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“Me too,” I mutter then hurry out of the room with Jaxon. The second we’re in the hallway, I spit out, “What’s going on?”
“It’s Hadley,” he tells me, fidgeting with the leather bands on his wrists. “I saw her driving off with Austin Maeiriellie. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but I know you were worried this morning when William was at Hadley’s house, so I figured I should tell you.”
My worry skyrockets. Hadley is going somewhere with Austin? Crazy fucking Austin, the kid who once stabbed me in the leg with a plastic spork because he wanted to see if plastic was sharp enough to cut through flesh, which turns out the answer is yes with enough force.
“This is so bad.” I yank my fingers through my hair, glancing around the mostly empty hallway and then at Jaxon. “Do you know where they’re going? Or why she was in the car with him?”
He shakes his head. “They took off about ten minutes ago and headed east. That’s all I saw.” He wraps his arms around himself. “I tried to call you right after I saw them, but I think your phone’s battery is dead.”
I retrieve my phone from my pocket and, sure enough, it’s powered down. “Crap.” I put my phone away, my mind racing with ways to fix this.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you,” Jaxon mutters quietly.
I blink at him then shake my head. “No, you should have … Why would you say that?”
He shrugs. “Because you’re freaking out, and you already do that too much.”
Shit. He has me there.
“I know.” It’d be pointless to deny it. “And I’m trying to work on it, but first, I need to get Hadley away from Austin. You know that guy is insane.”
He nods in agreement, staring at me with his brows knit. “You like her, don’t you?”
“Like who?” I play dumb.
He rolls his eyes. “You know who I’m talking about, man.”
“Okay, maybe I do,” I sigh. “But I don’t think I’m ready to talk or act on how much I like her. Besides, I don’t think she likes me back.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so, and I’m one year wiser than you, so that means I’m right.”
He snorts a laugh. “You’re not even a year older than me, and definitely not wiser.”
“When it comes to girls, I am,” I say. When he laughs even harder, I shake my head. “Whatever. Keep laughing at me. Just do it while we walk to the car.” I stride down the hallway, and he rushes after me.
“Where are we going?” he asks, his boots squeaking against the linoleum.
I momentarily hesitate, but I’m sure he’s going to find out anyway. “To Dad’s.”
He slams to a halt. “Have you lost your damn mind?”
I slow to a stop and press the heel of my hand to my forehead. “Maybe. But it’s either ask Dad for help or go to Axel’s house on our own. And while our dad is a prick, at least he won’t try to have his men beat our asses bloody just for stepping foot on his property. You know the rules. We’re safe from Axel just as long as we’re not on any of the land he owns.”
He looks me dead in the eye, his skin paling. “You say that like Dad hasn’t beat your ass before.”
“It wasn’t because I stepped on his property.” No, it was because I was trying to stop him from dragging my brothers away to teach them how to become real men.
I’ve personally suffered through his learning on how to be a real man lessons, and the last thing I ever want is for my brothers to endure that kind of torment, pain, and mental mindfuck. In the end, all I really ended up learning was: 1). My dad’s a psychopath. 2). I’ll never be what my dad considers a real man. And 3). The smell of burnt flesh makes me puke.
“Please, don’t go to Dad for help,” Jaxon pleads. “If you do, you’ll owe him.”
“I know, and I don’t want to, but what other choice do I have? I can’t just let Hadley handle this alone. She may think she’s tough, but dealing with Axel and this world takes a whole other level of toughness. You know that.”
“I know.” He opens and flexes his hands at his sides, contemplating something. “There might be one other person you can go to for help. You’re not going to like it, but if you really think about it, you’ll realize it’s a better option than going to Dad.”
“Okay …” I’m so confused. “Who is it?”
