“Isn’t this awesome?” Becky squeals, grabbing my arm.
I nod. “Deke outdid himself,” I say, eyeing him. He sees me staring and winks at me. I narrow my eyes, and he laughs.
They’re up to something. What the hell is it?
“Here,” Cole says, turning back to face me and handing me a Solo cup. I take a sip and frown, looking up at him. “There’s hardly any alcohol in this.”
“There’s enough.”
“Where’s yours?” I ask, noticing his hands are empty now.
“I’m fine,” he says; his answer clipped.
I open my mouth to argue but shut it when I see Shane approach us. His eyes meet mine, and then he looks away quickly. I want to throw my drink on him for ratting me out. But what did I expect? Once again, it was my fault to trust him. To trust any of them.
Deke and Cole walk over to Shane and turn their backs to us. I spin around and grab a bottle of vodka and pour it into my cup. “Want some more?” I ask, holding it up to Becky.
She shakes her head. “Deke made mine strong.”
I set it down and take a drink. “Much better.” Leaning up against the table, I look over at Cole. He has his hair spiked and looking like every bit a disheveled mess. He wears a pair of blue jeans, tennis shoes, and his black zip-up hoodie.
“He doesn’t drink.”
“What?” I ask, turning to look over at Becky.
“You had asked him where his drink was.” She nods to Cole as he stands with his friends. His arms are crossed over his chest. Shane and Deke both drink from Solo cups. “Well, he does but only when he has parties at his house,” she says, before taking a drink of hers. “If he goes to a party that isn’t at his dad’s, then he doesn’t drink.”
“He had a shot that one night we were at that party they showed up at.”
She nods. “One shot. You won’t see him have more than that.”
That surprises me. “Why not?” I ask.
“The night Maddox, Landen, and Eli died, they had all been drinking at a party. Cole was driving them when he wrecked.”
My brows shoot up. No one ever talks about what happened to his friends. It’s like the ghost everyone can’t see, but you know it’s there. Jeff said he killed his friends, and Shelby told me it was a car wreck, but that’s as much as I know.
“What happened?” I ask, looking to see that he and Shane are still talking to Deke, but now Bennett has joined them.
“The brakes went out, and the car rolled. They were all thrown out.”
I take a sip. “Did Cole get in trouble?”
She shakes her head. “His dad has money. He’d just paid for the police academy’s new training facility before the accident. He got a slap on the wrist.” She lowers her voice. “It caused a lot of tension between him and Kellan.”
I frown. “Why Kellan?”
“The other guys understood what happened was an accident and could have happened to any of them. They were all out of control, but Kellan blamed him. Still does. Maddox was Kellan’s cousin.”
“Oh,” I say.
She nods quickly before taking another drink. “But I feel sorry for Cole.” She looks over at him and sighs. “What happened was an accident. Hell, I’ve gone to parties and drove home drunk before. Not responsible, but I get it. He blames himself, and anyone who knows him can see it eats him alive. He and Eli were the closest, and he died in his arms.”
“What?” I breathe.
“Lauren James, a sophomore, her dad is a paramedic, and she said that he told her when they pulled up to the scene, Cole was sitting in the ditch with Eli in his arms. Dead.”
I look over at him and see he has turned and now faces our direction. His eyes are on the sand, hands now in the front pockets of his jeans, and he nods his head as Shane speaks to them. And I remember what he said to Jeff that night in the cemetery.
Give me what I deserve! Why don’t you get your sorry ass up and hit me? Why don’t you be a fucking man and fight me.
He wanted a fight. Needed it. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. He lifts his head, and his eyes land on mine. I stare back without blinking, just taking in the color of his dark blue eyes. They’re just like the sky—always clouded. And I can’t imagine what he went through losing three friends and living with that guilt. It would destroy a weak person.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
COLE
“COLE?”
I look away from Austin first to glare at Shane. “What?”
“Did you hear anything I just said?’
“Yes.”
“Then what did I say?” he questions with an arch of his brow.
“That you didn’t find much on the laptop.”
Deke shakes his head. “I thought for sure we could use something on there.”
“Well, there is some stuff. He’s got accounts we can drain.”
“He’s still looking for him,” Bennett chimes in.
I snort. “He won’t give up because without Jeff, the business will plummet.”
“Do you think he suspects us?” Shane asks.
I shake my head. “We made sure to cover our tracks. Why would he?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Because we are the only ones who knew what he really did to Aimee.”
“He has no proof that we knew,” I argue.
“What if he found the cameras?” Shane continues.
“You’re reaching,” I growl, tired of talking about this shit.
“I’m trying to think of every angle so if something comes back to bite us in the ass, I can cover it,” he snaps.
I turn and step up to him, my chest bumping his. “Drop it, Shane. You’re making a problem where there’s not one.”
His brown eyes narrow on mine. “No, you made a problem when you decided to continue what Eli had started.”
“We all moved forward,” Deke corrects him.
“I owed him that.” My hands clench. “I …” A hand lands on my arm, and I jump back in surprise. Looking over, I see Austin standing beside me, her green eyes full of worry as they search mine. Her hand runs down my arm, and she unclenches my fist, then laces her fingers with mine.
“Hey, babe,” Deke says, lightening the mood by pulling Becky in for a kiss.
“Everything okay?” Austin asks softly, still searching my eyes.
I put that mask over my face that I learned to do so long ago. Who knew it would become useful the older I got. “Fine.” I release her hand and drape my arm over her shoulders, pulling her close to me.
“So …” She looks at Deke. “Why a party?’
He smiles at her warmly, and she eyes him skeptically. She doesn’t trust him. I told her earlier at her house that he was harmless, and he is. As long as you stay out of his way. He never doubted me for a second when I told him what I wanted to do to Jeff. I’ve never questioned his loyalty and the need for revenge. He was best friends with Eli, too, along with Maddox and Landen. But with Austin—he would have killed her without thought that night in the cemetery had I not stopped him. He may fuck with her here and there now, but he would never put his hands on her because he knows she belongs to me. I decide her fate. If I told him to kill her, he would. If I told him to protect her with his life, he would. And I would do the same for him. That’s what a brother does. They have your back. No matter what.