Carter snorted. “What are you going to do?” My stepbrother puffed out his chest, feeling pretty freaking cocky. Idiot. It made me wonder what he was up to. He wouldn’t confront Brock like this, not unless he had a reason the Elite wouldn’t hurt him. Perhaps it was because we were in a public place with cameras. Something told me the Elite didn’t care. They had Carter on camera, dumping my best friend who was clearly out of her mind, despite it not being enough to prove that he gave her the drugs. And they had power to erase footage, to make it look like nothing happened after this point.
That kind of pull frightened me.
In the distance, the first sound of police sirens went off.
Shit.
“You love this car, don’t you?” Brock said, running a finger along the hood of Carter’s SUV.
“Love” was an understatement. Carter worshiped his Escalade.
“You like to have fun, right?” I heard Micah say. I still couldn’t see him, but the look on Carter’s face… it was priceless.
Smash.
The windshield on the Escalade shattered.Smash. Smash.Out went the passenger side front and back windows. Micah grinned, a baseball bat in his hand. He didn’t stop, putting dents in the side panels of Carter’s car.
I didn’t even want to know why Grayson drove around with a bat. I assumed it was for situations such as this.
“What the fuck, man!” Carter shrieked.
Porter and Shawn both backed away a step or two, eyeing Micah uneasily. “Calm down. We’re not looking for a fight,” Porter said, no longer grinning like a shithead.
“Really?” Micah’s lopsided grin turned lethal as he thumped the end of the bat against his palm. “Because it kind of feels like that’s exactly what you were hoping for.”
“We’re always down for a good fight,” Grayson said.
Brock gave a jerk of his head toward Fynn. “I warned you.”
Fynn took off toward the gas station building, I assumed to get the camera footage.
Micah came around the front of Carter’s SUV, bat propped up on one shoulder. It was three against three. Fynn was inside talking to the attendant. “Get in your car and get the fuck out of here,” Micah ordered.
Enraged, Carter’s face turned red. There was shattered glass littered on the ground around the Escalade. And for a moment, I thought Carter would charge Brock. “This isn’t over, Taylor. We’re just getting started.”
“Doesn’t matter. I will always end it,” Brock replied.
Carter, Shawn, and Porter climbed into the SUV, sweeping fragments off the seats. The engine roared, Carter giving it gas before he put it into drive and squealed out of the gas station. A long moment of silence stretched where I did nothing but stare out the window at Brock. Stunned.
“Holy shit,” Mads gasped. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
The world came rushing back around me, all the sounds with it.
I sank into the seat, glancing down at Ainsley. She had fallen asleep. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but I was still taking her to the hospital to be safe. Hopefully, it was nothing serious and she could sleep off whatever cocktail Carter had slipped her. “I’m going to kill him,” I hissed through my teeth as the car door opened.
“Get in line,” Brock mumbled, sliding into the front seat. His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “Are you okay?” A brief glimmer of concern crossed his expression, so quick, I wondered if I imagined it.
I nodded. “Yeah. This is only going to get worse, isn’t it?”
“Probably.” No denial or lies came from his response. Just flat acceptance.
* * *
It was late when Brock finally dropped Mads off at her house. I hugged her quickly and promised to text her.
He and Mads had both stayed with me at the hospital while the doctor checked out Ainsley and tested her for drugs. It was important for the police to know what type of drugs were in her system. The doctor assured the affects would wear off in a few hours. I stayed in the room with Ainsley. It would be a week or more before the results from the rape kit test were concluded.
The extent of the Elite’s influence reached to the hospital and to the police. All I could do was stare at him as he informed the officer and hospital staff that Ainsley would be coming home with us and there was no need to notify her parents. He also advised that bills be sent to him and he would take care of it. Again, no questions asked.