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Vaden’s dead expression slowly turns into a deep grin. His white teeth flash against his pale skin, the dimples in both his cheeks deepening. Vaden doesn’t smile often, but when he does, it balances on the line of perfection and fucking creepy. Can’t decide which it is more.
“You just worked that out? Unless you do end up fucking Stella.”
“I’m not gonna fuck Stella!” I rear back my head, insulted.
“What’s wrong with Stella?” Vaden blinks, all smiles gone. When I search his eyes, he shoves me playfully. “Incest is not your thing either. Got it.”
“Good, because I was about to break it down into one hundred different ways on why your statement pissed me off. Starting with missionary.”
The music becomes louder as another car pulls into the concrete slab behind us. The distinct sound of tires shredding tread screams around a winding engine.
I shift over my shoulder to see a ’74 Beamer’s ass looping around in a cloud of smoke, and just as I’m about to look away, a pair of emerald eyes catch mine from behind the mist.
My chest contracts as she holds my stare, almost daringly. She keeps the same, blank expression on her face for the entire time of the skid, before being the first to break when the fuckboy behind her turns her in his grip and back against him.
“Why the fuck is he here?” I ask, popping the trunk to get another bottle. I slam it closed and Vaden is instantly in my face. I ignore his glaring. “Who the fuck is he? Did she drag him off the side of the street?”
“You wanna be drinking more?”
I bite down on the beer cap, twisting it off. This is the second time I’ve ever seen her with another guy, and I gotta admit, both times I’ve not handled it well.
“Not drinking enough.” I make my way to the sandy edge of the water, lifting the beer to my lips. I tilt my head up to the sky above, as stars flicker against the dark atmosphere. Kind of a subtle reminder of what’s to come, what we’ve still got to be wary of, and the new laws of our time.
The smell of burnt rubber evaporates around me, and for the first time in a long fucking time, I breathe out a deep sigh.
“Are you okay?”
My lip twitches at the sound of her voice. “Am I okay?”
I don’t bother to look down to her.
“I’m not going to like much of what I’m about to find out about the Elite Kings, am I…” She finally lands beside me.
I angle my gaze down to her. “You can handle anything.”
That I am fucking sure of.
She crosses her arms and shifts, peering up at me through dark lashes. It feels a lot like being punched in the gut anytime we lock eyes lately. Not sure what the fuck is happening.
“How do you know what I can handle?”
“Halo…” I tease, using her nickname. “You’re a fucking Hayes.”
“Mmm…” she muses, tucking the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. Her piercings glimmer from the full moon. “I’m not my brother, War.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I mumble around my bottle. “The world could only handle one of him.”
She chuckles, turning her back to the water and gazing out at the commotion going on behind me. It’s perfect because I can take in every sharp detail of her face. Every feature shaved from some mystical wand.
“How old were you?” she asks, and the question leaves her mouth as a whisper. I don’t understand what she’s saying. With Halen, it could be anything. Her eyes shoot to mine and hold me hostage. “How old?”
It sinks in.
My brows rise slightly. “Ah.” I clear my throat. “Thirteen.” Would she piece that together? Maybe not.
She sucks in a deep breath, closing her eyes and then opening them back onto me.
Smoke cradles her beauty delicately, as her face radiates against the taillights. She’s completely in her element.
