“Anything else?”
“You hurt her, Jagger’s gonna kill you, and if he doesn’t, Cobie will.”
“Cobie?”I laugh.Jagger’s threat, sure.I saw that one from a mile away.But Cobie?
“She likes her,” Roman reveals.“And I do, too.”
Yeah, yeah.Everyone likes June.It’s impossible not to.She’s kind and sweet and wouldn’t hurt a fly.That’s the problem, isn’t it?Because I know she deserves better than an asshole like me.But knowing everyone else knows it, too?It’s kind of a bitch to wrap my head around, especially when the taste of her skin still sits on my tongue.I scrub my hand over my face.“That all?”
“Halo’s been found,” he grumbles.“Thought you’d wanna know.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.You know that.”
He’s right.I do.If anyone has our backs, it’s Rome.
“What about the video?”I push.“Did Morgan…”
“Hawke will catch us up tomorrow,” he promises.“But no, he didn’t share the video.”
My hand hangs at my side as I end the call.The question is, what now?Do I go back to the room?Check on June?Play boyfriend and shit?I shake my head.It’s a bad idea.All of it.Besides, what if she’s already gone?I’m not sure which possibility hurts more.At least this way, I’m the one leaving instead of the other way around.Right?
What the hell is wrong with me?
29
JUNE
The drive home is awkward.Not for Violet.No, she’s too distracted by Lexie’s disappearance to notice the awkwardness.To be clear, I’d much rather have Lexie in the car than the idea of her walking home on her own in hopes of staying off Ethan’s radar, but the fact that Violet’s too distracted to notice the awkwardness?I mean, a perk’s a perk, right?If only I could stop thinking about what happened in the room with Ford.
It’s not that I regret it.I don’t.I actually really liked it, if I’m being honest.But what does it mean?And does it have to mean anything?I mean, he’s Ford Harden.The guy could probably flirt the panties off a nun.Heck, he probably already has.It wouldn’t surprise me.Yet for some reason I genuinely can’t explain, a not-so-small part of me wants to believe that it was different this time.That he didn’t just follow me into that room because he likes my boobs, but because he likes…me.
And then he left.
The reminder stings more than I’d like to admit, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.If anything, I should grab hold of it.The evidence of who Ford truly is and what he wants from me, even if I’m delusional enough to want to deny it.To play the stupid game of “I can change him,” when I’m well aware that logic will only hurt me in the end.
Violet’s car slows on the empty road, and I sit up a little straighter, peering out the windshield.I’m not sure when we turned off the main road, but this one is vaguely familiar, too.Maybe she’s taking us back to Harden Heights a different way?Why are we stopping?The question sits on the tip of my tongue, but before I have a chance to voice it aloud, Violet mumbles, “Jagger’s going to kill me.”
“What is it?”I ask.
Violet flicks on the blinker to… Wait, is this Lexie’s street?
“I’m not supposed to come here,” she mumbles.
A buzzing sounds from the cup holder.Violet’s phone lights up with an image of Jagger kissing Violet’s cheek.Curious, Violet reaches for her cell and slides her thumb across the screen.“Jag?”She stays quiet before humming, “Mm-hmm.Yup.I’m just on my way home right now.”Silence.“No, I’m not lying.”Pause.With a frown, she peers into her rearview mirror, searching for something.“Where are you?”Silence.“Look, she disappeared, and she needs her phone—yes.Yes, I know, I’m not supposed to hang out in Drift territory by myself, but—” She hesitates again, her nostrils flaring as she listens to whatever her boyfriend’s saying through her cell.Finally, she grits out, “Are you serious, Jag?”
“What is it?”I whisper.
“Okay, fine,” Violet says.“Fine, I’m pulling over.”Gravel crunches beneath her tires as she pulls onto the side of the road.“Yes, I pulled over.”She sighs.“And also, tell Hawke he’s a tattletale.”Pause.“Fine, I’ll tell him myself.”Pause.“Yes.”The edge of her mouth lifts.“I love you, too.”Then, she hangs up the call and puts her car in park, but keeps the engine running.
“What was that about?”I ask.
“Jagger knew I was going to drop by Lexie’s.”
My brows pinch.“How?”
“Hawke,” she answers when a knuckle taps against the passenger window, and I nearly jump out of my skin.On the opposite side of the passenger door stands a man in a black hoodie with the hood pulled up.The lower half of a chiseled jaw painted as a skeleton peeks through the gap.I clutch at my chest, trying to calm my nerves while my brain processes the view.It’s official, this road is way too creepy and abandoned to sneak up on people like this!
