“Sadie, girl, let’s go,” Dane yells from downstairs.
“Yeah, yeah. Two minutes.”
God, he’s insufferable. They all are. If Dane isn’t hanging around the house, bossing me around, it’s Rhett. They come over to hang, study, and sometimes to remind me who I belong to. But with everyone so on edge, there hasn’t been a lot of time to kick back and relax.
Even Wes has been over. He and Dane have developed a strange comradery, playing basketball in the yard or sitting around the firepit drinking beer and shooting the shit. I can tell Wes is just grateful to have somewhere to escape to.
“Sadie, let’s—”
I storm over to the door and almost rip it off its hinges. “I said I’ll be two fucking minutes,” I yell, slamming the thing shut so hard it reverberates through me.
Seconds later, heavy boots thud on the stairs and I’m hardly surprised when Dane throws the door open and appears in the doorway. “What’s up?” He narrows his eyes right at me.
“Nothing.” I wave him off, finishing up my hair.
“Bullshit. You’ve been pissy all week.” He comes up behind me and loops his arms around my waist, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “Talk to me.”
“I’m just sick of it, being on house arrest. It’s… it’s driving me insane.”
His brows pinch as he nuzzles my neck, keeping his eyes on me. “You’re restless.” I nod, inhaling a deep breath. “Maybe we need to figure out a way to destress you.” His eyes dance with amusement, and other dark and dirty things. “We’ve been neglecting you.”
“We haven’t exactly had much time alone. The house is always full of people. And my dad—”
“Don’t worry about Ray.” He kisses my neck, drawing a soft moan from my lips. “Right now, all he cares about is finding Darren and making sure you’re safe.”
“You really think he’ll come after… the club again?” I ask because the words I really want to say were stuck in my throat.
Dane hugs me tighter as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “We won’t let that piece of shit hurt you again.” His eyes sear into mine. A silent promise lingers between us.
“And what about you?” I whisper, turning in his arms and sliding my hands up his chest. “Who’ll protect you?”
A smirk tugs at his mouth. “You don’t need to worry about me, Sadie, girl. I ain’t going nowhere.” He leans down, ghosting his lips over mine. My hands curve over his shoulders as I press my body against his. I need more, so much more. But as our tongues meet, a voice pierces the air.
“Stray,” Jax yells. “We need to head out.”
“Motherfucker,” Dane mumbles under his breath, pulling away. He brushes his thumb over my lips and sighs, “Later.”
“Yeah.” I pull away, but he snags my waist.
“We’ll find him, Sadie, and when we do, we’ll end him.”
With a small nod, I slip out of his hold, grab my bag and head downstairs. At least it’s almost the weekend; maybe I’ll be able to talk Rhett or Dane into taking me out somewhere.
A girl can only hope.
Wes is in his usual spot, waiting for us to pull into the parking lot. The second he sees the truck, he strolls over. Quinn shoots me a look, but I ignore her. She’s taking things even worse than I am, but I’m hardly surprised since she’s always had one foot in the club and the other firmly out.
“Hey,” he says, offering me his hand as I climb out.
“Hey.” I smile. “Any sign of Evan?”
“No. I heard he’ll be back in school next week.”
“Something to look forward to.”
It’s been surprisingly quiet on that front. Without their fearless leader, the football team and cheer squad pay me little attention. Although I can’t help but wonder if Wes has something to do with that.
“God, I want to kiss you,” he breathes, crowding me against the side of the truck. My heart flutters as he reaches for me, but then Dane is there, slinging his arm around Wes's shoulder and dragging him away.
“You’re with me, Pretty Boy. Rhett wants a word with the princess.”
I scowl. All three of them have taken to calling me that.
“Where is—”
Dane points over my shoulder, and I turn to find Rhett leaning against his bike, his inky-blue gaze fixed right on me.
“Guess I’ll see you in class,” I say to Wes, shooting Dane an irritated look.
“See you later, princess,” he chuckles, leading Wes away.
“You don’t always have to listen to them, you know,” Quinn says, coming up beside me. “They’re not your keepers.”
“Quinn,” I sigh. Because I don’t want to do this, not here. Not now. River joins us, lacing her arm through my cousin’s.
“Come on,” she says. “We should probably get to class.”
Quinn holds my gaze, daring me to say to hell with it and ignore Dane’s message that Rhett wants to talk. What she doesn’t know, though, is that I want to talk to Rhett too. Although he’s been around this week—more than he ever has—he’s kept me at arm’s length. And I know it’s because he’s still coming to terms with everything. Not to mention the fact that he’s barely containing his rage over Darren still being on the loose.
“Go,” I say. “I’ll catch up with you.”
Quinn snorts, pulling River away, who shoots me an apologetic smile, but she has nothing to be sorry for. If anything, River is the one who seems to understand my predicament. And she’s the one who hasn’t judged me for it.
Rhett tracks my every step, sitting up straighter as I reach him. “Hey,” I say.
“Hey.”
Okay then.
“You wanted to talk?”
“Stray said you’re restless.”
“Stray has a big mouth.” My lip quirks.
“Listen, I know this isn’t easy, but your old man already let you stay in school—”
“Because I’m safe here,” I snap. “No one is going to come into school in the middle of the day and hurt me.”
Rhett grinds his teeth, letting out a steady breath. “Is it really so bad having the three of us trailing around after you like puppy dogs?”
I gawk at him. “Did you just… make a wisecrack?”
“It was a simple question.”
“It sounded a lot like a wisecrack question to me.” My lips curve. I can’t help it. Things have been strained between us, so to hear the softer tone to his voice… well, it cracks something inside of me.
“Are there no leads on Darren at all?”
“Nothing.” His stone mask slides back into place. “Wherever he’s holed up, he doesn’t want to be found.”
“God, I hate this.”
“Want me to whisk you away for the day? I’m sure I could find some less-than-innocent ways to distract you.” His brow quirks, and heat floods me at the huskiness in his words.
“Another wisecrack. Who are you and what have you done with Rhett?”
“Don’t push me, princess. You might not like it when I snap.”