“What’re you doing back in town?” I ask Amelia. “I thought you moved to New York to live with your mom.”
She shrugs. “I tried it out for the summer, but turns out I’m not much of a city girl as I thought I was.” She slants back against the front of the car, resting her hands behind her on the hood. “Or maybe I just missed seeing your pretty face every day.”
“Amelia,” William warns. “Stop flirting with the enemy.”
“Oh, would you relax?” Amelia straightens and steps beside William. “Blaise knows I’m kidding.” When William isn’t looking, she mouths, “No, I’m not.” Then she sucks on her finger again.
I sigh heavily. I’ve known Amelia since we were practically babies and we’ve never gotten along, but she hardly gets along with anyone so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Well, until around the time we turned sixteen and she took on this weird, seductress persona. Ever since then she’s become harder and harder to tolerate. And honestly, I think part of the reason she acts this way is to piss her dad off.
Honeyton was so much more tolerable to live in when she moved to New York with her mom. From what I understood, she wasn’t coming back until she graduated. So why is she here in Honeyton, at the start of our senior year? I could ask her but, more than likely she won’t give a straight answer.
“Why are you guys even here anyway?” I direct my question to William, but Amelia answers.
“William had to stop at this lovely little place,” she pulls a face at the Harlyton’s house, “this morning because the current resident has pissed Daddy off. Lucky for him, he doesn’t seem to be home.”
“No, he doesn’t.” William fastens his gaze on me. “You don’t by chance know where Mel is, do you?
“Why the hell would I know some dude’s location?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Maybe because he works for your father?” William throws back at me.
“But I don’t,” I remind him. “And I don’t associate with anything that has to do with his business.”
“For now. But in time, this world is gonna drag you in, whether you like it or not.” His ominous words send a chill down my spine. He grins, turning toward the car. “If you do happen to see Mel around, it’d be best to tell him to come to Axel. The less we have to chase him the less severe his punishment will be.”
That sends a chill spreading across my entire body.
Sure, that’s exactly how things will go down. And I’m sure his punishment will simply be a lecture and a soft slap on the hand.
“Then again, I can’t make that promise for your father,” William adds as he opens the driver’s side door. “Amelia, get in the car. I need to get you to school so I can run a few errands.”
And by errands he probably means drug runs.
Amelia grins at me like the Cheshire cat. “See you at school, gorgeous.” Then she blows me a kiss, skips around the car, and hops inside.
I shake my head, my temples pounding as the car backs up the driveway and drives away. They might be leaving, but they’ll be back. And now, Amelia will be at school, which means more than likely so will Austin, Amelia’s twin. And compared to Austin, Amelia is a kind, sane, saint. The really shitty part about all this is they both have a vendetta against me and my brothers. I’m not even sure why. Whether it’s simply based on our father’s feud or if they decided to hate us because they could. Since the vendetta has been going on since before our fathers declared war on each other, my best guess is the latter. While I’m not afraid of either of them, the last thing I need is them stirring up trouble.
But I have a feeling that’s exactly what they’re going to do, which means that little statement I gave to Hadley about us being okay at school might not be as accurate as I thought.
Hadley
“So, do you, what? Like live here now or something?” Alex mocks as he grabs a box of cereal from the cupboard.
I’m lingering near the back door, watching Blaise through the window. He’s talking to some big dude who’s dressed like he thinks he’s in some action movie. There’s a girl standing beside him who looks around my age and is wearing what I think are designer clothes with how shiny and fancy the material is. Her long, black hair is equally as shiny and her shininess makes her appear way out of place in this dingy, rundown neighborhood.
Who is she? And why is she at my house?
“Yeah, actually, I am,” I quip back to Alex while keeping my gaze trained on Blaise and the two strangers. What’s going on over there? “Into your room, actually.” I give him an exaggerated cheery smile. “We’re going to have so much fun, roomie!”
He stares at me, unimpressed, as he pours some cereal into a bowl. “Hardy fucking har. You’re so fucking funny.”
“Thanks.” I grin as he narrows his eyes on me.
“Come on, you two, cut it out,” Rhyland intervenes. He’s sitting on the kitchen table with his feet propped up on one of the mismatched chairs with his phone in his hand and his gaze on the screen.
“Just because Blaise isn’t in here right now doesn’t make you the boss,” Alex snaps as he gets a gallon of milk out of the fridge.
“Um, yeah, it does,” Rhyland insists without looking up.
“How do you figure?” Alex unscrews the cap on the milk.
“Because I’m currently the oldest one here.” Rhyland puts his phone into his pocket.
Alex shakes his head. “By, like, two minutes.”
“That still makes me older. And besides, I’m more mature than you.” Rhyland shrugs when Alex blasts him with a dirty look. “Don’t look at me like that. You know it’s true.”
Jaxon, who’s eating his cereal quietly at the table, sighs. The kid rarely talks. In fact, I think I’ve heard him utter maybe a total of three sentences since I met him. I wonder why that is. If he’s simply quiet, perhaps shy, or if there’s more to it than that.
“It’s not true,” Alex argues. “You just think you know everything, but you don’t, so get over yourself.”
Rhyland lowers his hands into his head. “It’s too early for this shit,” he mumbles.
Silence stretches across the room, except for the crunching sounds of Alex and Jaxon munching o
n their cereal. But the air thick with a tension.
More than ready to leave, I glance back out the window and relief washes over me. The car with tinted windows is gone and Blaise is pulling up into the driveway of his house in my car.
I grab the doorknob and hurry outside, muttering, “Later.” Then I jog down the stairs and across the yellowing grass.
By the time I reach my car, Blaise is hopping out.
“Who were those people you were talking to?” I ask as I toss my bag into the back seat.
He rubs his palm across the top of his head, stress written all over his face. “The big guy’s name is William. He’s one of Axel’s bodyguards.”
I shield my eyes from the sunlight. “And he was looking for my dad?” I ask, and he nods. “What’d you tell him?”
He shrugs, his hand falling to his side. “The truth—that I don’t know where Mel is.”
“Did you tell him about the fight last night? Or the drugs and money in the backyard?”
He shakes his head. “And I don’t plan on it.” He shifts his weight, sliding his hands into his back pockets. “Honestly, I think the less Axel and my father know about your dad, the better.”
“Yeah, I agree. I’m not a fan of my dad, but I don’t want to do or say anything that might help someone track him down either.”
“That’s not really what I’m worried about.”
“What do you mean?”
He rubs his lips together while studying me. “I don’t want to scare you, but I’m more worried about you and your sisters than your dad.”
I gulp down a shaky breath. “You think they’ll come after us?”
“I’m not sure,” he answers honestly. “I can ask my dad to stay away from you guys, maybe call in a favor, but Axel’s a whole different story.”
My palms begin to sweat, my heart an erratic mess in my chest. “Maybe I should go to the police and report the situation.”