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"She's here," he whispered. I guess she changed her mind about staying with me. "She's in the main house." Maybe not.
"She's probably just looking for a place to crash." I sat back down on my bed.
"She's looking for something, Christian."
"Like what?" I narrowed my eyes, jumping up and pulling on my pants.
"I don't know, but she was looking through the Escalade in the garage. Then she went into the house. Maybe looking for the keys." I grabbed the keys to the Escalade from my nightstand and bolted into the main house.
I stood silently in the shadows, watching her for several long minutes. Aiden was right; she was searching for something. She scrummaged through each drawer in the kitchen before moving on to the drawers of the old antique china cabinet.
"What are you doing here, Harper?" I asked, my tone low and lethal. A startled gasp flew out of her as she spun around.
"Christian," she breathed, holding her chest as I stepped out of the darkness.
"What are you here to steal this time?" I cut her off.
"Christian, you don't—"
"What, Harper?" I ground out, surging forward.
She stepped back, slamming into the wall. She chewed nervously on her bottom lip but didn't answer.
Anger coiled through me. "What?" I growled so loud she flinched.
"The Escalade." She sighed, dropping her shoulders in the same defeated way she did the first time I'd caught her here trying to find the weed.
"You came here to steal from me?" Anger colored my tone. I couldn't even explain the emotions rolling through me. Rage. Betrayal. Hurt. It was all the same at this point. I thought something had changed between us today: we were no longer enemies, north against south, Villa against Valley. I thought I was Christian, and she was Harper. I was wrong; she was loyal to them and always would be.
"Christian, I'm—" she cried as a tear streamed down her cheek.
Squeezing my eyes shut, my jaw clenched. I couldn't listen to her say my name again. I tossed the keys at her feet as my eyes opened. "Take the car and get out!" My fists clenched at my side.
"Please," she stammered.
"Get. Out!"
She didn't move, eyes flicking between the keys and me as if it was a difficult decision for her. My chest heaved with so much fury that I thought I could physically remove her from the house. When she didn't move, I stepped forward, ready to physically throw her out, but she bolted for the door, leaving the keys.
It took me a few minutes to come to terms with what had happened as I stood frozen, staring down at the keys on the floor. My perception of the Southside had been true. They were all criminals, even Harper. She was the worst of all of them. Befriending me only to steal from me was disgusting. I wanted nothing more to do with Harper Brooks.
"What happened?" Aiden asked, flicking on the lights in the kitchen where I was still standing in the same place since Harper left.
"She wanted the Escalade," I muttered, my gaze flicking up to meet his.
"Harper?" he asked, confusion contorting his face. I nodded. "That doesn't sound like Harper." We didn't know her. I thought I did, but I didn't. She was a Villa whore. What happened between us in the Ferris wheel was probably just another day for her, even if it wasn't for me. How did this happen?
When did this turn into more than a challenge to fuck her? I couldn't answer that, but that mistake would never happen again.
"Actually," I muttered. "It sounds just like Harper." I shrugged. "She's just another piece of Villa trash."
"Yeah, man," he said, his brows pinched as he shoved a hand through his dark hair. "Something seems off to me."
"I'm goin' back to bed." I groaned, shouldering past him. "Harper Brooks is never to step foot on this property again."
"If you say so," he muttered, and I stormed out of the house.
Chapter 18
