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He rolls his eyes.
“I can,” I insist, kind of getting annoyed that he seems to doubt me. “I’ve taken care of myself for a very long time.”Ever since my parents died.I resist the urge to swallow hard at that thought and keep up my badass attitude. “Do you know how many times I’ve gotten in trouble for kicking someone’s ass?”
“Probably a lot. And I’m not doubting that you used to be able to take care of yourself.” Zay looks me directly in the eyes. “However, you weren’t in Honeyton then.” With that, he turns around, shoves open the door, and gets out.
“What does Honeyton have to do with anything?” I ask, starting to collect my trash and stuff it into the bag my food came in.
Hunter begins balling up the wrappers to the three breakfast sandwiches he ate. “Honeyton is … well, it’s not like your average town.”
My brows knit. “What do you mean by that exactly?”
He hesitates, and I get this churning feeling in my stomach, but I’m not even sure why.
“Because Honeyton is way more dangerous than any other town in the country,” Jax says as he grabs the bags of trash. “And people here are …”
“Wealthy and power hungry,” Hunter finishes for him. “Which makes for a bad combination. And the low population and isolation of the town only makes it more dangerous, because it allows these people to do what they want and get away with it. It’s part of the reason why these people are having us look into your uncle, so they know what kind of person he is and if he can be bought off.”
“Yeah, you said something like that yesterday, but I guess I just didn’t realize the whole town was corrupt.”
“Not the entire town,” Jax mumbles as he stuffs his phone into his pocket. “But a lot of it.”
My head is spinning in confusion.
Hunter must read it all over my face because he adds, “You don’t need to be scared. You’re safe with us, pretty Raven.” He smiles at me, but it looks a bit forced. Then he shoves open the door, climbs out, and flips the seat forward to let me out. Zay does the same on the driver’s side, scooting the seat forward to let Jax out.
I climb out and sling the handle of my backpack onto my shoulder while holding the bag of trash in my other hand. Hunter takes the trash from me and tosses into a nearby trash can. Then he returns to my side and nods for me to follow him toward the school.
As I start walking with him, with Jax and Zay behind us, I’ll admit it feels a bit weird. Not just because I’m walking into school with people, but because I’m not super stoned and don’t have my earbuds in.
It’s not too bad, though. At least, it isn’t at first. But then one of the guys standing around the SUV calls out, “Who’s the new girl?”
I stiffen, even though it seems like such a simple question. But it’s like a nervous tick linked to all those years of being bullied, I think.
“None of your goddamn business, Porter,” Zay calls out in a tone that would probably send a chill up most people’s spine, but this Porter dude just grins.
He pushes away from the SUV that he was leaning against and starts toward us, his thick boots scuffing against the pavement. He has short, dark hair that’s a bit longer on the top and brushed back, and a few metal piercings ornament his brow and lips. To be honest, he looks like he could be friends with Hunter, Zay, and Jax, but Zay already told me he was an enemy of theirs, something that’s made fairly clear as they all give him dirty looks as he approaches us.
Then they slow to a stop, tension rippling from their bodies.
Porter appears unfazed, an easy smile spreading across his face. “Relax,” he says as he stops in front of us. “I just came over here to introduce myself.” His gaze lands on me then as he sticks out his hand. “I’m Porter Averlyson. My father owns all the car dealerships in Honeyton.”
Hunter lets out a soft, disdainful laugh while Jax rolls his eyes. Zay, however, appears to be even more irritated.
“Nobody here gives a shit who your father is.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he says to Zay while grinning at me. “I was talking to this beautiful girl whose name I still don’t know.”
I’m partly annoyed at this dude and partly suspicious, not just because he seems to be attempting to be nice to me, but also because it seems like he’s using the act of being nice to irritate the guys. Why, I’m not sure, but that suspicion is enough for me not to shake his hand. Besides, who shakes hands anymore?
“Well?” Porter says while looking at me expectantly.
“Well, what?” I ask him in a bored tone.
Jax laughs softly from behind me while Hunter rubs his hand across his mouth, I think to conceal a smile. Zay just crosses his arms, a ghost of a smirk playing at his lips.
“Guess she’s not interested in introductions with you, so why don’t you go back to your friends and save yourself from more humiliation?” Zay tells him with a smirk.
For a flash of an instant, Porter’s smile falters, anger flickering in his eyes as he glances at Zay. Then he recovers, his grin returning as he looks at me. “I’m going to figure your name out, beautiful girl. Because, when I want something, I won’t stop until I get it.” He winks at me in a way that causes my heart to skip a beat, and not in a good way.
