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“It’s just a Friday night, baby. Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Elliot opens the door, the night air freezing me.
There’s a brief moment between when Elliot closes his door and opens mine. A few seconds when Ethan and I are the only ones in the car. It’s long enough for our gazes to cross, for his eyes to grab ahold of my soul.
There’s no hate in them, just longing. I don’t think we’ve ever connected quietly so deeply. He can say anything he wants out loud, threaten me with death, but he missed me.
And I missed him too.
We’re both startled when my door opens. “Come on,” Elliot says with a sickly-sweet voice. “Let me walk you to your new home.”
I’m surprised I don’t vomit the snacks they fed me in the car on their doorstep. So many Kings are partying at their house right now, all I want is to run away as fast as I can. Left without a choice, I roll back my shoulders just before they open the door.
A wave of warmth hits me in the face. It smells of weed and alcohol. The windows are steamed, and the people are cramped in the living room.
Elliot and Ethan have one of the biggest houses around, but their bedrooms and basement have always been off limits. Everyone must stay in the small living room and kitchen. The parties used to be mainly at Sawyer’s, but since he and I were deemed traitors, and he was killed…they seemed to have moved to the brothers’ house.
“LIGHTS OUT”by Kxllswxtch is playing loud enough to burst my eardrums and my head spins the moment we walk through the crowd. Despite having Ethan and Elliot on either side of me, I’m shaking when the music lowers and heads turn toward me.
I have a feeling I look pale despite my dark skin complexion. Is this how I die?
The gangs of the North Shore are ruthless, violent. Traitors are treated the same as the opposite crew, if not worse. Individually, they don’t all scare me. I could probably take a bitch or two in this room. All together? It’s another problem.
It’s an unconscious gesture to press myself closer to Elliot. Probably because he’s the biggest in the room. Survival instincts and all.
I only realize my movement when he wraps a hand at the nape of my neck. And because all my senses are on high alert, I can’t help but notice the way Ethan’s hand twitches at his side.
He fucking missed me,I chant internally. It’s all I can do not to let a smile eat up my whole face. There are more pressing concerns right now, after all.
“Nothing to see here,” Elliot says with a kind voice. “Keep enjoying your night.”
If Kay isn’t here, then he’s the one people listen to. He was already high up in our ranks, but when Kay’s dad died and she took over, she wanted Elliot as her right-hand.
What kind of leader wouldn’t want a six-foot-seven monster with the smile of an angel and the scheming brain of the devil as their right-hand man? She’s smart enough to know you want Elliot by your side, as your ally. Never give him a chance to think he would be better anywhere else but with the Kings.
The music turns loud again, and people go back to their activities despite side-eyeing me. They part when the three of us walk through the crowd, not daring to make a move on me since Ethan and Elliot are right here.
But I hear the insults.
Whore. Traitor.
The threats.
You’re dead. Wait till we get you alone.
Something feels even more off than I thought. I understand why Caden wants to kill me. I beat up his girlfriend. I set her up. But everyone else shouldn’t even care about her. She’s from the opposite crew.
So what is it they all have been saying behind my back?
The discomfort that they all know something I don’t makes my skin crawl. I don’t like this.
We’re almost by the door to the hallway that leads to the bedrooms, when someone comes out of a group of girls and blocks our way.
My stomach twists, my chest tightening the moment I see Kay’s best friend.
Vickie.
“Nothing to see, huh?”
My limbs tremble at the mere sound of her voice. The attitude in her tone makes me want to punch her. Her and I have gotten into enough fist fights that then gotmein trouble. Because Kay would always take her side. Of course, they’re best friends.
