m sorry I’m not your little girl anymore, Daddy. But I’m not. I’m not a kid, no matter how much you all treat me that way. I’m the same age as all of you. And none of you are anywhere close to pure, so why do you expect me to be?”
No one speaks. I sit there another minute, fighting to get myself under control. When it’s clear that no one has anything to say to me anymore, I stand. I take a deep breath and start for the door. In the doorway, I stop and turn back.
“I’m not pressing charges. If the Darlings did something to Royal, I will personally bring them to their knees, but I’m not going to lie and say something happened when it didn’t. Because it didn’t. And if any one of you can tell me you’ve never hooked up with someone and later realized it was a mistake, you can come and lecture me some more. Otherwise, I’m done talking about it.”
In my room, I cross to the door and step out onto the balcony as if drawn by some invisible, magnetic force. I stare across the space between our houses, my eyes fixing on a figure standing at the black railing of their balcony. For a second, neither of us moves. We’re too far apart for me to read his expression, but I swear I can feel the caress of his heated gaze on my skin.
I turn away, step back into my room, close the balcony window, and pull the curtains all the way shut.
four
Devlin
“We’ve got a problem,” I say into my phone, watching from the window as Dad walks Officer Gunn to his cruiser.
“Is it something that can be cured by six to eight weeks of antibiotics?” Preston jokes.
“Not now,” I snap.
“What’s up?” Colt asks, yawning through the phone.
“The cops are here,” I answer.
“The cops?” Preston asks, disdain in his voice. “What do they want?”
“They want to know where Crystal’s brother is,” I answer. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Now he’sCrystal’s brother?” Preston asks. “Damn, man. Say it ain’t so.”
“You got the hots for your dog?” Colt asks. “I mean, shit, I don’t blame you. She’s hot. I’d do her.”
“Focus,” I growl.
“Whatever you say, Captain,” Preston says, but I can hear laughter in the bastard’s voice. “I’ll let my dad know, and he’ll tell Gramps.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I ask, hooking a finger in the curtain and pulling it back to see out the window. This time, I’m not looking down at the policeman and Dad chatting like old friends. Officer Gunn is solid. I’m not worried about him doing anything shady. What I’m worried about is the fact that I have no fucking clue what angle the Dolces are playing this time. Fucking Crystal was supposed break them, and send them slinking back to Manhattan like they did the last time.
I thought it would be over, that we’d win, and I could stop doing this shit. But we didn’t win. And now they’ve upped the stakes to a whole new level of fucked up, going further than we dreamed they’d go—further than we’re willing to go. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do to protect our family but fold.
The heavy stone of dread in my gut tells me Gramps would not agree.
five
Crystal
It’s Monday, but there’s no school for the Dolces today. How can I go back to school, walk those halls, face the people who have hurt me, without my strength, my comfort, my anchor? Without him, I’m untethered, unmoored, a ship lost at sea.
The next morning, Royal has not returned. Our property, as well as every property in our neighborhood, has been scoured by policemen and volunteers and dogs. There is no sign of Royal except the single drop of blood.
“Until we know it’s his, we still don’t know there’s been a crime,” Baron points out.
None of us speak, no one wanting to admit his words might be true. If it’s not the Darlings, we have no leads. No hope. If there wasn’t a crime at all, that means Royal left us. He wouldn’t do that.
Would he?
I mean, he couldn’t have been happy we ditched him at the dance, even though he had a ride home. He was probably pissed. And I know what my brother does when he’s pissed.