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She shrugged. “There’s no one in this town that does it for me.”
“You didn’t ask me,” River taunted, stepping up to her. “Don’t make a decision before you exhaust every option, Kit-Kat.”
West crossed the room and grabbed his arm before kicking River’s feet out from under him. River landed on the bed, curses flying from his mouth. I frowned, wondering why West seemed to be more pissed at River than usual.
“Let’s go,” West told Kat as he snatched her dress and shoes out of her arms.
“You didn’t tell me how you knew where I was.” She crossed her arms.
Coming up behind her, I pushed her forward. “We’ll tell you in the car.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t resist as I led her down the hall and down the stairs. The car she’d taken from her mom’s house had a tracker on it, just like every other car on the Estate. Even mine. Although West and I learned years ago how to get around it. Not that we’d tell Kat. I wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth about the hotel, but we’d find out eventually.
CHAPTERTWELVE
“How are your classes, Katalina?”William asked as dinner finished up.
“Great.” I put another forkful of pasta in my mouth so I’d have an excuse not to elaborate.
“I’m glad there haven’t been any issues with the four of you,” Richard stated, staring at Eli. “Unless it just hasn’t come back to us yet.”
“We’ve been getting along fine,” Eli told him as he sat beside me.
Richard nodded and went back to his food. I swallowed, glancing back at my stepfather. William had been paying extra attention to me ever since I stepped through the door, and dread was coiling through my limbs. I’d been careful not to get cornered by him since I got back. I had a feeling it wouldn’t last much longer.
“It helps that Katalina has learned to behave.” West turned his head to the side to look at me as he spoke. “Haven’t you?”
I bit my tongue, not even chancing a look at him. He’d been making smart-ass comments all night while I stayed quiet. Finding out from the guys that William had been tracking my car struck fear straight through my soul. I knew I was going to be watched, but I had no idea how fucking impossible it would be to do anything without them finding out.
“Has she made any trouble for you boys? I know she can be a handful.” William’s glare was pointed at me as he talked to the guys like I wasn’t even in the room. My spine straightened while my anger took over like a wildfire. I’d only been back a week, and they were trying to act as if I was nothing at this table.
“She’s nothing we can’t handle.” West wasn’t even looking at me, but I could hear the amusement in his voice. He knew his words were going to piss me off, yet he wouldn’t shut the hell up.
I let the fork fall, and it clattered onto my plate, turning everyone’s attention to me. Just like last week, River was sitting across from me while I was between Eli and West. River shook his head, blatantly telling me to drop it. I ignored him.
“Actually, West and I had a chat last week, and I think it went rather well.” My smile widened when West went rigid. “We apologized to each other. Well, I did anyway.”
William raised an eyebrow in surprise while West slowly turned to face me. His expression didn’t show a hint of anything, but the warning in his gaze was almost enough for me to stop. Not quite, though.
“Apologize about what?” Richard asked, focusing on me.
“Everything in the past. I decided I wanted to start over now that I’m back,” I answered, peeking over at Eli. He was staring past me at his best friend, as if trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Good. That’s good, Katalina,” my mom said in a quiet voice.
I almost flinched when West’s hand wrapped around my thigh. He squeezed it, sending me a silent warning. We were sitting so close it would be hard for anyone to see it. Except Eli. I didn’t need to look at him to know he saw it. It had been eating me up wondering if West had told Eli what we did in the basement. I doubted it, seeing as Eli hadn’t mentioned it.
Letting regret fill my face, I glanced around the table. “I really felt like I needed to clear the air. And it felt amazing. Once I apologized, I felt such a rush. A release. It was just what I needed to clear my mind.”
West cleared his throat, his hand leaving my leg to grab his glass of wine. He downed it, not looking at me at all. It wasn’t me he was avoiding. It was Eli. He’d kept our fun a secret. And although I’d had ulterior motives, it was hard to deny how good his fingers had felt. River’s eyes were darting between West and me, a frown playing on his lips. Richard seemed pleasantly surprised by my words, while William’s gaze was still blazing with suspicion. Deciding to make absolutely sure Eli understood what happened, I looked at West with a smile.
“West was a bit apprehensive at first. But I made sure to look him in the eye the whole time to show how genuine I was. But I don’t think he felt as fulfilled as I did when the conversation ended.”
West’s face was flushed, his leg bouncing under the table as he forced a smile for the parents. River was outright scowling as he glared at us from across the table. I wasn’t sure what his problem was. Eli and West fighting benefited him too.
“Good, let’s keep everything peaceful,” West’s father, Peter, spoke up from the head of the table. It was his house we were at this week. Family dinners were at a different house every Sunday. This was my first time seeing West’s parents since I’d come back. Peter wasn’t as bad as William or Richard. He didn’t seem to care about power as much as them. But he still played his part. West looked just like him. They shared the same deep chestnut-brown hair and hazel eyes.
“I know how important us getting along is,” I said, a chill racing up my spine when Eli’s chair scooted closer to me.
