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I frowned, but Cruz rolled his eyes. “This got depressing real fast. PlayI spyor something.”
“It’s dark,” I deadpanned.
“You’ll have to look really hard then,” he teased as we entered Ashburn Valley.
We talked about random things the rest of the drive like my classes and some jobs they went on, despite me knowing Stone would kill them for telling me, and I wasn’t surprised when we walked into my house to find Dad sitting at the kitchen table looking ready to explode.
I hesitated, but Cruz gently pushed me forward with his hand on my back, apparently having zero fear towards my father.
“It’s three in the fucking morning,” Dad said sharply, his eyes running over me. “What the hell happened to you? And why are these assholes with you when you were with Stanley?”
I tensed, eyeing him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”
“Your sister said you were at a party with Stanley and his friends. It’s the only reason I didn’t chase you down and murder you for not letting me know where you were. She brought your mother’s car home, by the way.”
Tears burned my eyes, and Cruz led me towards a chair to sit down as I replied. “I was at that party to bring her home so she didn’t get in trouble. She was banging Stanley and Raymond when I found her.” I took a deep breath, looking away from him as I continued. “They finished and decided to torment me, and Tempest let them. Once she ran off, they knocked me out and Raymond kidnapped me. I don’t know how she got the keys from me.”
Dad’s eyes flicked between the guys, his voice low. “These two helped you?”
A tear fell, and I quickly swiped at it. “Raymond took me to get revenge on Riley. She was involved in some street racing stuff, and she got him banned because he’s the guy who almost killed Reid.”
I jumped as his fist slammed down on the table, his voice loud enough to wake up the whole house. “This is Riley’s fucking fault?!”
“No. It’s Raymond’s fault. He took me and said the only way he’d let me go was if Riley raced him. He wanted to hurt her, so he ran her off the road. I thought she was dead,” I choked out, his expression softening as worry crept into his gaze.
“Where is she?”
“The hospital. She walked away from the wreck, but she’s got a head injury and she’s in bad shape. Raymond crashed too, and he burned to death like Lloyd did,” I whispered. “Ander kept me safe, but now he’s been arrested, and Riley’s parents are blaming him. Riley had no choice, she wanted to keep me safe from Raymond. I told her not to, but…”
He took my hand from across the table and gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay. Are you hurt?”
I explained the knock to the head, and my legs were grazed from being thrown on the ground at the parking lot when we’d arrived. Once I’d answered all of his questions, he turned to Cruz.
“Thank you for bringing her home. Again.”
“I don’t mind. I wanted to make sure she got here okay,” he replied with a shrug and nudged Drake. “We’d better go. We bailed on the boss when we found out what was happening, and he was a little pissy at us.”
I thanked them again, and Cruz gave me a wink before saying goodbye, Drake following behind and quietly shutting the door.
Dad ran a hand over his face, seeming tired all of a sudden. “Have you been going to the street races with Riley?”
“No. She never wanted me involved, but I begged her to take me one time. I hated it, and we had a huge fight. I told her to quit, and she said she had to finish the races first,” I said quietly, wrapping my arms around myself.
“That’s why you broke up,” he stated seriously, waiting for me to nod before he sighed. “I’ll speak to Tempest in the morning. She shouldn’t have left you or lied to my damn face.”
“Can I go to bed?” I asked, fatigue hitting me. “Please? Wake me every few hours if you’re worried about me having a concussion but I really need some sleep.”
“Fine, but don’t go anywhere tomorrow, okay? Not without letting me know.”
“Promise,” I mumbled, getting to my feet and padding to my room. I didn’t even get changed before curling up in bed and passing out from exhaustion.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Riley
Ihated it when Mom was silent. It meant she was plotting murder or something equally terrifying.
The hospital had wanted to keep me in for twenty-four hours to monitor me, much to my annoyance, and Mom wouldn't leave me alone in case I ran off. It was nine in the morning, and I hadn’t slept because she kept watching me like a hawk. My body was aching, but I was on some good pain meds so it was bearable. I was definitely more comfortable now that Jensen had dropped me off some clothes.
